Final Presentation:
Part Two
Links can be found here:
Exercise 3.3, Speculations: Team 8, Omar + Alexa
Exercise 3.2, Personas: Omar Filippelli
Persona
Scenario
Eddy is always busy and on the go. His modus operandi doesn’t allow him to pay attention to many other things around him. But he is also in need of doing something different from the same old routine. He needs to feel part of something greater than the mundane are greedy. Today, during his walk away from the office, in the Promenade at the Santa Monica Place, while answering a phone call. He notices something different, something innocent and colorful. A balloon display attached to a building he know very well. Eddy is moved to take a closer look and see what the campaign is about. He ends the call and comes close to one of the cutout figures. The image of a beautiful child, who is obviously suffering from cancer, touches Eddy’s emotions. This child is happy, he looks so human, so child-like. Eddy continues engaging with the props and reads the message on the child’s shirt and is moved to do something about the issue. He picks up a balloon and takes the necessary steps to make a difference in a child’s life.
Storyboard
Narratives: Omar Filippelli
I was driven today, by the absence of office forces in my life, to travel to Gilbert, Arizona and visit my friends there. I am not working this week, I took this whole week off, to catch up with the world of homework, maps, friends, and lastly, but not Least, family, during the Thanksgiving weekend 🙂
One thing I noticed here in Gilbert is that the force of vegetation is somewhat lacking, or at least, it is not as exuberant as it is in north California. So, if I was representing this force in a map, it will be different than what you see on my map today. Vegetation will take the least prominence. But their supermarkets are the same as in North Cal., that is why I came to Target, to get some of the necessary things we needed for our friend’s early family-Thanksgiving celebration. The force of parking was very prominent at Target. If I was representing this in the final map, it will take the greatest dominant color, may be RED, as red is a strong color used to show agitation. Because it was so frustrating to find parking here today! There were so many cars here, it reminded me of a rock concert I’ve attended 35 years ago, you’ve been in one of those probably as well. Concerts where you can barely move, completely compressed by people all around, shouting, jumping, and dancing. Well, imaging that, but with cars now, minus the strobe-lights, the music, the rock & roll band. Well, I don’t know why it reminded me of the rock concert, but there were cars waiting to get in, forming a line, other trying to get out, people hurrying to get in and take any available spot; you get the picture. But inside the store, the human traffic was better than I expected, getting to where the chips were, took us weaving through the maze of isles all the way to the end of the store. Mapping this would have been very similar to my human traffic force in my final (which is not final yet) map. Then, we went all the way forward again to the soda drinks isle, this is the only water-flow force I can identify for this assignment, Arizona is pretty dried. All in all, we did this shopping happily, knowing that there was amazing food waiting for us at the house. All the thanksgiving goods, turkey, mash potatoes, sweet mashed potato, salads, pies, and my favorite one, homemade bread, and many other mouthwatering goodies. The lunch was to die for! Now, to bring this all back to the receipt, we got drinks and chips for a force of 50 people. Everyone contributed by bringing something. The host family provided the home-made turkey and my favorite home made bread. It was so nice to be there with friends and family, all enjoying a good time and good food, for the sole purpose of being thankful with each other’s company and relationship. Happy Thanksgiving or Frindsgiving week to all!!!!
Geographies: Omar Filippelli
This exercise frustrated me a couple of times as I kept running inwards in my drawing and couldn’t keep it all in a breathable ‘even’ drawing. I think that is because I felt constrained by the directions plus my narrow approach and observation of things. Also, the small area I decided to do this, my backyard. May be, walking on the streets would have been better. I think that in order to do a better map requires a SPACIAL understanding of where we are going and the area we are trying to cover. In this case I just let the directions tell me where to go and I used any visually appealing element determine the stoppage point at each stage of the exercise. It is what it is because I let it be that way without forcing any decision too much.
Exercise 2.1.3 – Informations: Omar Filippelli
These two signs are from a city 850 miles away from my home. I chose them purposely to avoid letting any personal political view bias my design critique. Also, I used a fast-view approach, as I drove through the streets. I wanted to see which sign had the fastest, bigger impact. Helping me decide as to who did the better, more effective sign campaign.
