lroddesign

taxonomy of ui gestures

by Laura Rodriguez | | 0 comments

For our last stretch of the semester we are looking at gestural interfaces in conjunction with our database. I thought about how the seven colors of health (my database) inform the way that people eat and shop, so looked in those contexts for naturally occurring gestures. These grand gestures that make up my taxonomy include: scanning an object at checkout, getting an item off the shelf, eating food with different types of cutlery, &c.

I found it challenging to try and utilize these specific gestures in an interface—even though their use in context was similar to it's use within the database—because it instantly became vaguely symbolic. The gesture used to interact with the information had to be a learned behavior that challenged existing conventions. While challenging conventions is awesome, I found it to be particularly cumbersome and exhaustive in this case. In one iteration, with a fridge interaction, my user looked like a genie in front of this appliance silently commanding recipe shopping at will. (enjoy below)

I ended up taking a slightly different route for my final project, where it became less about the gesture and it's meaning within the system, and more about the visual feedback during interaction.

And yes, this all happens in the future...haha

update: database concept map

by Laura Rodriguez | | 0 comments

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by Laura Rodriguez | | 0 comments

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interactive moments

by Laura Rodriguez | | 0 comments

Working with my 'color in relation to nature' database, I completed three project prompts (6 moments).

PROMPT ONE
Combine 1 motivation with 1 attribute of experience.

For this moment I assigned 'credibility' as the user's motivation and 'framing' for their attribute of experience. After critique we had an hour to story board an improved idea, so I attempted to make the interface more color centric. It was also important for me to keep pushing my visualizations of time.

PROMPT TWO
Design two moments where the user's motivation shifts according to the attribute of experience.

Again, I was looking for new ways of representing time and exploring the possibilities of user interaction. If a user has to hold onto the ball to collect the color data in one moment, how would their motivation shift if their mouse rollover resulted in a color seeking behavior?

PROMPT THREE
Retain a comparable attribute of experience throughout 3 different environments.

The distinction between "I hear you" and "I'm listening to you" is what I wanted to get across in my last three moments—except with the focus being on how we see. By mediating the vision between someone and their environment, I can encourage a different way of seeing. So, the attribute of experience is isolating color in your environment, which was carried through on an iphone, desktop computer, and hand-held spectacles or as Cadie would say, "Interface on your face!"

I was amazed at how difficult it was to reinvent the click (not that that was our implicit goal). But, if a mouse could not go up to an object on the screen, click on it, and make requested information appear...what else could it do instead? Also, since the desktop metaphor is an invented notion, just imagine how different computer experiences would be if the driving metaphor behind them defied the laws of gravity, or interpreted them literally. Both of these scenarios have me imagining a neutral mouse state either floating away or instantly slamming to the bottom of the screen.

Anyhow, I am excited about moving forward with my explorations.

spring semester 2010

by Laura Rodriguez | | 0 comments

The spring semester at NCSU is all about interface, so we have been hard at work! So far we have picked a database (that would enable us to explore different affordances), started a concept map, did rapid prototyping, and responded to three project prompts requiring us to explore user motivation and attributes of experience. I chose 'color in relation to nature' as my database.

Below are current screenshots of my concept map:

And my results from our rapid prototyping session:

Our professor Denise Gonzales Crisp invited the second year students to take a break from thesis and watch a screening of our prompted moments in Burns Auditorium this coming Wednesday. I'll be posting my compilation video later this week.

mediated seminar festivities

by Laura Rodriguez | | 0 comments

Today in Seminar, my classmates Kelly and David had a great idea for discussing our assigned reading. Relevant to the discussion of technology and it's implications, we partnered up to mediate our comments through Xtranormal (a text to movie website).

The process of converting a face to face conversation into an animated "conversation" was very eye opening. The tone of our physical conversation was primarily serious in nature, but that changed once we began directing how it would be broadcasted. In the end, the agency over the childish avatars, sound bytes, body gestures, and camera angles provoked a more playful tone in dialogue.

Watch below as Wendy and I discuss Sherry Turkle's text: