CCT333+Labs

=__Lab 4__=
 * A**nnie Leonard does a great job that properly displays the effects of a commerce-driven society with a simplistic and easy to understand organized presentation that effectively illustrates how our society currently operates and what is currently wrong with it.

The animations are subtle, iconic, smooth, and very easy to interpret. It’s very informative, however it’s also entertaining, so as to not lose interest on the part of the reader. The categorization of the different segments in the video is further illustrated by the highlighting of the icon of the category that you are currently viewing.

It is because of intuitive and interesting design choices like this that Annie is able to spread a though-provoking message in a truly enjoyable way. The information is presented very clearly, and in a manner that is very interpretable, providing multiple facets of information, using both graphics and speech to reach the audience. I think this video is an excellent example of showing how to reach audiences in a topic that would normally be much less interesting.


 * Extraction:** This is essentially a fancy word for the action of “trashing the planet” as the video says. We continue to use resources at a rate that they are not allowed to possibly re-cooperate with.


 * Production:** The production of consumer products results in the mixing of many chemicals, which can lead to a disastrous effect on natural resources. As a result, even babies are suffering from toxins through the most natural of all infant-feeding means, breast-feeding.


 * Distribution:** The goal of production is to be able to sell all the toxic stuff that is manufactured. Because of the constant need to cut costs, so everything is outsourced. In reality, the price that we pay for items is actually paid by someone else’s country, most likely someone in a third-world country.


 * Consumption:** Consumption is the whole point of this entire process. Without consumers, there is no need for anyone to produce anything, and the entire cycle stops moving. So it is vital that the economy continues to flow, and this means we must continue purchasing. As a result of slowed sales, the country falls into a recession. As has been shown by the recent recession.


 * Disposal:** After everything is said and done, we must get rid of all the stuff we have consumed, especially after we have replaced it with a brand new shiny replacement. Most of this stuff ends up in a landfill which replaces precious land such as fertile farmland, or forests.


 * H**er flash presentation does a great job that completely illustrates the different categories that compile the story of stuff. The interface is very simplistic and stylistic. She uses common icons and logos to represent common ideas such as money, factories, and products.

The categories are clearly represented, and in each category, there are proper animations that show the flow of energy and materials that are transferred between the categories. Examples, such as the different PC parts, are visually enhanced by an animation of what part of the computer actually needs to be replaced.

=**__Lab 6__ Bodystorming**= Bodystorming is a new-wave concept used by designers to be able to easy evaluate, understand, and advance progress on a design in progress, that may be too far away prototype stage to be able to accurately make design stages without an actual product in real life.

It offers a unique and captivating "testing" opportunity for device creators without having to spend extraordinary amounts of money on prototypes, and the countless numbers of revisions that are going to be necessary with every single modification. This provides small outfits with equally sized research and development centers an opportunity to be able to ensure products are fully developed before release.

While in theory bodystorming seems like an excellent for of product development, there is some concern and criticism that it does not fully consider the consumer, as the testing is mainly limited to the designers themselves, and resultingly, the opinions that influence a product's final release can be potentially skewed.

Bodystorming may not be the perfect solution for product developing and testing, but it's very handy, and has it's benefits. As the number of entrepreneurial businesses continues to grow, it is without any doubt that bodystorming will continue to be a big part of many companies product testing and development cycles.

=Case Theatre Scenario=

If I were to, let's say, produce my own product that I'd want to develop, I can definitely see the benefits of bodystorming. As a fulltime university student, I clearly have very limited resources. In short, time and money are both very scarce to me. This is a very limiting factor as these are both vital sources if I'm to pursue creating my own product, as it has to be completely developed if I'm to have any hope of it becoming a reality.

For the sake of this scenario, let's say I use a product that I have a design for from my CCT370 class. I designed a wall socket that pops out of the wall to accompany a built in extension cord. Obviously this is not a simple thing to create, because it requires an actual physical product to study in person, and any revision will cause a costly redesign. This, accompanied with the fact that this is an electrical product means expensive certification process to allow the product to be actually used and tested.

