Rishi+Rajan

Apple selected four key criteria and fabricated the iPod around them. These criteria are: quality sound, off the shelf components, cost, and time-to-market. Using the criteria, they took the following actions: - To provide superior sound quality, Apple teamed with sound engineers at PortalPlayer and encorporated their ideas into the design of the music player - With the help of Portelligent (company), Apple designed their music player with the "Outside-in" concept. This way, they first envisioned what the player should look like and designed the player to meet the vision. Using this concept, they were able to make a battery thin enough to fit the iPod rather than making the iPod fat enough to fit the battery - Apple thought it was better to use the best of multiple components rather than have just one silicone chip that performed all the functions. Apple claims that there could be performance flaws had it used a silicone chip
 * Describe the unusual business model used in the ipod's fabrication as developed by Apple.**

Using an unusual business model consisting of the best consultants and components, Apple was able to fabricate the iPod to meet the design it had initially created.


 * 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?**

Jonathan Ive is a designer by profession. He may design the best looking products but may overlook some factors that go into building the product. His Apple team help him figure out the technical details that he may forget while designing, for example: He may design a beautiful i-Mac computer with a handle that makes it accessible but may overlook the factor that because of its handle, it can be carried around and may not seem as precious anymore. This is when his Apple team stepped in to help him further his concept with better ideas.


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

Apple's design team operate in a cult-like setting. Even though it is just 12-15 people, they perform at an extremely high level. They are designers from all over the world who work together on the designs of upcoming products. The studio they work in is secretive and no other Apple employees are allowed in. Jonathan Ive invests his design budget on state-of-the-art prototyping equipment rather than hiring more people. His design process is often repetitive - making and remaking prototypes until his team has made one that is just perfect. His team also works closely with marketers, engineers, and other departments to syncronize the product development process. They are not just product stylists. They all have a good understanding of the latest production processes and newest materials. Other companies are not trying to compete with Apple by creating their design teams because its too costly for them to rethink design and mass-produce devices that place design as its main priority.

=__Week 2__=
 * Case Studies on Ergonomics **
 * List the three definitions of 'ergonomics'.**

mechanical characteristics relating to physical activity. Some activities include: posture, physical movement and activity repetition.
 * Physical Ergonomics:** The ergonomics concerned with the human body. They are specifically concerned with human anatomical, physiological, and bio


 * Cognitive Ergonomics:** The ergonomics that are concerned with how mental processes affect interactions with other people and elements in the world.


 * Organizational Ergonomics:** Concerned with an organizations' internal structure and includes their systems, policies, and processes.


 * Read each of the task analyses and case studies at** [|**http://www.ergonomics.org.au/ergonomics/case_studies.html#case6**]**. Choose one of the case studies, and add an additional recommendation to one of them in step two as 'advice'.**

**Advice:**

 * Install a seat that can swivel so the driver can swivel the seat to the left to see outside the window when the truck is not moving.
 * Install a wireless version of the joystick so that the driver can use it conveniently.


 * Find an example of a product which is ergonomically sound, and add a link to an article about this product.**

Ergonomic mouse developed by scientists:
 * http://uk.gizmodo.com/2008/10/07/ergonomic_handshoemouse_kind_t.html**

=__ Week 3 __=

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Design for the Other 90% at the Cooper Hewitt Museum 'Design for the Other 90%' at http://other90.cooperhewitt.org/ is an exhibition showing low-cost design solutions for the 5.8 billion living in poverty, and analyzes thirty humanitarian design projects, which address basic needs in the areas of shelter, health, water, education, energy and transport. The web site for this exhibition won a Webby - one of the highest honours on the web - for its groundbreaking design and content. If you would like to see this exhibition in person, it will be on at OCAD, 100 McCaul Street, Level 2 (Subway station St. Patrick) until January 25th. Tutorial Question: 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 - Affordable: Has the most basic functionalities to drastically reduce the price=====

- Satisfies heirarchy of needs: It is built to tackle Maslow's 2 most basic heirarchy of needs which include: Physiological needs and Safety needs
=__Week 4__= Write three paragraphs on how Annie Leonard defines the system of the 'materials economy' and describe its interactions.

