[Business of Design] Social Networks

Blog on which social network you currently find most engaging and why

Yelp, hands down.

I use Facebook, sure, but I wouldn't say I enjoy it. Most times I log into Facebook it's because someone has tagged me in a photo, or because I'm procrastinating on homework. I get sucked in and an hour later, when I log off, I feel guilty for spending that hour reading my Facebook feed when I should have been reading my homework.

[IxD Theory] Parking app

What’s your pet app idea? Based on the tools and processes that Aaron shared, discuss the minimum essential features, as well as elements that are not essential that you would want to add after launch. 

The first two things that came to mind in response to this prompt were a drinking fountain finding app and a public restroom finding app. Buuuuut, they already exist. So here's one that doesn't exist: an app to prevent you from getting parking tickets.

[IxD Theory] Cognition

Discuss a product via the lens of human cognition. How do we process the product? Consider perception, attention, memory, learning, etc. What did the designers do to help simplify the cognitive processes required to use the product? What’s the mental model and how rigorously is it preserved?

I'm going to look at iTunes because it is a product we process through multiple kinds of cognition -- learning, listening, attention, and memory.

The function which lets you sort by album cover is great because it takes advantage of our ability to quickly scan images. I have over 1000 albums in my library, and while I often cannot remember the name of the album, I can often picture the album cover in my head. Scanning through the music by cover view helps me to find the correct album much faster than reading through the list, and trying to remember what I'm looking for.

[business of design] Brands

Blog on a brand you admire (not just the product or service). Explain what elements of the brand “speak” to you and what they say. 

I am loyal to two brands, Levi's and Patagonia. I am loyal to Levi's because I hate shopping for jeans and Levi's sizing is consistent so I never have to try them on. My loyalty stems out of convenience, but I don't know much about their history or their motivations as a company. Patagonia, on the other hand, has my loyalty because of how and why their company exists; their mission statement is to mission statement is to "build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis."

[business of design] Midpoint

Blog on what you think your midpoint grade should be in this class. Be specific about what you’ve done or not done to earn that grade.

A difficult task for this week's business of design blog. Regardless of my midpoint grade, I know I would want to have me on my team!

My teamwork: I played a significant role in our start-up, Matchbox, earning the most funding on Pitch Day (woo hoo!). Our team is lucky in that we have team members with complementary skills and we all work well together. As project manager I have been responsible for keeping our team organized, motivated, and focused during our meetings; our level of preparation played a major role in our success on Pitch Day. I also believe I have been a solid resource for other teams. I have spent time listening to pitches, offering feedback, and talking through potential problem areas.

[interaction practice] final project

(Going back and doing some blogging catch-up this week from the fall semester. Also, eek gad, how is it already the mid-point of spring semester!?) 

I'm not going to lie, this class was a source of tears...more than once.

Learning a programming language is really hard, but getting through it and building something you're proud of is pretty awesome.

[business of design] Amanda Palmer: The Art of Asking

Don't make people pay for music, let them. In her TED talk, Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls focuses on using the internet to have a direct connection with her fans, both monetarily and socially. Her message of don't be afraid to ask for what you need resonates with me. In her talk she mentions that artists and musicians particularly have a difficult time asking for help, but I think it goes far beyond artists and musicians.

Mary Jane Bellis

Mary Jane Young Bellis 

19 April 1923 – August 1978

Mary Jane Bellis was my maternal grandmother. She was killed in a car accident in 1978 and I never had the chance to meet her her. In my history of design class our first major project is to research a relative we did not have a relationship with and to create a project based on their life.

[IxD Studio] Collections, 2

The collections project continues.

I found that most of the letters in my collection report everything to be “fine.” Knowing a bit about the history, it is pretty safe to say that everything was not fine. This week I tried to focus the display on the idea of contrasting what people write or say versus what they actually mean. I think reporting that things are just “fine” is a knee-jerk reaction because, generally, people don’t want to burden others with their personal struggles.

[Interaction Theory]

Have you experienced a technology that has truly disappeared? Describe the experience and why the technology disappeared. What replaced the technology in the forefront?

One technology that has truly disappeared in my life is the technology behind search engines. It is hard to believe that Google has been around for just about a decade and a half.