Author: jmolendy

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Exercise 3.2: Personas, Scenario, Storyboard – John Molendyk

 

Gloria moved from Los Angeles to Irvine to work for a tech firm as a product manager. Busy with work and trying to get settled in, Gloria’s times is consumed most days, although she seeks connection to something more meaningful. Typically weekends are spent outdoors with friends or hiking local wilderness areas. Gloria has volunteered in the past with the Humane Society in high school and a little in college, but stopped when she moved. Gloria is someone who is looking for opportunities to make a difference and connect with like minded individuals. Seeing an opportunity to volunteer would provide Gloria with the connection she is looking for and could convince her to make the time for it, as she believes “need doesn’t wait”.

Gloria is at happy hour with her co-workers from the tech company she works at. Its a typical week night and she is feeling connected to her co-workers and grateful for all that she has. It’s getting late and Gloria bids farewell to her team for the evening and heads off through the spectrum towards the parking garage. As she is walking, Gloria notices a cut out of a small child wearing an ASPCA shirt holding a dog with a cast on its leg… Gloria smiles, wondering what the connection is. As she turns the next corner, Gloria notices the ASPCA is standing out in front of what used to be a yogurt shop. As the the volunteer standing in the door sees Gloria approaching, she smiles, and as Gloria smiles back as she asks about the sign “Volunteers Needed”, remembering her days in high-school helping at the animal shelter.

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Exercise 3.3: Speculations – Liliana & John

Robotics, Decadence, Machine, Collapse

It’s 2029 and the Irvine Spectrum is the last remaining hold out of decadence for the prestigious and rich of South Orange County. The collapse of capitalism has been brought on by a rapid acceleration of robotics and machines, the dawn of a new economy begins to emerge.

With the innovative Space for a Cause program brought on by two brilliant graduate students, the robots began understanding human suffering and all of the need that exists today. The robots had a choice, and they chose to idealize what makes humans human; empathy and the ability to connect on a visceral level.

As the world outside of the spectrum grows dark and gloomy, the transformation to a new world begins as the robots show humans new ways of seeing the world that challenges their assumptions and understanding of the world as they know it.

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Project 3: Team 16 Liliana & John

Final Project Posting

Final Project

Feedback Received  [just a couple of them…]

  • I think you need an intro section talking about what the Irvine Spectrum Center is and what it’s like currently, because it’s hard to know how your intervention is going to fit in and why it would be beneficial without that background.
  • What kind of value does this have for the charity? A lot of nonprofits are strapped for cash and staff, so before dedicating resources to a project like this, they’d probably want to know what they’d get out of it.
  • In general, it’d be nice to see this information laid out in a more aesthetically pleasing way- the website really limits your options!
  • I like the idea about the space for a Cause program, using the unused space to support the community and charities. I like this idea a lot because it is very realistic.
  • Rather than building great technology or art installations, your idea’s more about social activity that we really need in our lives. And I think The Spectrum is the perfect place for promoting this kind of social activity.
  • The digital display is a simple but very smart idea. In the digital directory display, the pop-up or highlighted ads about the program will trigger people to click and learn about it in detail.

Revision History

Revision 2

Revision 1

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Narratives: John Molendyk

As I reflect on the closing of 2018 and the potential 2019 brings, I feel all the forces of the holiday season; but overwhelmingly I feel the sense of renewal, growing in intensity, bringing with it the inevitable coming of the new year.

Renewal provides new opportunity from yesterday’s mistakes, missteps and mishaps. Why is it the new year brings even a small sense that we can let it go, put it behind us and start anew? Maybe we get our clues from mother nature and the powerful forces of renewal that allow our gardens to flourish year after year.

Something we talked about during office hours on Thursday night connected with me, bringing me to the force of renewal, connecting me to a site of importance and interest for me; the garden centers of Laguna Woods. I felt my original site for project 2 had become too broad and lacked a connection to a topic that made sense to me the way the garden center does.

Renewal is a force within the garden centers as individual garden plots come alive for another season with the lush growth of leafy greens, beans, peas and bitter melon. But you can see renewal in other ways as well. In the plots where the gardeners have decided to let the soil rest and rejuvenate itself for the fall and winter, preparing for new opportunities in the spring.

