DTC Portfolio

This page will act as the front of my DTC career this semester.

Data Project

Contextualization

For my poster and data collection project, I chose to observe my daily activity through the similar measurements of Steps Taken, Distance Covered in Kilometers, and Floors Climbed for fourteen days. To collect this data, I used the seemingly most basic activity app on my smart phone, Apple’s Health app, which is default to almost all iPhone devices. With its high accessibility, the Health app has interesting capabilities and potential for this project, and similar data-collecting ideas. For my project, I primarily used the ‘Today’ subsection which with as much as I know, can only measure Steps, Distance, and Floors. Though I majorly ignored the other subsections of the service, the Health app can also serve to store your data on Activity, Mindfulness, Nutrition, Sleep, etc., through the Health Data tab. Also, depending on what other apps are on the user’s phone, the Sources tab can link to them for additional health data collection. Considering what the Health App is; a default app on a highly popular phone brand, it has within its power to collect a lot of data on many people, but the quality of said data may not be worth collecting. Though dangerous seeming to let a corporation have access to your personal health info, Apple’s Health App allows users to change what is being tracked about them, thus changing what data is being collected. For my purposes, all that was collected was simple units of daily activity. As potentially useful as the Health app may be if used in full, my project solely consisted of the data collected through the Today tab, and should, through that data, illustrate my daily activity and the patterns which arise given the schedule or lack thereof on each set of days.

Through my recording of Steps, I hoped to understand the great amount of activity done every day. Steps and their sheer amounts can truly rule how much a person has moved in a day. Even if little activity takes place in any given day, over one-thousand steps is still easy to achieve. Had I known the end product of my project, I would also have added other units such as ‘Hours of Screen Time’ to compare to the activity and provide another perspective of my day. Despite the number of steps being generally large for almost everyone every day, steps are not a great form of measurement. Though fine tuned to the number of steps taken, steps will vary from person to person. For example, one walker could have much larger strides compared to another. This would make steps an unstable measurement tool for comparing people’s daily activity. Steps does not only have disadvantages though. When counting Steps as a measurement of daily activity, one can clearly observe their physical wellness on certain days compared to others. On weekends, I personally observed how my activity almost came to an abrupt halt. Often lessening by 2,000 or even 3,000 steps when compared to the other days of the week. Those large numbers have their use in defining the differences of one’s life, where Distance or Floors may fail to do the same. I see Steps as being crucial to the data collection of daily activity because of these reasons, as well as how Steps are an easy to understand measurement to the degree where even a young child should be able to guess how many steps taken recently.

Through my recording of Distance covered, I believed I could better see how my activity could be measured in real world units, such as Kilometers. With Kilometers, the data is given a place where numbers can be associated with an actual, conceivable distance. Though practically another iteration of steps, distance holds greater weight behind its data. Each unit symbolizing a fair bit of activity for any given day. Where Steps manage to ‘wow’ with large numbers, Distance does the same for its practical, real-world representation and acknowledgement of further travel. Drawing from “Data Basics” written by Johanna Drucker, the viewer can easily sense the disparities between different units and how one unit can be absurdly common to some while the opposite to others. In terms of what may be quantified the units used to determine Distance may vary the viewer’s reaction, given which units they are used to. I feel Distance has its importance in data tracking for daily activity because of how easy it can be to visualize your activity once given a unit and an amount. Rather than a unit which varies from person to person, with Distance, one can clearly imagine, “I went this far, this day.”

Finally, Floors Climbed is my most unexpected component to be measured. As I started this project, I was fully expecting a Steps and Distance measuring system but had not prepared for a third Floors option. I have little idea how the Floors option works, given that it also seems to be independent to both Steps and Distance. Whereas Steps and Distance can be linked through one way or another, Floors has data that when comparing one day to another, the Health app will actually track whether you went up more floors and less steps or less floors and more steps. I believe the Floors data can find use in covering all the bases of your daily activity. Of course, there are plenty of more ways to track than just Steps, Distance, and Floors, but Floors helps count the activity of those who may not get out much but prefer to exercise by walking up and down staircases. Though a limited window, Floors still serves a purpose of covering data which may have otherwise been forgotten or not counted in the first place.

This project has helped my understanding of a subsection of physical activity. Hopefully, through what research I have done, I can gain a small outlook on my activity during the week, comparing certain days and measurements to others. My intentions for this project remain unclear aside from the most obvious reasons such as data collection for improvement or simple knowledge. My data could potentially be used together with other activity recordings such as arm workouts or sleep schedules combined for an interesting full body research project or activity and rest research project. I believe my research could have been improved with the addition of many other measurements, but given the amount of time, resources and personal investment, my project ended with three units and I am satisfied.

Design Thinking Project

Section 1: Vision Statement: Empathize and Define

Collect your observations and interviews about a specific tool or object that others interact with. Record these observations and define your objective or purpose. Culminate this section with a visionary statement about the problem you are addressing.

The problem we are addressing when designing this backpack is creating a backpack that is weather resistant and can help in terrain to keep students’ books, papers and electronic devices safe in case of serious snow, rain or heat in any given weekday. When interviewing people for our backpack, we concluded we should be focusing on the reliability of the backpack and portability. How can we make this backpack efficient at what it does while at the same time making it portable? Human capabilities can differ drastically depending on who your direct consumer market is, ideally our direct market would be every student and consumers who may have use for a backpack. Some human differences looked for in my observations included some people wished for the backpack to be portable, some stylish and some just useful. This could be tough for a backpack which may not be meant to be “stylish” and more so useful. This would require many different iterations and styles, which could have an effect on the usefulness of the backpack. Standard backpacks in our everyday lives are usually seen as simple book bags, and to a much lesser degree, a fashion statement. Therefore, through these realities, any observer can tell such backpacks are not thoroughly prepared for harsh conditions. With our idea, we also hoped to solve any such problems which may arise due to the lack of preparedness, whether it be weather’s effect on the backpack itself, or rather a protection of the user from rain. Another result of our interviews was that a backpack with the ability to survive harsher conditions would be useful. Our optimal design would most likely have a layer of weather resistant material all throughout the backpack in addition to any other functions put in, the backpack may result in being heavier and generally bulkier, which may deteriorate any chance of fashion or customization beyond color. Hopefully, through future testing, interviews and hypotheticals, we can overcome these details and produce an overall pleasing and functional backpack.

