Author: liliah3

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Personas: Liliana Hernandez

PERSONA

SCENARIO

Sarah is an average high school Junior, enjoying a Spring weekend of shopping with her friends. When the topic of Senior year and college applications comes up, Sarah worries about what she will be able to include as part of her extracurriculars. She has succeeded academically and athletically in school, but worries about her lack of volunteer and community service experience. Just then, as her and her friends walk by one of the informational kiosks, she sees a large advertisement presenting a local non-profit in need of volunteers. “For more information on how to help, come visit us,” she reads, as she locates the non-profit right in front of the Giant Ferris Wheel on the provided map. She urges her friends to come along, and they find their way to the non-profit with ease. While there, Sarah learns all about the cause and finds how easy it is to help. She signed up to volunteer over the summer vacation, confident that this experience will help her while filling out college applications in the Fall.

STORYBOARD

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Narratives: Liliana Hernandez

My site is an outdoor mall, and I wanted to connect my receipt to the idea of shopping and fashion. I know there were times, especially when I was younger, that I have gone shopping and I would find myself not trying clothes on because I thought that in order to pull that particular look off, I needed to be thinner. So there is this idea of wanting to look a certain way that is influenced by what we see strolling past the mannequins in the window displays. My recent receipts show that I am buying a lot of lean meats and green vegetables, in a personal effort to live healthy and stop with all the Taco Bell runs. So, in this collage I have the dumbbells, the yoga, the runway and clothes rack all meshed with the receipt unifying the separate images. And of course, the girl’s expression because sometimes that is what it feels like when shopping, eating healthy, or being told to do burpees at the gym.

All images used are royalty free with no attribution required: Pexels and Unsplash

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Geographies: Liliana Hernandez

This exercise actually really helped me take a little breather this week, I was stressing about everything going on and going for a stroll helped me just get away from it all and focus on myself and my surroundings, as opposed to obsessing over my calendar and the things on my todo list.

It was a little difficult jumping back and forth from sketching and walking and figuring out when my next decision point should be; I constrained myself to walking around during my lunch hour at work and I wanted to be sure to arrive back at my office by the end of the hour. This made me reflect on a tendency I have to want to control everything and make it fit, which can be helpful in some cases but stressful in others.

I thought it was interesting how much you could see even just around some plain office buildings and parking lots – I loved seeing the flowers and hearing the birds chirp as I walked, but also felt a little out of place when walking along a bigger street and felt everyone’s eyes on me.

At the end of my excursion, I found one of my coworkers heading out for his usual quick walk and we talked a little about MHCID when I explained to him I was doing an assignment for class. So, I added that near the end of my map!

 

 

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Project 2: Liliana Hernandez

Part three

Updated Map:

Original Map:

A brief annotation on this mapping of the Spectrum: This final map came to life through my original observations, my general mapping of each individual force, the wonderful feedback from my classmates, and some extra research into the world of the Irvine Spectrum Center. With the discussion and comments on my post, I found that while I had identified some prominent forces at this outdoor mall, there were deeper intricacies that could be uncovered with a little more research. Therefore, I chose to categorize the commerce by level of expense, I distinguished between the larger informational kiosks at the entrances of the Spectrum versus the smaller kiosks that served more as just navigational aids. Finally, I expanded my perception of the all the kids and child-friendly activities available to include that the Spectrum is really just overall a family-friendly environment; this is supported by the fact that a lot of the available seating frames that child play areas, giving parents and guardians a comfortable area from which to look over their children. Inspired by this insight, I grouped both my seating and kids play forces under the Family Friendly category. I also noticed that while the shops are pretty well spread out in terms of how expensive they are, the main area of the Spectrum where they have the characteristic ferris wheel has the larger and more expensive stores beckoning shoppers to enter their doors

Part two

Part one

Commerce : The range of stores and restaurants found at the Irvine Spectrum Center affect the environment because they suggest that regular shoppers may have a certain level of income in order to be shopping at may of the stores found. Also, it was interesting to see how what the people who entered the stores were wearing while shopping reflected the sort of items typical of the store they entered.

Window Displays: The store fronts had the affect of either making people stop to look at what was shown on the mannequins, or even go so far as to entice them to enter the store. Every corridor was lined with tall windows so everyone could easily look inside and see what that store had to offer.

Kiosks: Getting around the Irvine Spectrum Center could be a little confusing, so many people tended to stop at the informational kiosk to pick up a map or stare at the full listing available stores and restaurants on the kiosk. I thought it was efficient how the kiosks had both the detailed information around eye level, but at the top had arrows pointing towards the upcoming stores. 

Seating: Essentially everywhere you walk around the Spectrum, there is available seating. Groups of chairs out like these in the picture below, or tables, or even just benches scattered around. People would congregate here, take a quick break from their shopping, etc.

