Summary of 7 Design Moves

Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl had a dramatic realization when it comes to design and making design more useful by interacting the product and the user more early and interviewing and observing the user. Nothing is more honest than watching how someone reacts to the product and she now uses that with all her designing and came up with seven smart design moves. One: “take designs father by using cognitive adaptation, observing a problem and getting real feedback on possible solutions.” By getting the users opinions and feedback about a product you may get answers you might have never thought of before or may possibly overlooked. Use prototypes to help this. Two: Social science connection, plan the prototype around the observations made about the prototype and user. Three: Prototypes. Use prototypes in every design, they area type of “material conversation a designer has with the user.” This can help you see other options. Four: Types: Conceptual: this one is not good for users or observation, more for designers. This is just making something physical to see pros and cons. Five: Behavioral, used along with the actual prototype but is different from the actual one to see what types of feedback the designer can see about both and form ideas off that. Six: Procedural, this examines the logic of the system, and again not usually used for the user but more to use among other designers, to represent ideas.  Seven: Appearance, one of the last prototypes, mostly used for the physical design and characteristic and to receive feedback on looks. 

What is Enthography? Summary

Ethnography is how the meaning of the world to people comes about and what it is, and how people react to the world. People don’t always do what they say, or what they think they do and observation is the best way to see this. Such as, looking at how people problem solve. Also how people are organized or how they organize can tell a lot about a person. And ask questions about a situation such as whet sort of things are socially acceptable and how does that change their behavior? Or what things do people always carry on them. Steps that can help problem solve using ethnography are one: define the problem. Two: Rethink the problem. Three: Define the contents. Four: Define the sample. Five: Make a game plan. Six: Enter the field. Seven: analyze and interpret. Eight: Share the insights. Nine: Define opportunities. And using these steps of ethnography can help relate to different groups and types of people and lead to solutions for many different things. 

Wayfinding Summary

The font that is chosen, size, and color are all very important when it comes to wayfinding. Location of signs, and how simple the graphic and text is also important. It has to legible, easily read, and visible from many different angles. It also needs to be simple and explanatory in the graphics. The directionality of the graphics is also important and needs to be very thoroughly thought out. 

Ted Thinks Big Summary

Design thinking is very important to design. It needs to be beyond aesthetically intriguing as well as very functional. Making things more functional, and long-lasting is very important, but also getting ahead of technology. Not to create for today, but to create for tomorrow. To design something that will be meaningful for a long time. As he said, he designed a copy machine, but even though he thought he did a good job on it is almost irrelevant now, with all the latest technology hat has by past it. So using design thinking rather than more vain thinking can push your design past its limits. 

Issues we found with the Underground.

Here are just some pictures of the major issues we found with the Underground and its way finding. First, is a picture of the outside, there are absolutely no signs advertising it at all. Not only in front of the building but anywhere on campus that we could find. So that was a major issue with us. Second, this is a picture of the Hawk Shop. This was a problem for us because although there is a sign above it, it is easily over looked. Some people didn't even know that it was in the Underground. It is shoved off in the corner with not signs or anything except for the logo right above. Third, the Underground sign that is just barely visible in the top of the picture is one of the only two signs throughout the whole campus for the Underground. And its inside the Underground… This is also right next to where the main entrance of the food court is suppose to be. The food court entrance was the problem we found most important to fix, because most students just use the exit by the cash registers as an entrance. This causes congestion and confusion and isn't suppose to be used for that purpose but only as a checkout and exit. The entrance is clear on the other side of food court, hidden and unmarked. 

Wayfinding Ideas

These are some pictures we found on the internet that are great way finding ideas that I found very interesting. Such as this first one, the word "up" looks like it is completely painted on the wall but from a different view its clear that it is painted on the floor, sidewalk, and the wall behind it. This is very cool and creative and could be put to use in the Underground. The second picture is just different colorful signs used to point people in the right direction. what I really like about these is the bright, vivid colors, but also the basic shape of them. The third picture is our favorite as a group, and something we really want to use in the Underground. At least and aspect of it. It has a few too many lines for our liking and use but it could help and the flow of traffic and highlight things some people don't notice. 

First Think and Make II project

Our project for BDS II is way finding. We were to choose a specific place that we thought needed improvement in way finding. Wayfinding is basically the flow of direction and traffic throughout an area by signage and graphics. The place we chose was The Underground, which is a dining hall on campus beneath Wescoe Hall. It is a very complicated space in which there is much congestion and traffic that does not flow the correct direction and makes the congestion worse.

Observations of the Studio

The Studio

• • The sign outside says The Studio but when walking in all that you notice is the café called the Pulse, which is immediately when you walk in the doors. 
• • Then there is a big seating area, which was meant for the Studio and grill. 
• • Have to walk all the way through the seating area to get to the grill area and no signs. 
• • I personally, went a few weeks without knowing the grill was in the Studio. 
• • Needs signs that are immediately visible pointing towards the grill.
• • Needs clear path