Sep 09

7 in 7: Day 2 – The Mentor

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Pre Work Write Up:

v Precedents and their themes:

  • Yoda – Star Wars Movie Trilogies
  1. Origin: Wise, Oldest living Jedi Master before and after fall of jedi.
  2. Weapon: Lightsaber – Walking Crutch
  3. Token: Connection to the force, release of material processions.
  4. Clothes: Jedi Robes
  5. Ethos: True Neutral
  6. Personality: Wise leader, laments inability to prevent fall of jedi. While still powerful, takes no active role in conflict.
  7. Gift/Talent: The Force
  • Gandalf – Tolkien’s – Lord of the Rings Series
  1. Origin: Gandalf the Grey – Gandalf the White, one of a handful of powerful wizards who are meant to protect middle earth and guide the “goodly” races to peace and cooperation.
  2. Weapon: Staff and Sword
  3. Token: Pipe
  4. Clothes: Gray and White Robes
  5. Ethos: Neutral-Lawful/Good
  6. Personality: Sometimes playing the simple old man he defers to his wisdom as a weapon more so then his magic. Depending on the timeline of the story he wishes greatly that he had taken more decisive action The ring and the other wizards when he had the chance. This is also the moral question of his character.  Showing his faith in good people to do the right thing instead of unnatural magic changing the world.
  7. Gift/Talent: Extreme magical talent
  • Zedd – Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth Series
  1. Origin: Wizard of the First Order in the Middle Kingdom, Leader of the Last great war of the kingdom. One of the most powerful wizards of the world and the main characters secret grandfather.
  2. Weapon: Sword of Truth (passed to Richard(main character))  staff.
  3. Token: Sword of Truth and Pipe
  4. Clothes: Plain Robes (robes of a wizard of the First Order – more powerful you are the plainer your robes)
  5. Ethos: Lawful / Neutral
  6. Personality: Another wizard who prefers to use his wisdom over his gifts. A strong belief that creativity and love are greater magics then any fireball or lightning spell. Unlike Gandalf however he leans more to the playful side, rarely taking on an ominous persona.
  7. Gift/Talent: Wizard of the First Order, Last Great Postive Magic user.

 

v The Mentor’s Seven Themes

  • Origin: While they are generally advanced in age, they are well educated or at least very wise to the world. In many cases they are fighters are have similar talents to the Hero creating some affinity towards them that they don’t share with the rest of the world. In many cases the mentor is often a veteran of some conflict or organization that parallels the trials that will affect the hero. Story wise, as the mentor is not often the Hero’s Love interest, they are often killed off to show loss and hurt to the hero, making them a major but expendable character.
  • Weapon: Knowledge or Experience. The stereotypical answer is a staff. A general symbol for the scholarly elder. Sometimes they cary the sword or generic weapon like the hero to make them something for the hero to aspire to be.
  • Token: In the case of those who are veterans are former members of great organizations it is normally a token of their service with some kind of functional benefit that they rarely need anymore. In the case of wizards it could be a magical item that helps them with their craft, or for the veteran a badge of office that could get them past other guards who respect the service.
  • Clothes: Often something as humble or as the characters but with a slightly more respected air. The robes of a scholar. The old uniform of a soldier, something that is modest for their station in life but still a sign of their past glories.
  • Ethos: True Neutral or Neutral Good, (often with wisdom they are made neutral to the biases of the world.
  • Personality: Often similar to the Hero (either as a product of the hero taking on the characteristics of an idol or being the mutual aspect that brought them together)
  • Gift/Talent: Experience, similar gift as the hero sometimes, and whatever gift they had that made them a great person in the past.

Post Work Write Up:

Still pressed for time in the drawing, All of them are likely to have a sketched feel to them I believe. Decided too do different border to correlate to each of the characters backgrounds are occupations.

Sep 09

7 in 7: Day One – The Hero

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Pre Work Write Up:

The Hero

v Precedents and their themes:

  • Cloud Strife – Final Fantasy VII Video game
  1. Origin: Villager, Joined soldier to prove self.
  2. Weapon: Buster Sword – Ultimate Sword
  3. Token: White Materia (after death of Aeris) and the Buster Sword as his deceased best friends weapon.
  4. Clothes: SOLDIER outfit. (contradictory wearing the outfit of the nemesis organization in the story)
  5. Ethos: Neutral/Good
  6. Personality: Loner, confused as to his own identity Duality of personality as a mercenary and terrorist and a FORMER member of SOLDIER.
  7. Gift/Talent: SOLDIER training and genetic manipulation with radiation and alien Jenova cells.
  • Luke Skywalker – Star Wars Original Movie Trilogy
  1. Origin: Orphaned child left with farmer relatives. Dreams of joining the rebellion and fighting for something away from tedious life of farmer.
  2. Weapon: Blaster, Fathers Lightsaber, Self-Made Lightsaber
  3. Token: Fathers Lightsaber, Robotic hand like father.
  4. Clothes: Farmer rags, Jedi Robes
  5. Ethos: Lawful-Neutral/Good
  6. Personality: Sometimes Brash and Impatient, but good hearted and passionate about the war. This passion and morality becomes a shortcoming as he trains to be a Jedi who must put aside emotions to live a “monk” like life. In the end he fights with the notion that as his father gave way to the dark side so could he because his very passion for good and order in the universe led his father to his fall.
  7. Gift/Talent: Powerful us of the Force passed on by Father.
  • Rick Grimes – The Walking Dead
  1. Origin: Small town Sheriff and family man.
  2. Weapon: Revolver – Hatchet
  3. Token: Sheriff’s cowboy hat, badge, and revolver to remind of former life as a police officer
  4. Clothes: Sheriff’s uniform
  5. Ethos: Lawful /Neutral
  6. Personality: A man trying to keep the principals as a police office in a world that has lost all concept of Order in an apocalyptic era. On the other hand he struggles with the savage he has become to survive.
  7. Gift/Talent: Police Training and Instinct for survival