Kid Friendly: I was a little surprised with the amount of children there were around, and I realized that the Spectrum is a sort of haven for the children who visit it. There are so many areas to play, everything from the giant ferris wheel in the center, the carousel shown to the right, and even the misty water fountains located throughout the . So many children laughed and squealed with the fun they had, waiting for the mist to turn on again and excitedly getting their parent’s attention.

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Informations, Part 2: Liliana Hernandez

The San Francisco International Airport

The San Francisco International Airport has an oddly shaped structure, and coupled with the system of trains that arrive directly to the airport, it can be hard to navigate this intricate building. The use of maps is particularly important here because of this, and since people typically are in a hurry or may be unfamiliar with the space, they need to be able to quickly and efficiently make their way through the airport and make their flights. A number of design principles are employed to make this happen.

The first apparent principle is that of Ockham’s Razor, which essentially aims to avoid unnecessary information and elements that decrease the design’s efficiency. This map employs this design by simplifying all areas external to the airport. For example, the freeways are shown on the map as a means of getting to the airport, but they are grayed out and do not show all of the little twists and turns you have to take to get to the terminal you need. Another great example is that of the Rental Car Center, the blue box in the top left corner. This is just their to symbolize the location of the center, not necessarily the shape of the building or anything.

The second principle, as demonstrated by the image to the left, is that of Archetypes.

Archetypes are learned conventions from our cultures, this map shows the Caltrain and BART logos and therefore plays on the common knowledge of people local to the area who understand that these logos indicate the train routes that lead to and away from the SFO airport.

The third and final principle I will speak to is that of Color. The colors used in this map clearly define the distinct areas in the airport, the international versus the national terminals, the different train routes for getting around easily, and the parking areas.

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Informations, Part 3: Liliana Hernandez

Love

This sign is very standard, what I imagine when thinking of the typical election sign you see when driving down the street or whatnot. I particularly enjoy the use of framing: not only the orange of the sign announcing the guy’s name but also the framing around the words “district attorney” makes it very clear to know what position Todd Spitzer is running for. Also, their consistency in the font used is appreciated.

election sign for Todd Spitzer, running for district attorney

Hate

Where is the COLOR? This sign gives me a little headache honestly becase it lacks even the most basic wow factor of having a bright and bold sign advertising the different candidates, not to mention the lack of symmetry with the black boarder around the edge of the sign.  Even mixing the two font styles, this sign is not doing anyone justice.

election sign for Dennis Walsh, running for School Board

Side Note: I am not advocating for or against either of these candidates, these are merely my impressions of their election signs.

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Objects, Part 2: Liliana Hernandez

The chairs of my Life

At home, I have my couch and my kitchen table chair where I spend most of my time doing work or eating or living in the evenings and weekends. They are in the same area since of my apartment, so I am in the same space a lot when there. What I like about this combination is that they offer two different mindsets: usually, on my sofa I am more relax and less focused. While I am at my kitchen table sitting in that chair at the table, I typically am more focused and in a “let’s get down to business” sort of mood. It is interesting because you might be able to visualize those feelings just by looking at the material the seat is built from: hard wood versus comfy cushions.

The last three chairs are found around my place of work: one at my cubicle, one at my team’s typical meeting area, and one outside for my team’s informal afternoon break. The former two are very similar but do have differences in their general aura of importance, a fancier leather chair where execs invite business prospects to sit versus my chair that sits in the privacy of my cubicle for my own use. I fit well in my chair though, and it does allow me to fidget and reposition however many times a day I like so that works for me. The last seating area outside for my team’s usual afternoon break actually does not get very much sitting from us, as we tend to stand around for break since we sit all day at work anyway. Regardless of that detail, the seating area outside does not look very inviting to sit either as it is composed of hard concrete and does not offer back support. Nonetheless, it serves as a reminder of our light hearted, fun conversations we have during break time.

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Objects, Part 1: Liliana Hernandez

Object I love: Hario V60

The Hario V60 is a drip coffee maker that I love because of how easy it is to use and understand how it works. The form of the coffee pot with the Hario Dripper affords the idea that the dripper fits on top of the coffee pot as shown in the image provided. Moreover, the handles let the user know that those are the areas from which you lift and can carry the distinct parts. This design also allows proper mapping and habituation because you can clearly see where the coffee is supposed to go and where it should end up after the brewing process, so a user does not have to think twice about it and all they are focused on is the coffee being made.

object I hate: window blinds

I hate working window blinds because of the lack of visibility and regular breakdowns that occur when trying to use one. Opening the blinds can be very straightforward, you pull and the blinds go up. The reverse action is what gives me a headache every time; I was taught that to close the blinds, you had to pull a little, and then when you release, the blinds will fall to the window sill. Of course, what takes incredibly long is figuring out just how much you have to pull for the blinds to go down, and what way you have to wiggle the cord to make the blinds know they are supposed to go down. From the pictures I provided, you can clearly see there is no way to see how the release mechanism works, all you know is that the cord goes into the little dark rectangle at the top and at some point you either close the blinds or give up.

