Sera Anne's Thoughts: Process for Music Aide

Interviews: Typical Headphones

Max: Freshman, Male.

How often do you use headphones?

Every day, for music purposes.

Likes/dislikes?

They are uncomfortable, Easy to break, music quality sucks, cords can get annoying. However the all black is nice.

Nathan Strack: Freshman Male

How often do you use them?

Every day for music purposes, usually when sleeping and walking to classes.

Likes/dislikes?

Cheap, fall out easily, wires get in the way and are annoying. However the all black is nice.

Faith Bitterman: Freshman, female

How often do you use them?

Every day, for music when going to different places.

Likes/dislikes?

Too big for small ears, cheap, break easily, wires break, get tangled, really poorly designed.

Pat Monroe: Junior male

How often do you use them?

I never use the ear buds because it is horrible for your hearing.

Likes/dislikes?

Horrible sound quality, you could go deaf, no volume control, doesn’t block out other noises; just bad for you.

Rob: Senior male

How often do you use them?

I use them regularly.

Likes/dislikes?

Uncomfortable, don’t stand out, wires get annoying, they break easily, not long enough wires.

Design For Under 5 bucks

Project Brief:

The project we were given was Design for under 5 bucks. This project required us to go out and find a poorly made object that was under 5 dollars. Then we were to figure out a way to redesign it to make it meet the dieter rams 10 elements of design. The class was split up into groups to design our object. My group consists of an industrial designer, a graphic designer, an interior designer, and an illustrator. After our groups were made we not only had to make a prototype of our new design but we had to make a poster explaining the object and our process and present it to the class.

Reflection:

The project we were given was clear but difficult. At first I felt like I had it under control; the idea process is my strong suit. Although I have trouble conveying my ideas through sketches our concept mapping and planning went well. However, when it came to the building my group was stumped. We assumed a simple clay model would do the trick but we soon learned it was not enough. We made prototype after prototype until we were able to find the materials suitable enough to convey the right idea we wanted. Of course this is the problem most designers face when given a task like this. But I think it would have been nice if the directions said “don’t use clay and be specific”. In terms of mapping we all wrote what was on our minds onto a poster. Once they were on the poster we organized them into groups. That mapping process seemed to work well, another thing that worked well was writing down all of the likes and dislikes of each idea we had. Both concepts worked perfectly while working together in our group. We made sure every idea was shared.

What I learned about my object:

I realized after this project how much head phones really bother me. They are constantly getting tangled and always end up hurting my ears. I also never paid much attention to what they were made of and how boring they were. I wasn’t sure if there was a way to change it.

Summary of IDEO Video:

There isn't much more to say about the free spirited, outgoing creation that is IDEO. Coming from a hopeful industrial designer IDEO seems to be my dream come true. I can picture myself going to work everyday with fresh ideas only to be more inspired an airplane wing hanging from the side wall or my bicycle hanging above me. As I watched the video on the recreation of a shopping cart, I thought to myself...The process is so simple, obvious, and natural but not a lot of people choose to do it. Everyone thinks to themselves about ways things could be better but no one ever changes them. All it takes is a good laugh, some sticky notes, and a sketch pad.

My Object: Head Phones