v The Hero’s Seven Themes

  • Origin: Often has Humble Beginnings, the orphan is a very common starting point for most heroes. IT teaches them early on the value of family and community and allows them to learn empathy over sympathy. They stereotypically begin without access to any distinguishing abilities that make them better then those around them that they recognize. Slightly contrary to that stereotype, they always have some innate give waiting within them though, something they either do not recognize how important it is or do not know about it at all.
  • Weapon: The Sword, Pistol, Sword and Shield, The generic weapon of the world they live in. They rarely have non-generic weapons because it makes them relatable. Simple weapons or tools make the reader feel as though they too could be the hero. The sword example is prime because it is a weapon that just encompasses a handle, a cross bar, and a blade… simple to learn and implement.
  • Token: Often in the cases of Orphans, something that reminds them of the family they have lost. Sometimes a pet or animal, something that grounds them and ads personality to them. (often something the character will lose at some point in his journey)
  • Clothes: Humble in the beginning marking his relation to the reader as an average person, but glorious in the end allowing the reader to believe they too could pick up those.
  • Ethos: Stereotypically Lawful/Good but really any branch of the lawful perspective and Good makes the hero. (excluding the anti-hero in this argument)
  • Personality: Humility as mentioned before. Good and caring for the common man. Developed throughout the story to make him or her a better person morally. As they begin their quest they normally desire to fight their origin. Desiring a more glamorous life, to be the more stereotypical hero (the golden knight in shinning armor), though as they complete their journey they find that it is that humility that makes them the hero not the battles.
  • Gift/Talent: For the sake of this project I will be focusing on Fantasy so from here on out we will address that, normally it is a magical command of the natural elements. Some touch of magic that they do not know of that makes them an above average fighter or adventurer.

 

Post Work Write Up:

Technically speaking I do not believe I had enough time to do concept work. While I think the 77 minute rule is definitely a good constraint it does not leave much to do much beyond sketch something out. In some respects this is good because it keeps me moving byt I feel like the proportion and the line work is off on this drawing. I did two different drawings this time so hopefully I can take my time on the others.

As a side note – I did two drawings to represent the humble beginnings of the hero then the greater warrior he will become.

Will reflect more on this in the story (will be done in finished product on last day then broken up by character.

Sep 09

7 in 7 — Day3 — Analog Animation

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I watch a video about analog animation, that is cool, so I want to do by myself. The animation is a people running.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OpjUYwO_V4&feature=youtu.be

Sep 09

7 in 7 Project Constraints

7 in 7 Project Constraints

Open PDF for constraints.

Sep 09

Week 3 – Reading Assignment Day 1

Week 3 – Reading Response Assignment

 

The reading assignments for week three touch at the very core of what it measn to design. Excusing the almost direct pun portrayed by that statement in reference to the last reading, Maeda’s “What is Design”, these articles show the entire iceberg of the design industry that is normally hidden under the water with the exposed tip of the marketed product.

 

One of the most poignant notes on this was expressed in Pelle Ehn and Morton Kyng’s, “Cardboard Computers”. The first example, and the implied source of the titles almost humorous visualization is the idea that you begin with an abstract concept or solution to a stated problem without real speculation on the legitimacy of the realistic application of what you create. The example is given of the cardboard box that was to be a laser printer to cut out some of the redundant actions of a newsroom assembly line. To figure out if this was possible, or more so if this was even a productive solution to the problem being presented, the designers placed this box there to represent the possibility of the solution.

Why I think this was the most important example in the list of readings is because of what happened next: the active roleplaying to simulate the proposed solution. To give the realistic simulation of what the solution should look like, feel like, and what the product should be without the cost and experience of full production is the true value of prototyping and design. In reducing this newsroom’s redundant activity of marking templates and “proofs” back and forth, we show the process that reduces redundancy in the design world.

 

As a short and concise verbiage for this reality we move to Buxton’s “What Sketches (and Prototypes) are and are not” to see the bullet point list of qualifications to make something a good iteration of the design process. I think the first five get it in a nutshell and the rest are specifications of values of information that could be attributed to each iterative sketch (or Prototype): Quick, Timely,  Inexpensive, Disposable, and Plentiful.

