designapalooza’s posterous

Instead of having all 5 blog posts due by Friday morning, I'd like you to have 3 submitted by Friday morning, 9am.  Again, these don't need to be extensive.  There are probably things you rave or complain about everyday.  Take a moment to write some thoughts about it and perhaps take a picture.  The remaining two are due by 1159pm Saturday evening, 1/24  Instructions found below.  They haven't changed since the first day.

The count:
how many you have remaining: http://web.mit.edu/ideation/2.97/docs/blog-posts.txt

instructions - http://designapalooza.posterous.com/ongoing-blog-submissions
submitted posts - http://designapalooza.posterous.com/tag/observations

Email if I've missed a post you've made.  This doesn't count the pre-assignment product you talked about on the first day of class.

Reminders for Wednesday's presentations

-(if you've made a logo, place it somewhere in your presentation.  you can get feedback from the rest of the class afterwards :)

-content:
a. less than a minute: update on what has changed, if any, and how you approached things since Friday
b. 1-2 min of compelling live demo and/or video footage of product-in-action, with users;  whatever is most convincing
c. less than a minute: how you would move forward
Each team has a total of 6 minutes, including Q & A, so your planned presentation should be no longer than 4 minutes.

-only use slides as you see fit. if you use slides, they are due by 1159pm tonight.  if possible, post somewhere and send link.  if there are fonts/animations etc, email to specify what you are picky about :)  .pdf is safest.  worse case, you can use your laptop, but I prefer to have all the presentations on one computer.  i can use PowerPoint this time instead, if needed.

-for the movies, try to have those posted by tonight too.  otherwise, have them posted ASAP before class or bring it to 3-446 by 945am on a flash drive.  this way I can load everything onto to the computer.  please let me know exactly when you are showing the videos with respsect to your slides, if applicable.

Presentation order!  If your name has changed, email me.

1.  Medlinks Utility Belt
2.  Eco-tainer
3.  SpaceBar
4.  Wire+
5.  Nighthawk
6.  Brown Stool
7.  Porta-Desk
8.  Kitty Pinata
9.  Bike Barista

http://designapalooza.posterous.com/cardboard-product-presentation

Here are the scores.  Dont take them too seriously.  However, you can use the prelim results to guide your Chindogu making for Thursday:

http://web.mit.edu/ideation/2.97/docs/project2/chindogu-1-results.txt
===========
Submit your Chindogu here, by 5pm Thursday. 

You can resubmit the Chindogu round 1 from today.  The concept must be the same, but you can retake photo, change name, change layout of 8.5"x11" space etc..  When you submit, please submit ONE file.  If you have multiple pictures, you MUST lay it out yourself.  Also have the title overlayed how you want (font, color, position) onto the ONE file you submit for each chindogu.  In other words, what you submit is what will be printed at CopyTech, scaled to 8.5"x11".

Things to think about for your Chindogu, either of the 3:  Remember that it must solve a problem AND be impractical at the same time (problem solving + unuselessness).  It should be communicated quickly and clearly through the picture (transparency + simplicity).  Finally, it should be fun :D (hilarity)

http://designapalooza.posterous.com/297-project-2

Let me know if you have any questions.  Great start today!

Here are details about your presentations for next Wednesday in class. You will be presenting your product-in-action live, and/or video footage of it.  There are a few projects that are hard to see live, so get video footage of it in action.  For those projects that can be demonstrated live, try to get footage of someone using it for the first time.  Digital camera quality video is fine if that is all you have access to.

This requirement is intended to emphasize the need for user testing.  Progress so far on prototypes has been good, but many iterations can and should be done between now and Wednesday.  Testing it with people, especially your intended users, can help achieve this end.  You want as developed a product as possible by Wednesday, so you shouldn't think that there are no improvements to your prototype as it is right now.

Also, imagine being a skeptic of your product.  What sort of in-action demo would convince you that your product works?

Follow something like this outline

• 1 min update - everyone in the class heard your presentation today so you dont need to do the extensive background
• 1-2 min of live action demo + video footage
• 1 min of future work - next steps if you were to develop it further

5 minutes for each team will be alloted for both your presentation and Q&A time.

Details for submission soon to come.  Most likely slides due 1159pm Tuesday.  I probably will use my computer again.  If you have fonts that you want to use, but I dont have, pdf it.  If you have animations too, let me know and we'll work something out.  If in doubt, ask early to work out these small details.

Here are details for project 2.  Each student should have THREE partners.  You will have one Chindogu due Tuesday morning at 10am with Partner A.  This means that you should bring in the Chindogu and submit the photo(s) with title on ONE 8.5"x11".
http://web.mit.edu/ideation/2.97/docs/project2/project-2a.txt

Form is here to submit information about the Chindogu.
==
You will have two Chindogu due Thursday afternoon at 5pm with Partner B and Partner C (one with B and one with C), found here:
http://web.mit.edu/ideation/2.97/docs/project2/project-2b.txt

==
Please EMAIL Justin ASAP if you have more or less than 3 partners.  The numbers should be all worked out.

As with the cardboard project, please record all your ideas, brainstormings, sketches in your notebook.  Track the development of your chindogu.  There will be a camera during lab to take photos too.

