Phase 03 - Week 11
Research Journal
I will be working towards achieving the following learning outcomes detailed in my assignments tab including:
LO2: Contextualise - Appraise the social, political and historical contexts in which design practice operates.
LO3: Analyse - Evaluate research findings and use sound judgement that is informed by critical debate at the forefront of the academic discipline.
LO5: Imagine - Deliver appropriate and innovative ideas that embrace risk, have contemporary relevance and question the boundaries of the discipline.
LO6: Make - Select and utilise relevant tools, skills and technologies in the delivery, iteration and sustainable production of an outcome.
LO8: Design - Realise a final solution that evidences its strategic journey and clear relationship between form and function.
LO9: Communicate - Communicate effectively in a range of contexts and situations to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
LO10: Manage - Demonstrate applied planning and organisational skills to support self-directed project work and inform ongoing professional development needs.
Project Recap - Weeks 10 - 11
Last week:
Ethnographic research (observational studies) to look at drinking fountain habits and who is using it
Put my research into an affinity diagrams
This week:
Present to the External Panel reviews on Wednesday
Scamp out the user journey and my initial stage app development before I launch into prototypes
Phase 03/Wk 11: Design Development
Ideation
This low-fidelity ‘design thinking’ process aimed to get as many thoughts about the process on the page as possible before I started visualising any style, fonts, colour schemes, etc. Here are my ‘quick and dirty’ scribbles and sketches to work out all the components my app would have to hold.
Of course, this was just the first part of the process. I needed to work out how this would then link to the fountain used to record it being used. Currently, the EG Town Council's only way of recording use is through the Outdoor services team flushing the fountain out 3 – 4 times a week to regulate water safety and mineral build-up. Even then, they couldn’t scope use with the only evidence being that, it wasn’t being used, hence the need for a regular flush out.
I’m not a UX designer, but after a quick tutorial in Domestika, I found an excellent way to process the user journey, through the process below to work out what my user goals would be.
It was incredibly helpful to map this out step by step visually, and I decided to expand on this with post-it notes so I could adjust their positioning in the journey. This was a good way to scope out what my audience might want, enjoy, or be rewarded by.
Prototyping app
This would be a great way to get my creative ideas flowing and testing before setting them up in Figma. Hopefully, early feedback will reduce the risk further down the line.
These are the points to consider when scamping my prototype at this stage:
Desirability - How do I get a reaction, why will the audience be interested - lighting as visual clues, wanting to be more sustainable as a community)
Feasibility - Develop a technical process app through a user journey (in the timescale). How will it link to the fountain gradients?
Viability - How will I measure its success? - can it be marketed to different towns? Can I tie in with Google Maps or another platform such as WWF Carbon counter.
External Panel reviews - 06.08.24
This week we were asked to prepare for the external panel team. This was a great opportunity to receive advice and guidance from industry experts and feedback from our peers. We were asked to prepare a short 4-5 minute presentation explaining our research question, project structure and some basic visuals. We were also asked to prepare a question for the panel of a challenge we may feel needs addressing.
The panel review team consisted of Susan Gibb, Executive Director of the multidisciplinary artist-run centre Western Front in Vancouver, Canada (https://westernfront.ca/), and Anastasia Galicheva, a multidisciplinary designer and co-founder of the London-based graphic design studio Galicheva–Gahlen https://galicheva-gahlen.com/.
My presentation was I was one of the first to present. I had been dreading this, as I genuinely don’t know if my concept works at the moment but the feedback from both was encouraging.
Feedback to take on board:
Susan Gibb
Susan commented that she found this an interesting project. How a community can be more environmentally conscious is at the forefront of most neighbourhood ‘real-world challenges’. She thought the immersive experience part was interesting but was concerned about making it not too complicated within the time frame and that I haven’t got a whole effect and app development team. She encouraged regular testing and feedback to keep my message to my target audience on track. She voiced concern about the overconsumption of water and avoiding waste of precious resources to get the visual reward from the lighting. This is something I need to be aware of. She also encouraged me to look at and research UVA - a lighting software and Madmapper software.
Anastasia Galicheva
Anastasia also commented that it was a great immersive project that allowed the whole neighbourhood to see tangible results visually. She queried how the measurements of the fountain's usage would work and how I could gauge the accuracy, which I need to think carefully about. She also encouraged regular focus groups for feedback throughout the process.
Reflection
However much anxiety I have about presenting my work at this early stage, the panels positive feedback with suggested resources, methodologies, and collaborations will help my project succeed from the outset, and I need to think of the strength in early development, which will only help with my focus on a better outcome.
Reference List
Websites/Podcast