GROUP WORK

Our task was to record the usage of the electrical items within our homes in the period of 7 days. I recorded my data shown below.
We were then asked to get into a group of three and using the data that we each collected we picked up the most common factors and had to design an interface for the audience to interact and put there own data into it using colored thread and pins.
Our first idea was to:
- use inner circles to represent a day
- Sectioned parts representing the products
- The length of string representing length of time

We then decided to expand on this and we came up with our final idea:
- Different string colour's representing the days
- Categories starting from each V point
- Scale in between the V-necks

The feedback we got were:
- The interaction system was too small (because it was on A4 paper it was hard for the audience to input their information and so it became very squashed. This could have effected each persons data).
- Could not put meter readings on the interaction (We didn't consider the audience which collected meter readings as a group we just designed the inputted of hours in the day. The readings only went up to 10 hours which was a disadvantage for the public as many collected data which was 24 hours use eg. the fridge).

If we were to design this interaction system again we would focus on producing some testers so we wouldn't come across mistakes which was given to us in the feedback discussions.

We were asked to find three examples of contemporary design practice that is computer-based and that are doing data gathering and user participation. We also had to analyze what their interface is, how they work and what are their levels of user participation.

One example is PACHUBE. It is a data gathering website which invites users to upload their own data and connect to other data being updated by other users. The website presents information in real-time graphs to show changes.

Another task we were asked to do in class was we had to write one verb, one noun and one adjective on paper. We were then asked to fold them up and jumble it all into one pile then each person had to pick 3. We were then asked to produce a non linear narrative. I made a flow chart to show what I wanted my game to consist of. The three words I had were GO, SO and GUN! So I had to design a flowchart that related to those three words. The flowchart I made is shown below. I was imagining an action game for boys. Were the user can pick a character giving them 4 options. Also the user would be able to pick a hair style, pick an outfit and pick a car.

Second example is Infochimps.com, is a site where you’ll find thousands of downloadable data sets and awesome APIs. They've spent the last few years aggregating this data so app developers and businesses can get easy access to hard-to-find data.
Big Data doesn't have to be complicated. Anyone can use the data; a developer, individual, small agency or a huge enterprise, they're products help to get and manage the data, and go from raw data to visualizations.

We were given an image of three bears on a bicycle in a circus. We were then asked to create a headline to go with the image. Each person came with a different headline for the image, therefore, each person had a different understanding towards the image. I thought this image was cruel to animals and the caption I came up with was 'Animal Cruelty In the Circus'. Many people in my class agreed and were against animal cruelty. Most of us came up with similar captions whereas some others came up with something different and thought of this as being fun and entertaining. I think this task helped us to understand the meaning of interpretation and that we all have different views and interpret things differently.

This is what me and my group produced.

This is the audiences interaction.

At first we were struggling as we was not understanding the key directions which was given to us. The group which we switched with used a math method working out the percentage of the room to find the perimeter which will lead to the answer for watts. This system was quite challenging for our group.

These images are the interfaces designed by other groups were the audience had to interact with them.

The point of this group task was to get an understanding of data gathering

LAPTOP TELEVISION LIGHTS
MONDAY: 6 HRS 5 HRS 10 HRS
TUESDAY: 4 HRS 6 HRS 11 HRS
WEDNESDAY: 7 HRS 5 HRS 9 HRS
THURSDAY: 7 HRS 6 HRS 10 HRS
FRIDAY: 6 HRS 4 HRS 11 HRS
SATURDAY: 6 HRS 6 HRS 10 HRS
SUNDAY: 3 HRS 5 HRS 10 HRS

Two lecturers from the Politics department of the University of Westminster came down to talk to us. They asked us to help them design a game. The images above are some of the design games that one of the class had produced.