So it has come time to pack my virtual bags and move the blog under my own hosting. I’ve out grown the usefulness of wordpress.com and even though it’s a very nice platform for starting I’m now yearning for the freedom that hosting the blog myself can bring (hurrah for CSS).
So I thank all of you who have visited me here and I kindly welcome you to visit me from now own at mirakirvesmaki.com/blog where I’ll continue to document my honours year journey. See you there!
Lots of love, Mira
For the past two days I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the things I want to do in relation to the time I have (and I have to say, the ratio isn’t looking good). To start doing this yesterday me and one of my peers, the ever so talented Virginia Vila, did three exercises that came together to form a plan on how to tackle our projects.
The first thing we did, as you might expect when performing time management exercises, was a calendar. The idea for this calendar came from a blog post by Fast Co.Design on the benefits of having a linear calendar. Essentially the post describes linear calendars as a very effective way to help people focus over a longer time scale, a very important aspect in our projects. So we made our own version, marking down dates relevant to the project on it.
The linear calendar being born
The second part of this exercise was about creating a pool of design tools that we could refer to during the project. We basically jotted down all the ones we have used in the past or would have liked to use and then complimented these with couple of extra ones from the IDEO method cards. After getting them all down we performed a little bit of affinity diagramming magic and sorted them out into groups that we felt made most sense.
Searching for methods
Then on to the third stage. This was about creating a structure that can work as a reference point to guide us through the process. Thinking about the journey as a whole, what needs to be included, how long to spent on each part and in what order to perform them. Here, we were lucky enough to get valuable input from Lauren Currie (Director of Snook, she is also known online as Redjotter) who was quite conveniently at the university giving a master class to the Master of Design for Services students. She was kind enough to give her input on how she sees the design process as well as give us some more specific pointers on how to get the best out of our final year.
I have to say I throughly enjoyed the process of making this physical map, actually doing something, not just talking about it. I feel like having a physical board will really help to me keep track of things. This has gotten me throughly excited for the project and I really can’t wait to see what the journey will have in store for me.
One of the method clusters
The board and a peek of the view from our studio
Last weeks tutorial discussed our design heroes and heroines, and the role they can play in forming our projects, so I decided that it was about time I introduce you to one of my favourite designers: Naoto Fukasawa
Naoto Fukasawa himself. Source
Naoto Fukasawa is a Japanese industrial designer with a pinch of an interaction designer in him as well. He is most well known for working as the head of the Tokoy studio of IDEO as well as his work for Muji, most notably the pull cord CD player. He himself describes his work, not as a showcase of his own personality or style, but as something that aims for clarity of idea and appropriateness. Working on each piece so that the shapes meet the conditions comfortably making sure that it is appropriate for all the different contexts of use. He sees the worth of design in everyday, small and unconscious actions as well as in listening and observing people. In his own words: “design isn’t something that I generate, so much as something that already exists in situ; all I do is give it concrete form.”
The CD player for Muji. Source
This quote really exemplifies why I find him so inspirational. His approach to design is something that I can really relate to and aspire towards. He bases his projects on beautifully simple insights and has elegant design responses to these. He has a deep understanding of human behaviour and the materials he works with and can use these to his advantage when designing. His objects are beautiful, bit it is really the story behind them that gets to me. But, it really would be silly to just talk about a designers work when I can actually show you, so here are few of his projects that I love:
Rice cooker for Muji
This is a pice of work Fukasawa did for Muji, which stems from discovering a break in the flow of actions people had when using a rice cooker. The object itself is beautiful, no doubt, but the reason I wanted to include it here is the simple, understated brilliance that can come from understanding behaviour. What sets this rice cooker apart from your average joe rice cookers is the way the lid has been designed to accommodate the serving utensil to be set on top of it.
In the task flow diagram you see how Fukasawa identified a moment of hesitation that breaks the fluidity of the task. He then used this insight to design a solution that allows users to over come this break. As he puts it: “If small problems indicated by discontinuity in a behaviour are resolved, then everything runs smoothly once again.”
Part of the task flow for using the rice cooker
The rice cooker. Source
Cordless telephone
The starting premise for this phone design was the realization that ever since the mobile phones started conquering the world the home and office phones have become almost obsolete. So this design allows the phone to take a dignified bow in the space it inhibits. To me this thought is beautiful and sophisticated while managing to be even little humorous at the same time.
