project 02 :: prototype critiques

Today in class we presented our preliminary prototypes in small groups.

I presented this flowchart which lays out my thinking:

As sample prototypes for the game/activity part of this project, I brought in a balloon with various questions written on it, a sample card game, and a cup with numbers written on it that correspond with certain questions. The balloon and the cup are objects that someone holds and answers the questions that one of their fingers (predesignated) is resting on. 

Here are some videos that inspired me for the "campaign" part of my system:

Dumb Ways to Die :: Metro Trains Melbourne safety campaign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNR2EpS0jw

Take a Seat, Make a Friend :: SoulPancake Street Team experiment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHV4-N2LxQ

As a result of this small group critique, I was pleased to find that my group members enjoyed the idea of this way of engaging with other students. 

The next step will be to develop the aspects of this campaign more fully.

project 02 :: continued research & prototype beginnings

Today in class I worked on contacting people who either are international students or have been heavily involved with international students, to get their input on what kinds of questions could best facilitate conversations and if there's anything else I have forgotten to consider.

I was originally going to Facebook message them, but then I realized that in order to get long-answer responses from a large group of people, a Google form might make more sense. So I put together a form with questions and sent the link out to people so they could fill it out.

I also posed a question to an Engaged Citizens of Drake Facebook group I am a part of, and got some great responses from that!

Finally, I made some sketches for potential prototypes of a game or activity that could include these questions and help facilitate conversations.

Now, I'll be considering the larger system and how this product would fit into it.

project 02 :: problem definition workday

After some more reflecting and research, I was able to narrow down my project idea a bit more.

Big Idea ::
facilitate communication and foster understanding between international students and American students at Drake University

Method :: game or activity. Create some sort of conversation starter in the form of a ball, cube, or card game.

This solution could help international students learn about Drake, American culture, and get to know American students. It might even allow for deeper friendships to form if the conversations go well! A game that facilitates interactions like this could also help American students get to know international students and gain perspective on the obstacles, uncertainties, and hurdles they face as international students in America.

I will spend most of the remaining time developing the actual object. But, I thought a little more broadly about the solution and how it could be used: it could be the focus of some event put on by an international student organization. Additionally, copies could be given to the leaders of each organization, or even resident assistants in the residence halls, so that this object could eventually be distributed campus-wide.

During class today I did a lot of research on current clubs and organizations on Drake's campus that have to do with international students. I also looked up some different ideas of conversation starter games and activities – Pinterest seemed to be a great resource for that!

I will continue my research by contacting both international and American students involved with the various campus groups and asking them what kinds of questions or conversation starters would be beneficial to include on this game object.

project 02 :: problem identification small group work day

Today in class we used a series of thinking exercises and group activities to help us grasp and explore the scope of this project and the problems we may be dealing with.

First, we did the "ripple effect activity," where we each identified a goal we would like to achieve with our design, in relation to a specific problem or inter-cultural misunderstanding. Then we thought about the "ripples" – how that effect would impact ourselves, our immediate communities, and the larger community. We continued to think broader and broader until we had thought about the positive and negative consequences of this goal in a number of contexts.

Then, we each thought of some questions to ask our group members that would help us identify the problems we each need to address, related to the specific issues we each are choosing to work with. This was helpful because it helped me focus my ideas.

Finally, we shared our specific ideas as a class, expressing them quickly and concisely. We then talked about each of them and voted on the ideas we were most drawn to.

The key insights I learned from this activity involved conceptual thinking. It was helpful to use these activities to internalize the issues we're dealing with, and learn how to think about them from different angles. I liked talking with my group members and with the class because it helped broaden my perspective and think about aspects of the problems I had not considered.

Our next steps are to solidify our ideas, conduct further research, and create a prototype for next week. We will be moving away from the conceptual phase and moving into designing. As we do so, however, we will not stop ourselves from exploring more ideas as they come up and looking at different ways of addressing these problems.

project 02 :: project statement

"Design for Good"

For this project, we will each be creating a campaign, service, product, or environment designed to promote inter-cultural understanding. With this design we have the opportunity to promote engagement with people of diverse backgrounds in ways that recognize differences, create connections, and cultivate respect. What a responsibility and an opportunity!

We will be focusing on campus, local, or regional opportunities in order to narrow our focus and not try to take all the world's problems on our own shoulders.

We recognize that we will not solve any of these issues. But, we can attempt to use design to promote inter-cultural understanding. As we are discussing in another design class, design has illustrative and formative power in culture – it can both reflect the culture by illustrating values already present or it can be the means for constructing ideas and values that will become part of the culture. This is an opportunity to explore how to use design in a formative way.

These helpful questions were included in our project brief:

–How can all these identities and differences interact in ways that make for good relationships, and for a society and a world where there is mutual understanding, respect and peace rather than misunderstanding, prejudice, suspicion, conflict and violence?

–How can we live together better – more peacefully and happily – than we do at present? How can we cultivate wiser and more effective ways of coping with our differences in many spheres of life?

–How can our world and each of its societies and localities be healthily diverse rather than dangerously divided? How can the dignity of each person be respected?

–How can there be connectivity that works for the common good?

–Can the resources of the world’s cultures, traditions, educational systems, technologies, media, philosophies, world views or religions be drawn upon to serve the common good? 

I am looking forward to navigating the challenges this project will present.