Michael+Rocha

**Week 1** Apple; Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive
Question: Describe the unusual business model used in the iPod's fabrication as developed by Apple.

When released in 2001 the iPod was considered to be designed backwards. It defied convention by designing the look of the thing before deciding on the technical specifications needed to support it. Sometimes it takes the input from someone less involved in the science behind design in order to overcome some physical limits to imagination. It has a huge impact on the development of technology in general. Rather than looking at technical challenges as impossible, they open the minds of everyone involved to a wider range of possibility. This model can prove frustrating for those responsible for fabricating the design but the product benefits because of it.

Question: 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? Apple had always had a set of core values based on simplicity and on ease of use. when Steve Jobs returned to apple then teamed up with Jonathan Ive, this mantra was taken a step further. Ive created a notion that technology can and should be beautiful in terms of function and looks. The two also explored various materials and production technologies such as the use of plastic and metal to further push the envelope on innovative design.

Question: Describe the importance of Apple's design team. Are other companies trying to compete with Apple by creating their own design teams?

In a world focussed on fast and efficient production of everything (even ideas) apple decided to put greater emphasis on the free flow of information in order to facilitate the creation of ideas. Design teams are kept small, they have fewer tasks, and stay with their project from its conception to its completion. Apple's competitors have noticed this and have been trying to keep up ever since. New products that the competition create are usually a response to an innovation of apple's and are usually very similar in nature.

**Week 2 Ergonomics**

 * Three definitions of 'ergonomics'.


 * Physical** ergonomics is concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity. The relevant topics include working postures, materials handling, repetitive movements, work-related musculoskeletal disorders, workplace layout, safety and health.


 * 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. The relevant topics include mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-computer interaction, human reliability, work stress and training as these may relate to human-system design.


 * Organisational** ergonomics is concerned with the optimisation of sociotechnical systems, including their organisational structures, policies, and processes. The relevant topics include communication, crew resource management, work design, design of working times, teamwork, participatory design, community ergonomics, cooperative work, new work paradigms, organisational culture, virtual organisations, telework, and quality management.

Case Study 7: Truck Operators Issue: A transport company noticed many drivers reporting chronic neck and shoulder discomfort and some reported wrist pain after operating a particular vehicle. Step One: Task Analysis From meeting with management and some drivers, one vehicle and two tasks were identified for further assessment. The assessment showed:
 * drivers sat in a forward-facing seat while they looked out a side window to an operating arm, so they sat in a twisted and side bending posture; and
 * the hand furthest from the window (their inside hand) used a joystick and other controls positioned low to the seat, and next to their hip, with the wrist often in a bent, extended posture.

Step Two: Advice The proposed solutions included: 1. installing additional mirrors so that the truck’s operating arm can be viewed without body twisting at all times; 2. training drivers in the safe use of the mirrors; 3. positioning the joystick and other controls to promote an efficient and comfortable use of the arm and wrist eg with the hand forward of the body, with the wrist in a ‘neutral’ and not a bent posture; and 4. monitoring the changes to check if any other modifications or adjustments are required. *5* use a camera and monitor to bypass excessive use of mirrors. http://www.usernomics.com/ergonomics-store.html
 * 6* ensure seating is comfortable

Week 3 Socially Responsible Design
Solar Aid Approximately 10% of the world population has a disabling hearing impairment, and 80% of them live in developing countries. The most expensive part of a hearing aid is the battery, which needs to be continually replaced. The Solar Aid solar-powered hearing-aid battery recharger, developed in Botswana, helps those with hearing disabilities afford to continue in school and participate in economy activity. More than 7,000 units are in use in South America, Central America, Africa, and Asia. And because batteries are generally expensive everywhere, Godisa intends to make this affordable technology widely available not just in the developing countries but also in the United States and Europe.


 * From this 5 Characteristics of Socially Responsible Design.**


 * Design of products should be inexpensive. Products should be made affordable to all who need them.
 * Design of products should be available for people who need them. The Hearing aid is available world-wide.
 * Products should be cheep to maintain. The example above shows that hearing aid batteries are very expansive. Even if regular hearing aids were cheep and widely available, batteries would still bear wight on the consumer and the environment.
 * Products should be clean. The hearing aid's solar panel batterie charger above produces no waste.
 * The Product Should be easy to maintain and to use the same way that this hearing aid is.

