N ATA S H I A TJ A N D R A
& sounds A THESIS E X P L O R AT I O N
Title of Page
& Section
CONTENT
About
Mindmap
Pecha Kucha
003
005
007
Proposal
Two. Prototypes Evaluations
091
093
& Section
Questions
0 11
Submissions
Appendix
Deliverables
Glossary Bibliography
143
145
Page Number
Precedents
One.
Articles
Prototypes
Inspirations
Evaluations
013
033
About
& Project Title
N ATA S H I A TJ A N D R A
& sounds B FA C O M M U N I C AT I O N DESIGN
& Me
003
SHORT & SWEET
L O N G & D E TA I L E D
Visual Communicator,
Indonesian Art Director Natashia Tjandra traded the sun and Hainanese
Design & Advertising geek,
Chicken Rice for snow and subways when she booked a one-way ticket
Food Blogger,
to New York. She divides her time between personal & client driven
Tech Enthusiast,
projects, being a sponge, and refining her critical thinking skills at
App Lover,
Parsons. Besides being a visual communicator, she is also a design
Cat Crazy,
and advertising geek with 11 years of experience in both fields. She is
Culture Addict.
fortunate enough to have worked with brilliant minds in several inter-
Problem Solver,
national advertising agencies and a boutique design house in Singa-
Constantly Learning & Evolving.
pore. When she is not busy, Natashia consumes digital and technological articles and tries out new restaurants to update her food blog. A passionate app lover, she tests them as often as she can, while plotting her next move on Candy Crush Saga. Coming up with an evil plan to do more good is next on her list. Her motto for now is “to constantly learn and evolve,� to do that she is actively un-learning and re-learning things she knew, which includes making the bed.
Mindmap
& Area of Interest
MINDMAP
PLAY/JAM BUSKERS MUSICIANS
SOUNDS
PERFORMERS
UNDERGROUND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONVERSATIONS
RECORD
SHARE/ POST
CeLLPHONES
VIDEO HEADPHONES
MTA EMPLOYEES
PASSENGERS
in SUBWAY & on Platform
&–
005
HONK
MOTOR VEHICLES
SIRENS
RING VEHICLES
BICYCLES
BUSKERS OUTDOOR & INDOOR
MUSICIANS
PLACES
PERFORMERS
ABOVEGROUND
SOUNDS
JOGGERS
PASSERSBY
PLAY/JAM
CONVERSATIONS
CeLLPHONES
BABIES/ DOG BARKS
RECORD
VIDEO HEADPHONES
SHARE/ POST
AREAS OF INTEREST When Natashia first arrived in
their frustrations on passersby,
Other areas of interest:
Food
NYC, the first thing she noticed
variety of accented English, etc.
Designing for Change
Technology (Trends and User
was the jarring sounds of the city.
In short, sounds that are char-
Critical Design Practices
Experience Design)
As she settles to her day to day
acteristic to NYC, and different
The Radicant
The Gift Economy
routine, she begin to look forward
from Singapore and Indonesia
Start ups
The Ideas Economy
to the conversations she over-
where she grew up. In fact, these
Collaborations
Social Currency
hears in the streets or from diners
sounds are different from one
Hackathons
Writing
sharing the same table, music
neighbourhood to neighbor-
Sustainable systems
Typography
from buskers underground and
hood and borough to borough.
Travel/Adventure
Design & Advertising
above ground, cyclists venting
Pecha Kucha
& Overview
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
& 20 Images M.
007 N.
O.
P.
Q.
I.
R.
S.
Pecha Kucha
& Overview
A.
B.
C.
Google Glass is the perfect symbol for technological advancement and innovation.
Close up of “Greek Green Greet” by Droog.
“Critical Design uses speculative design proposals to challenge narrow assumptions, preconceptions and givens about the role products play in everyday life.” – Anthony Dunne.
Photo (c) Vangelis Paterakis.
Photo (c) Mashable.
“Greek Green Greet” by Droog. Photo (c) Vangelis Paterakis.
D.
E.
F.
“Critical Design uses speculative design proposals to challenge narrow assumptions, preconceptions and givens about the role products play in everyday life.” – Anthony Dunne.
“As capitalism collapses which is doing in our time, that’s one of the reasons you have war all over the world right now,
Pussy Riot, the Russian punk band chose the medium of performance art and music to critique culture and stage a peaceful protest.
Photo (c) Dunne & Raby.
the need for commonality and common purpose and collaboration has increased dramatically....The need for collaboration is now more evident than it’s ever been.” – Milton Glaser.
G.
H.
I.
“No two radios are exactly the same in the Magno Radio Collection because each one is individually handcrafted,” notes Singgih Kartono. The Indonesian designer enlists local carpenters in villages with high unemployment, they craft the shell with locally harvested new growth wood. For every tree used in production, a new one is planted. A successful sustainable design and production system.
“To be radicant...means setting one’s roots in motion, staging them in heterogeneous contexts and formats, denying them any value as origins, translating ideas, transcoding images, transplanting behaviors, exchanging rather than imposing.” – Nicholas Bourriaud.
“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” —Tim Brown, IDEO
J.
K.
L.
Change For Change is a project that encourages you to collect your unused/unloved coins then put them to better use by helping to fund great social causes, for eg. supporting education programs in vulnerable communities. changeforchange.is conceptualized by Betaburo.
The FourSquare Hackathon 2013 logo combines two of my interests: typography and hackathons.
