Exercise One – Analog
Part One of the first exercise was to bring in analog/physical objects with an interface. Students walked around the classroom, observing and analysing each of the objects. These objects ranged from gramophones and watches to diffusers and cameras. Students were divided into groups of 4-5, based on their interest in working with a specific object.
The groups for the next few classes are:
Group One: The Polaroid Camera
Group Two: The Hand Blender
Group Three: The Diffuser
Group Four: The Gamer’s Headphones
Group Five: The Bluetooth Speaker
In Part Two of this exercise, students sat together in their groups and worked together to identify, observe, and analyse their object keeping in mind the following:
- the product, brand, cost and target group
- functions of the object interface
- accessibility issues and empathy issues (common ones being low/no vision and deafness)
- problems in the interface
- potential solutions to improve the interface
All these tasks were documented on color-coded post-its, as students alternated between working individually, then in their group to discuss and brainstorm their ideas. Part Two ended with students individually sketching ideas for an improved interface. Although everyone worked within the same parameters of the exercise, it was interesting to see how differently each group organised their thoughts.