Sitting down to eat with loved ones is also an act of renewal; the nourishment, times with loved ones, the celebration of the new year as we reflect and think about new possibilities. In remembrance of my grandfather (a gardener), each year, as my family comes together, I make the applesauce.

Beans growing over a fence in fall.
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Exercise 2.2 Architectures: John Molendyk – 1 More

I was going to change out my last map, as it is too similar to the path view I created. I had the idea for the map of the mall just a little too late too swap it out, I thought I would just add it here since it is after the deadline.

This is map of the Laguna Hills Mall, or what used to be of it. As you can see, it is partially demolished and has several areas that are closed, yet some stores are open, among them a number of restaurants.

The mall has lost 3 of its anchors and has no prospects. Macys was just Scary Town for the past weeks, and the farmers market takes over the parking lot  previously used by Macy’s as it is empty now.

This was my mall as a kid and I think I even sat in Santa’s lap for the first time in this mall. It was a big deal for Lake Forest and Laguna Hills so it is sad to see the development stalled, but it also seems somewhat unfeasible that another mall is needed when there are two much better venues for shopping with a few miles in either direction on the 5 freeway.

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Exercise 2.2 John Molendyk: Architectures

This is a map of my home and the places where people who spend time here relax within it.

This is a map of the entrance to a walking path that goes through my area and past my home. It’s know as the serpentine walk and it connects several areas of the community to the services both internal and external to the community.

This is the city view of the road to Laguna Beach on the way through El Toro on El Toro Rd.

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Project 2: John Molendyk

Garden Center 2

My map is of Garden Center #2 in Laguna Woods, Ca. The center is diverse with many forces that I have been a part of for several years. This garden center has been here since 1965 with many of the gardeners having the same garden plots for almost 30 years.

Garden Center 2 – Combined Force Map

Hydrating Forces

Water into a gardeners plot

A garden’s life blood is water and so the force of hydration within the garden center is critical to its survival. Here, I have represented the force of hydration as the foundation for the rest of the garden both theoretically and logistically. What isn’t seen here is the myriad of pipes that connect to each of the gardeners plots. With over 400 vegetable plots and 120 tree plots, the water is really everywhere as each gardeners is responsible for accessing water from their neighbors lead. Some plots have 2-3 outlets of water within their plots.

The force of hydration within garden center #2

Giving Forces

Many of the members of the garden center have come together over the years to grow food for the local food pantries. Lou, one of the gardeners with a long history at the garden center had upwards of 20 plots at one time. Lou kept track of how much food he grew and donated for the past 10 years with 100’s of pounds donated every year. Additionally, there are tables located throughout the center where people will leave various things such as food and excess seeds and seedlings from their gardens.

The giving force within garden center 2

Creative Forces

A headboard is re-used in garden plot

The gardens are a place where people play in the dirt and express themselves with the design of their plots. Many of the gardeners have personalized their plots with brightly painted signs, statues and other works of art. For some, it may not be too much about gardening anymore than it is about self-expression. It’s also wonderful to see people re-using in the garden center; gardeners are resourceful people and will create something from very little materials. Here we see a headboard used at the base of a shallow bed. I can imagine sugar snap peas covering the rungs in early fall.

The force of creativity at garden center #2

Renewal Forces

A sitting area under a green awning.

The forces of renewal are hard to map within the garden center because in reality, the entire garden center is a force of renewal. Every year gardeners look forward to the seasons where they can grow their favorites vegetables. Each season is renewal in itself. Here, I have taken the concept of renewal to be physical rest, rejuvenation and coming together into the common and not so common resting areas of the center. During late afternoons and weekends it’s not uncommon to find a handful of gardeners eating lunch and sharing ideas about how to get the best tomato.

The forces of renewal at garden center 2

Transformational Forces

A new plot being built for a new plot owner.

There are many forces of transformation in the garden center. Many of the transformational forces feel much like forces of renewal as there is a lot of overlap in the concept if looked at from various angles. Here the force of transformation is looking at the constant state of construction in the garden center. Many of the current structures are more than 30 years old. In the late 80s gardeners began building structures to minimize theft and personalize their space.

