D School

In this practice, we were paired up with another classmate and worked together to design a product that would help them. To do this, we discussed things that we struggle with individually, and our partner would think of creative ideas that would hypothetically help solve this problem. My partner discussed that she is in a lot of difficult classes so she is going to need to spend a lot of time studying this semester. With the criteria in mind, I proposed the idea of having a kind of digital guide to assist her with time management and schoolwork. As a class, we had to construct a model of our idea with different materials. Even though part of my figure fell apart right at the end, I was able to construct a figure that presented this idea in the shorter amount of time that we had. Through this process of planning, my partner was able to give feedback and present ideas as well, giving me different ideas and perspectives.

Engaging with another person changed the direction of my prototype because I was able to get feedback and ideas that I may not have thought of myself. Getting someone else’s perspective was very beneficial and it changed my outlook on my work overall. Showing unfinished work to another person was kind of difficult because I felt the need to explain each detail of the piece because it was not in its entirety. At first, I felt as though it would be better off when it had been completed because it would make more sense to them. As we had a time limit for our work, the pace felt really fast compared to how I normally would work. I had to pursue the first idea that came to my head because I didn’t have enough time to compare different ideas. If I had more time, I could have thought of more of a structured plan and saved myself a little more time in the process. Through this practice, I learned about the importance of thoroughly planning out projects and making rough sketches and drafts before presenting the final product.