Maker Faire

1. Identify 3 “interfaces” you saw at Maker Faire that were interesting and describe what they did.

i. “Sir Walter Cooler” by Microsoft. This project is a water cooler that displays different colors to demonstrate                  whether it is “feeling” happy or sad. In order to make the water cooler happy, he must be used by those in                  his environment. He becomes sad when he is not used for a long period of time. When this happens, his                    color turns red and he begins to flirt with passersby by whistling at them.

ii. “Farm Hack”. This project enables users to wash items, specifically vegetables, by operating a stationary                     bicycle that moves a round barrel that contains the vegetables. The barrel has slots in it where water                           passes through to wash the vegetables. This encourages people to wash produce adequately because it is               fun.

iii. “Nerdy Derby”. This project seemed particularly popular amongst the child attendees of Maker Faire. The                   makers of this project built a race track and set up a workshop so that visitors could build their own cars to                 race on the track.

2. How did they encourage user interaction and what made them successful? If they were a failure, please explain why?

i. “Sir Walter Cooler” encouraged user interaction by illuminating in different colors and calling out to                              passersby. The only critique I have of the design is that the part of the device that becomes illuminated                        makes it a little hard to see the shift in color. In my opinion the color should be more vibrant to catch the                      attention of those around it.

ii. “Farm Hack” encouraged user interaction by using an object that is very familiar to most (the bicycle) and                    connected it as the power source to another object. One’s curiosity may prompt them to start pedaling on                    the bicycle to see what it does.

iii. “Nerdy Derby” encouraged user interaction with the size of the track and the DIY workshop. These were                    very attractive and attention-getting aspects. Another way it encouraged interaction was the friendly                            competitive nature of the project, giving the users the hope of winning.

3. What inspired you at the Faire? Why? Explain at least two reasons why…

I was most inspired by “Sir Walter Cooler” (described above).  The thing I liked the most about this project is the goal of encouraging positive behavior. They do this in two ways: encouraging people to drink more water, and also bringing coworkers together and encouraging more interesting water-cooler chat. I also was inspired by this project because it was something that we see everyday and with just a few simple changes, it can make a huge difference.

I learned that shocking and abnormal designs attract the attention of many, and what you do following that immediate shock can decide the success of your project. I also learned that kids are immediately drawn to products that can be touched and played with (not surprising) and that designing durable products to withstand the wear and tear from the use of a child is important.