D – Describe objectively what happened.
In this module, 5C model is the main theory of principal practice. It contains create, collect, comprehend, conceptualize and collaborate, which were all practiced in my projects.
It expanded my understanding of the multiple ways in which knowledge is generated during the design process and reach a new level of conscious action in design. The 5C model encourages me to spend more time and research on thinking the process than we did in previous design experiences, focusing on more than just output (which is only one of the steps).
The second project ‘Understanding the User’ is the first practice I did with the 5C Model. User models created in the process of researching various aspects of hometown everyday life. I chose a topic that is very close to me, elevator installation of my grandmother’s community. This is an interesting collection and analysis of information. I’m using different colored sticky notes to sort them out, trying to find primary and secondary contradictions. I used different colored post-it notes to sort them out, tried to find out primary and secondary contradictions
When I made the experience map, I decided to continue to use sticky notes, and finally, I got the information I wanted by observing density contrast and color contrast. It gave me a lot of information to make Persona. After that, I create a scenario and storyboard based on them. These are the process of collecting and comprehend.
In the next project, I started to learn how to comprehend, conceptualize and create. It is a process of thinking and imagining new things creates possibilities about future situations mentally, then try to build, sketch, co-create, and role-play to simulate what the future might look like based on PACT analysis. It is a useful framework for thinking about human centred design. I attempt to explore every step in the third project. In this project, I created a weather app used on tablet for 7-12-year-old students. There are more details I need to consider, such as make research for my target audience. I had to get the environment, time period of using, colour and graphics analysis about children, and try to connect this app with more relevant functions, such as dressing, routes. After that, I need to learn as much as possible about the features on the device with information that I want to spread, then take use of the affordances of the mobile device. That would be very helpful for us to ‘Create’ a precise-rough hand-drawn wireframe.
The purpose of roughly-rough wireframe is to show us the main process and steps of the APP operation in advance. Through this wireframe, I found the shortcomings that were not found in the wireframe stage. It also gave me opportunity to make experiment. It made the tutorial presentation easier and clear, gave me direction for improvement and other potential possibility.
The fourth project is a complete operation of 5C model. It is a public welfare APP design about spreading the conception of cruelty-free cosmetics, which is going to be a CC Award project. I define it as a public service app because this platform will always be impartial, it will provide real and useful information for the users, it will not become a marketing or shopping tool. I start to develop this project from 3 themes that award’s brief shows, equality, conscious consumption and climate crisis. Before I select the topic, I did a brainstorm about my life track such as what I did the whole month? What did I do the most often? What was I thinking about when I did something? After the brainstorm, I discovered that consumption is a behavior that I do every day. And buying daily products (personal care) is something I did every month according to my consumption record. Therefore, I started to search my consumption, attempted to find out what might happen behind the consumption and what problems it might cause, from raw material to the process of production. Through my research, conscious is an adjective with multiple meanings. It contains 3 level meaning, the most concrete and accessible is environmental-friendly, the second is social-responsible, and ethical is the most abstract but deeper. There is a statement by Pieters that if we want to transform the most abstract level, the most superficial things will be the starting point. My topic is based on the second level, social responsbility. It goes deeper than environment-friendly and can lead people to ethicality. After that, I start my research about cruelty-free. I noticed an organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which contains the latest news and its achievements about protecting animals from eating, wearing, using for entertainment or abuse in any other way, and a website named cruelty-free Kitty, which is also a platform that focus on cruelty free. It helped me start to do further research. This picture below shows some brands which still do testing on animal. It included several well-known brands whose products are sold worldwide. It seems that cruelty is still serious and the right of animals is still violated.
Based on my research, I made a bold guess based on Habermas’s theory, whether make cruelty-free an avant-garde life philosophy would affect users’ yearning? Based on this guess, I did a simple interview experiment focus on the question of how does this picture make you feel? Will this feeling become you’re a lifestyle someday?
After that, I randomly selected forty women from different ages. The result shows that over 78% women show a positive attitude on this image. More than 36 percent of those express they always had a strong faith for this life philosophy, some of them have own understanding of it or even work in a related field. About 48 percent said they agree with this philosophy, but they don’t know much about it. But they would like to learn about it to improve themselves. The rest said they supported this philosophy, but that it would not affect their main lifestyle. It can be inferred that creating a cruelty-free life concept and turning it into an act symbolizing beauty and high quality will largely attract more people to know about it.
