Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Lia - Wearable technology for women




Welcome!


This blog is devoted to the design of:

Lia - Wearable Technology for Women


Here you'll find a record of the design process for Lia, created during the spring of 2005 at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

There's a lot of detailed content here, so you could scroll down this front page a bit or jump straight to posting on:

user research
concept sketches
personas
final form design
an iconic interaction demonstration

or choose one of the three photographed scenarios: 1 - 2 - 3.

Scenario 1

Most of my mornings look the same.



I always pick out my outfit before I do anything else, because if I pick out my clothes the night before, it's inevitable that I'll change my mind in the morning anyway.



After that, I take a shower, get dressed, and then I put on my makeup.



I always leave picking out my jewelry until right before I leave. It's my favorite part of my morning ritual.



I like all of my jewelry, but there are some pieces that mean more to me than others. For instance, my favorite ring was given to me by my grandmother before she passed away, and wearing it always reminds me of her.



My charm bracelet is also one of my favorites because each charm reminds me of a different time and place. I can always seem to remember where each one came from, even the ones from when I was a child.




The one piece of jewelry I wear the most often is Lia. I can wear it anywhere I want, but most often I feel like wearing it on my wrist so I can see it.



I like watching its display evolve during the day, and my friends often comment on it.



I never know who I am going to run into when I go out. When I wear Lia, it naturally responds to the people around me and my chance meetings are recorded with a touch.

Scenario 2

During my lunch break I decided to go to the park to enjoy the beautiful day outside.



I was trying to read all of my backed up emails...



... but got distracted by these pigeons over in the grass, so I just leaned back to gaze at the flowers and watch the people pass by.



While I was looking around, I saw my friend Susan approaching in the distance. I haven't seen her in ages!



When she saw me, she walked up to say hello. She had a few minutes, so she sat down so we could chat.



It's so funny how after not seeing someone for a month, you kind of lose touch of what's going on in their life.



Susan has this great new job now, working for a local newspaper, and I had a chance to tell her about my trip to New York, and the great shopping they have there.



Unfortunately, I had to get back to work and so we said our goodbyes. As we hugged goodbye, I noticed that Susan was wearing Lia also!



She just bought her's, so when she looked down at hers, I did too. We saw that they recognized one another when we hugged, and each Lia added a color and a light to represent our meeting.

Scenario 3

After I got off work I decided to go out for a drink. It is Friday after all. When I arrived at the bar, I stood outside to wait for my friend Sherry.



As I rummaged for my cell phone to check the time...



I noticed my Lia because a couple of the lights were brighter. One of the brighter lights was green, so I knew Sherry was close by.



I looked up to find her but I couldn't see her anywhere, so I figured she must be inside.



Inside, I saw Sherry across to room on the phone, but I didn't want to disturb her...



... so I went ahead and ordered my drink.



While I was waiting, I saw someone that works in my office. We greeted each other and talked about office politics for a while.





Sherry was off the phone by then and spotted me. As she made her way over, Lia got brighter...



... and when she touched me on the shoulder to say hello, a new white light was added next to her green light.



I didn't stay at the bar too much longer, because it was a long day...



... but it was great to see so many of my favorite people today.

Device above display case


Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Wrapping

Monday, May 23, 2005

Proximity

Monday, May 16, 2005

Display & device summary

Close-up

In-store display

The display case for the final product enhances the nature of the device by being composed of metal. This allows the product to appear to float, while actually being magnetically attached to the outside of the cylinder. Dana and I made the design decision to remove a section of the cylinder, so that the illusion would be reinforced.

The actual container that the user will receive upon purchase is a part of the display, and reveals the color that is assigned to each device. It is suspended at the very top of the cylinder, and can be removed and opened easily. The lid to the container is partially clear, to reveal the inside, so that the coiled device is visible to the user after it is put away.



Saturday, May 14, 2005

Scenario - The Plan

In order to clearly communicate our final concept, we will create at least three scenarios. These scenarios will be comprised of high-quality photographs, grouped and displayed with voice-overs.

The scenarios will convey the interaction of the product - both the form and the interface - in use by our target audience in context.

Lauren and I outlined the photo shoot, and that outline is below for your reading enjoyment...

Scenarios of Use - all occuring on a Saturday in the life of a woman in our target demographic

1 - getting ready in the morning
1 quick flash of taking shower,
2 blow dry hair
3 on the nightstand
4 putting it on - wrapping action shot
5 then out the door

highlight non-obtrusive nature, it's attractive on its own, when dimed
always wears it - what if you meet someone and it's not there?!?

2 - at the park / outside / walking dog / meets new friend - midday
1 walking down sidewalk with book in hand
2 sits to read, people watch, person walking up in the background
3 turns to look with face of recognition
4 greets, have conversation
5 hug - see both people's bracelets within the shot
6 look to bracelet to see response - closeup of one/both wrists

introduce function through adding a new friend

3 - bar / nightclub - revisiting old friend(s) - most number of people
1 night, waiting to go into bar
2 approaches the bar, sits on stool, sets her evening bag down, shot of hand, wrist with bag and bar in background
3 looks down and notices two of the colors are glowing - proximity
4 similar layout to shot 2, but looking up and around the room
5 approaches friend, greats with handshake, white light added
6 another friend touches on shoulder, and another light is added
end - goes home, dims as in beginning to close the scenarios back where they began

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Sketch Models..

Monday, May 02, 2005

Final Orthographics

Final Sketch

How It Works..

A completely visual demostration of interactions with Lia.
(formerly an on-screen presentation)

Keep an eye on the bottom of each slide to see how Lia responds to the scenario above.








The Bottom shows the LCD display, and how it changes with the users' interactions.