Reflection

Reflect on how this course has affected your perspective as a designer. What has changed? What has stayed the same? In what ways are you more confident and what gaps do you still feel you have?

From the basic principles of interaction design to storytelling and  prototyping, I have learned a tremendous amount in this course.

The skill that I believe I have built on the most is the ability to find a problem and brainstorm potential solutions. I have also learned how to look forward and how a problem should be looked at an opportunity rather than a hurdle.

As a graphic designer, I was not required to learn about technological advancements as technology rarely affected the process used and type of work I would produce. In the limited situations that it did affect my work, the effect was minimal. However, interaction design requires a vast knowledge of technological trends and advancements as the industry is constantly changing and a failure to keep up to date can leave you behind. I believe I still need to read more to stay in up to date with technology trends and advancements.

Overall, I really enjoyed the the Interaction Theory class. Also, I am glad that I had the opportunity to be in your studio 0 class as it was the first time I dealt with interactive design and you may have just changed my career path.

Emotion in Design

What is the role of emotion in design? Is it ever okay to ignore the emotional layer and focus only on function? If yes, then when?

There is no question that emotions play a large role in any designer's work. I believe that the success of a design is measured by how well it connects emotionally with its audience. The emotion may be sadness, fear, joy, a combination of which or anything in between.

When dealing with interactive design, a design that is aesthetically engaging and is able to promote a positive mood will be much easier to convey the desired message. Moreover, such a design will give the end user a comfortable feeling promoting interaction between the interface and end user.

I think it is never okay to ignore the emotional layer even if ignoring was possible, but I believe that it is virtually impossible to ignore the emotional layer.

When we focus on the function level of a design and we consciously try to avoid the emotional layer of the design we are still unconsciously considering the emotional aspect of the design. This level may be very basic but it definitely is related to the emotional. when we design to create a " better user experience" or "simple user experience" or " keeping the user happy" we are still considering to keep the user emotionally happy and avoid raising negative feelings such as frustration, anger, confusion and annoyance in our users.

Business of design experience

Blog your response to this question: if you were teaching this course next year, what one thing would you add and what one thing would you subtract? Please explain why you would do these things.

I would not take anything out of the course, but I would look to revamp the indegogo project.

Given that CCA students come from all different walks of life, including different financial backgrounds and limitations, I felt it was a bit unfair for our grades to be affected by the number of donations made.

At some points, the competition felt more like a popularity contest than a legitimate competition for the best idea. Many students simply contacted their friends and family members to make donations. Obviously, the student’s friends and family members were not objective donors, as they would basis their donation on their relationship rather than which idea was best. This, in turn, hindered student from foreign countries and student with less privileged backgrounds. For example, I had several friends that could not access the site or were technically unable to make the online payment as their credit card was not accepted despite having sufficient funds available. Moreover, many people outside of the United States simply do not have credit cards and as such could not make donations.

Even though my group did very well in the competion, I still believe the overall system may need to be re-assessed.

Thank you very much for the great experience and I hope you have a great summer.