The force of transformation at garden center 2

 

PDF Document for Combined Force Maps

PDF Document of Revision History

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Informations, Part 3: John Molendyk

As I drove down University Drive this morning, it was through a barrage of political signs, all essentially the same, boring, a few colors, a last name in bold without mush else.

The signs I don’t like are not just too basic, they are boring with nothing memorable about them aside from the last name, and in the barrage of signs, if you don’t have a reason to remember it, you wont. If you do, the sign isn’t necessary.

Signs I Don’t Like

The first one just seems to blend in. In a sea of signs, Len Herman does nothing to stand out and I think his name is also not memorable, so he needs to work harder from this perspective. 

 

This sign doesn’t feel like they tried very hard to get your attention, when compared to the other signs it is found within, it somewhat disappears. The yellow doesn’t stand out, when combined with graphic stars, the whole sign has a cheap feeling to it.

Signs I Do Like

This sign I like, it is actually a little smaller than the others it is near and the name and all of the text are not as readable as it could be, but the graphic apple draws you in and makes you immediately think about education. It softens the normal political, strong stance that can come through. I think the white background brings a softness and trust worthiness as well.

I found this one on the ground. It is one of my favorites simply because of the graphic star and the use of the dark blue color. I think the blue brings a trusted, legitimacy and the star has motion in it, bringing a professional, up to date feeling where many of the other signs just seem to blend in.

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Informations, Part 2: John Molendyk

I think many maps use some common principles such as color, consistency and iconic representation that supports depth of processing through a deep exposure to rich details.

This is a map of Downtown Portland, OR and is interesting to me because of the caricature like iconic representation and bright colors to communicate points of interest and landmarks. There is s a lot of consistency across the iconic representations used here which is expected and lends to its overall readability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flexibility-Usability Tradeoff is at play here. While these icons are fun and the map has a lighthearted feel to it while providing basic information, there is a bit of tradeoff occurring as some points of interest are too dense based upon this maps point of view. This leaves some streets unidentified for a short period while more important details override. This leaves the user to determine and track the street. Because of the nature of this map, this may or may not be acceptable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Highlighting is seen where information such as street names are presented, but other items such as building names, landmarks and points of interest are all in bold or even in a color with a graphic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horror Vacui seems to be at play here and I think it is one of things that makes the map interesting. When thinking about the type of map I wanted to use for this exercise, this is much like what I envisioned. Typically, I would say Horror Vacui has its place, with this design and the lighthearted feel you get from it, and considering it is a map, I think more can be better to a point and so the principle is useful. I think the best way to see this principle at play is by looking at the entire image.

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Exercise 1.2.1 John Molendyk

An Object I Hate

Unfortunately, an object I hate is my MacBook Pro, the computer that I am writing this on currently. I don’t hate the whole thing, but I I’ll admit, I didn’t do my homework; I bought based upon reputation and past personal experience with 3 previous MacBook Pro computers in a row. I think I may have suffered from the Veblen Effect when making my purchase and with Apple in general, however I can say they are helping me seeing things with some of the questionable choices recently.

What I hate? The keyboard and the touch bar. Starting with the keyboard, they keys on the keyboard provide very little Feedback. In an attempt to get thinner I assume, they amount the key presses down while striking the key is reduced in a noticeable way. It’s hard to describe, but the keyboard just feels different and it isn’t something that I am getting used to. I understand some users do like this as it does seem to reduce the typing effort, however I just can’t seem to get used to it. It has to do with the Feedback expected when I strike the key.

Secondly, the touch bar is located at the top of the keyboard and is now content specific. That would be fine, except I find that my pinky touches the touch bar repeatedly while I am typing and as a result, the screen is changes; sometimes minimizing, getting brighter or maybe darker. In my eyes, this is unintended and an Error.

The problem only occurs when I use the computer as a laptop. When the computer is in its stand, then the keyboard and touch bar are inaccessible and I use the mini keyboard on my desktop for my work. I do believe I will find another laptop to replace this computer at some point as I do want to use a laptop the amount of Performance Load that comes from striking the wrong key or accidentally touching the touch bar is becoming more than a nuisance. Since the week I started using it, I kept asking myself did Apple test this device? How far did Prototyping go with this feature?

