UniWidge

Working through my design document for Human Centre Design I found some partially blogged projects that really aren't getting the credit they deserve on me ol' blog! This was UniWidge, a project Kirstyn and I worked on. The widget would synchronise with blackboard, and be available free to students in order to help them organise a study schedule, and remind them of talks and deadlines as well as having the option to manage a social calendar.

I missed the NHS

This was the Monicom device that Agui and I thought up for a HCD, forgot to post the old girl up. Top job on this one, first time at using personas and they were fairly solid if I do say so myself. The scenario was lengthy, and I have actually just remembered I did try to blog this at the time, but whilst I was writing my spiel the internet cut out! On that note, Northumbria is a fine University yada yada, but the internet is so slow it's stupid. It is all those lonely students watching porn and using chat roulette.

iLift Me Up (Finally)

Better late than never, this is the iLift work we did as a group project for HCD. 3 out of the 4 group project we completed, and arguably the most successful.

The iLift application is designed for the overly popular iPhone. Working in conjunction with an 'intelligent lift' the application would allow lift occupants of a 5000 floor building to choose music, video and other forms of entertainment to improve their potentially timely vertical journey up or down the building.

The brief saw us branch out to other groups, discussing their ideas and essentially taking onboard their views and concerns and then bettering them.

First hand research at its best, I felt we came up with a solid concept as well as researching the current tallest building in the world (Burj Khalifa) located in Dubai with just 160 floors, and the time taken to travel those 206 floors indicated a need for such an application. (5000 floors being a ridiculous amount of floors....)

Human Centred Finale

The approach to the final HCD project I thought was spot on. Base research was started the same day Aguinaldo and I started discussing ideas and soon we were rolling with interface ideas, and what the outcome should include and how we should present it. Unfortunately, in between the initial motivated stage and the implementation stage, we had the Easter break, at which point barely anything got done.

Being 200 miles away from Newcastle Central didn't help, and consequently being 200 mies from my group partner. But it is hardly and excuse and I was sure come presentation time, our project would show that we had a clear 3 week gap in the middle of it and be overly poor.

Bafflingly this wasn't the case, in fact come presentation time comments were that it was a solid presentation and that we covered the areas well. Fair play we are first years so maybe the criticism was never going to be that harsh, but the fact of the matter is it could and should have been 200% better than it was.

The adaptive fast ticket machine, it isn't revolutionary no, but I would bet a fair bit that they will come into play in some way. Look at Spotify as an adaptive device, and the itunes store. They are much more intelligent adaptive systems than what we were proposing, and it is only a matter of time before those systems successfully trail down into everyday working systems such as ticket purchases, grocery purchases etc.

All in all, I would have liked to have concentrated and had more planning over the interface. Aguinaldo is a flash master, however the interface he created was that of a existing fast ticket machine with just a new button for our adaptive feature. Which in reality, would just make things increasingly complicated.

Though I suppose that is the problem with group projects, and to be honest this one unfortunately took a back burner because of the chosen subject. Helping a couple of other people with their more exciting ideas, Dave and Rach's shopping trolley and Steve and Jammy's Interactive bar, just made me very unenthused about mine and Aguis. But that is something I will hope to build on in the future, concentrate on my own work first before helping others.

And so it ends

All over now, just the design documents to compile and I'm officially done with Year 1. Now, the presentation of my work for Typography and Hypertextuality went just fine. It's a shame that I didn't concentrate my efforts on the print based area more, as Mike's suggestions about making the book feel and look a little bit aged would have benefitted the outcome greatly. However the digital side of the project (website) was much better, and realised in a more pleasing manner.

There are a few things I can take from the final project, not only new technical skills and software knowledge, but also time management and working with and helping other people out on the course.

There was not a lot of group feedback on my presentation, not that there really ever is, but my print based work certainly didn't have the wow factor that Faith's pop-up book did for example, nor did my website hold the attention as much as Matt's did. Although referring directly to the brief, I think I was the only person in effect to make an interactive website...so there you go.

Human Centred Train Tickets

Final HCD project of the year, sadly I might add. A new and deeper way of thinking for all to get something decent for this one, and I am confident Aguinaldo and I identified a need for an adaptive device through our research on public systems. Although the further we looked into the train station and its workings, the more problems we seemed to unearth!

A particular highlight was during a visit to the station when we were doing some video work, we found that the annoying ticket barriers could be opened with any ticket! Even one I had from April that was from London to Cheltenham! So wanting to have a system that eradicated the barriers, we found they were totally useless as a security device anyway.

The overall aim for Ags and I was to make the fast ticket adaptive. It is all very well using a self-service machine, but as it does not know who is using it, you have to start from step 1 every time. Language in fact, is the only thing the current fast ticket machines can assume due to the country in which it finds itself placed.

For a regular traveler our adaptive ticket machine utilises a hard plastic card, credit card sized in order to store journey information and train station shop purchases. This card replaces the current discount rail cards, as well as weekly, monthly and yearly passes.

The regular traveler card is inserted into the fast ticket machine in order to load preference details, very much like a club/store card. The fast ticket machine will then show on screen what your most likely destination will be, and what time your next rain is leaving.

Other factors considered will include: ticket price, seating preference, class preference, time of travel, number of changes.

The advantages of the adaptive fast ticket are obvious. Not only does it improve the speed of the current fast ticket machines, but also saves the traveler money on both train tickets and train station purchases. This in turn benefits the train companies and the train station based businesses with repeat business.

Anyway, I'm sure all these points will be made in the main presentation. I'm sure. I hope. Bye bye.

Quoth the Raven!

I did it, in time, slowly. Firstly the print based part of the brief. Bound by my own fair hands using black cable wraps I found near a building site. The use of brown card as the front and back cover are meant create the feeling that the book is of age and could have been found in the chamber mentioned in the extract. The images within the book are ones I imagined as I read through the extract time and time again. Between every page is an acetate sheet, on which it printed a singular letter which through the book gradually spells, 'NEVERMORE', the major word used throughout the extract.

On the right, is a vertical view of my main navigation screen for the website. After toiling with 3-4 designs, this one came together as I came to realise how many different flash techniques I had learnt whilst trying to get different animations/functions to work. Although I didn't have enough time to create links for all the 11 potential buttons, I did manage to have a bit of fun and create a 'click the crow' game...although I'm not sure how much fun it is...you just click crows and they make noises. (It makes me smile and is interactive...so it's staying) Also experimented with basic masks, keyframes galore and a bit of animation/audio syncing. It is pleasing slightly, I am just pleased to have learnt some skills on the way.