Kerndeep+Sidhu

Hi! My name is Kerndeep Sidhu, but everyone calls me Kiran. I am in third year and doing a double major in CCIT and Industrial Relations. More will be added later!!!

__Week 1__ What distinguishes the work of the team of Jobs and Ive in relation to products designed by Apple? What new materials are enabling different design? ** Describe the importance of Apple's design team. Are other companies trying to compete with Apple by creating their own design teams? ** ** The importance of Apple’s design team is very crucial and how they work to together to carry out Apple’s success. The team only consists of about a dozen people and they operate individually and as a group. The team members hardly attend award ceremonies and they personally reflect the design sensibilities of Apple’s products which are ** casually chic, elitist and with a definite Euro bent. They have people from all over the world with the same goal in mind and still have strong relationships with each other such as having dinners together and taking field trips. They work together in a large studio with little personal space but with privacy. They work closely with engineers, marketers, and manufacturing contractors in Asia that build the products. The team members are leading innovators in the use of new materials and production processes. Other companies are trying to compete with Apple by creating their own design teams. Some big corporations do not have the skills or focus to build products and others that do have the money have a long way to go to catch up with Apple, as Apple continues to perfect its game.
 * Describe the unusual business model used in the ipod's fabrication as developed by Apple. **
 * The unusual business model used in the iPod’s fabrication as developed by Apple is the design was performed by outside companies. One of the companies was PortalPlayer which has the highest quality of sound and became a design chain partner with apple. Apple’s product design consisted of the “outside in perspective.” Other companies that were part of this strategy include Sony with their planar lithium batter, Toshiba’s 1.8 inch hard drive, flash memory chip from Sharp Electronics Corp. and etc. Apple’s main concept is to build third party relationships with multiple companies. Basically, each part of the design is built by somebody else. In addition, a relationship was built with a competitor because they had something that Apple needed for their design. One of the drawbacks of having multiple partners is that the same technology could be used in another product by a competitor. **
 * According to the article, when Apple was declining the company had lost its identity and purpose. The only person that could provide direction was Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder. Job re-established the core values he had established at the beginning and Apple had a goal that was clear and different from other companies which consisted of design and innovation. Jonathan Ive pays close attention to detail which is essential for product design and his passion for being interested in design gave him a sense of motivation. New materials that are enabling different design include plastic by molding different plastics together or co-molding plastic with metal. Other new materials are metal forming and new methods of joining metals with advanced adhesives and laser welding. These materials are allowing new and different designs that haven’t really existed before. **

__Week 2__ **//1) Physical ergonomics//** is concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity. Step Two: Advice - Use lighter crockery  -  Have more space between the tables to enable more movement and instead of one staff carrying more than one plate, have two staff members bring customers their meals or store them on carts with wheels by having more space between the tables Find an example of a product which is ergonomically sound, and add a link to an article about this product. **  http://www.healthyback.com/products/healthyback/healthy-back-baby-bag/257
 * List the three definitions of 'ergonomics'. **
 * //2) Cognitive ergonomics//** is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system.
 * //3) Organisational ergonomics//** is concerned with the optimization of sociotechnical systems, including their organisational structures, policies, and processes.
 * Choose one of the case studies, and add an additional recommendation to one of them in step two as 'advice'. **
 * //Case Study 2: Hospitality and Serving Food//**

__Week 3__ Choose a country on the web site's map, and read through the description of the products designed for that country. List five characteristics of socially responsible product design. **

**South America**
 * 1) Provide Internet access and computing functionality at affordable prices to people in developing countries and first world countries such as the United States who do not have the funds.
 * 2) Provide better medical care and expert opinion by physicians from Boston to people in developing countries with the use of mobile access and satellite uplink (Internet Village Motoman Network).
 * 3) Provide learning, communication, and knowledge to kids in developing countries with access to laptops.
 * 4) Increase economic growth which is lower in countries with malaria with the use of nets that repels mosquitoes and lasts longer.
 * 5) Reduce deforestation, environment degradation, and death with the use of sugar cane charcoals instead of wood charcoal.

