alrobaya – Design & Prototyping

December 11, 2018December 11, 2018

Speculations: Sofanah Alrobayan & Rona Cabrera (Team 2)

Collapse, Governance, Logo, Outrage

Since this is in a future world of “collapse,” a terrain of “governance,” a focus object of a “logo,” and a mood of “outrage,” this collage represents the future “collapse” of the White House. The president is on the futurist swing on the white house courtyard instead of attending to his diplomatic duties. The White House is desecrated with the parody of a “Supreme”-esque logo that says “White House.” While the swings are a fun way to relax from work, it is being utilized 24/7 in this dystopian future. The public feels simultaneously outraged but remorseful as there is little ways to stop the president’s childish nature.

December 8, 2018

Personas: Sofanah Alrobayan

Persona

Scenario

After spending 5 straight hours staring at her computer monitor screen, Tatiana is in need of a break. Her eyes are starting to get dry and she needs time away from screens. She’s also been stressed with all the deadlines lately and needs time to destress and clear her head. She remembers reading an email update from the Irvine Company regarding new tech-free swing additions to the courtyard area. She heads out of the building and straight to the courtyard and notices an empty seat on the swings by one of her friends who works in the same area. She sits down, swings all her stresses away, and has a pleasant human interaction with her friend.

Storyboard

November 28, 2018December 13, 2018

Project 3: Sofanah Alrobayan & Rona Cabrera (Group 2)

Part 1

Site: Discovery Park Business Center

Idea #1: An Interactive Park

With the presence and abundance of greenery and tech in this business complex, why not combine the two forces and create a space that showcases what this area is known for? This business complex is home to many tech companies so it’s only appropriate to create a nature/tech hybrid inspired by Team Lab, a team of “digital technologists” from Tokyo. No new buildings for construction will be needed for a “light show” type of artwork but it will require engineers to be able to program the lights whether they are pre-programmed or if they are activated by motion sensors. A lot of projection mapping attractions also have soothing music so sound engineers will be needed. Piano music will be activated by people stepping on certain areas, such as specific tiles on the ground.

Idea #2: An Interactive Seating Area

Seating – Redefined. There are multiple seating options scattered throughout the business complex that fulfill people’s basic needs of sitting. What is missing in this space is a seating experience. When was the last time you, an adult, have been on a swing? If it took you some time to think about it, then it has been too long. These swinging seats (that can also be used as hammocks) take your seating experience to the next level. Imagine yourself swamped with work and in need of a break to let loose and destress. You walk outside to the courtyard, sit on one of the colorful swings, attach your phone to the seat’s bluetooth, and play your favorite de-stressing playlist in the swing’s built in speaker. You can simply lay down on the seat or swing all your worries away. You’re here for a seating experience.

Idea#3: A Collaboration Area

Imagine working on a non-secret work project or having a project of your own, wouldn’t you like an outdoor space to go through your thoughts and collaborate with other members of the community? The natural scenery will open your mind up and set you in a more relaxed state to think about your next project or question more clearly. There can be white boards, glass boards, markers, erasers, outlets galore in this space for people to use. This space can also be used to host sponsored workshops for learning new skills that every company might be interested in. It is also a great place to meet and network with people.

Click here for presentation

Part 2

MAP:

IDEA: Collaboration w/ Swinging Chairs

These tables will be in the center of the courtyard area. There will be one larger communal table and a few surrounding the space (one on each corner of the middle square green patch).

Option #1: Tech-free Space

The space will have these (shaded) tables and swinging chairs and nothing else.

Option #2: Tech Space

The space will have these (shaded) tables and swinging chairs along with built in bluetooth speakers & charging stations. The speakers and charging stations will only be for the non-communal tables.

Click here for Prezi

Part 3

Click here for final pitch presentation

November 24, 2018

Narratives: Sofanah Alrobayan

This receipt, although not from a grocery store, but from a restaurant on Thanksgiving Eve, details multiple cornbread purchases.

