Harvey Project Designers - Digital History

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Welcome, designers. It is probably a good idea for you to try and meet amongst yourselves to get an idea of what kinds of skills and resources you already have at your disposal (e.g., cameras, audio recorders, video equipment; experience with graphics, audio recording, video recording; ability to sketch, draw, paint, play a musical instrument, dance, whatever). I can arrange to buy or rent equipment that we need and don't have, but the budget is limited. We do have a good digital audio recorder already.

Check out the Graphics page!
Check out the Concept Board Page! Post pictures here!
Check out the Smartboard Page!
Check out Pictures of our Exhibit Room!

Other exhibits created re: Harvey

Posted by Meaghan and Sophie

IMSS, a museum dedicated to surgical science, has a small exhibit on cardiovascular surgery, complete with early models of heart valves.

The famous exhibit Bodies shocked audiences with its polymer-filled bodies displaying every part of human anatomy. Body Worlds is a similar touring exhibit.

Philadelphia's The Franklin Institute offers a giant walk-through heart, complete with sound, lights and interactive exhibits about the heart and blood.

http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1187111 provides a link to the abstract of a journal article which discusses an exhibit that featured an interactive video game-like tour through the blood stream of a pig in an attempt to raise awareness of the causes of coronary heart disease. Certainly worth taking a look at, although site provides write up not actual example.

Helpful Models, Pictures, and the Like

Posted by Meaghan and Sophie

http://www.jdaross.cwc.net/heart2.htm highlights a symplified version of the human circulatory system with a simple animation; a good start to understanding what would be needed in a model.

Mayo Clinic offers a flash demo of how the heart works to pump blood throughout the body. Informative and clear.

InnerBody.com offers an interactive website where you can learn about different veins and arteries.

Designers Meeting

Trying to mix the old style (Ye ol’ soda shop) with the new (LED lights and fabrics)
Font: BlackMoor LET
To give the room depth/space (and to avoid having to paint the whole room), get large plywood sheets that can be covered with ‘anaglipta’ (wallpaper-ish stuff that can be painted ) good to give it an old look - think maybe 4ish around the back of the room
Colours:

Red: more on the burgundy side (toned down)
Brown/beige/sepia/chocolate
Blue: deep/red-blue

Harvey Office cross-section

Mini-cross section of his office
Include the arm
Quasi bookshelf
Include previous authors - gives context
Framed pictures of scholars
Carpets
Old looking books/bookshelf
Old desk
Easels
Lighting: soft lights for above, antique looking lamps, plastic candles
Old looking paper, wax seals
Curtains
Modern elements:
Beating heart (actually beats!)
Piping for veins
Lighting (black lights, LED string lighting, etc)
Random ideas
Integrate some artefacts from the UWO Medical History collection - perhaps a side part of the office... maybe his ‘laboratory’ - Note; not the right time period, but find something that might have been similar to what was used
Wax seals for the headers of descriptions or watermark
Pictures: Arm picture for sure, see others uploaded on wiki

What we’re going to do: Build a Concept Board (aka Inspiration/Steven and Chris Board)

Get some paint chips
Wallpaper samples
Anaglipta samples
Find pictures of Harvey, the heart, circulatory system
Look for images of frames, plastic lights/candles, carpets, curtains, etc.
Also look for contemporary images to contextualize it!!!
Sample of burnt paper (dye with tea, singe sides
Planned a trip to a local flea market/bazaar once we find out more about the thesis of the exhibit and the space we have to work with

Projection: we could either project an image of Harvey OR project the image of the body illustrating the circulatory system. It could be projected in the doorway of the room (people would therefore have to walk through it) OR we could simply project whatever image we choose onto a projection screen (designing something around the screen to frame the projected image and make the screen less noticeable).

Designing for Interaction by Dan Saffer

Notes by Sophie

Intro/Chapter 1 - What is Interaction Design?

