DAY THREE :: In Class & Homework

In Class

• review community models, community reading discussion
• continue research & brainstorming for community (mindmaps, matrix, map wants, concept maps and needs)
• poster development
• watch shirkey video

Homework
research & poster development:

• have several poster sketches ready to share
• have mindmaps, lists, etc. ready for review/discussion

PROJECT ONE :: RESEARCH POSTERS

Design 2 research posters outlining your chosen activity from the individual and community perspectives. Creation of the research posters will fuel ideas for the creation of your "system". Find out all you can about what it takes for an individual, and community, to be involved in your chosen activity. Utilize the principles learned in Information Architecture to organize, display, and connect relevant points. Design as a team so your posters fit together systematically. Don't forget design & hierarchy, these posters should be engaging, beautiful, and informative.

size 2' x 3' (horizontal or vertical pair)

color yes

audience designers, developers, business specialists (imagine presenting this to a hypothetical group that would be funding, programming and advertising this project)

primary considerations

• how can you design this information so it will actually be read and utilized?
• is the content both concise and highly informative/useful?

content requirements

"individual" poster

1. a persona image

2. persona text and/or images describing:

• basic demographic info such as age, education, home, employment, income, etc
• "membership" info (from the reading and/or your own model) such as boundaries, emotional safety, level of belonging and identification, symbols used, etc
• needs for community interaction: what is desired and valued by this person?
• needs for successful activity involvement

"community" poster

visually / textually describe the following:

1. basic description of the community

2. activity information such as physical boundaries/setting, what's/who's involved, equipment, etc

3. shared values of the group

4. how influence works (provide an example)

5. how shared emotional connection happens (provide examples)

TEAMS!

Goooooo team!
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Amanda Laffoon
Dustin Maberry
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Katherine Morr
Carly Jobes
--
Tammy Shell
Lance Flores
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Bryan Jones
Dmitri Kozlov

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DAY TWO :: In Class & Homework

In Class

• O'Reilly reading discussion 
• announce teams 
• teams get together & discuss activities 
• decide on community 

Homework

1. Read: Psychological Sense of Community 


2. Read/See: Communitas


3. Propose a Community Model: AS A TEAM propose your own community model (in writing) based on both the reading and diagram, change it or expand it to incorporate restrictions or enhancements that the online space, mobile devices, bluetooth technology, multitouch devices, etc. can bring to community interaction, add it to this post's comments sections (as a team).


4. Diagram Your Community Model: AS A TEAM design and post to both of your blogs a diagram of your model. This is an exercise in information architecture and should clarify both for you and viewers the interaction and function of your model. This should be well considered and well designed as it will feature in future presentations of your project.


5. Start Research & Brainstorming: When researching, brainstorming and defining the parameters below, please work together and explore mind-mapping, basic outlining and diagramming to lay down the foundation of your research. This can be done loosely but do it largely, butcher-paper and white boarding sessions (photograph those white boards and papers and blog post) are expected. Define your chosen activity's parameters such as:

• physical boundaries
• what's/who's involved
• equipment needs
• demographics
• individual and community wants and needs
• symbols (uniforms, tools, markers of the activity's community)
• motivations, etc.

MONDAY LUNCH LECTURE :: GARRETT!!!!!!!!!!!

Garrett Fuselier from T2 will give us a rousing lunch lecture:

Web 2.0 | Monday | August 30 | Lunchtime

Be there by 10:45 and bring your lunch so no one has to hear you complain about being hungry afterwords. We will leave class an hour early on Tuesday as compensation.

DAY ONE :: Homework

1. Pick possible team members

Who do you really want to work with for 10 weeks on our first project? Consider carefully and send me an email with 3 names in order of preference tonight. I will then consider carefully and post the teams before class on Thursday. All requests will be confidential.

considerations to carefully consider

do you each bring a special set of skills to the team?

do you get along and will you get along working together for half a semester?

do you trust each other?

do you respect your team member enough to be responsible for your share of the deliverables?

2. Read What is Web 2.0

Please read the incredibly boring but very explanatory What is Web 2.0. This is not about social implications and user perspective, but about the technologies around the changes in the internets that made Web 2.0 feasible. Why do I want you to read this? Why should a designer be aware of these things? We talk Thursday.

3. Bring a list of possible activities

Project 1 :: Community Building System

Design a multimedia system for a community of individuals involved in a common activity. This system should move content fluidly across platforms/mediums to display, map and share information. Define ways to facilitate interaction and sharing, finding ways to collect information from the real world to send, analyze, and visualize in the electronic world. An online area will respond to the needs of the whole community, while an iPhone and iPad application will be designed with the individual user in mind. 
*iPad may be used to address community needs if you move to large shared touch screen. iPhone/iPad platforms are negotiable. 

project objectives

• understand what Web 2.0 means 
• understand the differences between, and design appropriately for, both static and dynamic content 
• design for a specific user group considering ethnography, age, location, etc. 
• apply user research to inform both your concept and design 
• apply (and expand) your technical and design knowledge from Information Architecture to complex situations 
• design at both the component and system level for screen-based communications 
• further develop your presentation and critique skills 
• integrate linear and non-linear elements into a seamless user experience. 
• understand the multiple tools & multiple technologies makeup of interactive design and explore their combination of these technologies 
• design screen-based systems that rely on and respond to user input 
• understand the separation of design and content that is integral to current multi-authored web content 
• demonstrate understanding of user-centered, contextually appropriate navigation structures 

project considerations

• consider both available and hypothetical technologies when concepting, be creative!
• almost ANY individual activity can be the basis for a community, think about it!
• your ideas and the design of your interfaces are the most important aspects of this project
• you will not be expected to program functioning prototypes of this project, static click through demos and timeline-based Flash are fully acceptable, your final artifact will be a produced video that summarizes your research and artifact. 
• those inclined and interested in deeper technologies like Actionscripting and Javascript are encouraged to develop those skills and use them for the prototyping of this project

Welcome students of MX!

This blog will contain all materials relating to class, syllabus, project descriptions, deliverables, deadlines, discussions and more. You are expected to check it regularly and comment where required.

A designer must understand the landscape he works in and should regularly insert visual research into his routine. To this end and for the enrichment of all, I expect you to contribute to the FIND + SHARE post of this blog.

As part of your process and participation grades, your activities on your own blog and this blog will be monitored (really), so stay active! I expect significant process steps to be posted to your blogs and of course commented on.

This class rocks, and so do you!