She is very busy. She spent the day at work, but it felt like a ghost town. It was the day before Thanksgiving, also known to some as Thanksgiving Eve. She had too many things on her mind. The loudest and most recurring thought was “I want to go home.” She can’t go home. After work hours ended, she checked her school work and assignment due dates. She gave thanks for the lack of assignments due in the next couple of days. She walked out the office doors and realized she didn’t have time to bake or cook anything for a Friendsgiving dinner she agreed to attend that night. She opened up her frequently contacted numbers and chose the best restaurant to order a “homemade” dish. She decided to order cornbread; multiple orders of cornbread. Nathan wasn’t working at the restaurant that night, a shame since he always snuck extra butter packets into her orders. Dave picked up the phone and he was okay. He did his job. He told her it was going to be an hour before it was ready for pickup. An hour wasn’t enough time for her to do something significant, so she decided to go home, get dressed, grab a few tupperwares, a knife, and drive over to the restaurant. She walked in and asked the hostess for the status of her order. They needed a couple more minutes. She paid and sat in the waiting area, alone with her phone. Level 1037 on candy crush was calling her name. Unfortunately, a staff member also called her name to tell her her order was ready. Another day, level 1037. She grabbed the bag, went into her car, turned on the heater, unpackaged the cornbread, sliced them, transferred each piece into the tupperwares, and closed all the lids. She drove over to her friend’s house and greeted everybody, with tupperwares in hand. “Yes I made this”, she said.

November 10, 2018November 10, 2018

Geographies, Part 2: Sofanah Alrobayan

This exercise was a nice break from my usual day to day. It forced me to step outside into my neighborhood and notice things I haven’t actually paid attention to throughout all the years I’ve been living there. What I loved most when walking around and drawing out the map is not necessarily following the directions I was taking, but rather noticing what it is I pay attention to. There might have been more than one thing going on at once, but I was jotting down that one thing that stood out to me the most. This map is not specifically directional, but mental.

It’s been quite some time since I heavily doodled, but I enjoyed actually drawing what I saw in front of me. It’s definitely challenging to portray things as you see them, but it’s fun to try. Something else that was quite interesting is how certain directions led me back to where I was and it wasn’t difficult to pinpoint another observation of the same place. I truly enjoyed every aspect about this exercise.

November 7, 2018

Informations, Part 3: Sofanah Alrobayan

LOVE

This election sign is the perfect example of the Ockham’s razor design principle. It is simple, to the point, and includes basic details that are highlighted. Notice the “for” is just hiding on the “D” in “LUMBARD”. It is very clean and minimalistic. The consistency in font makes it super clear to read. The border frames the whole sign and the line around his name ads a nice touch to tie it all together. There’s great choice of colors with the white text and border, dark navy background, and orange for his last name. The contrast allows his name to stand out. Although this is the sign I chose to love, the one I hate is more effective in sending emotions than this one. This sign only gives the viewer his name and what he’s running for. There’s nothing that speaks to you in this sign in terms of emotions.

HATE

This sign is very bland. It’s black and white. There are no colors to make it more appealing. The text is inconsistent when it comes to font (WAGNER’s font is different than the rest) and the exclamation mark is much smaller than the text before it (NOT US). However, it is consistent in capitalizing every letter on the sign. One thing it managed to do is get emotion out with the dislike icon and the size of the words “NOT US”. It’s clearly anti-Wagner. This is why I think this sign is more effective in getting an emotion or “stance” out than the sign I chose in the “love” category.

BONUS (I thought this was fun)

Why do these two look exactly the same, but are actually for two different people? How does that even happen? Is that even possible (I’m actually asking)? The colors chosen, the checkboxes, the font… every. single. thing.

Note: The signs do not reflect my political stance, but are chosen simply by their design.

November 3, 2018

Architectures: Sofanah Alrobayan

MAP 1 – OFFICE

This map shows the paths Poppy, the office work dog and I take on a typical work day.