Food is also something that I can spend all day talking about. This is a Rendang Burger topped with bacon and sunny side up and brioche bun, served in Masak. It is a Singapore-influenced restaurant run by chef/owner Larry Reutens.
“Technological Dreams Series: no.1, Robots,” 2007, by Anthony Dunne & Fiona Raby
Photo (c) Wikimedia Commons user Denis Bochkarev under license from Creative Commons 3.0.
Photo (c) Magno Design.
Photo (c) Betaburo.
Image (c) FourSquare.
& Captions
009
M.
N.
A dedicated service that helps startups avoid brand identity disasters. startmeup.cc is a service provided and conceptualized by Betaburo.
I am a typoholic. This is an example of typography as a sculpture. Image (c) David McLeod.
Image (c) Betaburo.
O. Old Spice “Smell like a man, man” Campaign by CP&B (Crispin Potter and Bogusky) is an excellent example of advertising that engaged its audience (and more) in all levels. The viral video has been viewed 46,883,852 times, since its launch. Photo (c) CP&B.
P.
I.
Travel is one of my passions. Antigua, where this image was taken, beckons.
Mewe is an online platform for travellers who want a holiday that matters. A volunteering holiday, mewe.is is conceptualized by Betaburo. Image (c) Betaburo.
Q.
R.
S.
Food is also something that I can spend all day talking about. Salad of Tuna Belly, Japanese Turnips, “Haricots Verts,” Upland Cress and Sicilian Pistachios. This dish is a perfect combination of textures and complex flavors, dreamed up by Thomas Keller of Per Se.
In my down time, to keep the creative juices flowing, I experiment with mixology.
A beautiful execution of a simple idea, complete with the perfect soulful music, leaves a lasting impression. This TV advertisement is for Sony Bravia.
My latest creation is a Whisky cocktail with a touch of Sriracha. Photo (c) Julie Qiu.
Photo (c) Sony.
Questions
& Dilemmas
E V E R Y D AY
sounds & music
B R I G H T E N S M Y D AY
WHENEVER I CHANCE UPON ONE,
&–
011
I ’ D L I K E T O E X P L O R E T H E P R I VAT E A N D P U B L I C , B E C AU S E O F P R OX I M I T Y A N D LO S S O F
S PAC E .
what can i do?
Precedents
& Articles
precedents, articles,
& Inspirations
013
inspirations.
Precedent
& Theme – Memory
A.
& Installation
B.
0 15
Precedent
& Theme – Memory
A. Icon telling the visitiors how to interact.
touched echo. D-2007 - 2009. Site specific installation on the BrĂźhlsche Terrrasse, Dresden. Railing, messing icons, bone conducters, iron speaker cases, cd player, amplifier, WWII airplane recordings.
Using bone conduction, a technology developed for hearing devices, the touch echo installation transmits sounds of the cities which were devastated in the 1945 carpet bombing in the Second World War, through the arms of the visitors when they rest their elbows on the balustrade and hold their ears closed. Several custom-made sound conductors mounted to the railing send sounds of airplanes and bombs exploding through vibrations; it is completely silent unless you touch the railing.
& Captions
The installation touched echo is a minimal media intervention set within a public space. The visitors of Brühl’s Terrace in Dresden are taken back in time to the night of the terrible air raid which devastated their city February 13, 1945. In their role as performer, the visitor imagines themselves in the place of the Dresden inhabitants who must have closed their ears tightly in fear to shut out the horrendous noise of the explosions 65 years ago. When one leans on the balustrade the sound of airplanes and explosions is transmitted from the swinging balustrade through one’s arm directly into the inner ear. Photo (c) Markus Kison
B. Visitor listening to the sound of airplanes and explosions Exhibition view: Ars Electronica, 2008 Photo (c) Ars Electronica
017
Precedent
& Theme – Color
& Installation
0 19
Precedent
& Theme – Color
& Installation
021
Precedent
& Theme – Color
Olafur Eliasson. 360° room for all colours. 2002. Stainless steel, projection foil, fluorescent lights, wood, and control unit, 126 x 321 x 321” (320 x 815.3 x 815.3 cm). Private collection. Installation view at Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris. Photo courtesy Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York. (c) 2008 Olafur Eliasson
Take your time: Olafur Eliasson is the first comprehensive survey in the United States of works by Olafur Eliasson, whose immersive environments, sculptures, and photographs elegantly recreate the extremes of landscape
& Captions
and atmosphere in his native Scandinavia, while foregrounding the sensory experience of the work itself. Drawn from collections worldwide, the presentation spans over fifteen years of Eliasson’s career. His constructions, at once eccentric and highly geometric, use multicolored washes, focused projections of light, mirrors, and elements such as water, stone, and moss to shift the viewer’s perception of place and self. By transforming the gallery into a hybrid space of nature and culture, Eliasson prompts an intensive engagement with the world and offers a fresh consideration of everyday life.
023
Precedents
& Theme – Discovery
A.
B.
& Website
025
Precedents
& Theme – Discovery
A. Fantastic Futures is a collaborative team of students, artists, doctors, and future leaders from Iraq and the United States. For their recently completed Rhizome Commission, Fantastic Futures created a free and open online sound archive that examines concepts of time through the recording, collaging, and sharing of sounds between these two countries. For these young people, faced with huge questions about their future, the website serves as a platform to subvert unjust structures of power used to divide them by instead supporting each other and offering a means through which their stories might be heard. Their goal is nothing short of social justice and the means of achieving that are slow, steady, and subversively poetic.
B.
