Theme 5: Design Research Pre-reflection

On Fernaeus and Jacobsson.

Their work is based on the notion that people  personalise their electronic equipment by dressing them up, applying stickers on them etc. Fernaeus and Jacobsson proposes that this may be used in physical interfaces to control and program them by physical means.

Based on semiotic theory Fernaeus and Jacobsson introduce the concept of signifier and signified. A symbol may be a signifier for different signifieds in different contexts. In this case the physical markers are considered signifiers. The action or behaviour the physical marker incites is the signified.

For their proposed design, Fernaues and Jacobsson uses symbols known from fashion and comics. They argue that fashion is used for more than clothing, it may for instance signify group belonging, attitude etc. Comics use simple and clear shapes and typography to convey affects and information.

The proposed design, actDresses, are described as physical markers that may be attached to a digital artefact. By the use RFID the artefact may detect what the user has attached to it and run the appropriate programming.

On Prototypes.

The construction of prototypes is central in an iterative design process. Early proto-prototypes, mock-ups, can indicate problems and benefits early on so that these may be adjusted. Evaluation and adjustment of prototypes should ideally be looped until there are no more improvements, at which point you are near the final design. The evaluation process may measure efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction by user tests (Li et al 2008). 

In the case of proof of concept prototypes it is not necessarily the idea of the final product that is realised but perhaps only some aspect of it. A proof of concept prototype is useful when a designer wants to control that some aspect of an idea will work in reality. Based on how this prototype turns out there may be implications for the design choices that are to be made.

A final prototype may be relatively close to the final design, but usually has some differences. These may for example include different materials and means of production. This may lead to problems if the designers aren't observant. I think that the remedy for these problems is to prolong the iterative design process and try to minimise the distance between prototype and product.