Tom Forese. campaign was clear and concise. The use of reversed type was simple and effective as well as the use of high contrasting colors. It contributed to my effective fast reading experience. it seems that without a picture this campaign is focusing more on people who already know Tom, or perhaps hoping that people will vote for the party or go to the website and do some research. This could be detrimental to the campaign as most people will be lazy to take such steps.
Justin Olson. This sign was impressive. This campaign managers are reaching to a wider audience than those who already know him. Hence, the use of the candidate’s face. This is a great implementation of Attractiveness Bias and Picture Superiority Effect, which won’t be necessary if he was reaching to the known crowd. These attributes plus others used by both campaigns, gives this sign the best chance of success. After spending a few days in Arizona this sign was the one I remembered the most.
Exercise: 2.2 Architectures – Omar Filippelli
As the soccer game progressed and my physical abilities declined, these were the positions I migrated to. Top of the chart (Yellow) reflects first half hour (+ -), my best moments of the game.
Saturday, I decided to clean up the entrance porch of my house. I estimated removing more than 100 spiderwebs. I noticed a clear territorial division between large-legged spiders and their smaller counterparts. I thought this could work for the assignment, so this is my hand drawing.
As I went to pick up the mail there were a few of my neighbors walking in and back from the mailbox. This rendering depicts possible mailbox routs by house number.
Project 2 – Omar Filippelli
Palladio Mall:
The perfect place to shop, dine, and play. Spending time in this open mall is a delight. I happen to work at the offices situated here so, taking regular breaks is very appealing. Going for walks, getting a frozen yogurt, eating lunch in the restaurants and or if time allows watching a full feature movie release. These are some of the activities one can find at any time of the day.
Now the whole site is getting ready for the lighting the Christmas tree event. Other forces include:
offices: Palladio offers three full floors of office space to lawyers, builders, software developers, and other technology companies who occupy the space.
corridors: Pleasant and large corridors connect every corner of the open mall with a grace of modern architectural structures, and beautiful garden designs. These provide an inviting way into a consistent outdoor experience even into forgotten or less used corners of the site.
vacancy: The way unused space is utilized prevents visitors from feeling that the mall is empty. It always looks busy and inviting. Full color murals cover the vacant spaces, as seeing on the end of this passage below. Adding to the fashion exterior design of the area and contributing to an environment of high-end shopping experience.
vegetation: The vegetation is a traditional California feel with palms guiding the main roads of the mall and plenty of shrubbery and seasonal flowers accompanying visitors anywhere they go.
festivals: Palladio offers a variety of festivals and activities for local families and youth. These include rock and roll concerts, singers, aerobic classes, yoga in the park, and many other local activities.
water flow: Well placed water fountains continue the outdoor design theme by adding a touch of raw nature, sound, and an oasis-like relaxing feel to the visitor seating or walking throughout the venue.
vehicle parking: Palladio mall is designed with parking places on every internal street plus two parking buildings with two and three floors respectively.
Part 2 #6
Main Map.
offices force:
corridors force:
vacancy force:
vegetation force:
festivals force:
water flow force:
vehicle parking force:
Final Map First Attempt
I was not happy about my first effort in trying to combine these forces, it seemed a bit bland and boring. I wanted to differentiate my selected forces from the rest of the map elements, looking for a more drastic differentiation between them. One positive feedback I received about the organic way in which I’ve depicted the vegetation force, inspired me to look for a way to represent some of the other forces in a similar way.
Final Map
All 7 forces combined. I made several changes based on feedback from peers and meeting with Jesse on Monday. Rotated the map to better use available space. I also moved away from simply showing a block of color to represent a force. Added a level of simplicity and sophistication by reversing the color of the background image. And I was able to highlight more effectively the concentration of human traffic in the different areas of the mall. One can easily see the areas of greater human concentration loads and traffic within corridors, streets, and parking areas.
Final Final Map
Changes made after receiving feedback from my cohorts.
