For this week we had to write the essay, so there was no input from the student’s side. Joëlle had a short input about workshops and we had to teach each other some things.

I was in the group with Yami, Tamara and Büti. I decided to teach my fellow class mates how to count up to 10 in Hungarian. This is what it looked like (I wrote down how to pronounce it):

First I just wanted to teach them by hearing but just before the exercise I realised that it would probably be better to have them see how it is pronounced.

Tamara made a really nice relaxation exercise. Through going through a mental process and really feeling it I thought it was very impactful and I can remember it quite good in the future and if I need it once I’ll definitely come back to it.

Büti taught us how to fold a cube out of paper. He presented it very slowly however I couldn’t remember all the steps in the end. What I really like about what he taught us is the fact that all of us contribute to a single outcome.

Yami taught us some Tibetian and it was so interesting because I didn’t have a lot of experience with the language and I had no clue about how it works.

Interactive Art doesn’t have to be digital or stand under electric power. Leonardo Da Vinci created the Mona Lisa painting in the beginning of the 16th century. His iconic painting (why actually is it that iconic?) interacts with the observer because it seems like the eyes of the painted woman follow her/him. So we interact with the painting but also with Mona Lisa herself. The painting was also interactive because it moved other artists during that time to paint similar style of paintings.

When talking about interactive art nowadays the word «uncanny» comes up quite often. I don’t like to quote Freud but: «The paradoxical reaction humans have invoking a sense of familiarity whilst at the same time being foreign[…]» So being uncanny means something is being strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way.

Urs Fischers work «Play» can be titled as uncanny as it consists of moving chairs.
A lesson I learned today is that most of the media art is inspired by other art that has been done before so it’s quite important to have a good set of related works.

Speculative Design
Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby came up with the term of speculative design. That means to have discussions, challenge oneself to think about the world could develop in the future. Therefore it’s overlapping with a lot of disciplines.

They created the A/B manifesto that shows to sides with opposing expressions. I think this is quite funny and inspires me a lot.

To Design = having an intention

Innovation for all is quite a broad topic and through the presentations of Zoë and Andy a question arose in me: Who are «all»? In their presentations they mostly used electric or digital innovations for all but this all will never include «all». Nevertheless innovations for «all» are innovations used in the everyday life that should make living easier I guess.

The first step to make an innovation is to have a bug list. In the bug list you write down you’re annoying experiences or faulty things in the everyday to collect leaks in a system. Another method would be to ask yourself different questions such as «Why?» and «Why not?».

Another really useful method is to observe people and their respective behaviour:
– immerse yourself
– embrace human behaviour
– follow the right people
– test products in motion
– exercise observation

Many different innovations were named. Here are a few examples:

Juicero

The juicero example is a rather bad case in terms of innovation for all. This machine simply presses juice out of a bag where the juice is in. It was developed in the silicon valley. A quote that’s from a «The Guardian» article goes as follows: «America has become so anti-innovative – it’s economic suicide.»

RepRap

The repRap is a self-replicating 3D printer who was developed by Adrian Bowyer. It’s therefore an innovation for «all» because it’s quite cheap and it builds itself.

Visual representations are a fundamental part of human learning. Through data visualisations we can remember and understand complex ideas much easier. In design data visualisation or visual abstraction is a crucial element to transport data. There are different things to be visualised such as the design process itself or product ideas (maps, statistics, infographics, video, photography). Therefore visualisation aren’t always static but can be moving as well.

There are different types of data:
– nominal = unique
– ordinal = natural order / not mathematical
– quantitative = natural order & mathematical

Big Data
Big data are huge amounts of data collected from users of the WWW. It’s growth is estimated a Zettabyte (that’s 21 zeros) per year. The data comes in large volumes, diverse shapes from different sources and then is turned into information aka. knowledge. With this knowledge it is easier to understand the user and to shape things to his likelihood.

A/B Testing
This is a testing method to find the perfect match for the user itself. Instagram and netflix uses this kind of method to shape a product «perfectly» to its user. As an example: Netflix uses different thumbnails for different users. Therefore men have more aggressive/weapon-like suggestions and thumbnails where as women have more pink in their thumbnails. This of course leads to heavy gendered results and therefore isn’t quite objective.