The bowing phone. Source
Juice skin
This project is a true ode to affordability. These juice boxes have been designed to have a multisensory appeal, and not only in the taste of the juice or the visual appearance of the box. They aim to communicate the content through the actual feel of the box, creating an ultimate visual communication piece that gives the often overlooked sense of touch a place in the design.
Juice boxes designed for an exhibition. Source
I’m feeling very genorous today so as a special gift I’m also sharing two TED talks from two women, who also inspire me immensely (you are welcome).
The first one is from a lovely designer/artist called Kelli Anderson. She has an amazing way of seeing the world and using the everyday as her inspiration. She inspires me in the way she can reinvent the most common place of things, like paper, and bring forth qualities we didn’t even realize they possessed.
This next one is a hugely talented paper cutter called Béatrice Coron. She inspires me in the way she tells stories through her work and how wildly broad her sources of inspiration are. I’m also in awe of the sense of humor she brings to her work as well as a sense of location and sophistication. She makes the art works relevant to the places they inhibit through incorporating local stories and historical facts into them.
I used the brilliant book: Naoto Fukasawa as the resource for this blog post. This is where all the quotes are from. I’ve only started to skim the surface of who Fukasawa is as a designer, so if you got interested, I recommend this book as a great place to learn a bit more.
Okay, so I know it isn’t sunday, but I’ve been experiencing some problems with my blog and I’m still in the process of trying to migrate it from wordpress.com to my own hosting. The look of the blog will also be changing along the way (maybe even few times, before I find the one that is just right) so I thank you for your patience while I figure things out.
But lets get down to business. So the previous week was already week 5, which is bit of a scary thought. The week started with a personal tutorial during which I was guided to look for an example of few examples that I could really draw inspiration from. Something that could really ground and exemplify whatI want to achieve. So the rest of my week was divided between the hunt for an example and more academic research into behavioural economics.
This weeks board then gathers few things that I found along my search that I think might be useful. And believe me it wasn’t an easy choice on what to include. There are several aspects I wanted to include, but there just simply wasn’t space for all of them. Some of them I couldn’t even capture (silly iPhone is giving me problems with screen capturing certain things). I still quite haven’t really found that single example that I could use as a grounding pillar for my project, but that just means that the hunt must continue this week as well.
Click on the image to see it bit bigger
Apps included on the board:
For inspiration in the domain of doing good I present: notfound.org
Notfound.org is a project that aims to make better use of the 404 pages on websites. The idea is that people can sign up their websites to become part of the cause. If they do then all the 404 pages on their website will display an image of a missing child. Posting photos of missing children is the most effective way to find them and now anyone with a website can contribute in a small way.
I love this idea as it allows people to do good but in a way that is doable by companies and individuals alike. It does not actually effect the website as such as it will only appear on a 404 “page not found” but if enough websites sign up for it, it could actually make a difference in getting the images to a bigger audience. I like the simplicity of the idea as well as the connection they have made between their cause and an already existing platform. They are repurposing something that is currently underused and essentially only asking people to give something that they aren’t (in most cases) currently using anyway.
Here is a video that allows the people behind notfound.org explain their concept:
As promised (see I keep my word) I’ll tell you a bit about the process I went through last week for getting forward in my project. As you might have read previously I was quite stuck with my project. I had several aspects clear but had a hard time deciding on a topic. It seemed intimidating to make such a decision without having considered all the aspects first. What if I chose something but then it turned out to be the wrong decision?
One of the things that helped me was just time. Having the time to do research, look into all the aspects and have a good think about it. But in the end this wasn’t enough to push me to a decision so I decided to compliment this with two small exercises.
The IDEO method card. Source
My first exercise, suggested by a fellow student, was about getting everything down. Writing all the questions I had and really trying to get everything I was holding in my head out. This was similar to an exercise I did earlier in the project but instead of just getting things out this time I was more critical. I started by asking myself why am I really stuck and really tried to drill deep into this by applying one of the IDEO method cards, the Five Whys?. So really trying to cross-examinate myself and understand the situation I’m in. So asked questions like why am i stuck, what is my goal, what am I passionate about, who I want to be as a designer, etc.
This gave me a better understanding of the ground I was standing on and allowed me to use these for another exercise. I identified the most important concepts that popped up during my Q&A session, the ones that could end up being the focus point of my project, and then gave myself only 10 minutes to research each. This exercise came from the insight that I want to base my project on something real, so clearly research was in place. By limiting the research to such a short time period I got a sense of what I felt most passionate about, what I wanted to know more about. Through doing this I identified good deeds as something that really struck a cord with me.
