Final report DPM93

DESIGNING A TANGIBLE AND AMBIGUOUS INTERFACE

FBP DESIGN REPORT PROJECT:

DPM93 CONNECTED TO LIGHT

STUDENT: COACH:

TOM VAN ‘T WESTEINDE FRANS PARTHESIUS

ITERATION 1 PRESSURE COOKER

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FBP DESIGN REPORT TOM VAN ‘T WESTEINDE

PREFACE This report describes the design process that aimed at improving the interactive experience of the Philips Hue Lighting System. Through researching and designing in an iterative process it is possible to come up with alternative solutions that can offer more meaning than a smartphone inter足 face. This has led to a final design proposal that can serve as a research tool for tangible and

ambiguous interfaces.

The report communicates the gained insights and design decisions that resulted in this tool. It shows how the benefits of tangible interfaces are combined with aesthetic metaphors and why this could have an effect on the longevity of use. To confirm these assumtions this project could continue as research. Therefore the project will be concluded with a research question.

DPM93 - CONNECTED TO LIGHT DESIGNING A TANGIBLE AND AMIGUOUS INTERFACE

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FBP DESIGN REPORT TOM VAN ‘T WESTEINDE

ITERATION 1 TABLE OF CONTENT PRESSURE COOKER

PREFACE

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DESIGN APPROACH

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PROCESS OVERVIEW

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INTRODUCTION

PHILIPS HUE PROJECT ITERATION 1

PRESSURE COOKER ITERATION 2 RESEARCH ITERATION 3 CO-REFLECTION

EXPERT MEETING CONCRETIZATION FRAMEWORK

10 11 12 14 15 17

ITERATION 4

RESEARCH 2 DESIGNING SKETCHING

MAKING MODELS PROTOTYPING EXPERIMENTATION BUILDING PROPOSAL RECOMMENDATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFLECTION REFERENCES

20 21 23 24 26 28 30 31 32 33

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DESIGN APPROACH Using the double diamond as introduced by the Design Council [1] the process can be divided into four main phases.

The diverging stages were making it possible to create choices while the converging stages helped making choices. However, this process is never a linear one. By going back and forth between the different stages it was possible to validate and test hypothesis. In a broader sense the double diamond reflects the process of the semester while on a more detailed level the phases consist out off sub methodologies that are helping to define a personal approach. Using existing methodologies

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and inventing new ones shapes your process form and makes you aware how this approaches influences the bigger picture. The mentioned methods per phase are not rigid protocols but rather frameworks that were adapted to the task at hand. Some of the tools work best at ‘big picture’ thinking while other focus on specific project details.

Finding a balance and linking the these two ways of working is important in order to develop the best outcome. Each method says something about how they are adapted within the personal approach depending on the outcomes needed or time and resources available.

DISCOVER PHASE

OBJECTIVE:

Build a rich know­ledge resource with inspiration and insights.

TOOLS & METHODS: THEORY RESEARCH

TANGIBLE OBJECTS IN/OUTPUT RELATION ANALYSIS

METAPHOR THEORY

DEFINE PHASE

DEVELOP PHASE

DELIVER PHASE

OBJECTIVE:

OBJECTIVE:

OBJECTIVE:

Synthesise the findings into a reduced number of opportunities.

Develop the initial brief into a more detailed concept.

Taking the concept towards a usable product.

TOOLS & METHODS:

TOOLS & METHODS:

TOOLS & METHODS:

CO-CREATION

THEORY RESEARCH

DESIGNING

EXPERT MEETING

SKETCHING

PROTOTYPING

EXPERIMENTING

MAKING MODELS

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PROCESS OVERVIEW

DISCOVER

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During the exploration phase of the process there were different acti足 vities done within the scope of a pressure cooker to gather insights and develop an opinion.

Based on the first research iteration the benefits of tangible interfaces were explored. These first insights resulted in a prototype with an in/output relation that reflected these theories. From these first steps the improvement of the first interactions was expanded by a second research iteration in the use of metaphors while designing.