 

An Object I Love

 My SAMDI vertical laptop stand that I purchased on Amazon is something that I love. I bought it because I liked the curved, Symmetrical design and the fact that is made from wood. I want my laptops and devices to stand on end for better ventilation; or so I assume. When I bought this, I looked for something like this specifically to support limited space requirements to store multiple devices, 3 specifically; a MacBook Pro, iPad and PC based laptop or notebook.

The design of the stand has 3 slots, following the Rule of Thirds and uses rubber inserts too allow for several different sized (width) devices to be stored. I have used the inserts that come with the stand successfully with the devices I own. However, if someone wanted have the exact insert for their device, they are available to be purchased individually. I think this feature makes it a very versatile design that can grow and change with the needs of the user over time. One regret, I wish I would have bough the dark walnut version, but the Birch version I bought is nice and matches the desk I have at the moment.

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Objects 1.2.2 John Molendyk

Living Room Chair (past)

This is my old chair. Near the beginning of this exercise I decide, it was time for a new chair. This chair has gotten to the point where it causes me neck pain and headaches if I sat too long. There was no way to do things such as work with a computer, read a book or lay back comfortably. This chair used to sit in my living room where I could use it to watch TV, read and just sit. I relate poorly to this piece of furniture. I purchased it brand new from Ikea with a couch for under $1,000 and while it was inexpensive, it is not functional in the way I expect it to be as I’m unable to use it for more than a few hours at a time.

Living Room Chair (present)

This is my new chair. I don’t necessarily think it is very nice looking, but it is very comfortable. It is taller than the other furniture and doesn’t really fit the room. If I am not sitting in it, there is at least 1 cat in or on it, usually 2. The chair represents a place for me to be comfortable for long periods of time and to allow me to focus on school and learning. It is an electric recliner and is operated by a button on the side, and not a lever. It’s a microfiber type of material that has a suede type of texture. I don’t know the brand name of the chair it, but I bought it at a local store called Jerome’s that has multiple locations that sells furniture inexpensively.

Prius Front Seat

This is the front seat of my car. It’s a silver 2014 Toyota Prius 3 and it has grey cloth interior. I read another student with a Prius also mention that the interior is appropriate for what the car is and anything more, such as leather would feel odd and out of character for the car really stands for efficiency and simplicity. I agree and I like the interior, it is comfortable and considering I bought it to support driving long distances, comfort was a primary concern. The car has 68,416 miles and I would say I have been in the drivers seat for all but about 50 of those miles.

Lunch (Burger Boss)

This the seat I sat in when I had lunch earlier this week with Graham from class. It was comfortable for the time I was there, but wasn’t a place I would want to sit long-term. It was hard plastic and everything felt a bit compressed, spacing between the back of the seat and table and the size of the table. This seat was a place to allow me to focus on getting to know someone a bit better and have a good meal. The place was Burger Boss and I had the black bean burger with fries.

Office Chair

The chair in my office is pretty comfortable. I bought it about 6 months ago with the intention that I would be sitting in it a lot while doing school work as well as working. I use it at a sit / stand desk and so it isn’t always used when I am at my desk. Additionally, I use my chair in the living room to work in at times so I don’t always use my desk to do my school work. The chair is not leather but faux leather and was under $150. The chair means to me that I am able to provide myself with the appropriate chair for my needs.

Yoga Bolster

My yoga bolster is something that I sit as well as use in other ways on a regular basis. For its purpose, it could be a little more consistent, its become misshapen over the years I’ve had it. I believe I got it free from Yogaworks, it’s dark tan and has a canvas cover that comes off. I relate well to this yoga bolster as it is supportive of my needs and is flexible in my practice.

 

 

Meditation Pillow

I also have a meditation pillow that I also got from Yogaworks for free. The color is a light green and kind of reminds me to be calm when I go to sit on the pillow to meditate. It also has a canvas cover, however the contents inside are loose pellets and so to wash it I would have to empty them into another container. I also relate well to my meditation pillow. When I meditate regularly, life just seems to generally work better. The fact that I use a pillow or not doesn’t matter, but the pillow in some ways serves as a reminder to take the time to use it. I don’t tuck it away, rather leave it in the middle of my living space.

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Histories: John Molendyk

The Toyota Pickup has been for sale in the US since it was first introduced in 1969 as the Toyota Hilux. Even though Toyota had been making 4-wheel drive vehicles since 1941 at the request of the Japanese government, they did not release the “Pickup”, its first 4-wheel drive pickup into the US market until 1979.

