WEEK 1-301&302

#302week1 #capstone #reflection

Current status

This semester, I’m in the technological stream, exploring new methods to reduce the psychological stress of forgetfulness by incorporating advanced technology. As an international student, my personal experience with memory issues has made me realise that many university students also struggle with forgetfulness when faced with life’s pressures. Through my research this semester, I hope to develop innovative interventions to reduce stress and improve mental health.

For this project, I have followed the human-centred design methodology and double-diamond design framework. So far, I am in the definition phase, which involves re-sighting the problem, developing the HMW Statement, and mapping plans A, B and C.

[Figure 1: Godesky, J. (2023, May 18). The Problem with the Double Diamond. .]

Tools/Technologies

During the first week, I was tasked with reviewing my DES300 project. I plan to develop an app to relieve stress for forgetful people, incorporating app, AR or VR technology. I will use Figma, a tool I am well-versed in, for the APP development. Figma is an easy-to-use application that provides powerful prototyping capabilities. After two years of experience with the software, I am confident I can utilise Figma well to create the app for this project. However, the weakness of Figma is that learning and working can be limited when there is no internet connection.

I will probably use Blender and Nomad to model and implement AR scenes with Adobe Aero. Blender is suitable for a wide range of 3D modelling and animation needs and is powerful, but requires some time to learn the software. Nomad is convenient for 3D modelling anytime, anywhere, but less powerful than the professional software on the desktop. Adobe Aero offers an intuitive interface and operation for beginners; However, it may not be as effective as some professional AR software in terms of functionality. As for VR technology, I will choose between Unity and Unreal Engine 5. Both are flexible but complex, and I need to find tutorials online to learn them.

What current challenges you have

Currently, the project is in the early stages of the design process, so I feel a bit confused by the feedback provided by Mairi and Guest. Although I have many ideas in my mind, I'm unsure if I can implement them. Regarding the technical precedents for my project—the Memory Assistance Assistant—proposed by this week's guest, there is no doubt that I will draw valuable suggestions and insights from it. For example, the concept of the project, user experience and privacy protection. As I am unfamiliar with AR and VR, the complexity of the ideas is also causing problems in terms of time-consuming and increasing the complexity of the project.

However, I organised the project's timeline and ideas in Miro. I have to say that the project's logic was much clearer after the ideas were organised, and I could visualise the tasks and objectives of each stage. This visualisation method allowed me to allocate resources and time more efficiently and ensure that each process phase was on schedule.

[Figure 2: Timeline. My Miro.]

Miro Link: https://miro.com/app/board/uXjVK7hzrj4=/?share_link_id=294467986097

What parts of the project have made you happy and/or sad

In the process of organizing my ideas, I found that integrating the app, AR and VR technologies was a complex task. In addition, how to accurately detect and analyse the user's emotional state is a technical challenge. Therefore, I asked myself several questions: What can be used to detect users' emotional states? How can users' emotional states be analyzed? Are there any existing technologies that can achieve this? In response to these questions, I believe that deeper research is needed.

[Figure 3: Ideation. My Miro.]

The most enjoyable part of the week for me was seeing it gradually take shape; however, I was also confused by the difficulties I encountered with the technical software and emotional technology detection. Whilst I still don't know what the final product should be, at least I am developing my project further and look forward to brainstorming next week.

Reference

Godesky, J. (2023, May 18). The problem with the double diamond | Bootcamp. Medium. https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/the-problem-with-the-double-diamond-57ab03719ce0

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