Safari 7 is a self-guided tour of urban wildlife along the 7 subway line. The 7 Line is a physical, urban transect through New York City’s most diverse range of ecosystems. Affectionately called the International Express, the 7 line runs from Manhattan’s dense core, under the East River, and through a dispersed mixture of residences and parklands, terminating in downtown Flushing, Queens, the nation’s most ethnically diverse county. Safari 7 circulates an ongoing series of podcasts and maps that explore the complexity, biodiversity, conflicts, and potentials of New York’s ecosystems. Materials are available online and can be experienced independently or in tours or workshops organized by Safari 7 team members. Safari 7 imagines train cars as eco-urban classrooms, and invites travelers to act as park rangers in their city. We hope to engage the broadest range of New Yorkers, from commuters and school children to urban explorers and designers, in active research and exploration of their own environment. The Safari 7 team is a collaboration among architects, designers, educators, and students at the Urban Landscape Lab at Columbia University and MTWTF.
& Captions
Fantastic Futures is also an online platform that we have been developing since November 2010 that allows for the live mixing and sharing of recorded sounds and stories across cultures. As a social medium, it is aimed towards connecting citizens from nations in conflict in an open dialogue based around the sharing of field recordings, songs, and interviews. Our goal is collapse the barriers of physical space that contribute to the misunderstandings between cultures and to emphasize the subversive value of sharing experiences across political borders. The Platform: The online platform consists of a collection of uploaded, tagged sounds that can be dragged and dropped into a timeline and played as a loop with sounds overlaid on top of one another. Text that accompanies each sound in the time is also aggregated to form a non-linear narrative. Sound collages can be saved, shared, and commented on, allowing for further dialogue and generation of content. Photo (c) Fantastic Futures
Glen Cummings, MTWTF Janette Kim, Urban Landscape Lab Kate Orff, Urban Landscape Lab Select Podcasts were created in Janette Kim’s seminar on urban ecologies at the Barnard and Columbia Colleges Architecture Program. Students: Andrew Balmer, Julia Burgi, Alex Cook, Rick Fudge, Charlotte Furet, Emily Glass, Aaron Hsieh, Ryan Johns, Alyssa Kahn, Meg Kelly, Sayli Korgaonkar, Lesley Merz, Stephanie Odenheimer, Marc Rios, Grace Robinson-Leo, Evelyn Ting, Alexandre Vial, and Alison Von Glinow. Podcast interviews with Steven Handel, Professor of Ecology and Evolution at Rutgers University; James Danoff-Berg, Associate Director Center for Environment, Economy, and Society at Columbia University; John Mattera Planner, NYC Parks; Susan Elbin, Director of Conservation, NYC Audubon Society; Donald Karatzas, author of “Jackson Heights: A Garden in the City”; Katie Mosher-Smith, NY-NJ Baykeeper; Ed Westley Jackson Heights Beautification Group and numerous Queens and Manhattan residents. Photo (c) Safari 7
027
Precedents
& Theme – Usability
B R E A K I N G T H E F I D E L I T Y B A R R I E R : A N E X A M I N AT I O N O F O U R C U R R E N T C H A R A C T E R I Z AT I O N O F P R O T O T Y P E S
Michael McCurdy, Christopher
THE FIVE DIMENSIONS
1 . L evel of V isual R efinement
Connors,
The authors identified five
How refined should the prototype be from a visual standpoint?
Guy Pyrzak,
dimensions along which a pro-
Artifacts on the low end of this scale include hand-drawn sketches
Bob Kanefsky, and
totype can be characterized.
and box-and-line wireframes. Artifacts on the high end include fully
Alonso Vera.
Each dimension has a “low-
resolved, pixel-accurate mockups as described in. A high level of
fidelity” and a “high-fidelity”
aesthetic refinement is not always desirable: when user tested,
equivalent, but importantly
prototypes that are highly refined tend to elicit more commentary
they can be manipulated
on visual attributes [11,13]. This is often desirable late in the design
independently. The following
cycle, but it is important to address higherlevel issues early.
are descriptions of the five dimensions considered by
2 . B readth of F unctionality
the authors as well as some
How broadly is the functionality represented within the prototype?
common wisdom and rules of
For example, if one were to develop a prototype for a banking
thumb for each.
kiosk, a broadly functional prototype would include approximations for most of the various functionality (withdrawals, deposits, balance checking, bill paying, etc.) requirements. A broadly functional prototype gives users a better understanding of the range of capabilities that the interface will ultimately provide, and offers the opportunity to challenge system-wide issues (such as navigation) utilizing methods such as Heuristic Evaluation. 3 . D epth of F unctionality To what level of detail is any one feature or sequence represented? Again considering the banking kiosk, one could imagine having a single path through the interface - a withdrawal - modeled in the prototype all the way though to its conclusion. Having a task mo-
& Research Paper
029
deled to its conclusion allows designers to interrogate the interface’s
Prototypes can be designed
capabilities with task-centric user evaluations like think-aloud studies
and implemented to low or high
and cognitive walkthrough.
fidelity on any of these five dimensions depending on the type
4 . R ichness of I nteractivity
of data designers hope to gather.