Over the years Toyota has evolved the pickup through many different generations and models, with the current model being the third generation Tacoma. Toyota trucks have long been a status symbol of quality and even over time, are very much based in it’s roots of simplicity and functionality over frills and ornamentation. The Toyota Pickup is a symbol of quality for its owner and Toyota understood the value that quality brings to its brand.

I have been a car guy since I could make engine noises and pretend I was shifting from my baby seat in the back of my Mom’s 1969 Volkswagen Beetle. For me, a car is one of the greatest inventions known to man. There are a lot of systems that go into making a car capable of performing its functions and it is supposed to do this while also being safe, user-friendly and many times, a fashion statement. When I think of design, I think of a dashboard and all of its controls, the context of the user (probably driving) and the need to maintain an aesthetic quality driven by brand. All of this, and cars are generational and typically go through major revisions on a regular schedule. Back in the 1970s, Cadillac’s were some of the most ornate cars ever made and yet were completely redesigned almost every year.

For me, the Toyota truck is an icon of capability and ruggedness built on a foundation of reliability. I have used my trucks to travel, work as a carpenter, go camping, off-roading and to take someone special on a first date. When I think of the Toyota pickup, it’s the older trucks that come to mind. I think the of the trucks I have owned in the past and all of the adventures they have allowed me to have that wouldn’t have been possible in a car. It’s incredible how different a truck is in comparison to a car just in terms of capability and how limiting a car can feel.

A design principle I apply to the Toyota Pickup would be Form Follows Function. In fact I see that principle in how Toyota presented itself within the market; as a high-quality, high-capability, low frills vehicle that performs its function while asking little from the user.

The design principle of Form Follows Function as presented within the Universal Principles of Design employs the two interpretations of descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive is presented as “beauty results from purity of function” and prescriptive described as “aesthetic considerations in design should be secondary to functional considerations”.  Interestingly the example in the book for Form Follows Function presents the H1 Humvee Military vehicle along with its commercially available offspring the H2 and H3 by Hummer.

The Toyota Pickup truck maintains aesthetic qualities beyond those that are more functional as they are within the design of the Hummer. However, it is simplicity of its form, with a high-focus on capability and function that makes the Toyota a truck that many users enjoy.

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Team 7 Principle #3: Depth of Processing

“Depth of processing considers the richness and depth of exposure to material to support how someone retains information in long-term memory.” That’s how I summarized depth of processing to myself after reading the principle and doing my research.

From the Universal Principles of Design, an example of an online blog article and how deep processing may or may not be supported based upon. Blogs that use text, headings, images, video and survey questions engage the user from a processing perspective in a greater way than does a blog using only text or text with imagery. 

Two principles also seen are elaboration rehearsal and maintenance rehearsal. Elaboration rehearsal supports deep learning while maintenance rehearsal may be something you use to simply memorize information; possibly for a test. With elaboration rehearsal, there are three aspects that support deeper learning;

Distinctiveness – the uniqueness of the information, including how it is presented in its context and the experience level of the user.

Relevance – the degree to which information is considered to be important and if it is presented in a way that the user can make the relevant semantic connections.

Elaboration – how much thought and engagement is required to connect with the material and interpret and understand the information. How deeply can the user engage and is the material supporting deep processing.

Considerations for Design:

  • Identify targets for recall and retention
  • Use unique presentation and interesting activities to support deeper processing
  • Use rich media where it makes sense; video, audio, sound
  • Give users a choice to create engagement
  • Make information relevant to the audience
  • Use case studies, infographics, display information visually appropriately, use relevant imagery and data to create deeper learning opportunities.

An example would be the learning layout used by codecademy.com where the user rehearses how to write code from first instruction, but then by gradually thinking more and more on their own, eventually learning to write and build code from requirements. This is an example of elaboration rehearsal as the user is user deep processing to learn a concept into long-term memory.  

Here we can see the three panes that make up the user interface and provides the user with learning through elaboration rehearsal and feedback. In the left-hand pane the user is provided with details about how this type of code works, but not the answer to this specific example. The user, building on the knowledge of a previous lesson and the details and example provided, creates or completes the code example in the middle pane, and when the correct response has been coded,  the user will see the results if the right-hand pane. Codecademy.com provides the user with the ability to practice, building on the success of each lesson, getting feedback and tips and hints along the way.

