DECO3200 Human-Computer
Experience Design Computing Studio
July 2007 Term Course Outline and Schedule
Version: May 17, 2007
Affiliation: Faculty of Architecture, Design
and Planning
Office: Room 275
E-mail: a.dong@arch.usyd.edu.au
Office hours: By appointment only Friday afternoons
Units: 12 credit points
Lecture/Tutorial: Two hours per
week (Mondays & Tuesdays 10AM-11AM in ALT2)
Studio: Ten hours of studio per
week (Mondays 11AM-1PM and 2PM-5PM and Tuesdays 11AM-1PM and 2PM-5PM in Room
313)
Web site:
http://www.arch.usyd.edu.au/~adong/courses/deco3200/july07/
New
technologies in design computing have the potential to not only improve the
quality of designs, but to change the way we design and the kinds of artefacts
we create. Meanwhile the tethering of humans to machines constructs an intimacy
which pushes human-computer interaction (HCI) towards human-computer agency.
What new capacity exists when people and machines are brought together in the
embodiment of agency? This unit of study will cover designing innovative and
novel objects that have embedded information content, computation, and
intelligence. The students will explore through design the evolution of design
computing from one in which humans manipulate computing to create objects to
one in which humans and computing devices co-create objects that facilitate
humanistic experiences.
This unit of study has three objectives situated in
two learning contexts: the studio and the classroom. The studio context
encapsulates the first two objectives. First, the unit of study is
operationally focused - by
stepping through an iterative, user-centred design process, the students will
learn about user-centred design (UCD), and through this process, realize an
operational prototype of an interactive computing product. The operational
prototype is the primary vehicle of assessment. Through the tutorials, a second
skills-based focus will introduce the students to advanced design computing technologies.
These skills will enable the students to complete the design project; the
capacity of the students to utilize and extend these skills will be assessed by
the embodiment of these skills in the final design. The classroom context
enables the lecture component of the subject. The lectures will introduce the
students to philosophical and technical perspectives on designing products with
an emphasis on the human element. An understanding of these perspectives will
be assessed through verbal commentary and written essays. The unit of study
incorporates all of the skills that the students have developed throughout
their studies in design computing and digital media not only in the realization
of the product for the project but also in the interim submissions.
The unit
of study aims to graduate the students from the degree with the confidence to
apply their design computing and digital media skills to a wide array of design
problems that they may encounter in various industries. Upon completion of this
unit of study, students will have demonstrated the capacity to investigate and
integrate advanced design computing technologies into the design of objects
with embedded information content, content, and intelligence. The unit of study
also reinforces the students’ experiences in designing through
reflection-in-action of the design process.
MobileHCI 2006 [Available
Online]
The quality of life, Edited by Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen, [Available Online]
There are
regular individual assignments which will be marked as either completed or
not-completed. You will also receive an un-recorded mark that will not
affect your final mark. This mark is intended to allow you to monitor the
quality of your progress. In other words, for example, you’ll receive a mark such
as Completed/CR. However, if you do not submit the
interim assessments on-time, you will receive a 0/F. Because your clients would never accept your deliverables late, late
submissions will not be accepted in this class. Collectively, these
assignments total 30% of your final mark. These assignments are intended to: 1)
ensure you stay on target (time management) by completing deliverables which
contribute to the completion of your project; 2) receive feedback from the
lecturer, tutors, and your peers on your design progress; 3) practice new
skills; and 4) improve your concept!
The term
project, described below, comprises 50% of your mark. The assessment details
are included with the project description.
The final
20% of your mark is comprised of your participation in the unit of study,
including regular attendance, in-class discussion, and studio critique. Studio
critique is an integral component of the learning experience. All students are
expected to contribute constructively
to the critique of each other’s work. Mere attendance at all lectures,
tutorials, and studio sessions does not in any way guarantee that you will
receive the full marks for participation. Belligerent or inappropriate
criticisms will be a disadvantage to your mark.
There is
weekly assigned reading. You are expected to have done the reading prior to
lecture. You may be called upon during lecture to summarize the reading or to
answer a question related to the reading. Note that 20% of your mark is based
on your participation in the class. A failure to prepare for the class
sessions will be a serious detriment to your final mark.