Informations Part 2.1.2 – Omar Filippelli
This is a floor-plan representation of a 3000-rack Data Center. The mapping of this room is extracted from a CAD drawing. It is further simplified to keep the minimum affordances, necessary for software engineers to map all data from the actual room to its match in the software’s floor-plan.
For an untrained eye, this map could be an eye full, meaningless, and with an obvious high cognitive-load. This is the technical view of the map. It is designed to help engineers place all necessary sensors, represented here by the strong use of basic colors such as red, yellow, magenta, and green. These colors combined with the use of Iconography makes it easier, for the intended audience, to know what goes where and how the floor layout is architected. A closer look (below) allows us to appreciate the use of symbols, design strategy, and other affordances.
Each icon, symbol, and design element contributes to a different level of information. For instance, the strong use of colors take prominence, almost as if these where in a top layer and more important than background elements establishing a hierarchy. The most prominent set of design elements representing different sensors, strategically placed around the room floor. Each, responsible for capturing different types of data such as temperature, humidity, and air pressure. Also, the use of arrows every three racks showing airflow direction though the rack. Other affordances are in the background representing the actual design of the room floor. Including the alignment and grouping of the racks and rows. One can also observe the use of rack labels and a set of letters and numbers crisscrossed in a perpendicular way to provide clear coordinates; making it easier to find any rack within the room-floor (e.g. F, 3 = Rack G3-G02).
In a more visual and kinesthetic way the portion of the map below shows the user-friendly view of the floor plan. This is for those who work in the actual Data Center and are responsible for the consumption of resources, operation and ultimately room resiliency. The heat-map below is a powerful mapping resource for people managing data centers. It allows them to quickly gain a visual representation of temperature data and trends. This provides operators with a feel of how things are working inside the Data Center. It prevents users from having to walk the floor and estimate temperatures, humidity, and air pressure in a censorial way. The clever use of colors to represent the temperature mix helps users experience a visceral perception of what is happening. So, they can prevent areas of the floor from overheating and causing equipment failure and downtime, as well as preventing cold areas from becoming too cold. All this information aids in lowering operations’ risks while minimizing utility costs.
Graphics: Omar Filippelli
Lunch Invitation
The cute animals of the jungle want to bridge the gap with humans. They are extending an invitation to all. The idea is to eat fresh food with us in a beautiful setting…
Really guys… I am serious.
Omar Filippelli – Graham Bachelder – Daniel Lau
Find The miracle of creation at its best: Lunch Invitation
Objects, Part 2: Omar Filippelli
These are the main chairs in my life. They tell a clear story about me.
This is my work chair:
It seats within the confines of my cubicle space. It has all the latest ergonomics aspects necessary to make my back feel relaxed and in posture. I can move it up or down with one lever on the right side of the chair. Another lever allows me to increase/decrease the tension of the back support with a simple axel rotation which I use and change several times during the week according to how my back feels. It is a light chair and the mesh material permits the constant dry feel with great body aeration. It provides me with a pleasant experience without making me go to sleep. I guess in a way it provides the right tension for me to be active and get up and down as many times as I need without hurting and/or promoting bad body postures. I don’t like the color, but I became accustomed to the latest technologies and design applied on this product and I will recommend to any business trying to provide a healthier experience to their employees. We spend many hours of our days seating, so having good technology support your body posture is imperative.
This is my recliner chair:
This is where I spend my leisure time, my place of Zen. This is where I relax and watch something on TV, read a book, article, or lecture. It makes me feel comfortable and cozy. It soothes me before I go to sleep is almost like a big panda bear that hugs me every night. Yea don’t get any weird ideas Jesse, is just a comfortable chair for me ?
One thing though is that during the summer it can feel a bet warm to the body. Other than that it’s great!
This is my cello chair:
Here is where I come when I need to escape to the world of music. Another place of Zen for me. This chair doesn’t have any adjustments or ergonomics but is the only chair in the house that allows me to be seating at the right Hight and leaning forward enough to embrace the cello correctly. All other chairs that can help me regulate the Hight and leaning angle have harms and prevent me from fitting the cello comfortably in order to play freely. It allows me to have the right body posture to play music without having to adjust while playing. Its interesting to me that depending on the application and specific use of the chair what the ergonomics require can be so different and opposite. I hacked into the ergonomics of this chair by adding a pillow to complement the comfortable leaning forward and prevent the metallic back from destroying my shirts as it has made a mess of new t-shirts that got tangle up in the metal imperfections causing small rips and deformations.