As you can see, testing this product and it's inevitable revisions will cost a small fortune to develop and test. And that's only for safety and feature designs. Ergonomics and user friendliness can cost just as much if not more in real life. This is where bodystorming comes in.

Using a Case Theatre Scenario, I can build a cheap mockup for a few dollars that doesn't connect to any electrical devices, but is for mere testing of ergonimics and structure rigidity. Using the mockep, and with a group of friends with devices they use on a daily basis, i could use this to analyze how frequently, and in what sense the product is used, and as a result, I can adapt the product's design to accomodate for these different uses easily.

As you can see, this can easily aide my design and help me easily develop my product without expensive revisions and would allow me to properly analyze the product's usage without costing too much, or without having to use a costly scenario re-enactment.

I think case scenario's would work great if I were to actually pursue a production aspect of my design. Whether i choose to pursue that opportunity or not is a different matter entirely, but as it stands, bodystorming would work very well to help me should i ever choose it.

=__Lab 8__=

In my opinion, the shinkansen bullet train has one of the most refined designs of any modern transportation device. It’s truly a streamlined model that mimics the effectiveness of its biological inspiration. It’s a design marvel that has inspired plenty of knockoffs throughout the rest of the world.

The skeleton key is another genius idea. Similar to the bones in our bodies, the minimal-wire-structure design emulates structural points of bones, like those in our bodies, to help support weight loads that would normally requires lots of arches, bridges, and plenty of traditional constructional segments.

The platelet is also a genius technology that uses nature to truly advance a simple design idea. Using simple thermodynamic flow, a simple water injection can lead to a temporary pipe repair that normally takes MUCH more time and effort to repair.

Finally, my favorite green design is the water-beading paint that eliminates any need to wash the surface. This could potentially revolutionize the way cars, houses, and other objects are painted. It could mean a day where the carwash is outdated as the internal combustion engine it uses.

Janine shares her opinions on how “the simple, elegant mechanics developed by nature often make sense in a human context, too”. What she means is that there are so many smart ideas in nature that could be just as easily be applied to common manufacturing techniques that we use in real life.

An example she gave of this is when she was walking on the beach and saw seashells. She gave an example of scaling, and how easily the calcium carbonate content of the seashells can be mimicked in manufacturing processes found factory-wide throughout the entire nation.

In essence, what’s being said is that nature pays a lot of attention to detail, and as a result, you end up seeing small, simple, well-thought out solutions for occurring problems that you would not normally notice normally. Additionally, many of these problems can cost millions of dollars to diagnose and repair, so looking into nature for design can be more than beneficial to the private sector.

=**__Lab 9__**=

  Service design is the planning of design to revolve around the human orientation of the how we interact with objects, and how their design affects our personal experience of them. Service design relies not only on the design of products themselves, but about providing a holistic design experience that extends to outside of the design scenario itself, and includes the users it’s targeting. There are three main aspects of how the human brain works, and the first of level is the visceral design that sometimes affects our brain. There are many examples as this, such as a poorly functioning car such as a 1963 Jaguar, but provide such a visceral experience, that the design is conceived as being a very good design. The second level of how design affects us is the behavioral level of thought. It’s the design that focuses on the way things feel. In an example, Don Norman describes how the globo-knives just “feel good” to operate. Similarly, he compares the driving of a sports car that allows us to feel “taking control” of the road. This design aspect is a very important part of process design. The third and final level of how design effects us is the reflective level. This refers to the “voice in the back of your head” that doesn’t directly control your actions, but provides feedback that will either encourage or discourage repeat actions that have already occurred. This is evident in items that are purchased not because of the functionality, but because more on the resulting feedback, such as an expensive watch. Service design is crucial to the development of products and services nowadays because we were in an information age where time is of the essence, so any time spent must be not wasted on needless interactions on services and objects. As such, streamlining must be done, and this is where service design comes in. As Don said, “pleasant things work better”, and this is the general idea that service design relies on.