Dan+Arevalo

=Dan. Arevalo. Dan.Arevalo Dan.Arevalo Dan.Arevalo = = =

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=Week 1=

1. By reading the article, I’ve discovered that Apple has a really unusual business model that not a lot of people would know. Every time we hear apple, we automatically assume that each and every part was manufactured and designed by Apple, when it’s not. Each components are actually outsourced in specific companies offering superb product quality in each of their field. For example, Sony provides the battery for the Ipod design while Wolfson provides the Codec and the DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) for the apply design. Above all, its platform and reference design was created by PortalPlayer - a third party company. But even with these business deals, Apple still holds the true credit for designing, consolidating, organizing (with certain constraints), and delivering the final product to the world.

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2. Apple, specifically Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive, has a different approach and perspective on their field which makes work distinct from others. While most companies focus on business for profit or for some, “superficially different” (as stated in the article) by trying to be different just because, Apple had a very clear goal thanks to Steve Jobs’ vision. Being “different” and distinct from the rest of their competitors is actually a result, not an intended goal to be achieved, by paying close attention to specific details and overlooked ideas. One good example is the “handle” example in the Imac. Handles were meant to be utilized by the human hand and is just used when moving from place to place. With their observation, they made use of the space by putting in sockets in/around the area- sockets that are managed also by the hand and only accessed when the unit is stationary- thereby making use of the space. With this different approach on how to manage and make a specific minute detail better, Apple has been recognized ever since for its distinct production processes.

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3. Apple surely owes a lot to their design team comprised of Jonathan Ive at first followed by a couple of individuals that makes the team. These designers all share the same interest, the same drive, passion, attention to detail and the best of all, without any personal ego nor agenda. For other companies, they’re not trying to create their own design team and compete head-on with the best design team who’s miles away already in progress and achievement instead what they do is, they focus on the aspects that Apple doesn’t or at least rarely focus on. One example from the HP interview in the article was that an HP official indicated that Apple had no or little scalability in their design thus giving the edge in that aspect favorable to HP. Whether this aspect is critical to a company’s success over Apple or not is still unclear but one thing for sure is, Apple’s consistency in their improvement, their radical innovations and attention to detail gives them a great edge in their industry.

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=__Week 2__=

**__Definition of Ergonomics; __** 

1. The science of the design of equipment, especially so as to reduce operator fatigue , discomfort and injury .  (from [|__http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ergonomics__] ) <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 81%;">2. A n applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely <span style="font: normal normal normal 10px/normal 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(from [|__http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ergonomics__]<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">3. T he design characteristics of an object resulting especially from the application of the science of ergonomics <span style="font: normal normal normal 10px/normal 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (from [|__http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ergonomics__]<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) **__<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Case Study: __** <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> __Case Study 5: Shopping Centre, Car Park and Pedestrian Access__ **<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(134, 131, 131);">Issue **<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(134, 131, 131);">: A shopping centre was reviewing the safe access for customers from the car park and within the centre itself, being concerned after a few ‘near-miss’ incidents relating to pedestrian safety and slips, trips and falls within the complex. <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(134, 131, 131);">Step One: Task Analysis <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(134, 131, 131);">From meeting with centre management and talking to a sample of shopkeepers and delivery drivers, a number of issues were raised. Further assessment required a review of the car park and its use, and customer and shopkeeper movements within the centre.