DEFINE

When rolling into the define phase with the knowledge from the first phase the identified problems and opportunities were channeled towards actionable tasks. This was done in the form of co-creation sessions and interaction experiments. By using the co-reflection approach a situation was created that provoked a certain mindset in which the participants were stimulated to think about their current lighting situations and what they would wish for using an interactive lighting system.

DEVELOP

Through another itera足足足tive process the initial findings and results from the second phase were refined into a more concrete concept. By using a appropriate framework and having several eureka moments based on the gathered knowledge the first rough elements of the concept were created.

Different metaphors were implemented into the first sketches and later into the first experimental models. This built the fundament for what later would become the mechanical prototype.

DELIVER

In the final phase the sketches, models and observations of the previous phase were molded into a final design. A combination of designing, engineering and experimenting gave form to a mechanical design that was a translation of the sketches and metaphors. The mechanical design then was combined with the electronics and programming in order to form the final prototype. This proposal resulted in a tool that is a representation of the process and can serve as a research tool for tangible and ambiguous interfaces.

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INTRODUCTION PHILIPS HUE

The Philips Hue lighting system is a combination of bulbs, bridge (read: a connecting hub) and an app that together are trying stimulate a whole different experience with your home lighting system [2] With the Philips Hue home lighting system you can control the light in your house down to its colour, saturation and brightness, right from your phone. Since Philips sees this system as a replacement of your current lighting, in contradiction to the LivingColors, the attitude of their customer needs some adaptation.

The customer can control every bulb

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FBP DESIGN REPORT TOM VAN ‘T WESTEINDE

individually with the colour-wheel-like interface of the application or choose from a set of 17 pre-loaded scenes which can be adapted to a personal colour scheme.

Assuming that people are ready for this kind of freedom concerning the adaptation of their domestic atmosphere it is the question if presenting this system with a mobile device is the right way. Besides the wow-factor for the gadget lovers, the combination of this freedom with the durability of led technology can negatively influence the satisfaction that they get out of their purchase.

THE PROJECT

The project Connected to Light was brought to life to improve the beforementioned interaction with the Philips Hue lighting system. To be able to benefit from the increasing freedom provided by these kind of novel lighting technologies, there is need for new user-interfaces. Because these systems allow for a large amount of light sources that come with multiple controllable parameters traditional interfaces will no longer suffice. The main focus of the project lays on the communication between a user and the lighting system rather than the technology

and the effects of light (e.g. productiveness) on the user. Within this focus there are four themes that need attention; the context, the interface design, the user interaction and the light effect. With the light effect as the goal of the interaction, the user interaction is determined by the context and the interface design. These four themes together provide a framework that can support the design of interfaces for interactive lighting systems [3].

FRAMEWORK INTERFACE DESIGN

CONTEXT

USER INTERACTION

LIGHT EFFECT

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ITERATION 1 PRESSURE COOKER

With the pressure cooker the in­ t ention was to explore the possibilities of tangible interactions. Based on several papers that were red during the first research phase it could be concluded that tangible interactions have several cognitive benefits. This is partly because they use the qualities of the physical world. With the pressure cooker this conclusion had to be tested. With new technology the elaboration of these kind of interactions could be tried out.

The idea that emerged was based on using the visual properties of a physical object as a direct input and non-ambiguous interaction.

With the use of a processing sketch a webcam could color pick three different colours and send the value of those colours to each

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individual light. This interface could pick the colours from individual coloured tiles or any random object in real time.

The interaction with this type of interface is very direct which makes it very easy for the user to understand what happens when they interact. The exploring lays in the materials and images that are being put in front of the sensor but not in how the system works.

This makes the learning curve of the interface very minimal. In an elaboration on this interaction it could be possible to use the input of different materials like coloured sand; however this only enriches the materials. To enrich the learning curve the of interface itself it is necessary to create a certain ambiguity in the form of a metaphor.

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ITERATION 2 RESEARCH ITERATION

The second iteration was an elaboration of the short research done on tangible interactions and an introduction to the use of metaphors while designing.