Week 4 Materials Economy
Today's material economy is flawed. It is a finite linear model that moves much too fast for mother nature to compensate. The entire process of retrieving natural resources, refining them into products, delivering them to stores, selling them and disposing of them is putting an extreme burden on the environment, and the psychology of the average consumer.

The material economy is fueled by our need to purchase. When we make a purchase, we buy a name, a feeling, a brand. Though everyone differs in this many make irrational choices on their purchases without thinking about the effect it has on others, and the environment. It is way too easy to get caught up in the sexiness of a product. Its seems however that todays trying economic times are creating a reform in the system. In the past, thrift and responsible purchases were valued. More recently we have seen consumers purchase way more than they need and way more than they can afford. But now however, it seems that people are beginning to restore thrift as a value out of a need.

With out change our planet will peril. Buying for the rush of the purchase and the feeling it gives needs to stop. Green chemistry, renewable energy, and closed loop production and local living economies are the solutions to our material economy. Sustainability and Equity are the solutions to solving our polluting ways. In order to accomplish this I feel that we need to do our part to renew resources by recycling and living a refines life style for example. I think that we need to tap into our purchasing power to influence big business to make more influential decisions. This is an example of collective action to influence big players in the model who carry more consequence in their business decisions.

Week 6
Enthusiasts These are the first users of a new technology. Often, since the technology is in its later developmental stages, the product not very user friendly and takes a lot of work to mater. These people remain enthusiasts not only despite this, but it also draws them closer to the product because of it. When the 35 mm camera was created, it was first used by astronauts and it was extremely difficult to use.

Professionals These people take the the technology and use it in an application that will help them with work. With the camera, it started to by used by professional photographers. It was still very expensive and the controls were still complicated (though somewhat improved).

Consumers Soon a product is adapted once more to accommodate the everyday person. Redesigns change the product into something more affordable and easy to use. Cameras nowadays are entirely automatic, reading light, setting exposure, flash, shutter etc. and are increasingly affordable and available to everyone.

The development of the internet is an interesting example of this process. It was originally used by very few attached people. It was entirely text-based and not versatile. Soon it was used in a professional capacity to send information from computer to computer. The interface was still archaic but its adaption to business created potential for more. Finally the internet was adapted for anyone to use. Servers were set up to store volumes of information. Even after this adaption, the Internet continues to see improvements, moving from phone-line dial-up access to high speed cable and beyond (as an example), along with continuous improvements in interface and speed.

Week 7
According to Mat Hunter **interaction architecture** is designing extensible rules that allow new systems to begin interacting properly. Designing a reasonable user experience before production, and testing it thoroughly is key in creating a product that will compete in the market. For Kodak, designers needed to know how the customers felt about the experience of using a digital camera. Rikako Sakai designed software that stitches multiple pictures together when one frame alone is not large enough to capture what the user wants. This software was originally used in a step-by-step manor, but this method was replaced by tabs accompanied animation to make the experience of photo stitching easier for the customer.


 * Leading Question:** forces or implies a specific type of answer.


 * Hypothetical Question:** A question, based on assumptions rather than facts, intended to elicit an opinion. It is not advisable to use these questions in a survey because it forces the respondent to use their imagination, rather than any real opinion.

Week 8: Jan Chipchase
Jan Chipchase is a human-behavior researcher for Nokia. This position allows him to dive into the lives of many people around the world and 'walk a mile in their shoes. He takes the information acquired from these studies to the designers in order to help design a cellphone that everyone can-and-will purchase.

Most people simply cannot afford a cellphone. This proved to be one of the largest specification to overcome. Many people rely very heavily on cellphones. in many cases it is more cost effective to purchase a cellphone than a LAN line. Many prefer the person-ability and the privacy of having a cellphone. For example, people might be more wiling to seek medical advice if they new the advice would be sent directly to them. There are so many qualities about the cellphone that drastically improve the quality of life of so many. This creates a paradox in that only the rich (people who already have high quality of life) can afford them. Logically this fuels the digital divide and economic gap between rich and poor.

