Kevin Thompson is a 21 yr. old college student attending the University of Florida, for a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. Currently Kevin is not earning an income, he is surviving on student loans. Without much money it is hard for Kevin to furnish his apartment and also afford books for class. Not only is money an issue, but Kevin does not have any transportation other than a bike. He decides that the best option would be a thrift store or garage sale. Kevin takes a mission to a garage sale across town and what he finds is, that no items of his interest are there. Now he has wasted his time to accomplish nothing. He is quite savvy on electronic systems so when he arrives at home he begins searching for software applications that will help him find cheap items, closely and quickly. What Kevin finds is that none of the applications he finds actually help him find any specific items. He needs an application that will locate what he wants for cheap prices and then creates a map for the quickest routes.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Reading Response 5&6
Response (#5-Differences)
Simplicity is an important aspect in any design decision, however too much simplicity can become dry and boring. In order to keep things exciting there should still be a level of complexity to keep the audience entertained. A couple chapters back Maeda talked about the importance of repetition to keep an audience member feeling comfortable with their surroundings. Chapter 5 on the other hand talked about how occasionally the laws of simplicity and repetition need to be broken, for the addition of rhythm. Rhythm is created through the use of complexity and simplicity being used off and on. By mixing up the levels of complexity and simplicity a viewer can feel comfortable with understanding the message and also be intrigued by the depth of the content.
Response (#6-Context)
Again, Maeda stresses the importance of comfort. Using whitespace, guides, and navigation to insure that a viewer is comfortable is important in any avenue of design. But to much comfort is boring, people enjoy being lost and having the satisfaction of finding their own answer. On the other side of things, if someone gets completely lost they may lose all hope. The goal is to find a comfortable medium. Let a viewer start to wander off and lasso them back in. At the same time if the scenery is not inviting from the start than the viewer will not even bother.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
WEEK 3 Concept Adoption + User
-accessibility to a rare item/ or item they are looking for
-specific needs
-location, hours, directions for stores, garage sales ect.
-listing system
-efficient time saving in finding what you want/ need
When to use it ?
-to find a sale when your in and un known area / on the go
-find and item on your list
-when you want to sell something
-have a garage sale
-bored/ hobby / garage sale hunter
-shopaholic
-save money and do not have to drive everywhere
How to use it?
-Phone / computer
-On the go
-Bottons/ links
-Tag cloud
Consider value of attributes:
-money saving
-low cost
-time saving : location finder
-credibility; rating system
-store info; hours
Modify attributes
-no personal profiles not like FB... TAG CLOUD
-Credibility/ customer service
-posting of pictures of items/ all/ most wanted/ rare... for quality of physical state, detailed
-price range / categories
-years open; businesses
-customer service: community board, user based
How it Works?
-User information
-connecting to store information / items store has
-notification
-listing / tag cloud
Activity 3: concept adoption + User / How can this be done?
when to use it?
-to find item / collection
-store location
-garage sale location
-ratings of store / seller
How to use it?
State Problem?
Garage sales and Thrifting IDEAS&THOUGHTS
Garage sales
Thrift Stores
antique stores
flea markets
auctions
novelty shops
user-owner specific listings and prices
-items selling, and prices
categories; house appliances/furniture, toys, books, records, jewlery, clothes?, sports equipment, novelties, cars
-collection
-rare items
-favorite item
-neighbor hood garage sales; get a neighbor to join network and start sale together; share app
publicity"you earn publicity from using the app"
-send a reminder / email/ txt to contacts to let them know about garage sale
-share app to earn points
User:Tagging items
-when u open the app there is a survey asking your; age, interests, what you are looking for?
-when you enter a different town or diff location a notification will pop up saying that there is a shop(s) in that are with an item that you are interested in.
-the app helps you save time. it looks for the items for you instead of you having to go to ever store searching for it.
listing system
-shop can list items of what they have and if they have an item on ur list you have tagged the app will notify you.
SHOP OWNER page/info
-store hours
-picture of store front for identification
-where to park
-address / #
-directions from the location you are at.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Reading Response 3&4
Response (#3-Time)
Maeda discusses “time” in the 3rd law, stating that humans have a passion for chasing it. He mentions that the average American waits in line for an average of an hour a day. Not just driving in traffic or waiting for the light but even going as far as waiting for water to run out of a faucet. Maeda brings up many examples of time chasing, however the most interesting example was about wristwatches and the human cognitive reaction to a dead battery. Maeda says, “When a clock is completely hidden we tend not to question its flow and instead experience an unsettling sense of uncertainty as to what time it might be.” The idea of a broken watch is miniscule to what time means for the business world. With everyone constantly chasing time, time itself has become a commodity. This commodity has a major role in the absence of clocks and windows in department stores and casino's, hiding the time from the consumer allows them to forget they're in a hurry and spend more time in the location. Time is Money
Response (#4-Learn)
Chapter four, learning, taking ideas back to the basics. Maeda discusses ways of viewing situations in a more simplistic manner. Taking away the excess and leaving what’s important. Simplicity, Maeda states is met through repetition, a powerful way of learning. Using Speeches from George Bush, Maeda shows how the repetition of words used like weapons and terror, cause fear in viewers. Maybe slightly negative of an example of persuasion through repetition former President Bush is still a good quality example of the power repetition has. Politics is one of the best examples of simplicity in linguistics. Considering that the job of a politician is essentially a professional negotiator for a larger mass of people. Understanding how to articulate in a simplistic manner while holding true to a goal is easier met by consistently restating that goal. Assurance and reassurance are ways of connecting with a larger audience. Maeda also mentions the acts of teaching and how simplicity is reached through deducing information every time you repeat the process. The end result of repetition brings you back to the basics of learning, no different than that of a baby learning it's first steps through falling over and over.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Reading Response 1&2
Response (#1)
John Maeda discussed what he calls the, “Ten Laws”. The laws which included; reduce, organize, differences, and time, just to name a few. He then goes more in depth on some products that have been prosperous from making simplicity through complexity an important part of their products. One instance of a product that utilizes simplicity in the design, that Maeda mentions, is flat-screen displays and LCD’s. Televisions, like the LCD’s, use minimal structural support to give the look that the t.v. is floating to make it seem thinner than it is. In today’s day and age technology is becoming smaller and this gives people a since of control. However, with smaller technology comes more complexity and complexity can be overbearing. Simplicity helps in hiding the complexity from the user and preventing overwhelmed users. Simplicity is not meant to deduce meaning but rather help in the management of complexity.
Response (#2)
In the Second chapter of, “The Laws of Simplicity”, Maeda discusses organization and its importance in simplicity. This is the process of condensing the complexity into manageable groups. One example of this he brought up was the evolution of the Ipod controls, and how they transformed from multiple buttons into one fluid circular wheel that controls everything. Minimizing controls without minimizing functions was one way in which designers can simplify solutions and create high quality designs. Maeda also discussed methods that can make organization of materials simpler. He mentioned using labels or setting up tables (similar to a matrix) to organize data and condense information.