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Team 5 Principle #6: Uncanny Valley

Summary:

Humans have a tendency to like anthropomorphic forms, or things that have similar characteristics to us. We are biased towards them, we feel a connection to them… That is, until they hit the “Uncanny Valley” where they become so similar to us that they become unappealing or even creepy. Though there is no concrete measurement of when an object enters the uncanny valley, characteristics that typically receive negative reactions include: abnormally portioned facial features, subtle eye movements, and unnatural skin complexions. An interesting observation to note is that this does not only affect humans; when macaque monkeys were shown computer generated images of monkeys they also fell into the valley effect.

Example #1 – Cited By Original Source:  Mannequins

As described in Universal Principles of Design, mannequins are a common example of “Uncanny Valley” because they typically have the basic shape and curves of a human body, but the plastic and uniform color, the eyes that are there but not there, and the motionless, dead aura of these figures give the uncanny feeling.

Example #2 – Found Online:  Avatar SDK

The Avatar SDK is a very effective example of “Uncanny Valley,” particularly when playing with the demo on their website. The SDK truly tries to create a computerized version of a person, and the similarities are just too much. Zooming in and out on the demo really gives the creepy feeling of “Uncanny Valley.”

Example #3 – Found in Real Life: Target

Walking through the isles at Target, you will find products such as the dolls and books above that exhibit the characteristics of something that could be identified as “Uncanny Valley.”

References and Citations:

  1. Bradley, Steven. “Contour Bias And The Uncanny Valley: Anthropomorphic Forms Part II.” Vanseo Design, 13 Sept. 2010, vanseodesign.com/web-design/anthropomorphic-forms-part-ii/.
  2. William Lidwell, Kritina Holden & Jill Butler. Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design. Rockport, 2012.
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Team 5 Principle #5: Scarcity

Summary:

Scarcity is the idea that an object’s level of desirability increases as its supply decreases. Our reading, Universal Principles of Design, describes five common tactics apply the principle of Scarcity: exclusive information, limited access, limited time, limited number, and suddenness. Each of these tactics move people to action because of a human cognitive bias known as “loss aversion.” Jen Cardello’s article, “Scarcity Principle in UI Design: Making Users Click RIGHT NOW or Lose Out,” highlights that the research conducted by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky has shown that the human tendency is to avoid loss over acquiring gains. Both sources suggest that scarcity is largely effective in terms of not only quantity, but in time and information.

Example #1 – Cited By Original Source: Running Brides

As described in Universal Principles of Design, the running brides depicted in this picture show how scarcity can motivate people to act. Typically, I would imagine bridal shoppes to be mostly empty, quiet, calm – but this picture shows the complete opposite, all because of the short supply of cheap wedding dresses.

Example #2 – Found Online: Fancy food

This dinner plate depicts scarcity because seeing so little food on the plate, and especially in its artistic arrangement on the plate, suggests that this is a desirable and expensive meal.

Example #3 – Found in Real Life: Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte

This was the first time I ever tried the PSL from Starbucks. It was pretty good, but I know people who count down the days before the Fall drinks come back to the coffee shop so they can order their beloved PSL. Of course, since this is the only time of the year they can drink this beverage, they enjoy it as much as possible before it disappears… the power of scarcity is Starbuck’s friend.

References and Citations:

  1. Cardello, Jen. “Scarcity Principle in UI Design: Making Users Click RIGHT NOW or Lose Out.” Nielsen Norman Group, 14 Sept. 2014, www.nngroup.com/articles/scarcity-principle-ux/.
  2. William Lidwell, Kritina Holden & Jill Butler. Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design. Rockport, 2012.
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Histories: Liliana Hernandez

Ralph & Russo, the Eden Heel Pump

Yes. You will find by clicking on the link above that this is a shoe worth about $2000. What I find so inspiring about this image is what it represents about beauty in the things we take for granted.

Shoes keep your feet safe from the natural elements, that is their purpose. The way that the fashion industry has approached shoe design created a culture of obsession, creativity, and self expression. This heel in particular is a great example of how simplicity and elegance can make a bold statement about who you are. The addition of the carefully placed leaves intertwining and climbing up the heel to an otherwise plan rose colored shoe gives a sense of classic beauty that I personally would love to wear and show the world.

Moreover, I love how this design reflects the values of the brand, as stated by Michael Russo in an interview: femininity, modernity, and creativity, in an approachable way. $2000 for a pair of shoes is not approachable for me, but the other values are clearly visible through the modern shape of the shoe as well as the placement of their show stopping detail, vines crawling up the heel rather than covering the entire shoe or adding detail to the toe box, an arguably more visible section of the shoes.