__Week 4__ Annie Leonard defines the system of the material economy as stuff goes through a system of five stages: extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal. The system is in a crisis which is linear where there are limits no one can see. The people that matter are the government who instead of looking out for society, look out for corporations. The system has become a place where everyone is so involved with material objects and less worried about things that matter such as natural resources that are declining. **
 * Write three paragraphs on how Annie Leonard defines the system of the 'materials economy' and describe its interactions. **

Annie Leonard states the system is in a crisis and intervention has to be taken, which is already evident through people saving forests, clean production, labour rights, and that people are taking back our government. By working together we can change the linear system into something new that includes “sustainability, equity, green chemistry, zero waste, closed loop production, renewable energy, and local living economies.” **
 * T **** he first stage is extraction, which means we are trashing the planet and running out of natural resources by using too much stuff. The next stage is production where energy is mixed in with toxic chemicals, natural resources to make contaminated products. These toxic products are in the stuff we buy and are entering our bodies. A frightening example of this is breast milk which has the highest toxic chemical and babies are taking this in. These toxics leave the factories as products and pollution and even though factories have moved overseas, the toxics come back through wind currents. The third stage is distribution by selling toxic contaminated products as fast as possible through low prices. Prices are kept down by externalized costs, the real cost of making the products is not captured in the price; others pay with the loss of natural resource space, clean air and even the people who sell the products by covering their own health insurance. But these, prices are not counted. The fourth stage is consumption where most of society has become consumers. People keep on shopping and it has become so ridiculous by that we measure value by how much one consumes. Ninety-nine percent of the stuff we buy gets thrown out. There are two strategies that are used to ensure that we keep on consuming: planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence. Planned obsolescence is “designed for the dump,” make the products become useless to us, we throw it out and buy a new one. Perceived obsolescence convinces us to throw stuff away that is still useful by the way it looks. This is evident through advertisements which make us unhappy and show us the only way to fix it is through shopping some more. Leonard also states how national happiness is declining and that now we have more stuff and less time for things that really make us happy. The little time we do have is spent shopping and watching television. The last stage is disposal, where we don’t have enough space to hold all our stuff and it gets thrown into the garbage. Garbage gets dumped into landfills or burned into insinuators that pollute the land, air, water, and cause climate change. Burning garbage produces more toxics into the air, such as dioxin. Recycling does help reduce garbage but it is not enough because some garbage cannot be recycled or they carry too many toxics. **

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 * __Week 6__
 * What are his definitions for these three stages of adoption, and how did he apply them to his case study of a camera? Write one clear paragraph for each of his definitions, listing their attributes in relation to the development of the camera. Can you think of another consumer product which has undergone similar developments? Name it. **

Another consumer product that has undergone similar developments is the computer.
 * The first stage is the enthusiast stage, where enthusiasts love exploiting the technology and appreciate the product in an aesthetic way. When many enthusiasts have their hands on a product technology one of them will use it in their work and get a bright idea about how they are going to do something highly practical with it. In his interview he uses the camera as an example, where the 35 mm camera in the 1950s was used by astronauts which required them to have a PHD in optics to operate them. This changed as it went from being very expensive to being used by professional photographers. The enthusiast wants the product to say “exploit me, look at my capabilities.” **
 * The second stage is the professional stage, “when the technology is developed to help people work.” The camera became very stabilized in the sense that the viewfinder was in one place, exposed by pushing with your right finger, the film had to be wound with the lever, and etc. Therefore, there was a stabilization of the controls even though they were all highly manual. This stage makes it easier for people to use the product as the layout is straight forward. Business users want the product to say “look at the productivity I can give you and here’s’ how I’ll change your activities.” **
 * The third stage is the consumer stage, “when the technology is developed far enough for people to enjoy at an accessible price.” During this stage the priorities for the product dramatically change and most of the important controls become automatic. For example, with the 35 mm camera, the flash and exposure are set automatically. The consumer wants the product to say “look at how I fit in with your style and here’s who you are if you use me and enjoy my capabilities.” **