How are the interactive elements (transitions, system responses
By using these dimensions to
to user inputs, etc.) captured and represented to the user by the
inform prototype development,
prototype? Paper prototypes and sketches have traditionally repre-
and recognizing that each is
sented the lowest fidelity in terms of interactivity, although efforts
fully independent and can be
such as SILK and DENIM have been explicitly designed to increase
manipulated separately, it’s pos-
the interactive richness of hand drawn interfaces. Higher levels of
sible to create mixed fidelity pro-
interactivity have historically come at the cost of development
totypes that more precisely apply
expense, time, and inflexibility.
prototyping resources in support
5 . R ichness of D ata M odel How representative of the actual domain data is the data employed
of specific end goals. Excerpt from “Breaking The
by the prototype? For example, if a design team wanted to develop
Fidelity Barrier: An Examination Of
a prototype for a television program listing service, will the prototype
Our Current Characterization Of
utilize a small set of imaginary channels and programs, or will it uti-
Prototypes,” CHI’06, Proceedings of
lize an actual channel lineup of potentially hundreds of channels and
the SIGCHI Conference on Human
programs? The former may be expedient, but might not provide a good example of the scale of the data space the user will eventually have to manage through the interface. For example, it is common for designers to overlook the possibility that a half-hour program may have a long title that will not fit without being truncated, whereas a large set of actual data will quickly reveal this case.
Factors in Computing Systems New York. 2006.
Precedents
& Theme – Usability
1 0 U S A B I L I T Y H E U R I S T I C S F O R U S E R I N T E R FA C E D E S I G N Jakob Nielsen
The 10 most general principles
V isibility of system
without having to go through
for interaction design. They are
status
an extended dialogue. Support
called “heuristics” because they
The system should always keep
undo and redo.
are more in the nature of rules
users informed about what is
of thumb than specific usability
going on, through appropriate
guidelines.
feedback within reasonable time.
C onsistency and standards Users should not have to wonder
M atch between
whether different words, situa-
system and the
tions, or actions mean the same
real world
thing. Follow platform conventions
The system should speak the
and standardize.
users’ language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than systemoriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.
E rror prevention Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and
U ser control and
present users with a confirma-
freedom
tion option before they commit
Users often choose system func-
to the action.
tions by mistake and will need a clearly marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted state
& Website
R ecognition rath er
A esthetic and minimalist design
than recall
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant
Minimize the user’s memory
or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue
load by making objects, actions,
competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes
and options visible. The user
their relative visibility.
should not have to remember information from one part of the
H elp users recognize , diagnose , and
dialogue to another. Instructions
recover from errors
for use of the system should
Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no
be visible or easily retrievable
codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively sug-
whenever appropriate.
gest a solution.
F lexibility and
H elp and documentation
ef ficiency of use
Even though it is better if the system can be used without docu-
Accelerators – unseen by the
mentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documen-
novice user – may often speed
tation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused
up the interaction for the expert
on the user’s task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not
user such that the system can
be too large.
cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.
031
Prototypes
& Iterations
one. prototypes, iterations,
& Evaluations
033
evaluations.
Prototypes
I.
& Iterations
& Evaluations
035
Prototypes
& Idea 1
IDEA ONE
enjoy & commute A P P/ W E B S I T E . L I S T E N , WAT C H , M U S I C , M I N I D O C U M E N TA R I E S , G E O -TA G P L A C E S & S O U N D S ,
&Description
DESCRIPTION
037
FEEDBACK OCT 31
The intent is to create a platform
The 1 min long prototype can be
1. Think of how you can
where people can easily find,
viewed here.
ensure that this can grow
listen and watch mini documen-
organically, whether it’s
taries or performances of street
the musicians uploading
musicians in New York. The docu-
their performances or the
mentaries will tell interesting sto-
general public.
ries or anecdotes of their expe-
2. Quality of video.
riences, something similar to
3. Storytelling.
Humans of New York but told in moving images.
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
039
Prototypes
& Ideas
& Sketches
041
Prototypes
& Ideas
& Sketches
043
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
045
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
047
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
049
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
051
Prototypes
& Ideas
& Sketches
053
Prototypes
& Idea 2
IDEA TWO
map & archive A P P/ W E B S I T E . R E C O R D , U P L O A D , C O M M E N T, P A R T I C I P AT E . G E O -TA G P L A C E S & S O U N D S .
& Description
DESCRIPTION
The intent is to create a platform where people can easily record and upload sounds of the city from their mobile devices. They will be able to tag their location and probably write a short description. It will be interesting if the participants are from all over the world, and a map can be established. The community is encouraged to comment or ‘like’ the recording, to create a conversation about a place, memories, and sound.
055
Prototypes
& Idea 2
EAST VILLAGE
C O N V E R S AT I O N S
Spent a day, exploring and recording.
After listening to Iteration 01 (the list on the left), quality aside, I wasn’t
- walking on dry leaves
particularly impressed. I asked myself: “Will I comment on this after
- dogs barking
listening?” The answer was an emphatic ‘NO.” I went out again and re-
- floss (my friend’s dog) being trained to sit
corded conversations I heard on the streets, or conversations I had
- sirens
with friends, on a Friday night in East Village.
- footsteps/heels
- shouting on the streets
- cars
- bad singing in karaoke places
- music blasting from the car
- drunk promises
- subway announcement “Astpr Place”
- drunk talk
- keys and doors being opened
- heavily accented English
- “next customers please” in Urban Outfitters
- Singlish (colloquial Singapore English)
- “next paying by debit or credit” in Urban Outfitters
- monologue in Japanese
- ordering beer
- conversations in Mandarin
- accented English
- giggling
- GTA (grand theft auto)
01
02
& Iterations and Evaluations
057
C O N V E R S AT I O N S ( I N T E R V E N T I O N )
FEEDBACK OCT 31
This 3rd iteration came about after realizing that listeners might not
1. To be mindful of
know what is going on, because there isn’t an introduction or con-
- archive & memory
textualization of any kind.