Today’s lecture was held by Martin. He fist explained the etymology of the verb to evaluate: It’s from French évaluer = ex (out/from) = valuer (be strong, be good, be of value).

When can we evaluate
Early ideas can be evaluated to test whether the user is content with it and the idea works out. When prototyping it’s very helpful to evaluate because one can test the prototype in the field and get the feedback directly from the user.

Why do we evaluate
We evaluate to test the usability or the usefulness of a prototype by getting emotional responses, engaging the user with the prototype and therefore focus on the experience of it. Also evaluation is not only about the whole product but can just be about single/specific aspects. This can be for example the final report/documentation.

Where do we evaluate
The user should be in comfortable situation with an invasive surrounding or a natural setting. It should be immersive so that the proband can can really dive into the test.

There are the following methods of evaluation

• Interview (qualitative)
• Storytelling
• User testings (prototypes, eye-tracking, think aloud)
• Surveys (quantitative/qualitative)
• Mentorings
• Decision matrix = multiple criteria decision analysis
• Affinity diagram
• Bodystorming
• Evaluate existing works

Me personally evaluation (and self-reflection) are a big part of my life. So therefore it should also be really important to do it when working with a design problem.

Today the hosts of the lesson Roman and Andi talked about evaluation by narration.

Andi started the presentation with this image from «Le Petit Prince». Many people get confused what they see in the image. The truth is that an image or a story can be interpreted in many different ways nevertheless it is a good communication medium as one can touch people by the emotions.

There are different methods in storytelling and evaluating one’s work. One of them is the exploratory play to gain creativity and try out different ideas to work with in the future. The idea behind it is to think of different scenarios that could happen to one’s prototype.

Another method is filtering. When you use the filter method you check your P.O.C and put the it into a situation to check whether it’s good enough or valid.

Then there’s media archeology. «Media archaeology or archeology is a field that attempts to understand new and emerging media through close examination of the past, and especially through critical scrutiny of dominant progressivist narratives of popular commercial media such as film and television.» The furby organ is a good incorporation of media archeology:

Roman introduced us to similar methods. One of them being the creation of alternative presents. This method is used to refigure an outcome, to see beyond the concept and demonstrate the scenario through a prototype.

Speculative futures and vision driven design were also two other methods he introduced.

It is really difficult to find a position on narratives in general. As narratives usually try to tell a story in a certain way to manipulate and convince the audience. Voices think that nowadays with the strong impact of influencers the manipulation is stronger. Even though this might be possible, I think people are also more sensitive to the content of influencers. I remember that there were/are these Tupperware parties and shopping tours (where you actually travel to a location and get introduced to new products that are «good») and a lot of manipulation happens there as well I guess.

I’m still on the fence to build my opinion on the topic because on one hand it is the people’s responsibility to be critical and question advertisements/narratives of products but on the other hand it is proven that we aren’t able to control our decisions when we are manipulated psychologically so that companies shouldn’t take advantage of this human weakness (if it’s a weakness). And therefore I guess it’s OK to blame companies to manipulate people.

Another thing we discussed was the way people present themselves such in Ted talks or on the stages in general. Rhetorical talented people have easier access to gain fame and manipulate man people. This can be in politics (populism), evangelism and even professors and doctors from elite universities.

I remember that I once followed a good friend of mine (who’s a member of an evangelical church) to a church event out of curiosity and the «priest» there was rhetorically very strong and manipulated the audience at its best. My friend was also quite convinced of what the priest was talking about (miracles and other weird stuff). I talked to her about it but it’s really difficult to think critically if you grew up in an environment that doesn’t teach you to question your environment.

For me as an interaction designer it’s really important to be honest and to do what I really stand for so that my ideas are convincing by nature and so that I don’t need to manipulate people!

