10-Second Film Festival

This workshop challenged us to design an interface for a 10-Second Film Festival. My interface is based in simplicity. Users can simply opt to watch all of the videos sequentially, separated by 4 seconds of 'black space'. Otherwise, users can select several videos as if creating a custom playlist. The videos (represented on the image by the grey rectangles) can be dragged around on the page, allowing the user to shuffle the viewing order to suit themselves. Once the chosen videos have been re-ordered, the user can simply choose 'View Selected' to view the chosen videos in their specified order, again separated by 4 seconds of 'black space'.

Paper Prototypes

For this workshop, we were tasked with creating a paper prototype of a mobile application. I chose to work on the project I'm looking at for my final usability report.
Here's the video:

The Sustainability Game

This week we were challenged to create a game for children that will teach them about sustainability and the environment.

My concept is called The Enviro-Home.

It's an online point-and-click game. The children are challenged to find the 'eco-problems' in each room of the house and the garden. There's a specific number of problems to be found in each room, and the children need to find all of the problems before the timer runs out. The children will not be able to move onto the next room until they complete the challenge. When all of the problems have been pointed out, the timer will stop and the children will be able to hover their mouse over each of the problem areas to read about solutions to that particular eco-problem before moving onto the next set of challenges.
Some of these solutions will ask the children which option they think is the most environmentally friendly.
Through this avenue, the game will educate the children about a variety of environmentally friendly choices that can be made at home - reduce/reuse/recycle, composting and mulching, smart electricity choices, saving water, gardening with greywater, cooling/heating the house naturally, environmentally friendly soaps and detergents, and replacing the disposable with the reusable.

Target Audience:

The game is aimed at primary school children; confident readers, familiar with the use of a computer, minor background knowledge of environmental issues. The game would work well in an educational context, or at home after a discussion about recycling/reusing/reducing. Children should be encouraged to explore and enjoy the game on their own, before rejoining the class group or the family for a follow-up discussion. 

Examples of Eco-Problems and Solutions:

Problem: Plastic shopping bags
Solution: Reusable fabric bags

Problem: Bath water going down the drain
Solution: Siphon the water out the window and into the garden

Problem: Clothes in the dryer on a sunny day
Solution: Hang clothes out on the washing line

Problem: Food scraps thrown in the bin
Solution: Food scraps composted for the garden

Problem: Paper and plastics thrown into the rubbish
Solution: Paper and plastics sorted and recycled appropriately

Profile vs Persona - Application Design for Coffee Needs

This week, we had to design an application to suit our individual coffee needs.
To begin with, I used myself as the profiled target user.

My caffeine requirements:
I drink tea in the evening, approximately 2 or 3 times a week.
When I'm out and about, I purchase a hot takeaway drink approximately 2 or 3 times a month.
Similarly, I purchase cold takeaway drinks approximately 3 or 4 times a month.
Because I am an infrequent caffeine drinker, I am not familiar with the locations of purveyors of caffeinated drinks in the city or near my apartment. An app that shows me the nearest shop would be very helpful.


Functional specifications:
The app would be specific to a coffee shop company (Gloria Jean's/Starbucks/Zaraffa's)
The app will automatically suggest the nearest store, otherwise the user can select their preferred location from a list.
The menu would be the standard menu from the restaurant, as well as the options usually asked by the cashier (size, hot/cold, sprinkles, whipped cream)
The app would offer two ordering options - Order for ASAP pick-up, or order to pick-up at a specific time.
Any updates would also include any changes to the menu (seasonal changes, etc.)


Use Flow Diagram:

Mock Up of Initial Menu Screen:

Designing for Experience and Social Innovation

In this workshop, we looked at service design and social innovation. We were challenged to design a sort of 'virtual' shopping experience - a store that doesn't sell a product, but rather sells ideas. We chose to look at a travel agency that sells the customer the experience associated with foreign countries, allowing them to make an informed decision about a travel destination.

To this end, the storefront would be equipped with several smaller booths, each featuring a large touchscreen, speakers, and examples of local aromas. The store staff are there to direct customers into the booths and to answer any questions they may have. The selection of countries would change every so often, allowing regular visitors the chance to experience many possible destinations.
Customers can immerse themselves in the experience, closing the doors of the booths will make the experience private and enveloping. The touchscreen functionality will allow the user a more organic experience, without the hindrance of a mouse and keyboard. The speakers will play ambient noise from major cities in each country, as well as traditional music. A small aromatherapy burner will enable the customers to experience a more involved experience - perhaps examples of local foods and spices, foliage, the smell of the ocean.

The diagram shows the layout of the store, as well as sample 'Start Screen' images for the touchscreens in each booth.