A materials economy is a linear system through which describes the cycle of stuff from extraction to production, to distribution, to consumption, to disposal. Using this cycle, she demonstrates to the viewer that the system is in a state of crisis because it runs continuously even though the world's resources are finite. This continuity of use and throw in a linear system with limited resources causes worry and will lead to a growing shortage of materials for the system. There may also be a chance of extinction of materials. Hence, the overall problem is that human resources as well as natural resources are being used and exploited to satisfy our demand for products.

In the model diagram, human resources are added at all stages of material production. Humans (especially the ones living below the poverty line) are almost exploited in every stage of production, which in turn will backfire on the humans when the world starts to run out of these limited resources. Who would take the blame for this abuse? It would be the money hungry capitalists.

These capitalists find success in providing cheap and poorly made materials that are intentionally built to last just a few years, only to be thrown back into the environment where undegradable plastics just sit there, deemed unusable by the general public. After the product is thrown out, a human is so attached to the convenience and usefulness of the original product that he/she goes to shop for another one just like (or better) than the one he/she had. Of course, the chain again dictates all the process and finite material that went into the production of this new product, hence creating this notion of a materials economy.

= __Week 5__ =

Bodystorming As part of 'Experience Prototyping', bodystorming has been developed as a method of enquiry for interactive design. Research the definition of 'bodystorming', and write a paragraph describing its characteristics.

Bodystorming is the concept of using one's body in the design and development of products. It is often used in interaction design to determine how a person may interact with a product or system. It is done by making the designer play the role of the user to determining how the user will interact with or feel about the design. The downside to this is the designer's opinions may be biased and may not reflect the real world users' opinions.

The researchers found that the participant in the blind study felt disoriented and dependent. Since she was blind, she experienced a heigtened use of her other senses to help her make decisions. The participant also mentally mapped the location of the staircase. She adapted this skill when approaching familiar landscapes to decide what movements she should make on or near it. This experience gave the participant insight on using her multiple senses such as sound and touch.

In the second case, the subject had to correctly recite a telephone number while solving math problems to simulate Attention Deficit Disorder. The researcher was reciting the number to him, asking him to repeat it back, while working on the math problem at the same time. The customer experienced severe problems trying to recite the phone number. This activity also impacted his ability to solve the math problems. Results show that this double-edged impact of multitasking eventually affected the subject's self esteem.

In the third case, the subject's fingers were fastened by sticking pens to make sure the fingers don't move at all. This case was to observe the effects of chronic arthiritis on everyday life. The participant was afraid of sensations of pain and breaking things while performing basic kitchen tasks. The fear and limited movement of the subject's body caused their body temperature to rise and added more anxiety.

=__Week 6__= = = Three Phases for the Adoption of a Technology There are three phases for the adoption of technology. Enthusiast phase: The enthusiastic individual loves and appreciates the technology in an almost "devoted" way. He/she loves playing around with it and the figuring out how to use it, however complex it may be. The person then decides to do something useful with the technology. Professional phase: The professional stage is where professionals for example, print shops first used the printer when it came out. Then it got to the stage where it was easy enough to be used by big office-type businesses. Consumer phase: the mass production and innovation of printers made them cheaper and easier to use; so much that the general public could now buy and use a printer for printing their own created documents at home.
 * In the interview with David Liddle at** [|**http://www.designinginteractions.com/interviews/DavidLiddle**]**, he defines three stages for the adoption of a new technology.**
 * 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.**

Something that has undergone a similar adoption process was the ** computer **. It began as a huge machine that scientists used, then it was used for practical reasons in offices and design studios. Now almost everyone in North America owns and knows how to operate a computer.

=__Week 7:__  = Interaction Architecture and Designing a Questionnaire Write a description of interaction architecture as defined by Mat Hunter at **[] and Rikako Sakai at []** 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 [] to help you formulate the question.** How does the author define 'leading questions' and 'hypothetical questions'? Write a paragraph each to define these terms.

The interaction architecture is an extensive series of rules that would allow a whole series of cameras. The creators, initial intention was to build something that could be easily communicated. He wanted to build something that would be more experiential for the user, something that they later coined as ‘a user experience prototype’. Thus, Kodak created a user interface on the camera that would allow the user to take a picture, and delete it and even send it across the room. According to Rikako Sakai ‘interaction architecture’ involved redesigning the screen behaviours for Photo Stitch. Similarly she integrated animations to reinforce textual instructions, making the steps for Photo Stitch simple for all users, especially new users. She claims that she developed this idea from observing the way people how they manage to do something.