This is my study room chair:
Here is where I do my homework. Also, study, read, and take a lecture. This chair is very comfortable. It has the right amount of ergonomic levers to make any kind of adjustment. Is almost as good as the one I have in the office but less quality and ergonomics. One drawback ha to do with the leather, it doesn’t let the body breath as the mesh texture my work chair has. During long periods of work at home or study I get uncomfortable and humidity tends to accumulate where the body touches the leather. It is cool most of the time. It doesn’t get warm like the recliner, but is the only chair in the house that will make me break a sweat.
I love this beautiful leather seat!
It has taken me everywhere for the last 10 years. 150,000 miles of comfortable, ergonomics, and luxury, with a perfect fitting for my body and weight. It withstood the trial of time and friction. Visible is the only scar produced by frictions with my pants as I have entered and exit my car more than 20,000 times (my quick math showed). Aways delivering the same consistent luxurious feel and experience. It has the capacity to get warmed up for the cold winter nights with a fully electric set of controls that smoothly bring the seat up and forward as desired by the user. It also has a small lever that either fills or retracts a small section of the lower back providing more or less support for that area of the back, which happens to be one of my sources of stress and pain when I drive for long periods of time, so I really enjoy that little feature. Plus the only head support that truly does something positive for my neck and head.
Objects, Part 1: Omar Filippelli
An Object Omar Loves
This simple and symmetric object is a range hood. I just replaced an inset microwave for this hood because I always wanted to have something more effective at keeping the smoke and fumes of the kitchen from spreading all over the house. Specially, when I am cooking my favorite steaks, fish, and chicken dishes.
The hood aesthetic design is inviting and conducive to better usability combined with a limited set of actions grouped in a related sequence for good continuation practice. Plus, good application and use of constraints necessary to allow the user interaction with the artifact with a minimum set of variations for the better control of the unit.
It is clear what actions can be taken and nothing else clutters the interface. The accompanying iconic representation on each button provides affordances that clearly correlate and map the full set of functions available to the user.
As the expected and user basic needs are met with the main functionality the hood design moves into up in the hierarchy of needs pyramid by providing two easy to remove and wash filters. Plus an added set of lights for better view of the range and cooking area. The 
design fits my kitchen perfectly and what is most important is that it works better than expected. The one thing I will consider less than perfect is the noise of the fan when turn on. It’s a bit laud which prevents me from listening the TV when I am cooking and watching something. Everything else works like a charm.
An Object Omar Hates
Item I hate is this electronic light switch. I bought it and installed it when I traveled to Europe. It was easy to install and somewhat easy to follow directions on a (microscopic font size) installation guide.
This devise allowed me to set time intervals for certain lights to be turned on and off when I am away from the house for long periods of time.
The idea is great, and it worked as designed for the first few times. But one day I lost the small user guide and now the lights do whatever they want they turn on a three in morning, 4 in the afternoon, and when I try turning them off it doesn’t obey the command. Its like I make things worse every time I press something. They’ve turned into a nightmare for me.
With a very minimalistic and aesthetic design this device show promise but the user interaction iconic representation on buttons, corresponding affordances, and UI Button mapping have done nothing to help me remember (Memorability) what to do to reset. Even though it has the known labels such as Mode, Prog, Time, etc. every time I try to do something with it the feedback I get is opposite to what I try to do provoking cognitive dissonance in my experience and expectations. I do manage more complex UIs during my every day experience with everything I do. But this little thing caused me to experience more frustration than I think is allowed due to the low cost of the artifact.
Team 4 Principle #8: Constraint
Constraints are design restrictions, necessary for the focused and controlled performance of work in a system. Examples vary between two types of constraints: Psychological (e.g. warning sign) and Physical (e.g. train track). The main purpose of any constraint is to frame any force or work, preventing unnecessary actions and errors, and redirecting these in specific ways.