Sep 09

7 in 7– Day2 –Go Yankee

I went to Yankee Stadium to watch baseball game, fans are so exciting to see Yankee could hit the ball, so I did this ‘Go Yankee’ hat, there are two iron wires in the hat, so when you pull the wires, the bat will hit the baseball, when you release the wires, they are separating. Maybe it is a new way for fans to support Yankee, and make the atmosphere better.

 

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Sep 09

On Prototypes

I have to say right off the bat that I am actually obsessed with the pizza box prototype (in What do Prototypes Prototype?). It is genius in its simplicity, resourcefulness, cost, and effect.

Bill Buxton’s definition of a prototype through highlighting the differences between sketches and prototypes (What Sketches [and Prototypes] Are and Are Not.) seems to be the more traditional view of prototyping. And certainly what I had previously associated with prototypes. Sketches are the time to figure things out; prototypes are more of an end-game deal. Stephanie Houde and Charles Hill propose it is all prototyping, just varying stages. Definitions of terms are so important because all of the authors talk about the same principles, but their personal definitions are different. Either way, developing low-cost, effective prototypes (or sketches) in the infancy stages and throughout iterations and developments is vital for problem solving and successful product development.

And, as Experience Prototyping and Cardboard Computers explained, It is massively important to have the user experience the prototype and for the designer to witness the user in his element. And, if somehow the designer can be thrown into the user’s shoes, that is amazing. The defibrillator prototype experience looked absolutely fascinating. It was so important for the product development for the design team to be able to understand first-hand what their users go through.

The creative solutions explored in these articles are actually pretty inspiring. Before pouring all the money into a project that might not work or contains all sorts of blind-spot complications, if you can throw a cardboard box in a corner and magic marker “Laser Printer” on it or grasp a matchbox in your hand and imagine it’s a mouse or print up a sheet of paper that looks like a computer, that drastically changes the outcome of the project.

Sep 09

7 in 7: Day 4

For today’s project I wanted to expand on my previous idea of creating instruments from Ikea parts. But instead of using those parts to create my own song, I built the sounds in a program so other uses could play the ‘instruments’ as well.

 

I have the basic functionality of the program working. There are 7 tools, a picture of each, and when the user clicks on the tool, they are able to play the sound that tool makes.

 

I recorded the sounds in Garage band, converted them to .wav to import them into processing through the Audioplayer function. And then created the program in Processing.

 

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Sep 09

7in7 Day6- Save a Cow

Many people don’t realize that supporting the dairy industry also supports the meat industry. In order to get milk from a cow, that cow must give birth to a calf. In order for the dairy industry to make money and have a product to sell, the calf is taken from it’s mother, not able to drink her milk because that milk is sold to us. Instead, the calves are fed grains and are raised for beef and veal.

My project for today is a vegan frozen dessert. I made chocolate covered frozen bananas and on the stick I drew or wrote something. The idea is that a certain amount of these frozen bananas would be sold in a box and once all of them are eaten, you would be left with all of the sticks, that if you assemble them together will show a picture or phrase. The idea is to reward the behavior of eating a vegan dessert as opposed to a dairy ice cream desert. In this case, I have assembled the sticks to show  happy cow, and at the bottom of the picture, it says “you saved a cow, now save a pig… a.parsons.edu/~parsn497/Pig/sky.html” This links to my Day4 project “Escape Artist”. IMG_20130909_07543320130909_08042720130909_080549

Sep 09

Reading Response : Prototype !

“experience prototyping”
 I think we are practicing and experiencing prototypes everyday. I mean when we read books or watch movies, we practices future experience without notice.
For instance, Harry Porter novel describes a magical thing that people in newspaper, pictures move and says something in dynamic and after the movie shows how it will look like by producing a sample user experience(even though it is just acting). Finally, now in reality, real moving picture came out (digital)picture frame came out. Imagination what will be cool and able to bring convenience in the future, and its prototypes make the world change.
In specific, touching based devices are not much strange or unfamiliar because we get used to know how it will be used in the movies.
“What Do Prototypes Prototype”
 
As a developer, making prototype is more focused on how it will process efficiently, correctly and speedily with concerning computer hardware. In specific, developers consider more about how computer might feel when they run a program with codes. Don’t they use too much storages and memories which can affect the computer gets to be slowed or too much complex code that is hard to be updated later (or etc.) whereas designers concern about users’ comforts (I guess because developer’s goal is making an abstract thing to a real artifact, but designer’s goal is presenting a thing that for the human – to sell the thing in proper usage). Their different approach may cause misunderstanding in communication between them. To reduce argument from misunderstanding, designers need to describe how the thing will work in a-z process and how it will effect to people’s life based on human-centered consideration like above explanation – science fiction movies or books describing well to think the algorithm
of how it can be built to a real artifact(products).
Making prototype is not just considering how much it will bring convenience in our lives or how much it will give great user experience or just how it can be processed to be produced in reality. According to reading, ” What do prototypes Prototype”, it emphasizes 3 key words (role, look and feel, implementation) and the author says the 3 key things should be integrated by interacting each of them. We are living in high-Tech world, which means not only development of technology is high enough to build our imagination to a real thing, but designers should consider user-centered design on user experience design not to be conquered by technology.