Mr. Chipchase is doing excellent work in leveling the playing feild. Using tireless research and design to act not only in a socially responsible manor for the world, but also in a profit creating capacity for Nokia. Expanding cellphone use to multiple cultures and multiple social stations of people within is immensely beneficial to Nokia and the world alike.

Week 9: Design as a Collaborative Process
For Bill Moggrige, Collaborative design is essential. Design should be done in groups of diverse people so that multiple perspectives are considered. I this way an interdisciplinary approach can be achieved to create a more well-rounded, thoughtful design. It is important that these group members are able to be diverse in a cohesive manor. Information needs to bee free-flowing between members, otherwise the purpose of the interdisciplinary approach is defeated. He also uses the term to refer to participatory deign. That is, including the end user in the design process so that the final product is one that is satisfactory to those it is made for. The collaboration of all of these diverse minds in a cohesive manor creates what Moggridge calls a shared brain; the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

Bill puts these values to work in his design of a chair, collaborating with experts in physiology, cognitive psychology, ergonomics, and anthropology. Additionally, IDEO recently integrated surgeons into their design process for surgical tools. They studied (in groups of course) how surgeons used their equipment and bounced ideas for improvements off of the surgeons.

An example of a product which uses Moggridge’s principles of collaborative design:



[|Fifa 09] is by far my favourite videogame right now. It, along with many other sports centred videogames, is increasingly expanding their research and development to include both players of the sport of soccer (professional athletes hooked up to infrared motion detectors etc.) and the video game (the final user). The result is the most realistic soccer video game ever created. Personal Though: At the risk of sounding pessimistic, the paradigms that Mr. Moggridge are impressive however unrealistic. In the real world, design teams are constantly bumping heads in conflict over many things. Sometimes these are not even related to the project and the direct result of conflict of interest created by interdisciplinary variance. There is no doubt that collaborative design is an excellent way of producing quality work, however I believe that it is important to remember that we do not live in an ideal world. Put quite simply any people approach group work in many different ways, conflict is inevitable, and in many cases, the project suffers because of it.

Week 10 :Biomimicry
Echolocation

This Sonar-Enabled Cane sends out waves of sound ahead of the person using it. This is the same technology is used by bats to avoid collisions when flying in the dark. Cane reads time it takes for the sound waves to return then maps it out tactically on its handle thus notifying the user of the proximity of an upcoming obstacle.

Toxin-Free Glue Designers in Portland have developed a super strong adhesive that is non-toxic. The glue mimics the secretions mussels use to stick to rocks underwater. Currently used on wood products such as cabinetry but is apt for various other applications.

Antibacterial Film Bacteria has an incredible ability to survive. Even when faced with strong antibiotics such as penicillin, they are able to evolve and get stronger. This creates an ugly cycle of escalation. An Australian company has developed an all natural compound that was synthesized from seaweed which, rather than killing the bacteria, it prevents bacteria from colonizing by interfering with the signals used by microbes to communicate with one another. this manifests in a film making it easily applicable to the use of contact lenses.


 * Week 11: Web Accessibility **

1. How would you describe web accessibility?
 * Web accessibility is a term used to describe efforts to make websites easier to view, read, uses, access, hear, participate and communicate. **

2. Who do you think benefits from accessible websites and how?
 * Everybody benefits from accessibility websites. Improvements made for people with disabilities usually improve simplicity and intelligence of design benefiting everyone who uses it. **

3. Do you think your website/blog should be accessible? Should all Canadian websites? Yes all websites should be accessible. Every person has a right to public information. The disadvantage of being disabled doesn’t have to be as difficult as it is stigmatized to be. Simple improvements in design can greatly give access to people who need it and improve the user experience in general. 4. What do you think is the biggest challenge of making a website accessible?
 * Disability varies greatly by type and degree. It can be difficult to account for every accessibility issue that someone might have. A solution to this is the introduction of standard to accessibility. But his solution provides another problem. The web is worldwide. Standardizing information that spans the entire world would be very difficult and would require cooperation from all nation states there-in. **