UX Australia 2013

Michelle Berryman, Zachary Pousman and Greg Haygood

This workshop will explore the blending of virtual and visceral in experience design, where design products are embedded and embodied in the world. More physical products are including integrated displays and software controls. More mobile apps are controlling physical devices remotely (e.g. the Nest thermostat, the Lockitron keyless entry system, SmartThings Smart apps). The mobile and ubiquitous-computing era is upon us. People have computing power with them in nearly every situation and context. And that means that design thinking and processes need to account for the multifaceted opportunities and complexities of context. This workshop will introduce participants to the trends and communities around:

• The internet of things and the way that spaces, environments, and everyday objects like doors, lights, desks, and chairs are starting to be imbued with computational power
• The quantified self, where data collection, sensors, and new outputs can help people to understand themselves and their behaviors in new ways
• Hardware-hacking ‘maker’ communities and philosophies, where tinkering, creativity, openness and personal problem solving fuse to create new design possibilities.

The key challenge that many designers and marketers face is that they approach problems (and solutions) from their own perspective and backgrounds. People from traditional design and marketing disciplines are often somewhat intimidated by code, wires, and computer chips. Others come from technical or analytical disciplines and may be unsure of their ability to create aesthetic and elegant experiences. The gulf between the two approaches can make one way of thinking and working seem more natural than others, leading to a feeling of being an interloper, a dilettante, or “out of one’s depth.” This gulf between the creative and the analytical are highlighted by the ubiquitous and context-sensitive future of technology, as it requires both approaches.

The workshop will use prototyping platforms to bridge physical and digital design and delivery. Through these platforms, we will provide the following to give structure and build confidence for participants:

• An overview of Arduino, Raspberry Pi and LEGO Mindstorm platforms and associated components, sensors and other functional platform extenders
• Common uses for each platform to create functioning physical prototypes
• Reputable online sources for tutorials, code samples, sensors and other easily integrated platform extenders
• Methods for incorporating physical prototyping into UX workflow
• Start small with mini-projects like lighting LEDs, detecting an RFID badge, or activating a servo-motor, etc., to get participants quickly working and succeeding on a prototyping platform.
• Team-based learning because we have seen that small teams get further and have more fun than individuals working alone.
• Initiate hands-on team-based design challenge(s) to apply learning against a conceptual design problem.
• Support through code snippets and technical guidance to keep the learning curve manageable and fun. We will also provide diagrams for the code which show ‘how the code works’ conceptually without getting stuck in the details.
• Structured ways to frame and document the design process (good for participant’s internal teams, or to share with clients).

Most importantly, you will build a small, fully functional prototype using at least one platform. In previous workshops we’ve built an interactive ‘kissing robot’, a table tennis net fault register, and a pressure sensitive coaster to tell when a drink is needed at a bar or cafe.

Target audience

This workshop is tailored to UX professionals, designers, marketers and developers interested in merging digital and physical prototyping. No previous programming or dev experience is necessary.

Take-away material

All attendees will receive a USB stick with presentation materials, basic code samples and project ideas.

What you’ll need

You’ll need to bring a laptop.

All prototyping platforms, sensors, platform extenders and craft materials will be provided for use during the workshop. You won’t be able to keep the prototyping tools, however.