Observations included: <span style="color: rgb(134, 131, 131);"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(134, 131, 131);"> • poorly marked roadway with few clear pedestrian walkways from the car park to the centre, and lack of lighting and signage; • walkways that were marked did not lead directly to the entrance, so pedestrians took shortcuts; • lack of loading dock areas, so small trucks and vans parked illegally in and near pedestrian areas; • lack of adequate shelter over the complex entrance allowed rain and water to enter and wet the floor; • lack of suitable absorbent weather matting and some areas had worn and slippery flooring ; and • food retailers unpackaged products near walkways, some of which created wet/slippery hazards (eg loose grapes, water from iced products). <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(134, 131, 131);">Step Two: Advice The proposed solutions included: <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(134, 131, 131);"> 1. reviewing all paths between car park and centre to ensure routes lead pedestrians to entrances and have adequate barrier protection; 2. upgrading signage and lighting; 3. improving delivery and loading dock arrangements; by either upgrading and/or adjusting delivery schedules to out of peak times; 4. all tenants reviewing and upgrading their store’s risk management plans with regard to their products, flooring, store layouts and the likelihood of slips, trips and falls within their premises; 5. considering providing umbrella bags on wet days; 6. upgrading flooring in main walkways to reduce slip potential; and 7. monitoring the changes to check if any other modifications or adjustments are required.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 1. Instead of expanding the whole mall in a planar manner and making everything wide, one could design underground parkings to conserve roadside space and specific parking locations. YES, this has been done many times already but the gist of the idea is to supply not just one entrance/stairs to the whole parking lot but actually providing several entry and exit points for pedestrians to and from the parking lot. In this manner, pedestrians will be less likely to get hit by a car (by not traveling with moving vehicles on the same road) while trying to reach their vehicle. In this manner as well, it’ll be faster and easier for you to reach your car. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Step Two: Personal Additional Advice **

**<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ergonomic Product Sample ** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Nike Uptempo [] <span style="letter-spacing: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(look into the “highlights” and “technology” panel)

=Week 3= = =
 * List five characteristics of socially responsible product design. [Asia]**

1. First of all, all their product designs for this particular continent is simply...considerate. It is a sense that, they're not developing technologies for businessmen, technologists or what not but actually for the lower class and for those who are in dire need of basic necessities and equipments. They didn't focus on advancing in technology or making profit out of them but instead they utilized their technology to help out those in need.

2. Simple. Their products were stripped off aesthetic designs, not (just) because of the intent of bringing down the cost, but simply just for functionality. Products like the "Bamboo Treadle Pump" and "Drip Irrigation System" don't need any visual designs on it, frankly speaking no cares and no one needs it. So instead of putting effort on those, they focused on it being sturdy and functional in order to support "the 90%" with their needs. Instructions of use are simple. Process of each product design are simple. Overall logic of how to use it and how it works is simple which they really need and all that matters in the end.

3. Ergonomic. Their products are easy to use and were specifically tailored to assist The 90% with their everyday tasks. Products were easy to use and didn't need special learning sessions to operate. All the products were also tailored to how they do it in their conditions, location, and situations. For example, the pump made from bamboo. It was made from such material since it is the most suitable of all and easy to acquire. Imagine if it was metal. Creating such a design would take time, money and materials. And after which, sustainability would be an issue (corrosion). Users didn't have to sacrifice what they already know or what they are used to to use the designs.

4. Environment-Friendly. Not only are their designs are simple but they're environment-friendly as well. No emissions or pollutants are emitted and basically doesn't include a drawback that harms nature in their design.

5. Sustainable. Designs were built to last not just to serve as a temporary solution before something else happens. How it is used and the frequency and simplicity of how it's gonna be used were considered when they created such designs.

=Week 4=

Annie Leonard starts off the video by stating that our current system is running a linear system on a finite planet. This system she refers to is the materials economy which shows the process of how a certain item is created and discarded. If we continue on using this linear system, we will eventually run out of resources in our planet.

The materials economy has 5 steps namely:-extraction -production -distribution -consumption -disposal

With this each process poses a difficult challenge for it consumes natural resources without replenishing them. In the first step, extraction, this is the step where natural resources are harvested in order to create consumer products. Problem here is, the resources are being used up without being replaced. Although in some cases it is, the problem still is that the consuming rate is larger than the replacing rate.

Next is "production". It is the process in which the natural resources extracted are put to factories in order to be manufactured as consumer products. The complication in here is that toxic elements are included in the production process as well as in the products itself. Not only does it harm the environment but the people as well.

The third step is distribution. It is when the products are distributed to malls, shops, stores and the likes to be made available to the public. Materially speaking, there isn't much problem on this but the problem lies in how the product is sold. The employees get "screwed over" in a sense that companies would seek maximum profit and that would include "externalizing costs" and not paying the employees properly.

The consumption is the "golden stage" in a sense that it is the process is the least influenced stage by manufacturer. Consumption is regulated not by them but by the individuals directly. That's why we have to manage and look onto our consuming practice.