Based on my research and experimentation, I began to design my interface and interaction. system. I design a blog for showing the latest news about cruelty-free and people who support this philosophy. Then I set up product feature categories to tell users which brands are included. And I add a special function of scan. It is associated with camera on mobile phone, users are able to find out whether the product is cruelty-free in only a few seconds. If it is cruelty-free product, user would get a discount code from us, it can be used in official website. When the system recognize the discount is used, user would get some reward, which is relative with their ’Farm’ —— A reward system. People can feed their own animal, then gain more potential gift. At the same time, users are encouraged to share their products in taking photo with a small image of an animal, which were hurt in the animal experiments. Apart from it, I introduce a list from a platform called Cruelty- Free Kitty, it contains all the cruelty-free brand, and it will be updated every year. In order to encourage and attract people.
Colour and graphic would influence use user’s first impression directly. A report shows that blue is greener than green, it represents serene, trustworthy and inviting. Therefore, I eventually select a colour (60% blue and 40% green) as my main colour.
I – Interpret the events.
This module helped me to re-establish the thinking mode of new media design. It is more thorough, practical, and logical experience. I initially understood how to find out potential problems, how to get the relevant audience more closely and deeper, how to effectively collect their thoughts by questionnaire or interview even record their movements by taking photo, then create persona, analyze their needs through different methods such as experience map, and give corresponding solutions by scenario or storyboard. 5C model helps me analysis knowledge production from 4 directions, producing by experience, producing about what is it, producing by thinking and producing about what night be. This led me to gradually let go of my desire for results and start looking for what I could get from the whole process. I think the study of this module is in a complementary relationship with the analysis of works learned in PAS. In the study of PAS, they gave me two opposing perspectives to see my work. In PAS, we interpret the author’s intention, social background and symbolic significance through artistic works. In this module, we apply the social background to add my intention into my works, thus forming a symbolic meaning, which is an important measurement standard for me. I was very satisfied with what I learn and very enjoy the whole process. I launched into those projects full of enthusiasm and obtain the harvest.
Although learning these skills is very happy, but due to the time problem, there are still some shortcomings need to make up. The main problem is reflected in the accuracy of research. I attach great importance to this stage, so that I hope my research can be as close to users as possible. But it also means that the requirements on the base must be huge, a small group of people does not represent the majority of the people. Besides, more experiments still need to be did. I think I’ve learned a lot from this module, but I have to admit there are some things I need to improve. Since I spent most of my time on user research, I had to cut back on my time in the following process. This has resulted in not a perfect individual project output. I need to make a more reasonable plan for the distribution of time during the project.
E – Evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of the experience
My four projects help me establish a new thinking process. It might not focus on visual effect, but I is something is closely linked to visual output. If beauty is all in a design work, the work would be meaningless. It would not stand up to scrutiny, it would disappear as quickly as it appeared. The learning of this module makes my work stronger than my previous work, more methods are used and more perspective are considered, which is very useful to my following work.
Except my four projects, I also learned a lot from the weekly blog. Design is a great discipline, it turns people’s beautiful imagination into reality. He has many kinds, such as visual, industrial, fashion and so on. Each area has its own valuable value. And each area has its own value. The research scope of each field may be different, but the design method is applicable in each field. Visualization is a skill that every field needs to learn. Visualization needs sketches, so does industrial design and fashion. I am deeply inspired by Bill Verplank in visualizing my study notes.
Besides, weekly blog also gave me more relative supports in implementing my project, such as how to make prototype, how to understand affordance, the importance of empathy in UX design and preparing for pachakucha which is a wonderful experience. All of experience are very useful to me.
P – Plan how this information will be useful to you.
This module shows us the skills of practice, concepts and theory in the area of interaction design (IXD), User Experience Design (UXD) and new media. It focuses on techniques employed in contemporary commercial studios and a use research approach to design, that is very useful in my following. Although it is based on new media, the design method, user research and model-making still show great importance in any design field, no matter what I learn in the future, it will be useful. I hope I can become a graphic designer and illustrator, which means that my output needs to be better connected with reality, and I need strong evidence to convince my audience.
Reference:
Roux, C. and Nantel, J., 2009. Conscious consumption and its components: An exploratory study. [online] Acrwebsite.org. Available at: <https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v36/NAACR_v36_108.pdf>.
Pieters, R., Baumgartner, H. and Allen, D., 1995. A means-end chain approach to consumer goal structures. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 12(3), pp.227-244.
Dews, P. and Habermas, J., 1992. Autonomy and solidarity. 1st ed. London: Verso.
Sundar, A. and Kellaris, J., 2015. How Logo Colors Influence Shoppers’ Judgments of Retailer Ethicality: The Mediating Role of Perceived Eco-Friendliness. Journal of Business Ethics, [online] 146(3), pp.685-701. Available at: <https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10551-015-2918-4>.