As said, tangible interactions use the qualities of the physical world to couple physical objects to digital data in order to provide cognitive benefits [4]. These kind of physical interactions offer good opportunities to provide meaning in interaction and can craft an understandable relation between input and output [4]. When the relation between system function, controls, input and output is understandable for the user this becomes a meaningful inputoutput relation. To create this understanding it is possible to use a metaphor. With a metaphor the brain can understand and experience one kind of thing in terms of another [5].

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IO RELATION

INPUT CONTROLS

SYSTEM FUNCTION

OUTPUT

There are two different types of metaphors, namely noun and verb metaphors. Noun metaphors are those that show similarities in shape and appearance of the product, while verb metaphors show resemblance in the interaction with the product [6]. As an elaboration on the verb metaphors there was looked into the theory of embodied metaphors. This theory suggests that cognitive structures can emerge from recurrent patterns of bodily experiences like opening a door or putting food in the mouth [7]. For example, when it is say that we are in love, his in-out metaphor is used to structure the understanding of being in love by seeing love as a container and a person being either in or out this container [8]. When this is linked to the beforementioned tangible objects there can be suggested that there is a metaphorical connection between understanding abstract concepts and a physical experience.

ITERATION 3 CO-CREATION

CO-REFLECTION

To concretize the theory of the research iteration the knowledge of other designers was needed to elaborate on certain theories. These students were not part of the same project to avoid prejudice with knowledge about lighting interaction. These sessions were executed in a co-reflection manner. To start these sessions first there were several metaphors explored

more (up) - less (down) soft - loud small - big

slow - fast

more (left) - less (right) up (left) - down (right)

happy (up) - sad (down)

soft (less) - hard (more)

METAPHORS covered - uncovered

full-empty more-less in-out

closed - open

back (left) - forward (right)

angular - round heavy (down) - light (up)

smooth - rough

pull - push

and visualised as a handhold during these conversations. In order to let the co-reflection run like a semi-structured interview these metaphors were integrated in the co-reflection approach as mentioned by Oscar Tomico [9]. This approach consisted out of three phases with each their own specific methods. In order of structure these phases are exploration, ideation and confrontation. Within the first phase the the goal was to let the participant creatively explore their association with artificial lighting in their regular environment. The second phase aimed at triggering new insights with pictures of different types of lighting and controls. The final phase focused on combining the metaphors with their new view on interactions with lighting systems.

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CO-REFLECTION APPROACH EXPLORATION

IDEATION

CONFRONTATION

a. Reenacting the experience.

a. Visuals to trigger new realms.

a. Build upon a vision.

Give the test person a piece of paper and let them sort out the light experiences that they associate with artificial lightning in their regular environments.

Letting the test person compose their current lighting situation in their home with pictures of different types of lighting and current interfaces and also let them compose an ideal situation. Does their aesthetic value influence the interaction?

Let them think about how these tools change the behaviour of the user.

Explain what the intentions are of the projects to see what the level of acceptance of ‘new lighting interactions’ is. How do they think their needs for these interactions might evolve.

b. Relating situations.

Letting the participants talk about how they experience different lighting situations in their regular environments.

The first phase was an observation of the participants while steering them towards a certain mindset. By asking quest­ ions that relate to their own lighting situation they got triggered to consciously think about how they perceive lighting at home. This resulted in the conclusion that there is a need for more control, even with existing lighting compositions. There is a clear demand for more separated functionality and atmospheric adaptation.

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With this in mind the second phase created the opportunity to not only describe their own situation with presented visual material but also describe their ideal situations. As basic re­ quire­ m ent it was stated that any interface should respond to presence in a room. Besides that it emerged that an aesthetic interface with a clear metaphor is very appealing and has to be able to control multiple light sources at the same time.

Experimentation can be seen as a positive feature of this ideal device.

b. Confrontation with an artifact.

Show the user different paper prototypes of tangible interactions and let them suggest an interaction.

Afterwards, show the test person different light effects and let them combine them with different interactions .

When the participants were exposed to different light effects the spherical objects were found very interesting though challenging.