- constructing the collective or organized public memory
GTA (Grand Theft Auto) 5 has just launched, and because of that we
2. Quality of recording
(my friend and I) lost our boyfriends. So I asked a friend if she’d like
3. It’s more interesting without
to prank her boyfriend, Jessie, while he’s “in the zone.” And she
intervention
readily agreed.
4. Check out overheardinnewyork.com
When the recording was played, it sets several people’s imagination
5. Check out artists: Nadine
running and they begin to guess what was the prank that caused all
Norman, Miwa, Alberto de
the commotion?
Campo, Anthony Moore.
03
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
059
Prototypes
II.
& Iterations
& Evaluations
061
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
063
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
0 65
Prototypes
& Iteration 1
& Evaluations
0 67
DESCRIPTION
FEEDBACK NOV 14
The goal is to give sound recog-
1. Too serious
nition, instead of playing second
2. Alphabetical order is boring
fiddle to visuals. Screens are de-
3. Users should be able to ex-
signed with only colors and words.
Users should be able to choose
4. A marker or indication of how
the category they’d like to listen
to according to emotions. They’ll
5. Questions of content origins
also be able to comment on the sounds. To play with the prototype, click here: prototype 1.
perience sound easily long is the clip
Prototypes
& Iteration 2
& Evaluations
0 69
DESCRIPTION
FEEDBACK NOV 14
The goal is to give sound recog-
1. Alphabetical order is boring
nition, instead of playing second
2. Users should be able to ex-
fiddle to visuals. Screens are de-
signed with only colors and words.
3. A marker or indication of how
Users should be able to choose
the category they’d like to listen
4. Questions of content origins
to according to emotions. They’ll
5. Think of how to use visuals
also be able to comment on the
minimally to convey certain
sounds. To play with the proto-
aspects of the app
type, click here prototype 2.
perience sound easily long is the clip
Prototypes
& Iteration 3
& Evaluations
0 71
DESCRIPTION
FEEDBACK NOV 14
The goal is to give sound recog-
1. No demand for website.
nition, instead of playing second
2. Doubt people will sit on their
fiddle to visuals. Screens are de-
computers and listen to sound,
signed with only colors and words.
unless they are multi media
Users should be able to choose
designers looking for sounds.
the category they’d like to listen to according to emotions. They will also be able to comment on the sounds. The website will be responsive website.
Prototypes
& Iterations
III.
& Evaluations
0 73
Prototypes
& Description
RESEARCH MAGAZINE CRITIQUE
Research magazine prototypes
I’m delighted that everyone has
critique session. The goal was to
only good things to say. The one
get individual feedbacks from our
and only improvement suggest-
peers and instructor, then have
ed was to put in more sketches
a discussion.
or written thoughts.
We were given three green post its and three pink ones. Green was for when we see something we like, and pink, if we think something could be improved. After some time, no one really cared and started using whichever color they liked.
& Critiques
075
Prototypes
& Description
& Critiques
077
Prototypes
& Description
& Critique
079
Prototypes
& Critique
& Iteration
081
prototype, iteration.
Prototypes
& Iteration 4
& Evaluations
083
DESCRIPTION
FEEDBACK NOV 10
The goal is to give sound recog-
1. The name &sounds is too
nition, instead of playing second
serious. Try something that
fiddle to visuals. Screens are de-
sounds fun.
signed with minimal graphics. To
2. Users should be able to ex-
play with the prototype, please
click here: prototype 4.
3. Actitiviy feed. Users would
perience sound easily
like to see what’s the newest
recordings added or favorited.
4. The design is spot on 5. A working prototype might be
able to illustrate better. It gets
confusing sometimes.
6. Too many instructions
Prototypes
& User Testing
& Result
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Prototypes
& User Testing
VISUAL DESIGNER.
S T U D E N T.
P S Y C H O L O G I S T.
ALL THREE
36 YEARS OLD.
22 YEARS OLD.
42 YEARS OLD.
PA R T I C I PA N T S
Will the app has any or practical
The name is way too serious.
Maybe needs working prototype
Homescreen icons are unclear.
function? For eg. Like Flickr It’s a
Where’s the activity feed? The
with the animations for the test-
Doesn’t show what they’re
database of photos but Yahoo is
record function is nice but can
ing. It gets confusing especially
mean. Why are there 2 but-
pulling it as backgrounds for its
be confusing. Would i be able to
the record function
tons on one recording screen?
Weather app.
download the recordings?
There’re too many words on the instructions pages.
01
02
03
04
& Next Steps
0 87
NEXT STEPS 1. Choose the right icons 2. A short intro before logging in.
For eg. Discover app.
3. Rework the screens. The goal
is to make it intuitive enough
so that it’ll be easy to use. For
eg. All functions of record &
play should be only in one
single button
4. Stick to conventions. People
expect to all apps to be able
to do the same things as the
apps they use. This is also
known as Learned behavior.
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
0 89
Proposal
& Thesis 2
proposal
& Spring 2014
0 91
TO P I C
METHOD
SCHEDULE 2014
Evoking memories
Building a collective
JAN 27 – 30
UX, UI
through acoustics.
sound archive
FEB 1 – 5
User testing 1
FEB 6 – 17
App production
FEB 18 – 21
User testing 2
FEB 22 – 28
App tweaks
MAR 3 – 6
User testing 3
MAR 7 – 17
App tweaks
MAR 18 – 21
User testing 4
MAR 24 – 31
App tweaks
Beta App launch
APR 1 – 3
User testing 5
APR 7 – 11
Final app tweaks
AIM Visuals are overrated, it’s time to give sounds a recognition they deserve.
