Author Archives: zacfischel

Final Reflection

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My interest in taking this class was to have an opportunity to explore user experience design. I haven’t previously been interested in UX so when the opportunity presented itself to explore further, I decided to sign up.

I’ve learned much about how design and computer science can blend together in ways to make data usable to a wide variety of people, and how digital experiences can become depended on how the physical presents them.

That being said, I don’t believe UX is a field that interests me moving forward, but I am grateful for the experience.

Readings #2

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Intelligence on Tap: Artificial Intelligence as a New Design Material

I don’t really believe in using AI as a material we should use to design for humans with. It is not human, and computers do not think altruistically. We as humans design for humans and bringing in an element such as this adds an aspect to design that does not benefit us. I understand how it is mapped like our brains, so-called artificial neural networks and such, but it loses the touch of our emotions and sometimes irrational decisions which can coincidentally benefit us.

UX Design Innovation: Challenges for Working with Machine Learning as a Design Material

I think the more we work towards creating with machine learning, the less we rely on the human aspect to create. Yes these machines themselves are human creations, but when we let an algorithm or computer have a say in what we create as humans for humans, we lose the touch. The fact that music is so beautiful because it is created by something that is inherently imperfect (humans) makes it human itself. I think using machine learning as a tool to develop design further is important, but not something we should come to rely on.

Machines Learning Culture

It’s definitely interesting to see machine learning and how it interacts with visual arts, but I’m curious about the future of it with audio. Could we develop ways for machines to create music perfectly suited to our tastes? I currently use a service called brain.fm that develops music to suit your brain for creative work or studying. Could a new version of this analyze your tastes and create a perfect song? Could we use it to create ways to battle mental illness?

Wallet Prototyping – Matt + Zac

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We focused on 4 different prototypes to address a variety of needs our clients expressed. Working mainly with bristol paper and masking tape, we’ve created 4 working models that express these ideas:

  1. A spinning fan-style to accommodate multiple card types but remain slim. 

    2. We focused on a more traditional design that included dividers in the multiple pockets for organization.

    3. An accordion-style slim wallet mainly for cards, some small room for cash.

    4. And finally a pocket-style for larger capacity of cards, with a bill  pocket wrapping around the outside and a latch.

Readings #1

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Sengers “The Engineering of Experience.”

A very interesting article overall, but there was one point I agreed with in part 6 that really stood out. Adopting a Taylorism-centered mindset to designing your daily experience to be more efficient and enjoyable seems to be straightforward, but one forgets to account for the human-factor. The fact that as humans, we are not perfect, we are not made of code, and we are more likely than not unpredictable. The example of trying to engineer a more efficient housewife schedule through motion studies shows this perfectly. It is impossible to fully engineer and control the tasks of taking care of children and running a household. Focusing greatly on improving the efficiency of this experience greatly reduced the pleasure of the work that had no need to be more efficient in the first place.

Wright, McCarthy, & Meekison “Making Sense of Experience”

The most interesting part of this article to me was dissecting the four threads of experience, particularly the sensual and the emotional. As designers, we often fail to think about how the experience of using a product will make us feel as we are focused on the effectiveness of it’s operation. For example, a pair of scissors might cut paper very well, but they are crude and bulky, resulting in uncomfortable sensation during use and a negative emotional mindset towards the product. Being able to distinguish between the two is also very important as we need to recognize what improves each area of an experience. What might improve the emotional response of an experience might not always provide the same sensual response, and vice versa.