In today’s lecture Shafira and Sonjoi talked about Prototyping. Prototyping is a creation of an incomplete version of an idea. The prototype usually is built out of paper, ceramics, screen based, 3D etc. There are two dimensions of prototypes: the filter dimension (appearance, data, functionality, interactivity, spacial structure) and the manifestation dimension (material, resolution, space). Both of these dimensions are strongly intersected and overlapping.

One thing that Shafira mentioned in her presentation was that some people thought about how computers see us, the users. That’s what they came up with:

I think that this discovery isn’t very current anymore as with physical computing all the parts of the body are coming into action. What I also miss is the voice, as many virtual assistants like Alexa or Siri focus on the voice.

Sonjoi did a little workshop with us. He gave us cardboard, plastic and some working tools to build a bridge between two tables so that an apple can be balanced on it. We had to divide ourselves into groups of 3 and work on a bridge together. Every team had a different set of materials. This exercise should show the quick prototyping with different conditions. We should also think about the filter dimension and the manifestation dimension.

(Short) History of prototyping
There were two important developments that led to easier prototyping for interaction designers. First of them is the processing environment that was developed in 2001/02 by Ben Fry and Casey Reas. It should enable designers and artists to get in contact with engineering so that they can get an easier access to it.

Another significant innovation was the Arduino that was developed at Ivrea University in Italy. It is mostly used for physical computing. Two important figures of the Arduino are Hector Borragan and David Mellis.

Another important input that Martin (our teacher assistant) gave was that if we prototype something and then test it with possible users, we should tell them what we actually want to test and on what we want to get feedback on. An example for this is an app design which focuses on the function of the buttons and user flow but the test person gives feedback on fonts.

New Vocabulary
PROOF OF CONECPT: story, video, narrative, storyboard, performance to show the usage of the product. Not yet a prototype
TRANSDUCERS: converter of physical energy to electrical energy

This week I learned about the «democratisation» of the internet in Brazil. Brazilian citizens, the government and emerging industries are using new media technologies like Lan-Houses, telecenters and prepaid mobile phones to bring the internet to all the people living there. The most famous social networking site in Brazil is called «Orkut». It was launched by Google in 2004.

Even-though it was a big hit in Brazil Google decided to close the social media platform in 2014.

I think it’s great that the Brazilian government starts to think about digital inclusion of all sorts of people with different backgrounds. In my opinion every human on this planet should have access to the internet otherwhise this planet is far from being equal (which unfortunately is the case until this day). I also think that the emergence of crypto currency – which is praised to be independent and accessible «for all» – is very critical, because people from a part of the world that can’t access the internet or don’t even have proper electricity are bound to a monetary system that is controlled by banks and the government and therefore (most of the time) are corrupt. Before I start to digress into my anticapitalist hopes I better go back to talk about social media.

I see a big opportunity in social media, when it is actually used for the thing it was developed for: networking between people with the same interests. I for example found my theatre club on Facebook while browsing the site of the «Schauspielhaus Zürich». In addition I can keep contact with all the friends I made during my exchange year in Hong Kong and the ones I met when traveling.

The problem I see in social media is the narcissistic self-marketing, «influencers» that sell promoted products and the distribution of fake news. It is clear that social media platforms are more and more merging into eachother so that the only thing that distinguishes the platforms are the names. Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram for example both have story functions.

I am really excited to see how social media will change, when our generation – the generation of social media – will grow old.

This week the presentations from our class mates started. Pam and I started with the presentation series. I decided to go for the first day because I really am interested in social changes, innovations and anthropology. The design of the everyday is a crucial thing because we all are affected by it. We design our own surroundings and lifestyles with and are an active participant in our lives.

My presentation reviewed the viewpoints of John M. Carroll’s ideas of design and I explained those principles with the example of the Zimbabwe Bush Pump which is an excellent exemplar of a solution for a design problem of the 21st century. The essay is attached here:

We had a long discussion of what design in the everyday is and I showed some similar examples to the Zimbabwe Bush Pump that include:
– Genossenschaft Kalkbreite
– Solar Kiosk
– Flying8 Loom

Pam presented her topic of everyday design in context to home or families. She explained the theory and then showed some really interesting examples of design in the everyday at home. Here’s is Pam’s essay about it:

2019 Interaction Design – What happened until now
Today’s lecture started with a short reflection the historical events that lead to the art of Interaction Design until now. The following paragraphs will explain the emergence of a world where interactions are crucial in the everyday.