It could be concluded that this ambiguity could be translated as either a cognitive learning curve or physical learning curve that stimulates skill development. This meant that there would be a division between an aesthetic design or an aesthetic interaction. If this is linked with the metaphors this means that there is also an interesting possibility for the noun metaphors in interaction design.

EXPERT MEETING

To evaluate the coreflection sessions and gain new insight in interaction design an expert meeting with Stephan Wensveen was planned. In this session it was pointed out that there needs to be a balance between the possibilities of the interaction and the functionality of the interaction. While striving for a meaningful interaction it can be possible that either one of those parameters has to be impoverished or enriched. With complex lighting systems it can be necessary to decrease the functionality if this can benefit the quality of the interaction. Looking to the spherical artifacts of the co-reflection sessions it is however possible to combine certain elements into a modular whole to enrich the possibilities while minimizing the reduction of functionality.

In this way different interaction inputs can be linked to a joint output.

FOTO VAN DE BOLLEN - modulaire combinatie verrijkt de mogelijkheiden

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CONCRETIZATION FRAMEWORK

To get a more view of how all the different researched elements influence each other they were combined through the themes of the framework. For each of the three fundamental themes the sub-categories were described based on the previous findings. In this way there was a clear overview created for presentation during the mid-term and the requirements for the next phase in the design process.

THE CONTEXT The context is used to formulate the lighting needs (e.g. visibility, activity, emotion & aesthetics) regardless of the interaction. It concerns everything that is relevant to the user with respect to the lighting, considering the current activity in a particular environment [3].

THE LIGHTING NEEDS The basic lighting needs of the target user is a balance between practical functionality providing light to be able to see), and aesthetic needs (creating an atmosphere).

Providing primair illumination is the basic requirement within the context as it is seen as the most important functionality of a lighting system. Once this requirement is fulfilled the need for creating a desired atmosphere that comes with a certain activity can arise.

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THE USER The primary user focus lays on people (the early adapters) who are familiar with the possibilities of the digital age (smartphones, internet etc.) and therefore can imagine the use of intelligent lighting systems in their home environment. They should be able to open up to certain preferences of an adjustable lighting systems in a daily routine.

This user should also imagine the Philips Hue lighting as their main illumination system.

THE ACTIVITIES The activities that are suitable for the interaction lay within the scope of the daily routine of the user. Based on the basic the lighting needs the system should respond to normal activities like arriving home, entering/ leaving a room etc. Next to that the system should provide the possibility for the user to customise their environment in relation to activities like reading a book, watching television, having dinner or having a party.

THE ENVIRONMENT The room that makes use of the lighting system should have this light system as primary illumination and cannot have too much light from an external light source. With that the room should be socially active and require a dynamic presence of the people who live in the house (kitchen, living room).

THE USER INTERACTION

INHERENT DESIRABILITY

The user interaction is influenced by the context, especially the Lighting Needs, and the Interface Design. Whether or not the user will interact with a system depends on different categories of interface design [3].

Together with the actual interaction the look and feel of the interface will highly influence the willingness to interact. The aesthetics of the design will stimulate curiosity and an incentive to interact. The clearness of this incentive could be stimulated by combining visual elements of the interface with the actual lighting device. The exact form of the interface should also result in the beforementioned physical learning curve.

THE LEVEL OF CONTROL a. Degrees of freedom (amount of variables) The user should not be able to recreate the exact same output twice in order to stimulate a learning curve. By translating the different parameters from the interface into different difficulty levels the replay value of the interaction will be increased. With that the difficulties should be made implicit. The simple interactions should be prominent and essential to the experience, while more expert interactions can be treated as icing on the cake — features that aren’t readily apparent or serve as extra functionality — but that over time users will discover at their own pace. This builds a natural longevity to the design, and inherent ease-of-use. [10]

b. Abstraction (user’s familiar knowledge) The interaction with the interface will be based on a physical learning curve and therefore on an embodied interaction. The input-output relation of the different parameters have different levels of difficulty and therefore they should each be treated as a separate metaphor.