As for the final stage, the disposal. It has the most affective stage that really harms our environment and makes protecting our planet harder. The disposal requires space to be dump so this itself is a problem. If a disposed item is to be incinerated, toxins get released in the environment which again causes trouble. Last point is that when the items are disposed (and not recylced) that is the end of their cycle and they will be rendered unusable.

This is how she describes the "materials economy" and if we don't do anything about it, we will be heading to our own doom.

=Week 5=

As stated, "has been developed as a method of enquiry for interactive design". According to Oulasvirta, "**Bodystorming** is a technique sometimes used in interaction design or as a creativity technique". The idea is to imagine what it would be like if the product existed, and act as though it exists, ideally in the place it would be used. Simply put, it is an important process to be considered every time some one is to design a product. In this way, not only will you be able to analyze the needs and feedbacks of your target market/audience but you'll also be considering several margins in the process such as considering individuals with disabilities who will use your product. In the video "Bodystorming Experiencing a Disability", three cases were shown that simulated three disabilities that were analyzed and observed by Bodystorming. In the first case, they've simulated blindness by blindfolding a test subject and letting her walk on a street with only a help of a cane. Researchers found out that the volunteer (which represents the visually disabled individuals) had heightened her other senses to compensate for visual loss. Memorizing how many steps it would take to a reach a destination was also exercised. Those were the main findings aside from test subject determining her surroundings with the use of the cane.

In the second case study, they've observed the behavior of how one might perform with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). The experiment involved changing a telephone number while solving math problems. The performer experienced anxiety, frustration and lowered self-esteem. Last but not the least, the third experiment simulates chronic arthritis. The volunteer's fingers were tied to pens in the palm of their palms to simulate the disability. Afterwards, the volunteer was subjected to several daily activities such as chopping vegetables. During the test, the findings showed that the user had constant fear of injury due to the disorder and was performing slower and less efficiently than how one would normally do it. Body temperature also rose which added to stress and fatigue. Overall, a normal daytime activity became a very difficult challenge to overcome.

With bodystorming, we'll be able to develop a good design not just for our target audience but also for the percentage of the population with disabilities. This process will also specifically determine how a product might affect a certain individual by practicing several conditions and not just "thinking" of how a product would work universally.

Oulasvirta, A., Kurvinen, E., & Kankainen, T. (2003). Understanding contexts by being there: case studies in bodystorming. Personal Ubiquitous Comput., 7(2), 125-134.

=Week 6= In the interview with David Liddle, he had a concept which consisted of 3 stages for adopting technology.

The first of which is the "Enthusiast" stage wherein literally enthusiasts of the new presented technology, make use, play with their curiosity and basically "exploit" the said technology. One good example that was used for the whole concept is the history of cameras. When it was first released, only a handful were able to make use of it, after all, only a few knew about the technology. Back then, you needed a high degree of academic/scientific achievement in order to use the technology (camera). Now that is not the case...

In the second stage of adopting, it is termed the "business" / "professional". After a brief period of time when a lot of enthusiasts are done "exploiting" the technology, the word of the technology will spread to more people and will reach the attention of basically...businessmen. In their eyes, it is an opportunity for them to profit of course but in the rare occasion that they do intend to make use of the technology for the public, they might think "hey, here's a technology that I can share to the public". In the camera analogy, people made it available to the market and by doing so, they have also un/intentionally removed the difficult processes in the operation of the technology. You didn't have to focus manually, wind something, etc. Everything became basically, point....and shoot!

Last but not the least, is the consumer level in which the public now uses the technology. Difficulties in use are simplified at this phase and major adjustments with regards to the technology will occur such as, being massively available to each and everyone and simplified use.

Another technology we can think of similar to this example is the GPS and the Internet. Both technologies were actually created for the use of the US military. The first to be able to track down units of both allied or hostile nature and the Internet for back-up purposes for chaos prevention. Soon after, these technologies were brought to the (few) public and many people contributed to their development. Now, it is widely used by everyone.

=Week 7= Matt hunter made use of an 'information architecture' to better improve and organize the presentation of the technology to the public. Back then, in order to improve the camera, he had this information architecture that traces how the camera would probably be used and planned out the whole design for the improvement. later on, they created a prototype which later became the product itself. this prototype allowed the user to review the taken pictures, save, or delete them and even share it on several other devices. (the features we know now) with this nifty features, they've ended up with the product features itself that greatly improved the camera.