MAP 2 – COMMUTE

This map details the two routes I take to and from work and home.

MAP 3 – HOME

This map shows the paths I take at home, at night coming in from work and in the morning as I leave to go to work.

October 30, 2018November 20, 2018

Project 2: Sofanah Alrobayan

PART 1

Site

The site I chose to visit is a business complex in Irvine, California. It is located on the intersection of Laguna Canyon Rd. and Irvine Center Dr. It is home to many different companies where they all share the outdoor space I chose to observe. From the parking lots to the courtyard, here are the five forces that stood out to me.

Parking

There is an abundance of parking spots for different types of vehicles. Cars, motorcycles or even bikes have a place to park around the buildings. The majority of the people that work here seem to prefer to drive to their workplace rather than ride, whether it be motorcycles or bikes. The parking lot definitely caters more to motor cars than bikes. There is also a specific number of parking spots per building reserved for accessible parking. Overall the parking lot doesn’t seem to be crowded by any means at any given time of the day.

Recreation

The courtyard common space area named “The Commons” at this business center can be a place for people to engage in friendly games for when they need a break. They offer horseshoes, connect four, and even corn hole all around commons. That whole area is intended to be more relaxed than a typical workspace. Although, there are some people that like to take their work outside, the majority of the people in this area seem to come out for a break, whether it’s to chat with a friend, have lunch, play some games, or just read a book. It is a place to unwind. There are also company sponsored events that can be held at the commons and its layout definitely helps in terms of space and arrangements. Another space (not pictured) is a game room located inside on of the buildings that surround the commons and is open to the public. It includes a kitchen, some dining spaces, a mock living room with several TVs, a pool table, a foosball table, and some arcade games as well. The relaxed and fun atmosphere is an effect resulting from this recreation force in this space.

Green

This site is exceptionally green. The grass, the trimmed bushes, the different types of trees, and even potted plants are a huge force in this space. The trees and bushes line up around buildings, parking lots, walkways, curbs, and the commons area. There is not a single space to stand on the site where greenery is not in sight. The idea of this site being surrounded by “nature”perhaps creates a sort of positive atmosphere that allows people to view the workplace as more of a “natural sanctuary”.

Signs

There are so many signs and labels scattered throughout the site that portray different conditions. All signs are informative, but some are more serious in tone such as the “No Parking” or “Minimum Fine $250” or “PLEASE DO NOT DRINK”. I even considered the “Recycle” label on the recycling bin to be a sign since it is trying to inform people. Other forms of signs the can be seen throughout the site are the stop signs around every intersection inside the complex, directories in front of every building where each company in that building is listed, and in some cases, some companies have their name on the buildings themselves versus only on the directory. The signs are a force that inform the people about the area they are currently in.

Seating

There are many seats scattered throughout the outdoor space. Although they are dispersed, the majority is centrally located at the commons area. One might even argue that the lawn is also considered a seating area. There are benches at the smoking area, some tables and chairs tucked away by some buildings, and an abundance of seating choices at the commons area, from large cushioned chairs to wooden lawn chairs.

PART 2

Parking

Recreation

Green

Signs

Seating

PART 3 FINAL REVISION

October 27, 2018

Informations, Part 2: Sofanah Alrobayan

Halloween Horror Nights is a spooktacular annual event hosted at Universal Studios, and this map comes from the Hollywood location. Once I arrived, I was handed this static paper map in order to locate and navigate through different rides, mazes, scare zones, restaurants, etc.

One notices right away how color is used here to distinguish between the different attractions and highlight the locations. Rides are depicted in green, mazes in blue, scare zones in orange, live shows in violet, terror tram in light purple, and closed attractions in grey. Breaking it up by category makes specific types of attraction much more discoverable. Another use of color is through the color choice of text on the map itself. Notice how all the attractions are in yellow whereas other points of interest (entrance, exit, escalator, lot level) are in orange. One interesting thing to note is that these colors were not difficult to distinguish by my color blind friend.