You are
expected to attend each lecture, tutorial and critique except due to illness,
emergencies beyond your control or prior arrangement with the instructor. The
studio time will include critique of your work by the lecturer and your fellow
classmates. Constructive engagement in these critique sessions is expected.
The Studio
times are often self-directed. I will be available for consultation in my
office during those times, but I may not always be present in the studio.
Unlike
the other units of study which you have taken during your tenure in design
computing, this class is intended to provide you guidance in completing your
term project without being prescriptive. That is, the intent is to give you the
flexibility to choose a design process that is appropriate to your design
problem and to tailor your deliverables in a way that best communicates the
function, behaviour and structure of your designed work. This is simply more
realistic of the “real world” that you shall shortly join. Clients will not
tell you how many 3D models they want and what to show in the 3D models. Thus,
the expectation is that you will work independently with a minimum of “hand
holding” by the lecturer and tutors.
The basic
question which your design project will address is the following: how could
computing improve the quality of life for people in developing regions of the
world?
In order
to design a product to explore this question, we’ll study three inter-related
fields: sociological issues regarding quality of life; universal computing; and
designing for the developing world. Given an understanding of these areas,
we’ll apply a user-centred design process to design an artefact which explores
this question.
To lend
the project authenticity and practicality, your design project must focus on a
specific community with real people and real needs.
Finally,
you must demonstrate that your product can support the intended community.
Although
this project is exploratory in nature, you
must produce sufficient technical detail for your designed artefact. In
addition, you must include: 1) an ‘animated’ simulation of your product (e.g.,
in Flash, Director or Final Cut) that is at least 30 seconds in length; and 2)
an A1 sized full-colour poster describing your designed work.
Your
final project will be assessed on the following criteria:
-
30% Design (Conceptual
complexity, thematic applicability, responsiveness to brief)
-
30% Technical
Achievement (Completeness of implementation)
-
20% Technical
Complexity (Sophistication of design computing technology and of system)
-
20% Documentation
(Essay and technical memo)
- A looks-like works-like prototype of
your designed work represented and simulated using appropriate design computing
technologies and digital media
- A two-page paper discussing (but not
limited to)
O Your designed work in relation to the design
brief and the theme of the project
o Technical and functional description
o Description of use (i.e., the user experience)
o This paper must be
formatted according to the ACM publication standard
[http://www.sheridanprinting.com/typedept/mm1.htm]. See ACM Multimedia ’06 Arts
sessions 1-4 for examples of these types of papers.
-
A 30 second (minimum)
video, animation or dynamic simulation of your designed work
- A complete design brief
-
A user evaluation plan including the House of Quality
-
P A rudimentary
functional mobile-phone based application which is an inferior “copy” of an
existing application
-
CR A functional mobile
phone application which adapts existing technology in a predictable way
-
D A new enabling
technology or mobile phone application that is novel
-
HD A new enabling
technology and demonstration application of the enabling technology
DECO3200 Human-Computer Experience
Design Computing Studio
Weekly Schedule
WEEK |
DATE |
TOPIC |
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1 |
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introduction
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design exercise 1 (Due 30-july)
Re-thinking the mobile phone 1 Create a collage in words and pictures about the one unintended (i.e., it was not purposely designed into the phone) activity enabled by a mobile phone. Ideas: |
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23 Jul |
lecture: unit of study overview
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23 Jul |
tutorial: setting up for mobile
phone application development
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24 Jul |
LECTURE: designing nomadic media
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24-25 Jul |
Studio:
Begin the process of investigating ideas for your project by discussing your project with the instructor, “diving” through the Internet and researching conference proceedings and journal articles. You should also begin writing your ideas for your project in a preliminary design brief. You will be given a format for your design brief. |
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2 |
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User-Centred Designing
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design exercise 2 (Due 6-august)
Re-thinking the mobile phone 2 Find an everyday tangible activity (e.g., knitting) and create a concept for turning the mobile phone into a mediator for that activity and a mobile phone-based application that would make use of that action (e.g., making a digital fabric representing threads of data) |
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30 Jul |
lecture: using empathic design
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31 Jul |
tutorial:
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30 Jul |
critique: Review design exercise 1
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31 Jul – 31 Jul |
Studio:
In studio, begin the process of creating a detailed user profiles and use scenarios of the intended end-user(s) for your designed work. Imagine that you are writing a script for a play. Who are the actors? What are they doing with your product? Where are they using it? Why are they using it? How do they feel when they are using it? What is the resulting user experience with your product? Create storyboards for your script. |
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3 |
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HUMANS AND DESIGN
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design exercise 2 (Due 13-august)
Re-thinking the mobile phone 3 Develop a mobile phone based concept to turn an everyday activity into gameplay (e.g., running around in the park with your phone makes you into a Pong paddle) |
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Individual Assignment 1 (Due 20
august)
Design
Concepts Using
appropriate design computing tools such as Mobile Processing, J2ME, Illustrator,