THE CONTROL AVAILABILITY a. Accessibility for the user

THE LIGHT EFFECT The light effect is intended to fulfil the user’s lighting needs and is determined by the user interaction. This influences how worthwhile it is to interact [3]

THE PARAMETERS Although there are different parameters with different difficulty levels, the outcome of the interactions should always be part of a holistic experience that will influence the atmosphere. It is important that the combination of every individual light source is seen as fundament of this atmosphere.

This means that there is no individual control, especially when the amount of light sources grows to an extent that there is no separate regulation possible.

Partly based on the aesthetics of the tangible interface the placement should have a central position within a room in order to allow for multiple users to interact with the same device. The device should allow for multiple input factors at the same time which means there are multiple interactions possible simultaneously.

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ITERATION 4 RESEARCH ITERATION 2

The feedback of the mid-term presentation stated that it was necessary to look into principles that keep interesting over time to stimulate a learning curve. In order to define why it was necessary to focus on the longevity another research iteration was needed.

Later this knowledge could then be combined with the statements of the framework.

The assumption about the decreasing attention span for the system is based on the novelty effect. In the context of psychology the novelty effect is described as the tendency for an individual to have a strong response the first time that the individual is faced with an experience. This increased interest tends to decrease over time as the individual becomes more familiar with the new

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experience [11]. This theory could explain why consumers in a technical revolution like nowadays are buying products even faster and easier. Consuming because of the novelty of a product gives that product a certain attention span[12]. That span is influenced by how the value of the product is perceived by the user.

If this value can be prolonged over a longer period of time this will positively have effect on the longevity of that product. This could be done by the learning curve as stated in the section ‘degrees of freedom’ of the framework.

The satisfaction that the user will have from using the product will than be repetitive over the time span.

A product that often has a positive learning curve is a musical instrument. However, a musical instrument is often designed to be as controllable as possible. The goal with the design for the interface is the other way around; it should not be directly clear what the input-output relation is. The learning curve will than be based on an exploration that has the goal to reach a certain flow; the physical movement that only can arise from interaction with the product.

DESIGNING EXPLORATORY DESIGN

SKETCHING

To mold all the theoretical knowledge and requirements into a more concrete concept several creative explorations were done. With the theory of tangible artifacts in mind the first sketches of physical objects were created. These were highly influenced by the input of the co-reflection sessions.

Several organic shapes that could stimulate curiosity through different metaphorical interactions were explored without directly thinking about the input-output relationship.

Besides the explored verb metaphors it was interesting to see that some of the objects were also based on a noun metaphor. The aesthetic incentive as mentioned in the framework was beginning to get shape.

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To contextualize these first ideas they were placed into a situation as learned in the assignment Exploratory Sketching. First a visual representation of the context was created by combining several photographic elements. A traced copy of this setup was then used for a session in which the goal was to create and implement several ideas.

By doing this the exploratory mindset was activated and new ideas could directly be seen in a context. After coming up with several ideas the communicative mindset was used to highlight one of the ideas that was the most appealing. With this session the first step for the planetarium-like interfaces was created.

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MAKING MODELS

The idea to design an interface with the planetarium-like properties came from the different steps of the process. The main motivations came forward out the metaphor research and expert meeting.

Because of the different elements in a planetarium there was a possibility to keep as much of the functionality of the Hue Lighting System. With that a noun metaphor could be used as an aesthetic incentive to interact. Since the complexity of a real planetarium requires interaction to see how it works, this metaphor served as the foundation of the interface.

Based on the sketch of a real planetarium the first physical model using LEGO was made. By making these first tangible representatives a few things became clear. To create a kind of interaction that is not immediately clear and stimulates exploration, in this case, a mechanical principle was needed to create a certain vagueness in the interface. This meant that this needed to be explored by coming up with type of mechanism that could represent the principles of a planetarium while staying a controllable interface.