Another design principle that is used in this map is layering. One thing to note is that there are two lots in this map; an upper lot and lower lot. The first example of layering that came to mind is the way those two lots were depicted in the map. There is an escalator depicted that leads to the lower lot and one way to notice which parts belonged to the lower lot versus the upper lot is how the trees were drawn on the map. The tree images surrounding the ledge looking over the lower lot only displayed their top halves, meaning everything that is past that point is considered in the lower lot. Another example of layering is all the different labels on the map, from attraction names, ride images, arrows to entrances, and various labels explained further on the legend depicted at the bottom of the map.

Consistency is another key design principle depicted on this map. The font chosen for major attractions and points of interest are the same, bolded, and capitalized, whether it is actual words or abbreviations (“UNIVERSAL MONSTERS” or “M3”). When it comes to labels on the map, legend descriptions use a different font, unbolded, and uncapitalized. All similar labels on the map are the same size. “M#” and “S#” have the same circle size. All the dining and shopping circles are the same size. Every other label with the exception of “Phones, Restrooms, and Water Fountains” are consistent in size. I believe the reason for grouping the “Phones, Restrooms, and Water Fountains” are because they are always in the same location and breaking them out might cause more clutter. Also notice the consistent use of borders on the labels and attractions and points of interest names. Labels have a white border whereas the words have a black label. Around the map are different legends and they are all consistent in detailing the “ripped paper” aesthetic.

October 20, 2018

Graphics: Sofanah Alrobayan

Welcome to the Jungle

Team 2: Sofanah, Serena, Youngsun

Here is the full PDF

October 13, 2018

Objects, Part 1: Sofanah Alrobayan

Object I love: Collapsible Laundry Basket

Collapsed:

Expanded:

This is the ideal basket for space saving purposes. It can expand up to 4 times its size and be able to hold a good amount of material. It can also collapse and be stored in a reasonably small space. I will never give this basket up. The rubber material and creases affords the ability to expand the middle body and collapsibility of the basket. Collapsed, I’ve used it as a tray to carry light stuff around the house, but it’s not designed to be tray, therefore it typically serves no purpose but to be stored in a small space. Expanded, I’ve primarily used it to hold my laundry to and from the washer and dryer. The rubber handles make the basket much more comfortable to carry on the palms of my hands. And the holes around the basket allow for air circulation that is needed when I load it with warm clothes fresh from the dryer. All in all, the design of this basket, especially focusing on its ability to be shrink in size, is a winner in my book.

Object I hate: New Macbook Charger

Don’t get me wrong, I am typically a huge fan of Apple and their designs. Their older magnetic charger ports and the feedback of the charging state by the light indication on the port is simply perfect. What I mainly have an issue with is their redesign of the port as well as the lack of update on the charging block. Switching the port to be a USB-C might have made it more universal, but it is lacking satisfaction and feedback. Going from the ports magnetically attaching to the laptop to having to look around and insert the charger is a step back in my opinion. Not to mention, there is no visual indication on whether or not the laptop was charging. I have heard it make a sound when it connects, but it’s not always consistent. I have had to open my laptop some days to make sure it actually is being charged since I did not receive any sort of feedback that it was indeed charging.

Moving onto the charging block, I have a major issue on its size seeing as it needs to sit perpendicular to the socket. The constraint of this design is not ideal if the wall outlet is behind the couch, for example, and one might need to move a couch in order to charge their laptop. I am aware that they have a cord attachment where the block will sit in between the cords and the size issue is no longer existent, however, it does make the product less compact and more cumbersome to carry around when on the go. If they can make an attachment where the prongs are placed on the side, allowing the block to be parallel to the socket, it would solve many space saving issues. I have depicted in the picture here how potentially simple this new proposed attachment might be.