The industrial revolution had a big impact of a more connected world and was the starting point for a broad mass to interact with other cultures and workers. With the invention of the steam engine by James Watt in 1769, trains were built and that led to networking across the world. This way communication was much faster and the exchange of information was made easier. One effect of the industrial revolution was that a community nation was built and the world seemed smaller.

Through the fast development of new technologies all of the western nations were interested in the diffuse and spreading of these innovations. That’s why in 1851 the «first World Expo» was held in the the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. Thanks to the Expo nations could exchange their newest technology and were competing against each-other. This increased the pace of the development of innovations even more and trade wars and patent wars emerged.

Now we take a big jump right into the 20th Century. It’s the year 1975 when the first personal computer (PC) came onto the market. Now an individual could interact/connect with other individuals and the computer was no longer an exclusive tool for companies only. Computer networks were already used to transmit information between Universities (UCLA/Stanford) or for military purposes.

We have to thank (or demonize?) institutions like the Cern in Geneva, more precisely Sir Tim Berners-Lee, for creating a global network (the WWW) in 1989.

Now that the world wide web was basically accessible for everyone who owned a personal computer a simple and useful Graphic User Interface (GUI) had to be created. Companies like Microsoft and Apple therefore developed user-friendly operating systems that are known as windows and macOS.
To access the internet search engines were developed where as Yahoo, Altavista and the Internet Explorer (Windows95) were amongst the first ones. In 1998 google appeared and released a search engine that was insanely precise compared to other engines.
A personal Infrastructure such as the mouse, cables and modems were crucial to a functioning PC.

Today we’re at a point where objects can interact with other objects (Internet of Things), where we use mobile phones to communicate and get to information. Just as the steam engine enabled a huge transformation in information distribution the PC is making the scale of the world even smaller.

Computer Control
As the computer developed more and more we’re at a point today where we can use the help of the computer to make fabrication steps easier and more precise (3D printing/laser cutting). The rather unknown first program – an algorithm so to speak- was developed by Ada Lovelace in the 1840s.

Basile Bouchon is known as one of the first contributors to computer control. He used the model of a punch card control. The card is inserted into the machine and gives the machine the commands.
In 2005 Rep-Rap – the first open source machine – came onto the market. It’s extraordinary ability was to replicate itself by printing the material it consists of.

Computer Interface
Different innovation centers were built across the world. The most famous ones are Xerox Park (the computer mouse was invented here), MIT Media Lab, Google Research, Silicon Valley and Media Lab Europe. The mother of the creation of an information landscape is Muriel Cooper.
It’s very interesting how the computer interface plays with metaphors from the everyday life. A good example is the «trash» icon on the desktop.

Design Biased
It is known that humans think very biased. That’s why it’s really important to have heterogenous design/development teams. This way the chance of discrimination of a group is smaller.
A good example for a biased team is the car crash test with dummies. The dummies normally have a masculin figure that has the measurements from the military (as these data is easily accessible). Car crash scenarios were tested with those dummies that’s why in reality women have worse chances to overcome an accident safely than men. Yet every (considerate) human knows that all the bodies come in different shapes and that the physics of a woman is very different from a males.

It is crucial to get data that is contemporary and accurate for different groups of people/things.

New Vocabulary (mainly from the readings)
EMPIRICAL DESIGN: Forschungsdesign
PARTICIPATORY DESIGN: Is an approach to design attempting to actively involve all stakeholders
TACIT KNOWLEDGE: is the kind of knowledge that is difficult to transfer to another person by means of writing it down or verbalizing it. Learned by experience
SENSMAKING: Motivation/Effort to understand connections (internal process)
FLUID: Adaptable, flexible, responsive
ANTHROPOLOGY: Study of various aspects of humans within past and present societies

Conclusion
It is fascinating to see the connections of history and how these connections or happenings led to our point of Interaction Design. Understanding the history can help to tune the future.