Doing flash research
As I explained in my end of the week post the idea I had was to be inspired by the progress principle but use that in trying to inspire people to do good. So using the idea that one of the major aspects of making people happier and more productive is simply making progress in a meaningful way and giving people the channel to record their good deeds, give what they do a prominence. Hopefully allowing them to feel like they’re doing something meaningful and through that inspire them to keep it up or even do more.
I’ve started doing some research into this and identified some other projects done in this domain. What has become quite clear is that tone of voice will be extremely important to get right. I do not want to to be preachy but I want it to be something to be taken seriously. I don’t want it to be childish but I want to incorporate playfulness and humour to it. Getting the balance right between these will require careful consideration and iteration. Another critical aspect of this project will be understanding the motivation and drive behind doing good. So hopefully I’ll get to really utilise the behavioural economics theories that I’ve been researching.
During the past week I’ve also created an inspiration poster for myself. It’s purpose is to work as a reminder of one of the key aspects I believe in and want to put across with my project.
The secondary purpose was to try my hand at creating graphics inspired by my visual identity boards (won’t be hard to guess which one).
Time again to look back and collage together what the past week has meant in terms of the project.
I am very happy to inform that this week has been a positive one. I’ve manage to take quite a big leap forward. This has some to do with the amount of thought power that has gone into figuring things out but a big thanks goes also to few exercises that I did during the week. I’ll introduce these in a separate post soon (promise).
So now for this hyped big step forward: I’ve decided to concentrate my efforts on looking at good deeds. How could I inspire, or challenge, people to do good? The idea draws inspiration from the progress principle and the basic idea would be to allow people the means to record any good deeds they do and thus inspire them to keep them up as well as maybe pick up some new ones along the way. To help people to feel more like they are actually making a difference and feel better about themselves and maybe even help others along the way.
This idea really ticks most of the boxes that I’ve been creating along the way. It plays to the idea that even small things can have a big effect, it promotes my values as a designer and really allows me to concentrate on crafting the experience. And above all, I have a very good feeling about it. I’m excited.
So this weeks board features a word cloud that tries to capture the concepts that have been relevant this week, with the most important ones highlighted in yellow.
Click to see the image bigger
This weeks tutorial was about starting to look into finding our visual language. As I’m not yet at a stage where i could actually make informed decisions about what kind of visual language I want to use I started to look into few styles that I admire and think might be useful in the project.
As you might have picked up previously I’m a big fan of Pinterest and so to keep up my love affair I started my search there. Instead of looking for a specific visual style I decided to go through a myrriad of choices and pick out the ones that somehow appealed to me. I then put all these together and started looking for commonalities amongst them. I ended up putting together three boards that represented something that I was particularly attracted to.
The first board shares the use of stricking geometry and bold colours. They use simple shapes to build something more complex.
Board 1
The second board mixes bold images and beautiful typography. I feel this combo is one of the best ways to get across a simple message.
Board 2
The third board might lean more on tone of voice side than actual visual language. But as the two of them are so interconnected I decided to include this here as well. I believe that a hint of playfulness can go a long way in making people really connect to what you are presenting them with. It can really break barriers and makes it all a bit more fun.
Board 3
The sources for all the images can be found on my Pinterest board.
It’s Sunday and yes you guessed it: the week has once again whizzed by. I’ve dedicated most of this week to desk research looking into the fascinating area of behavioral economics. For those of you less familiar with this topic, in a nutshell it’s the study of what kind of behavioural aspects, social, cognitive or emotional, influence our economic decisions. And no, I haven’t suddenly turned into an economist. These are important aspects that will help me understand better why and how behave in a certain way. For example: why they choose one service over the other, how to guide them through an application and what motivates people to do certain things. All of these aspects are highly applicable in the field of interaction design.
As is now a tradition (yes, the third time can already be called a tradition) I’ve made another inspiration board. This time outlaying the books I’ve been reading this week and for each book one quote that I thought somehow reflects the contents.
And here are links to the Google books page for each book:
Advances in Behavioral Economics edited by Colin F. Camerer, George Loewenstein and Matthew Rabin
Behavioral Economics and its applications edited by Peret Diamond and Hannu Vartiainen
Drive: the surprising truth about what motivates us by Daniel H. Pink
Mira Kirvesmaki 