__Week 7__ ** Write a description of interaction architecture as defined by Mat Hunter at ** http://www.designinginteractions.com/interviews/MatHunter and Rikako Sakai at http://www.designinginteractions.com/interviews/RikakoSakai **in relation to their work with Kodak in 1995.** ** In addition, as you will be creating a questionnaire for your major assignment, read the article at http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_winter/Topics/quest-design/** **to help you formulate the question.**
 * Mat Hunter defines interaction architecture as some extensible series of rules that would allow not just one camera to be designed but a whole a series of them. This would be communicated through a user experience prototype that would make it experiential for the user. Kodak created a user interface on the camera that allowed users to take a picture, delete it, and send it across the room. **
 * Rikako Sakai defines interaction architecture by redesigning the screen behaviours for PhotoStitch. She did this by using tab user interface instead of step by step to make it easier for user to understand because the structure in the previous versions were not visible to the user. She also used animation which also made it easier for beginners to understand. **

Leading questions are defined as the “one that forces or implies a certain type of answer.” This mistake can be made in the question and in the choice of answers. The choice of answers supplied in a closed format question should not only cover the whole range of responses, but must also be equally distributed throughout the range. Therefore, “all the answers should be equally likely.”
 * How does the author define 'leading questions' and 'hypothetical questions'? Write a paragraph each to define these terms.**

Hypothetical questions are defined as being “based, at best, on conjecture and, at worst, on fantasy." For example, a certain question may force the respondent to think about something he or she may have never thought about. This does not yield clear and consistent data representing real opinion as the user does not have time to think of the question or has never given thought to that subject matter. It is best to avoid asking hypothetical questions.

__Week 8__ In three paragraphs, describe the role of Jan Chipchase in defining the role of cellphones in the developing world for Nokia, and the benefits of analyzing cellphone use and design in different cultures as part of their market expansion. ** Jan Chipchase works for Nokia as a “human-behavior researcher’’ (user-anthropologist). His role is to look into the lives of other people, gathering as much knowledge as possible about human behaviour so he can give this information he gathered back to the company. The information is given to the squads of designers and technologists and marketing people who have never set foot in these developing countries. He takes what he has observed and analyzed at various nations and writes reports and PowerPoint presentations on how the people live and what they are likely going to need from a cellphone. ** There are many benefits in analyzing cellphone use and design in different cultures as part of market expansion. People associate cellphones as part of their identity. One benefit in observing different cultures is the company can predict what people of a certain culture want or expect from a cell phone and than later can incorporate this into their design. Nokia’s marketing strategy includes getting to know the potential customers as well as possible before making a product for them. Also, by building cellphones that people find useful and unintimidating and will spend money on which will make Nokia a profit. But making a profit is not their first and foremost strategy, customer satisfaction is by learning the customer’s lifestyle. ** ** In addition, cellphones have an economizing effect by making work more capable for people as it reduces time. **People who do not have the means to afford a cellphone will most likely purchase a cellphone as soon as they start making a profit. Very poor families invest a great amount of money on cellphones by purchasing airtime in the form of prepaid cards. Cellphones increase citizens’ productivity and well-being by the fact that they can be reached. It also empowers people by persuading the idea of entrepreneurship and cellphones provide jobs for people at times. In addition, there are barriers in developing countries that stand in people’s way of purchasing a cellphone not because they don’t want one but due to the barriers. The only way companies can sell their phones is to understand the barriers in place. Therefore, a cellphone is a valuable tool as people can keep in touch with others and it’s an efficient business tool.