As for Rikkako Sakai, she developed 'photo-stitching' in digital camera shots. This feature enables the user to "stitch" pictures with each other in complete a bigger picture. The main challenge was 'how to use it' since it wasn't user friendly at first and it was difficult to use. This was mainly because the early style of stitching was taking consecutive shots with the prior shot being displayed on the left so you can match your current shot. This was useful but difficult and inaccurate. Several improvement were done but the best solution was an interactive software that allows you to drag and match the pictures accordingly.

As for the questionnaire, a leading question is "one that forces or implies a certain type of answer". Asking something like "Don't you think that product X is excellent?" In asking this, you are hinting that the product is excellent and not asking an honest opinion at all. Not only is this ineffective, but you also don't get the honest response from your target.

Hypothetical questions on the other hand are "based, at best, on conjecture and, at worst, on fantasy." By using such, it just becomes irrelevant, inaccurate and pretty much useless for the whole research. It also gives you erroneous responses to your research questionnaire.

=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 has the best job ever to begin with!

In Chase's adventure across the world, he enjoys his trip but mainly, he's actually doing work. he observes people first hand how they behave, react and everything with their cellphone. It's an unconventional way of researching on the part of Nokia for in this case, they're gather information and experience first hand before they develop a certain technology. They've observed how cellphones are being used and improves an individuals personal life / business. One example is with the help of cellphones, it has become easier for entrepreneurs in a certain area to manage their products. Personally, it will now just take a phone call first to see if a doctor is available instead of going back and forth only to discover that the doctor is unavailable.

It has benefited Nokia itself in a sense that, they figure things that possible would need/want instead of the conventional way of designing a "great idea" that doesn't actually cater to a specific clientele.

Studying your customers before you start production is a great approach and not to mention an innovative one, in order to deliver the perfect product/technology to your customer. It's actually not a good idea to develop a certain idea in mind. It's wiser to consult your customers first to get a feel of what they want. Nokia has actually been doing good on that process. They have phone models that are actually shock-proof for those who are physically active. They also have an extremely stylish and chic phone design with the price of convenience. It's a stick-shaped phone operated mainly by a scroll wheel. They also have a big and possibly heavy phone that has a 5MP camera. All in all, there's give and take to its designs but Nokia has been serving different tastes of different people.

=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. Find an online example of a product which utilizes his principles of collaborative design, add its URL, and describe its design in three sentences.

In today's designing strategies if you want to really really develop a well-liked and unconventional product design, it's impossible to design something alone. Like what our Professor LittleJohn said, it's all about connectivity- the ability to interact with each other and 'collaboratively design' a product. It won't be just engineers anymore, it will even include outside the field. for example, if you were to design an ergonomic product/tool that focuses on relaxing a human being, you'd have to know the physical properties of the human body to fully understand what's going on there. With that, you'd need a physiologist in order to assist you in your development.

Another good example is if your developing a digital interface, with this, you'd have to know how the mind works and Bill pointed out that an assist from the field of psychology would greatly improve the product.

=Week 10=

One of the best design so far that amazes me is the front end of the bullet train in Japan that mimics the beak of a Kingfisher bird. Originally, the beak of the bird is designed to easily dive in the water from flight to catch it's prey. For the japanese bullet train though, it's utilized in a sense that it is more aerodynamic plus it lessens the sonic boom produced when exiting a tunnel while traveling. This is advantageous for me because it benefits a lot of people plus with this improvement, it also serves as a 'green movement' that promotes commuting and lessens gas pollution. It also serves the general public and not just selected individuals.

Next is the skeleton seat. It gets my attention because it is a product, a technology that is ergonomic and also an art at the same time. The way that it was built involves heavy computing which I am personally into and beyond that, this object influenced the production of lighter metals but is of the same weight. I have a more artistic approach in this construction because of how it was made and because of how it mimics the human bones.

Last but not the least is the technology that prevents bacteria from grouping together and causing damage. It is true that every time we find a cure, give it some time and the bacteria will be immune to it. Over time, illnesses will become extreme. It can be manageable but it gets riskier every time. With this technology though, it 'jams' the bacteria's process and giving it a halt instead of going through the said cure-immunity cycle. With this process, we're able to find a "way" to prevent it with less risks.