October 13, 2018

Objects, Part 2: Sofanah Alrobayan

Desk Chair

This is my everyday desk chair that I use for work. It makes me feel super productive when I work at my desk station versus the couches or bean bag chairs scattered all over the office and it makes me feel like whatever I’m doing at my desk must be super important. We have these chairs at every desk in the office regardless of your role. It functions like any other desk chair would. It is well cushioned which I appreciate. It’s a decent chair, but I find it’s not always super comfortable for my back (hence the pillow). Since our office space is very open, I find that the wheels play a huge part in my day to day. The ergonometric nature of this chair allows me to slide over to person behind me when I want to ask a question or simply move the chair to face the person next to me when we discuss something. I don’t necessarily have to get up and move around as much due to the proximity and physical placement of most of the people I work with. They are at most a glide away.

Bean Bag Chair

The bean bag chair is a ball of stuffing that your body just sinks into. The cushion is super comfortable and gives more off a more relaxed feel than a standard chair. This is my favorite spot to sit at when I feel I do not need to collaborate with anyone in the office which is around the same time as when my workload decreases and I have some time to “relax”. I find myself usually sitting there later in the workday when all that’s left for me to work on is busy work. It is my destress zone that allows me to still be productive.

Ottoman Chair/Table

These chairs are mainly used for when there aren’t enough seats in a meeting room. They are colorful and sturdy ottomans that are not very comfortable. It does its job during the ironically named daily “stand up” meeting. No one lasts more than one hour on that chair and if they had to, you’d usually see them standing. However, their flat surface allows it to be more versatile in a sense that it acts as both a chair and table. It comes with an optional metal top if you wish to transform the cushion top to a metal top and assure the safety of items stacked on top of it. These chairs are multi-functional but not the most comfortable.

Outdoor Chair

This is the chair I typically sit on when I take my lunch outside to the courtyard and want some fresh air. It’s a standard metal and wooden chair with legs and no arms. It’s not the most comfortable but it serves its purpose for the 30 minutes that I sit on it. It’s not the best chair, but it’s not the worst. It’s very much a standard chair and I have no feelings towards it whatsoever. It’s just okay.

Clothes Chair

Everyone’s favorite chair. It’s situated in the corner of my bedroom where This chair represents how I am doing in life and looking at affects my mood. If I look at this chair and it’s empty, I know I have my life together and makes me feel accomplished. However, if it has a pile of clothes and bags on top, I know I’m due for a reorganization of not only my stuff, but my priorities. The chair itself is fantastic. It bends in all the right places to make for the perfect chair in terms of structure and design. What it represents is what I love most about it. Its job is to silently tell me “good job” or “what are you doing with your life?”

Driver’s Car Seat

I sit on this chair pretty much everyday. It is a well-cushioned, adjustable, pleather chair that makes each car ride as comfortable as possible. The sides of the chair are designed to curve around your body to limit the undesirable body movements when turning. They are perfect for everyday commutes and can get uncomfortable on long car rides.

Toilet Seat

Ah, the porcelain throne. The seat itself is not meant to be super comfortable, but rather sturdy, durable, working, and easy to clean. I’m not sure what else to say except that it does its job and it’s not meant to be comfortable for a long period of time.

October 3, 2018October 15, 2018

Team 1 Principle #2: Prototyping

Prototyping is a design principle used to create quick and simple to more refined mockups in order to explore the design of the product being built, refine it, and test it. There are many different ways to go about doing this. It can be as simple as a sketch or be more complex as 3D printed models. The main purpose of prototyping is to walkthrough a similar experience and define points of failure or improvement in a way that is not costly. Prototyping in each design process is beneficial to exploring more of the focus of that process.

Example #1: Ojex Juicer

This image here depicts many examples of prototyping at each design phase.

Example #2: 3D Printed Custom Jewelry

This is a great example of prototyping in order to inspect something, in this case jewelry, prior to actually building out the final product.

