final deliverables and schedule

wed dec 4
project documentation work day [see deliverable due below]

fri dec 6
end of semester show setup

wed dec 11
spring self-directed project sharing?

fri dec 13
deliverables due by noon today:

project documentation: work due on portfolio website
include project title, concise description, image + caption-based narrative, set up consistently with the rest of your portfolio

DELIVERABLE: email me with url of your portfolio documentation

final project images
high res photos or screen shots of your project work [context photos of physical objects preferred, flat artwork of graphics, photoshop simulations, or any other form of visuals are also encouraged – .tif or high-res .jpg standalone files [not as part of presentations, proposals, pdfs, etc].

DELIVERABLE: email me an archive of photos. filename: lastname_firstname-va-photos.zip

reminder: documentation is a required part of your project grade.

studio reports // due friday nov 8

jessica - celery design collaborative, berkeley

anthony - the center for urban pedagogy, brooklyn

lydia - backspace.com, nyc 

ezra - make: good, london

duncan - adbusters, vancouver

aimée - jonathan barnbrook, london

caroline - la mas, los angeles

maddie - firebelly, chicago

nick - hyperakt, nyc

nile - just seeds

kaylynn - liz ogbu

kelsey - greater good studio, chicago

parker - free-range studios, san francisco, boston

rachel - ideo.org, san francisco, nyc, nairobi

the goal of your report is to inform your classmates of the existence of this studio and summarize their contributions to this area of design practice. what do they focus on? what types of projects exemplify that? what do you think about their approach?

due friday nov 8. ten minutes total per report. plan for around 7-ish minutes for your report and 3 minutes for feedback / q&a. determine the best media for your report, given our context of the classroom and a 14 person audience. keynote is not a requirement, but audience engagement and memorability is.

final presentations nov 22 + deliverable

10 min each

suggested sequence, starting with the most directly applicable to MEC, to more general ideas, and trying to clump based on subject matter.

12:10 jessica

12:20 nile

12:30 anthony + ezra

12:40 kaylynn

12:50 lydia

1:00 parker

1:10 ——- break ——-

1:20 maddie

1:30 kelsey

1:40 nick

1:50 duncan

2:00 aimée

2:10 caroline + rachel

2:20 general discussion

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suggested presentation outline [5 minutes total]

introduce yourself!

project overview – problem or question statement[s] and project purpose / goal / mission statement.

supporting material – why you arrived at that approach, including initial research that justifies the need for your exploration and audience interviews/user feedback.

briefly – “how you got where you got” – decision-making process.

final product[s] – imagery and / or physical products. allowing time for guests to look at physical things. could discuss in terms of phases of implementation, user scenario – sequence based, macro to micro.

budget – what would it take to produce this? consider quantities, design time, development/coding, etc.

allow 5 minutes for guest and peer feedback.

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deliverable: pdf with high-quality images and presenter notes due to me by 5pm nov 22. filename: lastname–lastname-va-finalPres.pdf

extra credit!

there is one more event this semester associated with the nelson’s “access + ability” exhibit for which i’ll offer a final grade increase of .5 point. that would take you from a B to an A–, for example. pretty good!

the event is free. you just have to get tickets in advance. i’ll need a paragraph summary of what you learned from the event and/or how it added to your thinking about design process.

sat nov 23, 2–3pm: designed WITH disability

oct 30 class

in class
small group process crits with beth pauley [mec] and two kcai alumni – tom morse-brown and emily weber.
stating refined question/problem statement.
indicate strategy for solving the problem [the bigger picture of context, audience, media, subject matter].
show a visually- and textually-refined prototype[s].

new work for next class
meet at 11:30 at the artspace for 20th anniversary brainstorming session.
artspace’s stated goals for our time:

• collaborate with gd, bring us into the practice and process.

• create messaging about what artspace does: work with the community, kcai, kcai students, artists, and how they’re a part of kcai. [concentric circles: kcai audience > kcai alumni > kc artists > regional art ecosystem [area colleges and high schools, curators, collectors, etc]

• generate propositions; a range of possibilities, around their anniversary year celebrations.

next project milestone: fri nov 22: final project presentations. that’s three weeks and two days away. presentation and project requirements will be coming soon.

accessible design updates

a new exhibition just opened at the nelson – “access+ability” and it looks amazing. organized originally by the cooper hewitt in nyc. let’s look at when we might be able to go visit as a field trip. i will try to connect with the curator or similar to see about a guided tour with some free time.

“engaging in disability as a creative practice” is a lecture that will be given by disability advocate liz jackson on thursday, november 14, 2019 6:00–9:00pm at populous. student tickets are only $5. liz is the founder of the disabled list and an amazing speaker.

readings for oct 25

this week – more on sustainability, as well as global poverty and women’s health. all are relatively short.

“catherine gray on sustainable business” from the book massive change by bruce mau

“How A Man With No Coding Experience Built An App That’s Bringing Solar Power To Yemen” from fast company

“jeffrey sachs on poverty reduction” and “nancy padian on women’s health” from the book massive change by bruce mau

oct 23 class

in class
quick review [5 min or less] of everyone’s evidence of audience feedback. i want to make sure i cover everyone.

project work time.

new work for next class
readings for oct 25.

project work as described above.

you are working toward your next deliverable on wed oct 30 – round 3 prototypes. your question should be refined and used to position your exploration with our guests. your strategy for solving the problem should be sound. your prototypes should be more comprehensive in terms of visual form and written content. these will be informal work-in-progress talks in small groups [no fancy presentations. literally show what you’ve made and talk about your progress and process].

our process crits will include guest critics beth pauley [mec] and two kcai alumni – tom morse-brown and emily weber.

oct 18 class

in class
announcement: artspace workshop nov 1

discuss reading

questions or concerns with the project?

continue mid-term meetings

new work for next class
evidence of audience feedback due, in written or recorded form [audio or video]. the more participants, the better.

next deliverable is oct 30 – round 3 prototypes due.

user testing prep

from my keynote

1. identify goals

2. prep prototypes

3. identify subjects

4. plan and test for specific scenarios

5. prep questions beforehand

6. ask subjects to perform the task[s]

7. document your results

8. modify and repeat

from class discussion

Locate the proper audience. Make the right connections.

