Author Archives: Anthony Hutton

The secret life of phones: Themes assigned

Allen, Sarah, 1. Calls: 5. Games

Boyle, Amie, 2. Texts: 21. Places phones are in

Galadik, Peter, 5. Games: 22. Web browsing

Loughery, Paul, 8. Contacts: 25. Settings

McCallan, Sheila, B, 9. Music: 7. Facebook

McConnell, Adam, 10. File transfer: 17. email

McErlean, Ciara, 15. Dual Screen: 1. Calls

Moran, Elizabeth, 14. Movies: playing: 26. Notes

O’Kane, Cathal, M, 28. Banking: 7. Facebook

Pitassari Mickael, 32. Voice memos: 2. Texts

Simpson Rebecca, 19: Managing apps:  9. Music

Read more about this project here.

Interaction Design Search: The secret life of Phones

This project will search the domain of mobile phones for Product, Interaction and Graphic Design opportunities.

Phase #1: Empathy with users.

The project will rely on a “model” of two users; the student designer self and an invited person (a close friend, brother/sister, parent?). A model of the two users will be built using essays, photo’s, recordings, movies, powerpoint, prezi, keynote, etc. The model will be presented in four “chapters”.

Chapter 1: Character empathy. The user character will be will presented. Age, gender, occupation, home, relationships, hobbies, talents, etc

Chapter 2. Chronology: A 24hr chronological account of the users life (based on one of the Design Search Themes below)

Chapter 3. Activities: What life activities are taking place when the phone is being used for the theme element listed below.

Chapter 4. Places and contexts: What context is occurring when the phone is being used for the theme element listed below. Where is this happening?

These four chapters (multimedia presentations) will combine to form the “model”.

In Phase #2 the model will be tested and searched using methods described in another post (later)

Design Search Themes

  1. Calls: Making a call/taking a call/during the call/missed/conference
  2. Texts: Receiving a txt/sending/reading/deleting/forwarding/multiple texts/managing
  3. Photos: Taking a photo/viewing photos/sharing
  4. Time: Checking the time/alarms/stopwatch/setup/zones/network time
  5. Games: Games that are onboard when you get the phone/new games/network games/leader boards
  6. Twitter: Tweeting contexts, the idea of passive open rhetoric
  7. Facebook: Instead of calls and texts
  8. Contacts: Transferring from last phone/creating a new contact/editing/managing/getting new lists/sharing/extra
  9. Music: Playing music/organising music/buying/sharing/headphones and speaker systems/connectivity
  10. File transfer: Using the phone for file storage/sharing skydrive/icloud etc
  11. Shopping: What happens when you go shopping with a mobile?
  12. Privacy: What aspect of privacy matter on your phone? Do you protect anything?
  13. Home screens: Ringtones, backgrounds, wallpapers, widgets
  14. Movies: Playing feature movies/TV Series. Downloading movies, sharing
  15. Dual Screen: While watching TV/Playing games
  16. Making Movies: Effects, Sharing/Youtube/FB
  17. E Mail: Managing email, reading/responding
  18. Navigation: Using maps, turn by turn, finding your way GPS apps (speed, running apps, etc)
  19. Apps: managing apps, free, purchased
  20. Calendar: Using the calander to plan an event/life
  21. Places that phones are in: Pockets, bags, tents, bedrooms, kitchens, cars, classrooms, etc
  22. Web Browsing: Google
  23. Charging the battery: how is it done, when, where, how often
  24. Reading: Books/newspapers/magazines
  25. Settings: Altering the settings in a phone. How is it done, why, how often. Phone experiences while roaming.
  26. Notes:
  27. Banking:
  28. Passwords: Remembering
  29. Voice note recording:
  30. Voice activated commands/siri:
  31. Timetable: keeping timebales for travel, etc.

Wk 3: Users/Customers _ Powerpoint _Number the pages

3 Ways of Looking

Each of the 3 ways is presented using a powerpoint presentation/talk All aspects of the presentations are questioned by tutors and other students. The idea of the three ways of looking is to check that the proposed project concept is fully defendable. Some projects do not survive the process. This is not a bad thing – in fact it is good to drop weak projects before too much time is invested in them.

Users/Customers

Users/Customers is the first of the 3 ways of looking. The thing you are proposing to work on is for someone to do something. Without specifying what the thing is we can understand a lot about the project by looking at the users/customers and the activity that they are engaged in. It lets us understand the context that the users are operating in and the motivation they have for doing what they are doing. Arguably, almost all the rationale for the project is revealed in understanding the users/customers.

Open mind

There is a chance that by looking at users/customers and understanding how they value the activity central to the proposed project that the emphasis of the project may change. Perhaps there are other design opportunities beyond the original envisaged project that arise those users/customers are doing.

Guide to powerpoint http://www.foylearts.com/ahutton/?p=792

Number the pages http://www.foylearts.com/ahutton/?p=712

DES310 Interaction Design – week 1

http://www.slideshare.net/eyespyfx/whatisinteractiondesign-14527254

Special note: I have booked the whole class to attend this event:

IBM in association with: Northern Ireland Science Park, Momentum, Invest NI, University of Ulster, Digital Derry and Derry City Council, cordially invite you to IBM SmartCamp Kickstart, Derry 2012
                                                                         at

the University of Ulster, Great Hall, Derry,Thursday 18th October, commencing at 12.30pm
       
                                                           Lunch refreshments

On the 25 March, 2012 at the Great Hall at the University of Ulster, we launched the IBM Global Entrepreneur programme 2012 in Northern Ireland. We would like to invite you to the next step on the road to SmartCamp, Berlin 2012, an event to challenge the brightest start-up companies in the UK, Ireland and Europe.

At the University of Ulster Great Hall event, we will have 5 start-up Northern Ireland companies participate and compete against each other to present the most compelling story to investors, industry and business experts that illustrates their business strategy and ambitions for their company. This is for real, and the mentors judging the presentations will pull no punches and tell it as it is!

This will be an excellent opportunity for you to see first hand how experienced mentors guide, advise and critique the start-up companies and the standards that are expected of you when you want to attract investment, go public or expand your business internationally.

Three great guidelines on powerpoint

Edward Tufte: There is no bullet list like Stalins bullet list http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/graphics/home_stalin_poster.jpg

Edward Tufte: Abraham Lincoln, The Gettsburg Address “This is ok for now I will whip it into more shape when I get back on a computer” http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/index.htm

Jesse Desjardins: You suck at Powerpoint http://www.slideshare.net/jessedee/you-suck-at-powerpoint-2