FOCUS GROUP
MEDIA App
People (16 – 55 years old) who are interested and sensitive in
Note:
sounds and acoustics.
OCT 10, 2013 – MAR 21, 2014
Record sounds
Prototypes
& Iterations
two. prototypes, iterations,
& Evaluations
093
evaluations.
Statement
& Users
A.
&–
B.
0 95
Statement
& Users
A. Hanna A 30 something New Yorker. She remembers her childhood summers in the Union Square when she hears the Hare Krishna song. She wonders if her brother who’s living in Sweden has the same experience. She’d like to create a playlist of sounds of her childhood and share it with him. But first, she needs to find the sounds. Photo (c) www.freundevonfreunden.com
& Captions
B. Matt A 20 something app savvy college student. He’s amateur DJ. He’s constantly on the look out for unique sounds and record them quickly. He wants an app that will allow him to record, quickly filter and access the history of the sounds he’s recorded. Photo (c) www.freundevonfreunden.com
0 97
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
101
Prototypes
& Thoughts
CONTENDERS FOR
& sounds
APP NAME
L ogo iterations
Soundings SoundphilIa SoundBites Audiophilia Rekerd Aw Dee Oh &sounds
THOUGHTS Rekerd is essentially what this app is about, recording and archiving sounds. &sounds is more intimate and more emotional.
VERDICT &sounds
01
02
103
& Iterations
NEXT STEPS 1. Iterate more logos 2. Draw inspiration from
03
04
05
music player animation
Prototypes
& Iteration 5
& App Map
105
Prototypes
& Iteration 5
& Wireframes User Flow
107
To read the complete userflow, please click here: wireframes 2.
Prototypes
& Iteration 5
& Wireframes
109
DESCRIPTION
The goal is to give sound recognition, instead of playing second fiddle to visuals. Screens are designed with minimal graphics. To play with the prototype, please click here: prototype 5.
Prototypes
& User Testing
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR.
S T U D E N T.
S T U D E N T.
ALL THREE
AGE UNDISCLOSED.
24 YEARS OLD.
22 YEARS OLD.
PA R T I C I PA N T S
The UX is clear. The experience
It seems like a lot of steps before
I like how the sounds are tied
This app is more about the pla-
can be improved with minor ad-
I get to explore the sounds. The
to a place, it reminds me that
ces than the sounds. The mes-
justments. The “list” mode icon
places where the sounds are
sounds give meanings to places.
sage is that places give meaning
is unclear, and I wasn’t clear that
recorded seems important here,
Is this app about discovering
to sounds. How are you going
I have to declare my location.
I wonder whether they are that
sounds or places?
to feedback to users how much
Standardizing the buttons and
important though.
time has passed in music player?
experience will help too. To read the complete user testing results, please click here: User Testing 1.
01
02
03
04
& Next Steps
111
NEXT STEPS 1. Choose the right icons 2. Decide which experience is
more important for the user,
the place or the sounds.
3. A user experience design
that gives users faster access
to sounds.
4. Work on the animation that
tells users how much time
has passed in music player.
Prototypes
& Animation
& Ideas
113
Prototypes
& Animation
Color on screen gradually
Circles gradually appear in 1/4s
changes as the sound plays. To
on the screen as the sound
view the animation, please click
plays. To view the animation,
here: animation 1.
please click here: animation 2.
01
02
& Iteration
115
Animated letters of recording
Animated letters of recording
title appears on the screen as
title appears on the screen as
the sound plays. To view the
the sound plays. To view the
animation, please click here:
animation, please click here:
animation 3.
animation 4.
03
04
Prototypes
& Animation
& Evalutions & Ideas
117
Prototypes
& Iteration 6
& App Map
119
Prototypes
& Iteration 6
& Wireframes User Flow 2
121
Prototypes
& Iteration 6
&–
123
DESCRIPTION
The goal is to give sound recognition, instead of playing second fiddle to visuals. Screens are designed with minimal graphics. To play with the prototype, please click here: prototype 6.
Prototypes
& User Testing
VISUAL DESIGNER.
U X D esigner .
P rofessor
ALL THREE
36 YEARS OLD.
37 YEARS OLD.
age undisclosed .
PA R T I C I PA N T S
I love the #meAndsounds for
I like the bands of colors and
The experience is great. Visual
It gives the users quick access
the share tweet. You might want
the gradation to animate the
design could be improved,
to sounds, which is the heart of
to bring the microphone (record
duration of time that’s past,
esspecially the layout of the
this app.
function) even more upfront,
but make it from bottom to
bands and music player. This
maybe replace the &sounds
top instead of it is now (from
app is about sound, where is the
To read the complete user test-
logo with the icon.
top to bottom).
sound element? You might want
ing results, please click here:
to explore on that front.
User Testing 2.
03
04
01
02
& Evaluations
125
NEXT STEPS 1. Improve visual design 2. Decide if the element of
sound is important
3. Move record function to be
more upfront
Prototypes
& User Testing
& Ideas
127
Prototypes
& Iteration 6
& Evaluations
129
Prototypes
& Thoughts
& Ideas
131
Prototypes
& Iteration 6
& Website
133
Prototypes
& Iteration 6
& Website
135
Persuasive Text
& Iterations
persuasive text
&–
137
Persuaive Text
& Iterations
DRAFT 3 At a time when personal listening devices and tailored playlists have become ubiquitous, we forget how to hear. At the park, in the subway, waiting in line for coffee, we block the world with our own bubble of chosen acoustics; the soundtrack of our lives.