Flash, Director, and Photoshop, etc. create one functional and one visual
"low-fidelity" of the concept for your designed work. The prototype
should communicate the basic concept for your design and should be geared to
enable others to understand your design concept. Submit the prototype, design
brief, and presentation to the dropbox. You will have 10 minutes to present your concept on August 20. Your concepts will be reviewed by the Lecturer and your peers. Written feedback will be provided to you. |
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6 Aug |
lecture:
directions in mobile phone interfaceS/ING
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7 Aug |
tutorial:
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6 Aug |
critique: review design exercise 2
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6-7 Aug |
Studio:
Begin work on your design brief and storyboard. |
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4 |
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the capabilities approach
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13 Aug |
LECTURE: The quality of life
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14 Aug |
tutorial: j2me Networking with
http / sms and mms
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13 Aug |
critique: review design exercise 3
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13-14 Aug |
Studio:
Create digital prototypes of your product. |
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5 |
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the capabilities approach
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Individual Assignment 1 (Due 02
october)
Technology
Review You will have 10 minutes to present a working prototype of your concept on October 2. Your prototype should be of sufficient completeness that parts of your prototype could be used by another person, given some training. Your prototype will be reviewed by the Lecturer and your peers. Written feedback will be provided to you. |
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20 Aug |
LECTURE: The quality of life
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21 Aug |
tutorial: j2me multimedia
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20 Aug |
critique:
critique of design concepts
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20-21 Aug |
Studio:
Create digital prototypes of your product. |
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6 |
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27 Aug |
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28 Aug |
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27 Aug |
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27-28 Aug |
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7 |
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3 Sep |
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4 Sep |
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3 Sep |
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3-4 Sep |
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8 |
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10 Sep |
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11 Sep |
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10 Sep |
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10-11 Sep |
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9 |
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17 Sep |
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18 Sep |
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17 Sep |
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17-18 Sep |
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24-25 Sep |
AVCC Common Week/non-teaching
period
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10 |
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technology review
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Individual Assignment
N/A |
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1 Oct |
labour day
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2 Oct |
lecture: interpreting artifacts for innovation
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2 Oct |
critique: review of technology
prototypes
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2 Oct |
Studio:
Continue
working on your final design concept incorporating feedback from your peer
review. |
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11 |
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new product innovation
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Individual Assignment 3 (DUE 23
OCTOBER)
Concept Testing Plan Your Concept Testing Plan sets out how you will evaluate how well your product satisfies the design goals you set forth in your design brief. The only way to know is by user testing. As discussed in lecture, your concept testing plan must address the following points: 1) Who will you be testing? 2) How will you conduct the test? 3) Provide the assessment instrument. 4) How will you communicate the design concept to your users? 5) What method will you use to interpret the results? |
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8 Oct |
lecture: innovative product design
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9 Oct |
critique: no critique today
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8 Oct |
tutorial: writing an evaluation
plan
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8-9 Oct |
Studio: Open Studio
Complete
your user evaluation plan. |
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12 |
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open design studio
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open design studio
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open design studio
N/A |
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15 Oct |
open
design studio
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16 Oct |
open
design studio
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15-16 Oct |
open
design studio
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13 |
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final prototype review
Present your final prototype. You will be allocated exactly 15 minutes for the presentation and 10 minutes for question and answers. |
final prototype review
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final
prototype review
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22 Oct |
final
prototype review
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23 Oct |
final
prototype review
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22-23 Oct |
final
prototype review
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15 |
6 Nov |
DESIGN
PROJECTS DUE by 10AM SHARP
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