Physical Constraints:
This type of constraint physically limits the range of motion using the following elements: Paths, Axes, and Barriers
Online Images Courtesy of: Pixbabay
Paths: Such as a narrow walkway across a park, train tracks, or the grooves in a progressive light switch, providing a unique direction to a moving force.
Axes: Just like the spinning wheel on a computer mouse provides infinite scrolling mobility and control with minimum user effort and reduced space.
Barriers: Prevent undesired actions and stop, redirect, or slowdown forces from continuing in the wrong direction. The retaining wall in my garden
Psychological Constraints:
This form of constraint influences behavior by using intellectual, cultural, or learned perceptions such as symbols, conventions, and mappings.
Online Images Courtesy of: Pixbabay
Symbols: These are represented by contextual labels and icons with clear affordances to help guide desired behaviors.
Conventions: Are used to elicit behavior through the known commonalities and ways in which people interpret or do things. This adds a level of intuitiveness and system consistency.
Mappings: Defined by the position, visibility, and grouping of elements and controls that are related in function and purpose.
References
Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2010). Universal principles of design, Rockport Pub. PP. 60-61.
Team 4 Principle #7: Cognitive Dissonance
It refers to the state of intellectual/emotional discomfort. This happens when our thoughts and expectations about something are met by something different. Things that surprise, scared, or conflict us, where what we experience doesn’t match our values or believes. A clear example includes the use of rewards, salaries and benefits, commissions, and special gifts to move us to do things that require effort. The internal mental/emotional state, in most cases, move us to stay within the confines of comfort and leisure. It’s the greater need and reward that reduces dissonant cognition in our minds. Helping us rationalize and reduce tension by adding consonant cognition, and diminishing the relevance of dissonant cognition, such as our ability to delayed gratification.
This principle is also heavily used and observed in common pranks and skits. The cognitive discomfort can be used to enact our feelings of euphoria, flight and fight, and laughter.
Example From The Readings
AOL Gave customers a free 30 day trial. Customers had to endure a lengthy set up process, providing personal information such as email, passwords, etc. The cognitive dissonance at the time of trial expiration made people rationalized it was better to paid for the service they had with AOL than having to redo the set up with another company.
Example From The Web
Dramatic use of cognitive dissonance in advertising campaign against tobacco. This is not a cognitive pleasant image. It defies our core values and believes. It is shocking. It contradicts human reasoning and expectations. Hence the powerful message delivered, by the proper use of Cognitive Dissonance.
Image courtesy of: Ads of the world
Example From The World
Choosing to do a Master at this stage in my life was a decision that required overcoming a level of Cognitive Dissonance. The expected reward helped me rationalize the discomfort of applying to the program. And it’s helping me right now push through the moments of sacrifice to succeed in the program.
References
Lidwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2010). Universal principles of design, Rockport Pub. PP. 46-47.
Histories: Omar Filippelli
nest
I love when technology and design come together to provide the ultimate customer experience.
The nest product design is a good example of what great user experience and human machine interaction is all about. With a minimalistic approach to design, intuitive controls, and a revolutionary re-architecture of the whole thermostat ‘experience’ concept. Creating something that synergistically exploits principles of affordance and structural aesthetics. Combined with reduced user invasiveness and operational stress . Allowing hardware, software and their intelligent algorithms to do the work, so humans can simplify their lives and experience a greater level of freedom and comfort. Helping other important areas of the full user experience such as maximizing energy use, reducing costs and waste. Providing users with remote access, and full control over their home temperatures.
These are the reasons nest thermostat inspires me. I like their 360 degrees approach to solving user experience needs. Obviously these designers looked outside of the box of engineered architecture, challenged status quo, and known design schema. To envision and produce something different, challenging, something with the potential to change the whole landscape of the thermostat industry. They not only leapfrogged the competition and created a new industry but ended up providing a greener technology approach, helping the environment and humanity in its path. With a tasteful look and feel, and well implemented set of ergonomics principles. Putting it all into a superb user experience.