Sounds, as well as visuals, make every minute of our daily experience. Bird chirpings in the park slow our fast paced lives down, the buskers tune lightens our hearts. Similarly the blaring of ambulance sirens reminds us that we are in Manhattan. What we hear changes the memory of a place, heightening our relationship to space.
&sounds aim to archive the sounds that surround us when we take the time to emerge from this bubble. You can record and listen to sounds, at the same time have conversations within a like minded community.
& Evaluations & Ideas
139
Persuaive Text
& Iterations
DRAFT 4 The stillness in Union Square Park with the occasional dog barks may call to mind Sparky, your best friend at home. Hurried footsteps behind you at 11pm may conjure up images from that horror movie you saw last night. Sounds of the whistling may take you back to that first date with the hottest cheerleader in college. That accented English? Maybe a disastrous beach holiday in Thailand, which you’d like to forget. Similarly, the jarring ambulance sirens constantly remind you that you are in Manhattan, the city of opportunities and dreams.
Creating the soundtrack of our lives is easy. Egoistical rantings of a rapper, professions of eternal love by a cowboy or even cathartic break up tunes, follow us everywhere we go. At the park, in the subway, in the line for coffee, we continuously block out the world with our own bubble of chosen acoustics. The same tunes over and over, with no room to remember the good or bad times.
&sounds wants you to take just 60s out of that protective bubble, to discover what Akihabara in Japan sounds like, to remember your first kiss or just to listen to your friends’ latest adventure. With &sounds, you can record, edit and share your aural experiences. Or simply follow other sounds creators. Create a different kind of soundtrack of your life, your own intimate experience of the world. Uninterrupted. Just you & sounds.
& Evaluations & Ideas
141
Submissions
& Next Steps
submissions
& Deliverables
NEXT STEPS
DELIVERABLES
Finalize the following:
1. App prototype.
1. Improve visual design.
2. Animation of how prototype
2. Improve user experience by
incorporating gestures such
3. Website to support App.
as shake and swipe.
4. Persuasive Text.
3. Add on user flow for these
functions: “playlist/curate”,
and “collaborate”.
4. Animation for music player. 5. Website to support App. 6. Storyboard for animated
promotional video.
7. Logo & Branding. 8. Persuasive Text.
works in real life .
143
Appendix
& Glossary
appendix
& Bibliography
GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY
145
Glossary
& Music Genres
A
Ars Electronica An organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. In addition to running the yearly festival, Ars Electronica maintains a media center and museum, the Ars Electronica Center, which opened in 1996 and offers tours and courses and hosts a technology lab. Starting in 1987, the organization also began hosting the Prix Ars Electronica, awarding prizes and generating publicity for outstanding cyberarts innovations. Co-director (together with Christine Schöpf ) of the Festival is Austrian artist Gerfried Stocker.
APP Application software, also known as an application or an app, is a computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with documents. Apps may be bundled with the computer and its system software, or may be published separately. In recent years, the abbreviation “app” has specifically come to mean application software written for mobile devices, with the abbreviation in particular representing both the smaller size and smaller scope of the software (i.e. an app whose sole purpose is to display an image representation of the current weather). Anthony DunnE Professor and Head of the Design Interactions programme at the Royal College of Art in London. He was a founding member of the CRD Research Studio where he worked as a Senior Research Fellow leading EU and industry funded research projects. Dunne was awarded the Sir Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education in 2009. Dunne, with Fiona Raby, is the founding partner of Dunne & Raby.
Ars Electronica stands for the world’s leading media arts festival, a superlative state-of-the-art museum, and an innovative R&D facility. The Ars Electronica Festival, the Ars Electronica Center – Museum of the Future, and the Ars Electronica Futurelab are big draws that attract visitors, tourists, clients and associates from throughout Upper Austria and around the world.
B
D
BETABURO A design company in London, UK. Its mission is to inspire, produce and support ideas that generate positive social change.
Droog A conceptual Dutch design company situated in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Droog works with independent designers to design and realize products, projects, exhibitions and events.
C CP&B Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a member of publicly traded MDC Partners, is an advertising agency that currently employs around 1,000 people. It was founded in 1965 by Sam Crispin. Crispin then became partners with Chuck Porter and Alex Bogusky. Best known for immersive, highly successful and viral advertising campaigns globally. Critical Design Critical Design takes a critical theory based approach to design. Popularized by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby through their firm, Dunne & Raby. Critical design uses designed artifacts as an embodied critique or commentary on consumer culture. Both the designed artifact (and subsequent use) and the process of designing such an artifact causes reflection on existing values, mores, and practices in a culture.
F Fidelity The degree to which an electronic device (as a record player, radio, or television) accurately reproduces its effect (as sound or picture). See: Low fidelity and High fidelity. Fiona Raby A professor of Industrial Design (id2) at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna as well as reader in Design Interactions at the RCA. She was a founding member of the CRD Research Studio where she worked as a Senior Research Fellow leading externally funded research projects. She taught in Architecture for over 10 years. Raby, with Anthony Dunne, is the founding partner of Dunne & Raby.
H Hainanese Chicken Rice A dish of Chinese origin, and is most commonly associated with Hainanese, Malaysian and Singaporean cuisines. Haricots Verts French for green beans. High fidelity See: Fidelity.
&–
147
L
N
P
S
Low fidelity See: Fidelity.