New field - about how people communicate with each other, not the machine
Makes things usable, fun and useful
Needed due to new ideas of putting microprocessors in everyday things
Not just about design, but behaviour - why things feel different
It's contextual - each project is different, changes over time with technology - no hard and fast rules
Applied art - removing everyday little annoyances we may not notice

Chapter 2 - Starting Points

Important to start with goals of clients, as well as those in the organization that may be affected
User-centred design: most popular method, where users know best - they guide the design - fit products to people
Activity-centred design: focusing narrowly on tasks that get activity done
Systems Design: structured, rigorous design methodology - logical, analytic
Genius Design: designers use personal knowledge and wisdom, users only brought in at end to test (if that)

Chapter 3 - Interaction Design Basics

Motion: trigger for action
Space: usually between analog and digital, space is the context for motion - where is it happening?
Time: human and digital time very different, but we can feel when our computer is slow, even if it is milliseconds
Appearance: tells how it will behave - Expensive or cheap? - Whimsical or practical?
Texture: same as above
Sound: pitch, volume, timbre
Burden of complexity must be shared: some actions can't be made simpler, but computers can help us by remembering certain things so we don't have to (ie, when gmail remembers e-mail addresses for you)
Remove chances of inadvertent errors - avoid avoidable problems! (ie, USB plugs look different than power plugs on your laptop)
Feedback: should be early and often. Every action should have an acknowledgement.
Feedforward: knowing what will happen before you do the action - gives users confidence (ie, "click this button to check-out")
Characteristics of Good Design: trustworthy, appropriate (watch out for cultural differences), smart (it should do things we can't do), responsive (let's us know it's working), clever (not obnoxious, but delightful), playful (able to undo mistakes) and pleasurable (both functionally and aesthetically)

Chapter 4 - Design Research and Brainstorming

Research gives designers empathy - so can avoid bad choices for users
Go directly to users for guidance - focus on their activities, environment, interactions with people
Make a big, visible poster board of ideas - faster and more clear than using a computer to organize your thoughts

Chapter 5 - The Craft of Interaction Design

Make models, diagrams and documents to organize - each step should be a step forward in the design
Use scenarios - how certain people would respond/use the product in different settings
Making prototypes - when all design elements come together in a holistic unit - making the invisible visible.

Chapter 6 - Interface Design Basics

Need interface to engage with digital products, experienced representation of ID
Form doesn't need to follow function - can look however you want
Elements:

Layout: where and how features are placed - show hierarchy - grid system common, stops cluttering - keep in mind visual flow (top-down, left to right in Western world) - cues for where to look.
Typography: for clear labelling and personality - typically, serifs for long passages, sans serifs for short snappy passages - not too thick or thin, keep uniform - avoid words floating on their own
Colour: for personality and tone, also for cues for use (ie red = stop, green = go) - avoid colour text on colour bg - use colour palette to stop clashing
Material and Shape: think of object, how it will be used

Controls and Widgets

switch, button (for simple actions), dial (allows for more control), latch (opens tightly closed area), slider (for subtle control), handle (for moving/resizing)
physical world only: jog dial (on cameras and phones), joystick (intensive manipulation), trackball
digital only: check box, radio button (choosing buttons), scroll bar, drop-down menu, list box, text box

Icons: visual metaphors representing features or actions. Act as shortcuts. Not common on the web anymore.
Sound: can be used as cue that something happened.

Chapter 7 - Smart Applications and Clever Devices

Currently: Built to do one task, but they could be multi-tasking - will adjust themselves to be more personal in future
People make applications their own by: customization/personalization, adaptation, hacking (using products in unexpected ways)

Chapter 8 - Service Design

New frontier of ID - service
Works with multiple touch-points: not just user and product - location, signage, machinery, oral/printed communication, etc
Environment: Physical location/website
About processes: How ordered, created, delivered, nothing fixed.
People: designers creating roles for people within services

Chapter 9 - The Future of Interaction Design

Computers will be everywhere, in all our everyday objects, so intelligent interaction design is going to be more important than ever!

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