This is a first try at using TSL230R to measure HRV (Heart Rate Variability) levels. It will be used as part of a larger project to collect users’ heart rates and translate this data onto a mobile (potentially wearable) screen as a non-verbal messaging system that reveals a somewhat hidden state of ‘being’. The messages will be set to be sent according to the value range of the heart beats as dynamic visualizations (for the time being I will be using Processing). In addition to this, each message will have a specific time span and a specific ‘mood’ or ’emotion’ attached to it. To do this I will be using a second variable EEG: Electroencephalography. HRV and EEG are interesting values to juxtapose as they symbolically represent the physical, biological, and social connections existing between the heart and the brain. This second variable will add a level of randomness to the system, which will enable messages to have a wider visual scope.
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Sketching User Experiences (2)- Bill Buxton
Bill Buxton defines "best practices" in designing for user experiences as a combination of both methods and skills relating to ideation: sketching, testing and problem-solving.
“An Interview with Don Norman.” – Howard Rheingold
Norman stressed the importance of understanding the logic behind the act of designing, which includes considerations for the human factor. In this interview he sets ground rules for 'good design' and focuses on the idea that design should be inherently 'humane'; which is to say that technological tools need to be thought of with a user-centered approach. "Cultivate Sensitivity to Design" explains how experimenting (observing, testing, etc.) helps designers reach a place of "empathy" for the user and simplifies complex products or systems in accordance to audience feedback.
“Recruiting Participants” – Dumas & Redish
Dumas & Redish lay-out the steps and tactics for recruiting participants; those include: Finding Appropriate Participants, Reaching and Screening Potential Participants, Deciding Who Should Recruit Participants, Knowing What to Say When You are Recruiting, Arranging for Payment or Other Incentives, and Having a Back-up -- But Not Double Booking
‘The Changing Sites of Value’
As part of The Internet as Playground and Factory, a conference series on the politics of digital media organised by Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts, Patricia Ticineto Clough, Orit Halpern, and Melissa Gregg introduced their individual areas of research and idiosyncratic takes on the notion of 'affect' and its evolution in meaning today as a result of technological progress.
The Simplicity Shift – Scott Jenson
Scott Jenson defines 'feature blindness' as users being blinded by a feature list. He identifies the bottom-up approach of creating a user persona and a task scenario as more efficient than the top-down approach, in terms of organizing a commonsensical hierarchy of a product's features. The ideal visualization would be to 'tame' the feature list and prioritize features in accordance to a set of usage requirements and subsequent usage frequency.
An Introduction to Usability – Patrick Jordan
Based on the International Standards Organisation's categories of "effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction," the author determines ways in which usability can be quantified. 'Effectiveness' is the capacity for a product to generate (or enable) output; 'Efficiency' is measured as the level of effort invested in completing an action or task (for example, the author categorizes usability errors as distinguished between a 'slip' and a 'mistake' in user performance and experience. For him, a slip is when a user accidentally performs the wrong action which is readily corrected by the user, whereas a mistake is when a user thinks he is doing the right thing (intuitive action), but is unable to perform his task.