Nicolas Bourriaud The Director of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, an art school in Paris, France. He co-founded, and from 1999 to 2006 was co-director of the Palais de Tokyo, Paris together with Jérôme Sans. He was also founder and director of the contemporary art magazine Documents sur l’art (1992–2000), and correspondent in Paris for Flash Art from 1987 to 1995. Bourriaud was the Gulbenkian curator of contemporary art from 2008-2010 at Tate Britain, London, and in 2009 he curated the fourth Tate Triennial there, entitled Altermodern.
Pecha Kucha PechaKucha or Pecha Kucha (Japanese for chit-chat) is a presentation style in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each (six minutes and 40 seconds in total). The format, which keeps presentations concise and fastpaced, powers multiple-speaker events called PechaKucha Nights (PKNs). PechaKucha Night was devised in February 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Tokyo’s Klein-Dytham Architecture (KDa), as a way to attract people to SuperDeluxe, their experimental event space in Roppongi, and to allow young designers to meet, show their work, and exchange ideas. In 2004, a few cities in Europe began holding PKNs, the first of several hundred cities that have since launched similar events around the world. As of June 2012, PechaKucha Nights were held in 534 cities worldwide.
Soundphile A person who is knowledgeable about the technical aspects of sound/music editing/authoring.
M Magno Design A design company founded by Indonesian product designer, Singgih Susilo Kartono. He opened up new design avenues for traditional wooden craft. Magno Design is well-known for its sustainable, hand crafted radio, produced in a remote village in Java, Indonesia.
Markus Kison A digital artist based in Berlin. At present Kison is researching on the role of the contemporary human being in a digital augmented world. He has exhibited in various museums worldwide, received international awards and given talks at art and design conferences. Milton Glaser An American graphic designer, best known for the I [heart] NY logo, his Bob Dylan poster, the DC bullet logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005, and the Brooklyn Brewery logo. He also founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968.
O Olafur Eliasson A Danish-Icelandic artist known for sculptures and large-scale installation art employing elemental materials such as light, water, and air temperature to enhance the viewer’s experience.
T Typoholic Typoholic or typophile or typonerd is a term used to describe someone who is obsessed with typography. This person, usually Graphic Designers, is knowledgeable of the technical, design and historical aspects of typography.
U Usability It’s the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, or anything a human interacts with. A usability study may be conducted as a primary job function by a usability analyst or as a secondary job function by designers, technical writers, marketing personnel, and others. It is widely used in consumer electronics, communication, and knowledge transfer objects (such as a cookbook, a document or online help) and mechanical objects such as a door handle or a hammer.
Bibliography
& Articles
Articles,
Appiah, Kwame Anthony, “The Case For Contamination,” NYtimes.com, Jan 1, 2006. Accessed Sep 1, 2013. http:// www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/ magazine/01cosmopolitan. html?pagewanted=all
Logan, Jason, “Scents And The City,” NYtimes.com, August 29, 2009. Accessed Oct 28, 2013. http://www.nytimes. com/interactive/2009/08/29/ opinion/20090829-smell-mapfeature.html?_r=0
Bardzell, Jeffrey, and Bardzell, Shaowen, “What is “critical” about critical design?”, CHI ‘13, Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, (2013). 32973306. Accessed Sep 15, 2013. doi: 10.1145/2470654.2466451
Lyall, Sarah, “Canvas? Paint? No, Just Sound,” NYtimes.com, Dec 10, 2010. Accessed Nov 2, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/11/ arts/design/11turner.html
Academic Journals and Books
Bourriaud, Nicolas, The Radicant, Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2009. Carson, David, Make Design Matter (A Little Red Book About How to), Amsterdam: BIS Publishers, 2012. Dunne, Anthony and Raby, Fiona, Design Noir: The Secret Life of Electronic Objects, Berlin: Birkhäuser, 2001. Flaherty, Joseph, “Tick: A To-Do App That Trades Tedium for Pizzazz,” Wired.com, Nov 4 2013. Accessed Oct 29, 2013.
Malpass, Matthew, “Perspectives On Critical Design: A Conversation With Ralph Ball And Maxine Naylor.” Design Research Society: Design Complexity, School Of Industrial Design Université De Montréal, Montréal, 2010. Accessed Nov 3, 2013.http:// www.drs2010.umontreal.ca/data/ PDF/079.pdf McCurdy, Michael, Connors, Christopher, Pyrzak, Guy, Kanefsky, Bob and Vera, Alonso, “Breaking The Fidelity Barrier: An Examination Of Our Current Characterization Of Prototypes,” CHI’06, Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems New York. (2006): 12331242. Accessed Sep 15, 2013. doi:10.1145/1124772.1124959
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MTA, “Arts for Transit and Urban Design,” MTA.info, 2013. Accessed Sept 4, 2013. http://mta.info/mta/ aft/muny/ Murphy, Brett Paine, Buskrs.com, 2013. Accessed Oct 25, 2013. http://www.buskrs.com/ Nike,Inc, Making of Making Powered by NIKE MSI, 2013. Accessed Oct 25, 2013. https:// itunes.apple.com/app/makingmaking-powered-by-nike/ id662227880?mt=8 Ness. LikeNess.com, 2013. https:// likeness.com/?q=Afternoon&near= New+York,+NY Neilson, Jakob. 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design, January 1, 1995. Accessed Jan 30, 2014. http://www.nngroup. com/articles/ten-usabilityheuristics/ Snack Compass, PizzaCompass. com, 2013. Accessed Sept 14, 2013. http://snackcompass.com/
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B FA C O M M U N I C AT I O N DESIGN