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PROTOTYPING EXPERIMENTATION

For the mechanical structure there was chosen for a three layered disc model whose middle disc would turn in the opposite direction relative to the top and bottom disc. The ‘planets’ that would be placed on these disks would each be the interactive part of the system. In order to design a mechanism that could function as described several experiments with LEGO were done to discover what kind of transmission could be used to get the desired effect.

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FBP DESIGN REPORT TOM VAN ‘T WESTEINDE

It became clear that a new view on gear theory was needed in order to make the mechanism work. After an introduction to planetary gears [13] it became possible to make the first technical sketches. With a quick laser cutted gear combination this principle was tested. This helped with imagining this theory in order to upscale it to a three layered combination.

While the mechanical part was almost finished the electrical part still needed some attention. With a rotating construction it is not possible to use uninterrupted wires between the fixed world and the rotating object. To fix this part thre was chosen to work with ballbearings as the connection between the sensors on the rotating discs and the microcontroller on the fixed world. Out of several test is appeared that it is possible to direct electricity, and therefore data, through this rolling element.

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BUILDING

When all the separate parts of the design were tested it was time to combine the results into one model. With a definite technical, on scale, drawing the required parts could be ordered and the custom elements were designed and laser cutted. The first step was to create the transition part between the fixed world and the rotating disks.

This was done by assembling a set of ball bearings on a hollow shaft with holes for the connections..

This shaft served as the fundament of the whole construction. Around these ball bearings another hollow shaft was mounted. This shaft was connected to the rotating disk and made the connection between the sets of planetary gears. These steps were repeated for the second layer. After that the sensors were disguised in silver balls, fixed to the discs and connected to the ball bearings. Underneath the base the microcontroller was placed to receive the data of the sensors.

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PROPOSAL The combination of research in different fields, creative sessions and experiments has lead to a final proposal. This tool represents the advantages of tangible interfaces, the principles of a metaphor and the theory of a learning curve. The outcome of the process has not lead to a product that is fit for the market but that is fit for a next research phase. Intentionally this tool can be placed in a contextual situation for a longer period of time in combination with an intelligent lighting system to see how participants respond to the beforementioned principles. Together with a research question the goal is then to how the relationship between the tool and the participant evolves. The associated research question reads as follows: “Can a tangible and ambiguous interface positively influence the longevity of use with an intelligent lighting system?� .

Depending on the field situation the tool can be mapped to different types of output.

However the basis input output relation is regulated according to the schedule below.

MAPPING

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TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

The top layer represents the color temperature.

When holding the first sensor and rotating the disk the participant will go through the color temperature range. The second sensor regulates the brightness of this temperature.

This goes for all the light sources at the same time.

The middle layer is the disc for the colours. If the disc is rotated when holding the first sensor all the lights start changing from the colour they were initially on. When the second sensor is held all the light sources are set to one color and from there adapted.

The bottom layer represents the general brightness. Holding the first sensor and rotating changes the brightness of all the light sources. Holding the second sensor in combination with another sensor changes the brightness of a specific light source.

FBP DESIGN REPORT TOM VAN ‘T WESTEINDE

“CAN A TANGIBLE AND AMBIGUOUS INTERFACE POSITIVELY INFLUENCE THE LONGEVITY OF USE WITH AN INTELLIGENT LIGHTING SYSTEM?”

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RECOMMENDATIONS Looking into the future of lighting it is expected that more and more intelligent lighting systems will be incorporated in everyday households. However, with the growing influence of more sustainable technology like LEDs there is a likely chance that customers less often will have to renew their bulbs. Therefore there are rumours in the lighting industry that in the future lighting will part of a service rather than a single product you buy in the shop. A company (i.e. Philips) will than have a one-on-one contract with an individual or household in order to provide illumination. This means that there will arise new types of relationships between customer, provider and service. This changing relation can be compared with how people consumed coffee in their domestic environment. Over the years this has changed from filter coffee to coffee pads and capsules. This was a gradual change that first only was noticeable by the early adopters. The same effect is happening with lighting systems. Starting with the old incandescent lamp we changed from the energy saving bulb to lighting with more and more possibilities. Once this last type of lighting has taken over most households the provider has to find other ways to meet the lighting needs of their customer.