For the staged shot, the lab camera will be generally available.  Please make an appointment by shooting me an email. Feel free to use your classmates as part of the shot :)

Slides from lecture posted here.
==
If possible, keep the project on the down low, though it will be shown to all next Friday. I'm sure people will ask you what strange things you are doing the next few days, so tell them to come Friday morning.  2.97 staff expect there to be even more exposure of the Institute to Chindogu this year, exponentially more, so we wont worry now what we'll do (if there is a) next year in terms of surprising the class with the second project.
==

• Chindogu with partner A - due Tuesday 10am
• Chindogu with partner B - due Thursday 5pm
• Chindogu with partner C - due Thursday 5pm
• email if you have more or less than 3 partners
• one 8.5"x11" sheet, with photo and title (examples to be posted); single photo preferred
• make appointment to use lab camera if needed
• (shhh if possible :)

For Friday morning, you will prepare a 3 minute, 3 slide presentation to present during class on Friday.  You should make the content as if you are presenting to a group of people who have not seen any of your ideas yet, but understand the context of the project.  The time limit will be strict.  After the presentations, we will have yet another walk-around time like the past 2 days for you to go around and see the projects from the other groups and give feedback.

Bring all of your prototypes to class, whether to show during the presentation or during the walk-around.  As you are building and testing today, document your process, whether through photos, videos, etc.  Documenting your process for designing anything is a good habit to build.  For the future, your projects could be a nice piece in your portfolio and the documentation will be very helpful.  If you test users, keep track of all that too.

Email your slides to Justin by 9am on Friday.  They should be in .ppt or .pdf format (no .pptx please!).  I assume you will have no animations.  If you have animations, please make a note and list how all the animation behavior should be. Slides should follow this format/address these questions:

• Slide 1 - Who is your user? What is the need? What is the problem? (tell a story)
  
• Slide 2 - What are current solutions/workarounds?  Why isn't that sufficient?
• Slide 3 - What is your proposed solution?  How does it solve the problem? How will you build it?  Current progress? What problems do you need to resolve?

For the beginning of class tomorrow, Thursday morning, you will prepare drawings/sketches of up to 3 possible candidate solutions.  These three solutions should address a specific need, problem for a specific person or user group. Use the Pugh selection methods as necessary.

We'll be talking about prototyping in class tomorrow.  You should start thinking about and building pieces for your project.  Even though you might not have converged on the one solution, you should begin to test different ideas and components of your product.  For some of you, it may be beneficial to work with cardboard more just to get more experience.   Make a robot :)

In class, we will have another class critique for you to receive feedback about your ideas and give feedback to classmates.  You should be able to explain how you think you'll exactly make your product.

• sketches and drawings of up to 3 candidate solutions for a given need and user  (these should be finished before class)
  
• you shouldn't be using the exact same drawings you presented today.  improve upon them somehow
• think about how you'll make your product
• practice sketching and cardboard skills
  

Due Wednesday morning 10am, you will work with your partner to generate 30+ concepts for a given need.  Though you should be thinking in the 'cardboard product' design space, you should generate many ideas without making judgment.

If you cannot chose between 2 user needs, then use those 2. You can pick a need from your user groups from Assignment 2.  Alternatively, you can talk to new users or borrow a group from another 2.97 team.  Make sure you talk to that 2.97 team first before using something from them, just in case they decide to use the same need. Keep in mind as you develop your physical prototype, you will want to get feedback from the users.

Each concept should have a sketch (visual) and a name w/one sentence description (verbal).  You will have limited time in class to sketch each concept on a separate 8.5"x11" sheet of paper to pinup your ideas.  If you want the format of your assignment tonight to already be in 1-concept-per-page format, that's fine.  Make sure the drawing is visible from a far (remember the sketching lecture and the cars and waste baskets)

Be ready to talk about any or all of the concepts you generated.  Remember, defer judgment for now.  Go for quantity!  We'll talk about and go through concept selection in class Wednesday.

• Present one (or two) user groups for whom you are designing
• Generate at least 30 concepts (wild, crazy ideas!!!)
  
• Have a sketch and title w/one sentence description for each concept
• In class, you'll have time (but not a lot) to put each idea, sketch and description, on an 8.5"x11"; feel free to make any of all your 30 concepts in that format tonight
  

For Tuesday, you will work with your partner to talk to 2 different people or groups of people.  It is preferred you work together in interacting with these people, so you are on the same page.  You will come up with 5 needs for each person/group.  Please focus on needs, not solutions. Consider all you've learned so far in the class. Be prepared to share briefly with the class your findings on Tuesday.

You will enter your results in a form, soon to be linked here in this post.  Lecture 2 slides will also be posted soon.

• User groups are university students
• Observe/interview at least 2 different students or groups (not yourself) in contexts that you are not familiar with.
• List at least 5 needs for each student/group. Bug Lists may be helpful. Needs do not have to have an obvious solution.
• Focus on needs. Do not come up with solutions yet.
• Submit on form
• partners found here, listed by athena/MIT email

-Justin

We'd like you to fill out another survey about your past design/engineering/education experiences.

https://web.mit.edu/ideation/2.97/surveys/initial.shtml