__Week 9__
 * Describe how he defines 'design as a collaborative process', and cite two examples of how creators involve the people they want to create for in their work, according to Bill Moggridge's lecture. ****

Bill Moggride defines ‘design as a collaborative process’ as togetherness which includes ‘with and by.’ The collaborative process involves three ideas which include new design processes, involving the people we design for, and changing contexts. The new design process consists of designing products based on understanding people. For example, when designing a chair one has to consider the physiology of the spine in order to create something comfortable. Also with the increasing technology these days, products have to be designed with human interaction in and not just the physical as in the past. Involving the people we design for consists of designing products for others and not just what the designer wants. For example, there is something called participatory design where you work with people who are going to use the design. For example, Red Cross has a “Why I gave” board which has a picture of the board and explains why they gave blood. People get recognized and see other people’s experiences and they are involved in a more intimate way. The changing contexts include the personal, social and environmental. ** ** An online example of a product which utilizes his principles of collaborative design is Proactiv Solution. It involves people they design for by having people tell their real life stories about how the product has been beneficial to them. The creators of the product are two dermatologists and Stanford trained doctors ** Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields and they have the knowledge and background in the dermatology field. In addition, they have celebrity spotlight where celebrities tell their stories about their struggle with acne and how Proactiv has helped them, which is a personal context.
 * Two examples of how creators involve the people they want to create work for in their work: **
 * 1) **** Participatory Design with surgeons, for Gyrus – By integrating surgeons into teams and by making them feel that it was their project, the designer team became much more effective because they were working with people who are going to use their design. **
 * 2) **** American Red Cross Donor Program – Can also involve people in research process and in the results. For example, the Red Cross tries to encourage successful donation of blood from donors. The research reveals a messy, clinical environment for the donor locations. The results led people to have more of a connection with the actual gift, as in the people get recognized with the Why I Gave Board, that has a picture of the donor and an explanation about why they donated the blood. **
 * Find an online example of a product which utilizes his principles of collaborative design, add its URL, and describe its design in three sentences. **
 * [] **

__Week 10__
 * Look over examples of her biomimetic principles applied to products in the slideshow located at [] and write a short, one paragraph synopsis for each of your three favourite product designs. **

** Janine Benyus is the creator of the growing biomimicry movement. Many industries are following this idea of incorporating ideas of nature into their design. My first favourite product design is the high-speed train. It is one of the fastest trains in the world and very quiet, like an owl is. The most biomimetic design element is the train’s nose cone (the front of the train), which mimics a kingfisher’s beak.

My second favourite product design is the sonar-enabled cane. This product is for people that are vision-impaired and it uses sonar like technology, which is similar to the way bats guide themselves in the dark. The product helps prevent people who have trouble seeing avoid collisions which sends out sound waves ahead of the person holding it. I like how this product really focuses on a disability and seems very useful.

My third favourite design is the self-healing pipelines. This product mimics “ ** the platelets in the bloodstream that in effect patrol veins, sealing cuts and wounds.” Inside of the pipe there are platelets that seal cracks and leaks similar to cuts and wounds. Biomimicry is a very interesting concept that incorporates nature into design elements.

__Week 11__ Accessibility is when a person with a disability such as visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive can use a product. Web accessibility is when people with these disabilities can use the Web without any barriers and making user interfaces perceivable, operable, and understandable. In addition, people with disabilities can do more things for themselves without being dependant on others. People who benefit from accessible websites are people who have disabilities and have trouble using the internet. These people are able to do ordinary things with the accessible websites. For example, children can learn, teens can flirt, parents can make a living, and grandparents can read about their grandchildren. People who are blind and have cognitive disabilities processing written information can read the newspaper. People who have trouble moving their arms and legs can shop online and get their items delivered to them. **
 * 1. How would you describe web accessibility? **
 * 2. Who do you think benefits from accessible websites and how?**
 * 3. Do you think your website/blog should be accessible? Should all Canadian websites?**
 * I think websites/blogs should be accessible and in addition to all websites, whether they be Canadian or from another country. All websites should remove barriers and incorporate accessibility features such as colour palettes where people can pick their own colours as this would help people who are colour blind. Also, all sites should provide appropriate alternative text and that is clearly written and easy to understand.
 * 4. What do you think is the biggest challenge of making a website accessible?**
 * I think the biggest challenge of making a website accessible is cost and trying to determine which disability to focus on. Also, other challenges include understanding accessibility, staying committed to ensure accessibility, learning how to implement it into the website and understanding the legal obligations. **