Section 2: Design Proposal: Ideate, Prototype, and Test

In this section, capture your design process during two different stages of development: your first attempts at designing or improving the object, and your revised attempts after testing it out with potential users. Present both images and analyze how and why your design changes.

As we came across the idea of redesigning backpacks, we saw how large an overall cultural impact could take place, seeing as how backpacks are present in almost every walk of life, especially those of college students which we could provide personal perspectives on. Seeing as we both came from Western Washington, it seemed like an alright start to our invention. With such an easy topic to use, designing what the new backpack should have showed itself to be more of the challenge. For our design to function as we wanted, we would need a way to create a backpack which anyone could use and be useful to them. For one of our concept designs, we figured a simple backpack with terrain proof fibers, a cooler in the front pocket and an attachable/detachable umbrella stem which could connect to any part of the backpack could work as a product. On top of that, it would be electronically powered with a wireless remote; however, if this did not work there would be a manual crank attached to the side of the umbrella to make sure it can work without electricity. Furthermore, this design would allow for handicapped students or people to utilize this backpack with great efficiency and would allow for anyone to be able to use it. Another one of our concepts was a simpler, more compact version of the prior one in which it would be a backpack with a special, weather-resistant lining and keep the umbrella function as a screw-in-able gadget of sorts. As we progressed with our own individual thoughts on the redesign, we decided to pull together for a final backpack with both our ideals combined. Around the time of our mandatory meeting, we began to converge our ideas. I had stuck primarily with the concept of the folding umbrella, whereas my partner had gone farther to explore weather resistance on the backpack itself. This combination of ideas brings forth the current backpack prototype we have, though bulkier, it is more multipurpose than a standard backpack as well as more resistant to terrains and weather too.

Section 3: Reflection on the Design Thinking Process

In this section, reflect on your design and the design process, connecting your decisions and insights to at least two texts from this unit.

From a cultural standpoint, this backpack would hold the potential to semi-revolutionize what the standard depiction of a backpack would look and function as, without taking away from prior understandings. Long term, this backpack would revolutionize the way we view portable book bags and maybe inspire people to attempt more outlandish or inspiring ideas of their own. Through this, the backpack would help our constantly growing and evolutionary technological culture to keep the backpack instead of merely seeing it as a simple carrying-case. One piece of work we looked upon when designing was a brief rant by Bret victor, where he discusses how tools address human needs while amplifying human capabilities. The example he used was a hammer, so it was an easy connection to how this backpack could make a difference by enhancing human capabilities with it. If a hammer could impact humanity, then such a part of daily lives as the backpack should surely also hold the potential for impact. Another piece of text looked at was “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury where he discusses marketing and how companies’ market to their audience through many different methods, and how companies get their message across with few words or a good picture showing the product. For this, the backpack needed to look interesting while also affordable and useful to the masses. Additionally, The Psychopathology of Everyday Things by Donald Norman was found useful through application to our concepts. This reference applied immediately to our ideas because of its everyday usage and concept. A backpack should be a simple concept yet can have style and function added on after as long as the core concept is not rocked too hard. As we designed our idea, we kept this in mind so as to not lose focus on what the back should be. Finally, the last reference to the texts in our process is the obvious and easy connection to “An Introduction to Design Thinking PROCESS GUIDE.” Ever since the beginning of the project, we have followed both in class and out of class the guidelines of the Process Guide to ensure we are meeting the requirements for what our invention needs to be. This reference is primarily helpful because it provides an easy to follow ruleset and process to follow as we journey through improvement on an item from our daily lives.

Curation Project

Initially, our curation project had a quick start, but with a different idea. We began with minds set on how computer mice had changed throughout their conception to now, yet this idea seemed to not hit hard enough to make a cultural impact. Our next idea was our final one; laptops. Laptops have changed throughout the decades with new concepts and technology being introduced with each iteration. They have also worthily obtained a reputation of history and culture changing alongside their own developments. In the end, we decided to show how some of the most impactful laptops are incredibly influential given their time period. And how better to show a subject’s importance and artistry rather than pillar-pedestals on a stage. As we researched, we took into account the laptops that brought technology modern day could not imagine living without. From the first laptop which debuted in 1982 the “Osborne 1” to Apples take with the “iBook” to the most recent laptop in development created by Microsoft the “Microsoft Surface”. Each one of the laptops listed throughout our project have changed the way we look at the regular, desktop computer and reshaped the technological industry since the ideas conception back in the late 70’s to the early 80’s. To show the cultural side of laptops, our visual display shows a small image of each one’s impact, side by side their respective laptop. One does not rest higher than the others to avoid the assumption that “newer is better”. The artistic piece is meant to show the viewer these are the laptops that caused the technological market to change throughout the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries, and showing their cultural impact as now computers were not only for the savvy businessman or executive, but for the average consumer as well. Each one of the laptops were monumental towards the development of technology we have today, and each one should be given recognition for the time and effort put into the overall design and production.

Information Sources

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-laptop-computers-4066247

http://www.oldcomputers.net/trs200.html