When you see an object, you make thousand assumptions about it in seconds . For eg : what it does, how well is it going to do it, how heavy is it, how much doest it cost.
The object testifies to the users who see it, developed it, manufactured it, ranging issues from form, material and to how it connects to you, to how you touch it and how you hold it, every object irrespective of whether it is functional or not. Mostly all the users have an emotional attachment with their products whether it's an interest or an inclination towards a specific type or any attachment of love or possessiveness.
The functionality also plays a huge role in deriving the form of an object as providing the user maximum comfort is the ultimate goal of the form that one has made it in. A product that is comfortable has more capacity to attract the users as it adds a quality of physical and emotional pleasure to it that the user nearly forgets the difficulty that it would face otherwise and gets used to buying a product. A product should be ergonomically designed and given the right form so that the users can use it conveniently.
Creating a standardised form helps the object reach to a large group of people so that all can use it. A good design is one which should be useful and have an emotional connect with the user and therefore the form is always influenced by these two major factors.
REFLECTING ON TEAMWORK :
Working in a group in simple words is exchanging a huge amount of knowledge amongst each other, it not only enhances one's perspective but also encourage them to engage and communicate more while discussing and debating.
There is constant improvement while working in a group as constructive feedback is given by other members and discussions take place which add meaning to your work.
A systematic approach is followed while working in a group as all the members decide to meet at a specific time to get the work done.
The work load is comparatively less because of the division of work amongst each other.
We learn to adapt different styles of learning which ends up bringing a variety in the process and the final outcome.
Members in a group help each other stay motivated and confident while working.
Working in a group helps in finding the solution of a problem faster and avoids getting stuck in a particular task.
List of recommendations to work efficiently while working in a team:
It's important to voice your opinions and engage in discussions irrespective of whether the points that you're making are right or wrong.
There's a certain amount of discipline that one should personally follow in order to avoid any hinderance that may occur because of being late or not completing your part of work when the work is divided.
Respect others point of view and the time that they are investing.
Motivate each other while working.
REFLECTING ON METHODS OF INQUIRY :
Primary source of inquiry:
I prefer using it on places which have more of a subjective view towards things, where the opinions differ so that I can then conclude my learning by critically analysing the information.
Benefits:
Helps in making keen observations and understand the topic in depth.
The information is very relevant as it built by your personal experiences.
There are new realisations at every juncture and a lot of critical thinking is involved.
Limitations:
Takes a lot of time to extract information.
Sometimes can be influenced by biases.
Sometimes the observations made can turn out to be wrong.
Examples of primary source of inquiry
Ergonomic Study
2. Visual Narrative and interview done for the user object association
Secondary source of inquiry:
I would prefer using secondary source of inquiry after primary sources, seeing to what else can be added which is beyond my understanding about a topic and thus extend my research by gathering information through the already existing information.
Benefits:
Huge amount of information gets collected.
Finding information is a much faster process.
Direct sources are not required.
Limitations:
Cannot always rely on the information gained from various sources.
Information collected can be false or outdated at times.
Examples of secondary source of inquiry
Timeline
2. Understanding material
Benefits & recommendations for various activities
Stakeholder mapping
Helps in identifying different stakeholders which affect or are affected by the object. Making connections between stakeholders made me think about how a change in the product can affect which stakeholder in what form. The mapping also helped me to find my users further in the task of user object association. I would recommend while making a stakeholder mapping we should divide stakeholders into different levels [ even if it’s more than 3 levels ].
3D model making
Making the model whether in the same dimension or in a larger dimension helped me understand the form in a 3 dimension and strengthen my learning from the previous task of observing through drawing. understanding the form in a 3d manner made my further study of ergonomics easier. I would recommend while making a 3D model rather than focusing more on what material to use try to get a better understanding of the form with the use of basic material.
Interaction with users
The activity made me use a primary source of inquiry for information collection. It also made me recall all my previous activities to understand all factors of the object that can affect the user, and make a conclusion list of the factors that affect the design of a product. My recommendation for the activity is to make a long list of questions before the interview and keep adding on the questions if you can think of some more questions at that point in time.
REFLECTION ON THE APPLICATION OF VISUAL TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
You support and communicate your ideas through visuals. Anything collected and put into words is just a mere information, it builds into knowledge when visual references are added and talked about.
This was the most effective visual communication during this project .
Strengths
It had a lot of emotions in it which communicated my ideas directly without saying anything.
There was an equal balance of the visuals and the texts.
The poster was divided in a uniform manner.
Weaknesses
Some of the aspects were present in it but not highlighted because of which some information seemed to be missing even if it was not.
In future, I would like to use a colour in order to highlight and bring the important information into notice first.
Benefits & recommendations for various activities
Stakeholder mapping
Helps in identifying different stakeholders which affect or are affected by the object. Making connections between stakeholders made me think about how a change in the product can affect which stakeholder in what form. The mapping also helped me to find my users further in the task of user object association. I would recommend while making a stakeholder mapping we should divide stakeholders into different levels [ even if it’s more than 3 levels ].
3D model making
Making the model whether in the same dimension or in a larger dimension helped me understand the form in a 3 dimension and strengthen my learning from the previous task of observing through drawing. understanding the form in a 3d manner made my further study of ergonomics easier. I would recommend while making a 3D model rather than focusing more on what material to use try to get a better understanding of the form with the use of basic material.
Interaction with users
The activity made me use a primary source of inquiry for information collection. It also made me recall all my previous activities to understand all factors of the object that can affect the user, and make a conclusion list of the factors that affect the design of a product. My recommendation for the activity is to make a long list of questions before the interview and keep adding on the questions if you can think of some more questions at that point in time.
MATERIAL TRANSFORMATION
What role does material play in the design of an object?
A designed object comes into existence due to its material. The object cannot be comprehend without it's material as they are so intrinsic to each other.
If we do not know what a material is capable of (or incapable of) we will never be able to use it as per its strengths.
For eg: if brass had not be found, the Surma Dani would have never come into existence or for that matter, Kajal would have not come into existence if Galena had not be found.
REFLECTING ON SELF PERFORMANCE
There is a sense of satisfaction I feel as this project comes to an end but the actual journey begins when one starts to analyse his/her mistakes and makes an effort to improve them and then further extend them.
I think watching videos really helped me understand the reason behind why am I doing something and how is it done by others around me which in turn helped me perform my tasks with full confidence.
The references given in the form of pdf's also helped me clear my doubts and were an additional support that taught me how to go about various tasks during the entire project.
One of the key strengths during this project was making fast freehand drawings which was because of the regular DDD that I had been keeping a record of.
Another strength that I discovered was to use different formats and styles in each poster but at the same time maintaining the harmony in them.
My biggest challenge through every project has been relying on the faculty more than needed each time, which was somehow creating limitations for me during the journey as I explored only till a limit and therefore I tried controlling it this time which is one of the key areas of improvement that I found in me.
I struggled the most while sketching the isometric drawings of my object and took help from my partner and faculty regarding the same
"There's always a way out, never stop looking for one"
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