Example #3: “Creeper Cam”

My friend and I were on a mission to create a sneaky way of taking photos of what’s around us (we’re normal, I swear). We came up with an idea of an iPhone attachment and we decided to build it out. The red arrow focuses on the area where the attachment will slide into your iPhone. The black arrow is where we would add a reflective layer to bounce off the camera and into the opening. This allows users to have their phones parallel to the ground while at the same time taking pictures of what is right in front of them.

Resources:

Lidwell, William, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler, and Kimberly Elam. Universal Principles of Design: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design. Beverly, Mass: Rockport Publishers, 2010. Print.

“Solus DLP 3D Printer – Australian Distributor – 25 Micron Resolution.” CAD Jewelry School, www.cadjewelryschool.com/solus-dlp-3d-printer.

October 3, 2018October 15, 2018

Team 1 Principle #1: Garbage In-Garbage Out

Garbage In Garbage Out is a design principle based on the the notion of bad input producing bad output and vice versa. If the end user has the ability to input any type of value with any given quality into a space without ways of preventing “invalid” inputs, the outputs will probably be equivalent to the input’s caliber. In the Universal Principles of Design book, the authors bring up two types of input problems: input type and input quality. Input type is focused more on inserting the wrong information into a space. An example of this might be entering your username in the password field on a login form. On the other hand, input quality is centered around injecting a flawed value that is of the correct type. For example, missing one number from your credit card number will result in a faulty transaction. There are ways to prevent garbage ins broken out by each kind of problem. Using affordances and constraints for input type issues and previews and confirmations for input quality issues will help minimize the impact of the input has on the output. Prevention of input error is the key to a successful interaction resulting in the expected and desired outcome.

Example #1: Order Forms

The image displays the preventative measures added in the redesigned form to avoid any potential garbage input values.

Example #2: Remote Controls

This example shows the many possible inputs or sets of inputs for an end user of remote controls. One might keep hitting the “1” button numerous times with the result not having to do anything with the number “1”. It might take the user to the “On Demand” channel or “Guide”. The lack of constraints allows for bad inputs.

Example #3: Cuisinart Coffee Maker

This example I struggled with this morning while house sitting my friend’s house. I wanted to make a cup of coffee and I was confident I set everything up correctly. When it came to the moment of turning it on, I was puzzled by how it worked. I turned the distinct “Ready Tone” knob to “ON” and nothing was happening. No coffee. I realized later that I had missed the “ON/OFF” button at the top since the color blended in with the rest of the machine and did not stand out to me. The main issue is the counts of “ON” on that machine: “Auto ON”, “ON”, and “ON/OFF”. The probability that a user will interpret only one of these “ON” labels to be true decreases as the number of “ON” options increases.

Resources:

Wilkinson, Darryl, and Grant Clauser. “The Best Universal Remote Control.” Engadget, 24 Jan. 2017, www.engadget.com/2016/04/29/the-best-universal-remote-control/.

October 1, 2018

Histories: Sofanah Alrobayan

For Approval, an internal Mainframe project.

Simply stated, this graphic is a masterpiece. Not only does it nonchalantly defy the laws of physics, but it also alters the subject matter to the unexpected. I personally find it frustrating, yet highly enjoyable. The reactive approach they used to get viewers engaged with this short clip is genius. I found myself subconsciously guessing on how the next graphic will behave and reacting in different ways after realizing I had guessed wrong.

The colors used are visually pleasing, and the sound by Max Greening is clever and amusing. Using colors and lighting that are not harsh on the eyes and had enough contrast to the background made the objects stand out and allowed the viewer focus on the animated clip. I believe the sounds heightened the overall animated experience. The choice of sounds varied from things that correlated to the graphic (the bounce on the light bulb and waterfall from the glass) to others had more of a twist (water faucet that dispenses a cloth and the deflating sound of the cut “balloon”).

I found the graphic inspiring due to its simplicity and unconventional properties. It took things most people touch and interact with and turned it on its head. It reversed everything we know and made something completely new and creative out of it, allowing the mind to wander and question what we know to be true.