Make understandable prototypes. Presentable. 

Be specific about the types of feedback you want, which will produce specific answers. 

Identify the part of the project for which you want input. 

Write out specific questions and/or balance with open-ended questions

• Word carefully

• Aim for objectivity, don’t ask leading questions

• Avoid yes/no questions

  
  Determine documentation method

• Video

• Audio

• Take notes

• photography

Edit / make a “deliverable” research document

readings for oct 18

this week’s reading is on sustainability – as a way of thinking about the objects we create. warning – this is long [about 48 pages], so start sooner rather than later.

two chapters from cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things by william mcdonough and michael braungart

oct 16 class

in class
how to plan for and collect audience feedback [aka user testing session].

one-on-one mid-term discussions.

project work time.

new work for friday oct 18
do readings and be prepared to discuss with peers.

new work for oct 23 [next wednesday]
evidence of audience feedback due, in written or recorded form [audio or video]. the more participants, the better.

recent and future topics of interest

triple bottom line: profit, people, planet

the circular design guide

microsoft inclusive design

elise roy // when we design for disability, we all benefit

related, this striking ad that ezra found! thanks, ezra! hyperbole, anyone?

a good project will...

take many concepts from our readings into account

be as participatory as possible

be easily justifiable by primary and secondary research

have prototypes and tests that are as real as possible

have multiple rounds of audience feedback on prototypes

be thoroughly documented so handoff to another group for implementation is easy and seamless

• who: authors and contact info for questions

• what: concise description of the project

• why: project justification and impact potential [what will the community gain?]

• when: is there a timeline for implementation? a particular life cycle? deadlines?

• where: any geographic constraints? event locations?

• how: include instructions for implementation, production files, vendor information for printing, budget for materials and supplies, etc.

[a work in progress. stay tuned for more ideas or contribute your own in the comments!]

oct 9 class // process crit

in class
slight redirect on small group crits with guests:
natalie phillips will only be able to join us for an hour, so for that time, we will prioritize designers and projects that need specific input from, or have questions for, natalie. our two alumni guests will be with us the whole time.

make sure you are keeping yourself on track by utilizing your free class time well.

new work for next class
readings for oct 11 discussion

continue project work, with as much audience interaction as possible. you are now working toward wed oct 23: 1–2 rounds of audience feedback due. i need to see / hear evidence of your audience interactions.

readings for oct 11 discussion

everyone read: “do it yourself murder: social and moral responsibilities of design” from design for the real world by victor papanek [former kcai design faculty member!]

jessica, anthony, lydia, ezra, duncan, aimée, caroline read: “politics please, we’re social designers” by cameron tonkinwise

maddie, nick, nile, kaylynn, kelsey, parker, rachel read: “are humanitarian designers imperialists? project h responds” by emily pilloton

oct 4 class

in class
discuss readings.

project work and desk crits as time allows.

new work for next class
prep revised prototypes for small group crits with guest critics natalie phillips [mec] and rhianna weilert [kcai gd ‘08]. prototypes should reflect a good amount of thought and research on your topic, but needn’t be highly designed in a formal sense. strategy, audience, and message should be on point, first and foremost. hold the media type and especially the visual form very loosely at this point. be prepared to have 2/3 of your class time for project work.

group 1 [noon to 12:50]: aimée, duncan, kelsey, parker

group 2 [1:00 to 1:50]: jessica, nile, nick, caroline/rachel

group 3 [2:00 to 2:50]: ezra/anthony, lydia, kaylynn, maddie

10 minutes per project, total.

be prepared to clearly and succinctly state your question / problem . it should be specific. “a problem well stated is a problem half-solved” – charles kettering
also state your audience and context for the artifact[s] you are showing.

oct 2 class

in class
short lecture: receptivity gradient

work time and desk crits: what do you need from me to be able to pursue your project successfully?

you are preparing revised prototypes for next wed, oct 9. these should have more detail on all fronts:
- better audience understanding
- refined content
- more specific sense of context
- an emerging idea of how your project is part of a larger system [how it links to related efforts; things that come before or after in time or space; linkages to other events, information, or action, etc]

new work for next class
do readings and prepare some questions or challenges for your classmates as part of our discussion.

readings for oct 4 discussion

this week’s readings are generally about ethics and design, raising questions about “professionalism” and licensure, our responsibility to humanity as designers, and our relationship to power, among other related topics. good stuff!

“human dignity and human rights: thoughts on the principles of human-centered design” by richard buchanan, from looking closer 5
- jessica, anthony, lydia, ezra, duncan

“good citizenship: design as a social and political force” by katherine mccoy, from citizen designer
- aimee, caroline, maddie, nick

“design’s lost generation” by mike monteiro
- nile, kaylynn, kelsey, parker, rachel

each group will need to coordinate a bit in order to deliver a strong summary of the essay. make sure you cover all main points. fyi, i’ve read them so i’ll know what’s missing.

after summarizing, offer questions and provocations for your classmates, to get a conversation going around your assigned reading. devil’s advocates especially welcome. this is your conversation – own it!