If, after a next phase, the research proposal can be translated into a suitable product this could have an interesting part in this new way of experiencing lighting. When product is monitoring its relationship with its customer this means that the provider can collect data about this use and adapt to the changing requirements of this user. If the final design in the end does influence the longevity of use this means that there is a longer and more intense activity span with more data exchange. In this way the service could be more accurately adapted to the user’s needs and use the full functionality of the lighting system.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank a couple of people for supporting me during the project. First of all, thanks to my project colleagues, for all the help, fun and inspiration that was necessary during the process. Furthermore would like to thank the experts within Light Time Space Move, and specially the Intelligent Lighting Institute for providing us with the means and knowledge of their area.

Also many thanks to my dad who, with his enthusiastic attitude, helped during building a prototype that in the first place seemed impossible to make.

Finally, special thanks to my coach Frans Parthesius. He always knew to enrich me with his rich and diverse knowledge. Thanks you for the optimistic motivation, constructive feedback and helping hand during the project.

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REFLECTION During this project it was important that I became conscious of my acting in order to reflect on my design approach. By working with a structured design method I created the possibility to adapt and personalize this approach to my own way of working. This resulted in an iterative process form with the danger that it only allows for reflection afterwards.

I noticed that this could influence the continuity of the process negatively when needing the output of a previous iteration in order to start with a new one. By planning out a week with different sub methodologies within the diamond I helped myself moving on.

In the second half of the double diamond it became clear that the results of the project were not going to end in a product fit for the market but rather into a tool to validate all the research that was done. For the ending of the project this meant that it either could be interpreted as an open ending or an unresolved ending. By steering the project towards a stepping stone for a next phase I was able to create an open ending while focussing on creating a connection towards another research project. This helped me focusing on the building part of the prototype and delivering a clear story.

Concerning the condition of the previous semester I made sure that there was enough attention for the academic attitude within the project. This meant that there was a lot of time invested in paper research and design approaches. Therefore the emphasis of the academic attention lays more on the input side of the project than on the output side.

As a result of this there is a clear division in the kind of input and output. However I was fully aware that this happened it was not optimal for the flow of things. Especially in the making process it was hard to look back and connect the output to the theory.

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REFERENCES 1.

The Design Council (2006) A study of the design process. Retreieved on April 18th. https://www.designcouncil.org.uk

2.

Philips Lighting (2013) Meet the Philips Hue. Retreived on February 12th. http://www.meethue.com

3.

Offermans, S. Eggen, B. Essen van, H. (2013) A Framework on User Interfaces for Interactive Lighting Systems. Industrial Design Department, Eindhoven University of Technology

4.

van de Garde-Perik, E. Offermans, S. van Boerdonk, K. (2013) An analysis of Input-Output Relations in Interactions with Smart tangible Objects. Eindhoven University of Technology.

5.

Lakoff, G. Johnson, M. (1980) The Metaphors we Live By. University of Chigago Press.

6.

Fishkin, K.P. (2004) A taxonomy for and analysis of tangible interfaces. Pesonal Ubig. Output.

7.

Johnson, M. (1987) The Body in the Mind; the bodily basis of meaning, imagination and reason. Chigago Press.

8.

Bakker, S. Antle, N. van den Hoven, E. (2011)Embodied metaphors in tangible interaction design. Eindhoven University of Technology

9.

Tomico Plascencia, O. (2009)Co-reflection, user involvement aimed at societal transformation. Temes de Disseny, 26, 80 - 89.

10. Ross, P.W. (2009) Appealing to different Users? Consider the Learning Curve. Retreived on April 21th. http://rosspw.com/different-users-ux-learning-curve/ 11. Gravetter, F. & Forzano, J. (2011) Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. Cengage Learning.

12. Clark, R. E. & Sugrue, B. M. (1988). Research on instructional media, 1878–1988 13. The United States Army. Planetary Gears; Principles of Operation. Retreived on May 21th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8fAHTeDGiQ

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