=__Week 8__ =

Jan Chipchase works for Nokia as a “human-behavior researcher’’. He basically observes the lives of diffeent people from around the world and gathers as much information he can about their human behaviour. He also looks at the setting and scenarios among which they live in. He then relays this information back to Nokia via pictures, stories, and Powerpoint presentation. The information is used by Nokia's designers and technologists and marketing people who are interested in analyzing how societies in these developing countries function. 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. Firstly, the company can predict what people of a certain culture want or expect from a cell phone and then 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 designing cellphones that people find useful and unintimidating and will spend money on which will make Nokia a profit.
 * 

Nokia believes that by observing people in developing nations who could be potential users, they can design a cell phone that appeals to them. If they are able to attract the client, they in turn make a profit through customer satisfaction. For example, Jan noticed that people in Accra (Ghana) find the cell phone beneficial for navigating through busy streets. If he relayed this information back to Nokia, they could come up with a solution for a cell phone that may have basic navigation functionality such as a compass or even a basic GPS chip. The goal in the end is to find the people who do not have cell phones and find out what is preventing them from getting one. This is done by observing their environments.

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=__Week 9:__= Design as a Collaborative Process 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. Find an online example of a product which utilizes his principles of collaborative design, add its URL, and describe its design in three sentences.

ANSWER: Design as a collaborative process is a means of creating products that draw upon the expertise of people in various related fields, and by working with the people who that the product is being designed for. Bill Moggridge uses the example of a chair designed collaboratively and the Red Cross blood donations service. The chair can be created with the help of medical professionals who know about the physiology of the spine, and the Red Cross can be changed with the help of the people donating blood so that there is a sterile and welcoming environment. Another example of a product that uses a collaborative process is siftables. Siftables are basically small computers about the size of toy blocks that interact with each other by means of the programs being run on them. This technology provides an innovative approach to the way in which we interact with computers.

__** Week 10 **__
The glue designed by the Portland company allows for a very strong glue that could be used for various purposes made with 0 toxins and uses ingredients from mussels for its key cohesive factor. This is a very responsible design concept as it requires no extraction of fossil fuels/non-renewable resources for its creation. This reduces pollution and prolongs the healthy life of the planet.
 * __Sticking Naturally__**

The Japanese super train with the nose imitating the beak of a kingfisher is a great design concept. It achieves an almost unparalleled streamline shape and allows for previously unachieved train speeds and lack of noise. This is a perfect example of how biomimicry presents sustainable and long term solutions __**New Plumage**__ The new mirasol technology developed by QCOM uses the same concept that nature uses when a peacock wants to flash its feathers. Rather than pigmented pixels, the technology uses light and small reflectors to create different color patterns and textures. This will allow cell phones to have a much longer battery life once the technology evolves to widespread acceptance.
 * __Avian Elements__**

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 * Web Accessibility** Web accessibility is ensuring that as many websites as possible include a variety of features that would allow many people with a range of disabilities to access their information. This may include features that, for example, allow a hearing impaired individual to navigate it without a significant amount of trouble. 2. Individuals that could not previously benefit from websites due to personal limitations would definitely be able to take advantage of new technologies that would improve accessibility, but this depends on the range of people that the website attempts to cater to. Accessibility would allow the potential of any website to be used by many more users and it would provide information very easily and quickly to those who previously could not benefit due to the lack of access. Yet this all depends on what features the websites include to attempt to reach as many users as possible. 3. I believe that if it is a blog or website for school purposes (such as this one) and there are individuals within the class that need special access, then yes it should be accessible. I also believe that Canadian websites that are meant for distributing information to the entire nation, such as government websites etc., should be accessible as well. Yet if it is simply a personal page that was created for personal use then accessibility is not necessary. 4. I think that the biggest challenge to making a website accessible is that there are many different needs and disabilities that it would be virtually impossible to cater to everyone. The challenge is choosing those needs that are most prevalent and effect the most intended users in order to make a website more accessible in useful ways.=====