A real world example of depth of processing is a map. With the depth of processing principle, seeing how it is supported should provide the user with multiple methods of processing. A map typically provides multiple modes of detail with the use of color, contrast, iconic representation and much more detail as we are learning as part of project 2 mapping.

Here we see the level of detail that is provided supports the users depth of processing. Information is provided though text, images and deeper information that is mapped to the other side of the map, providing the user with context.

 

The legend is used to drive meaning to the graphical elements used within the visual aspects of the map.

 

 

The final image shows where this map is providing detail for, providing deeper context for this map and the user.

 

 

Lidwell, W., Holden, K. and Butler, J. (2010). Universal principles of design. 2nd ed. Rockport Publishers, pp. 72

codecademy.com, screenshot taken 10/30/2018 from this URL

 

 

 

 

 

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Team 7 Principle #4: Flexibility-Usability Tradeoff

The flexibility-usability tradeoff states as flexibility increases, usability decreases, generally to satisfy a higher number of requirements. The concept looks at specialization versus generalization and the affects on usability.

We know it is easier for the user to use an interface with less buttons versus more buttons, simply because the user has less choices. While specificity doesn’t always lead to greater usability, it is part of the premise within this concept that the more specific you are, the easier it is for someone to naturally understand what they are supposed to do and the less chances for the user to experience an error.

Illustrations and narrative as found on (3) Intel’s Developer Zone / Menu Documentation site. The Swiss Army Knife and a series of TV Remote Controls are used to illustrate this example within the Universal Principles of Design.

Images showing contrast of designFrom the book Universal Principles of Design, “The flexibility-usability tradeoff is related to the well known maxim, jack of all trades, master of none.” For some things this makes a lot of sense as specificity may be too expensive or too inconvenient. The lack of specialization may have to be applied from the users side to allow them to achieve their goal.

I think of how craftsman may use their tools, or how a power user applies software to meet their needs. They do with experience and knowledge, and so flexibility is rewarded but it comes at a cost of time to learn and acclimate to the tool. There are also examples where the approach becomes too flexible, accommodating too many needs at one time. For a consumer device targeted at wide-spread adoption (assumed to be the case for the example below), usability is key. It seems the attempt to integrate a keyboard with a TV for the non-specialized user market is out of reach.

“Sony’s recent… work with Google has resulted in this creation. It is a fine example of how when flexibility is pushed to the limit (in this case a QWERTY keyboard attached to a tv remote control) usability is so diminished that it potentially renders theobject useless. Ergonomically it appears to be uncomfortable, and by looking at the thumbs in the photo not unlike typing into a pocket calculator.” (2)

Within the description above, the object is referred to useless based upon its diminished usability. As you can see in the photo above, there is a lot this device can potentially do based upon its physical interface. You can only imagine the software interface and how Progressive Disclosure may be used to reduce some of the effects of complexity but a device such as this feels like it does and can do too much at once.

Ive thought of a few objects in the real world where the tradeoff between flexibility and usability are apparent and tools and kitchen utensils provided a few good options. An extreme example would the scissors compared to a multi-tool. I’m not sure why I keep this around to be honest, it is hard to use most of the functions without coming into contact with hats edges. In short this is a bottle opener, wire stripper, pliers, knife, scissors, can opener and I am sure I am missing other potential functionality. I don’t use it because it is difficult to use for any of its intended purposes. Part of this issue is with the design of its individual components such as with the handles, in contrast to the scissors which has a more specific grip, which is more comfortable and provides more control when using it, the multi-tool has handles that are able to be used with thick gloves on, but barehanded they are not comfortable and do not allow for a sense of control. The user has to insert their fingers in a way that feels unnatural to hold something.

Other issues come from using specific functionality such as the bottle opener, it is almost impossible not to come in contact with the serrated knife.

(1) Universal Principles of Design – 2010 Lidwell, Holden, Butler
(2) http://userpathways.com/2010/10/usability/ – Thursday, October 14th, 2010
(3) https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/usability-tradeoff, October 23, 2013 – Diana B.