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 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.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Wrapping

Monday, May 23, 2005

Proximity

Monday, May 16, 2005

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

Sunday, May 01, 2005

Technology - Color Flexible LCD

A new Full color flexible LCD by Toshiba



Using an LCD display rather than fiber optics will allow us more freedom in displaying the interactions on the device.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Technology - Lights

Still exploring options for light display and data transmission within the device...

What's looking promising:

-Fiber Optics



from How Stuff Works

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Technology - It IS possible!

Red Tacton has developed technology which transmits data by, "inducing fluctuations in the minute electric field on the surface of the human body."





How it works:


"1. The RedTacton transmitter induces a weak electric field on the surface of the body.
2. The RedTacton receiver senses changes in the weak electric field on the surface of the body caused by the transmitter.
3. RedTacton relies upon the principle that the optical properties of an electro-optic crystal can vary according to the changes of a weak electric field.
4. RedTacton detects changes in the optical properties of an electro-optic crystal using a laser and converts the result to an electrical signal in a optical receiver circuit."

The best part:

"... RedTacton transceivers which integrate transmitters and receivers are also available."




While it seems Red Tacton recognizes the potential for this to change our everyday interactions into more human-centered experiences, there is only one example of human-to-human interaction while there are many human-to-device examples... They have a collaborative field testing program and I think that there would be lot of value for the company to explore human-to-human possiblities further.

Monday, April 25, 2005

A-ha!

Post-discussion thoughts about, "Bringing Design to Software," by Terry Winograd...

We realized the following about our concepts in earlier postings...


-The user completes the interface.
-In fact, the presence and interaction of the user is required for the functionality, content, and form of the interface - beautiful, no? :)

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Concept - The Interaction















Concept - Color Symphony

Notes on this concept:

the touch of corresponding fingers completes a color circuit to display one color - left indexes are blue, pinkies are orange, etc

multiple finger sets at the same time create color symphonies
or mix colors

the body becomes an instrument
like painting with/through another person
it won't work without another person - remedy for disconnected relationships

people who frequently use the device become in sync with one another, and can play color songs

what if each person one interacts with has a different set of colors, so it is a unique experience with each person, as different as people are...
and the movement of the whole hand is incorporated - intensity?
imagine the interaction between Groups of people, all interacting with one another at the same time

transcends age, gender, etc

potential as performance art



Concept - Touch Interaction

The human body can be a powerful connector - both figuratively, where touch enhances relationships between people, and literally, through the use of touch to complete electrical circuits and transmit small bits of information.



Details of the technology that can make this possible.








After a bit of testing, it has become apparent that touching fingertips with another person is more challenging than expected. But ... maybe that makes it interesting - there was a lot of laughing and 'trying again' with the people that I tested ... pretty fun and funny actually.

Concept - Wrapping





Each lighted section on the device represents one relationship. The light is most intense during an interaction with the other member of the relationship.

Device output fades as the relationship fades (interaction is not present) - another interaction with the person is necessary to recharge the relationship and recharge the output on the device.

Concept - Footwear

We identified footwear as a major consideration of the women in our demographic. Specifically, they wear highly uncomfortable shoes because they are the social norm, and are considered more attractive by their peers.

Below is a product that addresses this need for comfort while enhancing the proportions of the foot in a way that is similar to the high heels themselves.





This product enhances the foot even when worn without shoes, and could potentialy become a fashion accessory in its own right.

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Affinity diagram

Tonight we created an Affinity Diagram to explore words and phrases that relate to the broad design opportunitites that we identified in our research and explorations. We often use an Affinity Diagram at the beginning of a project, but recognize that the method is useful to identify relationships and narrow focus at other points in the design process when clarity is needed.

We divided the words and phrases into categories, and will use them to generate design concepts.


The diagram:


Form Characteristics

geometric
spiral
soft/maleable
tactile - fur
tigress
fluffy, flowery
moving, rotating parts
sticky
stretchable
translucent
form resembles high cheekbones
butt
outer = input, inner = output, and is portable part
snap in and out
modular pieces - give away/trade with others
light up area looks like jewelry stones
parted lips/lipstick/teeth
red
water - flowing, falling, dripping
orb
representative of female body - bent ankle, waist curve, etc
round
like long, curly hair
tapered
gestalt


Input Categories

eating habits - vegetarian
similar jobs
personal style
astrological sign
music
athletics
taste in food
ethnicity
drinking, partying
places traveled - local and worldwide
hobby
geographic location
friends


Responses

rhythm of the heart
tingling sensation
response
warmth
tighten
colors
sound
captures moment of interaction
sliding open
cold
texture change
light
transparent area transforms to display output
vibration


Input Device Categories

online meeting/dating services
email
cell phone


Qualities

sentimental
proximity
time
lasting impression
heft = expense
poetry


Physical Attributes

chain link
necklace
attach to shoe
attach to clothes
liquid attachment points
magnet
clasp
wrapping
hanging
tree branch form or interaction
woven in hair
interlocking
interchangeable

The object should reflect the inner/outer conflict of these women:
smooth perfect exterior
interior captures relationships

Monday, April 18, 2005

Persona Image Boards

From the brief descriptions that we created of our two personas, Lauren and I created an image board for each woman. The boards contain pictures of not only items that they would each own, but also images of their lifestyles as well as a color palette created from the colors within the selected images.

We found these boards extremely communicative when designing for these women. In this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words...

Click images for large view: