Big LEDs: Stairway Lights

May 8, 2019 Big LEDs

For this assignment, we had to come up a design plan for a stairwell at a local business. Inspiration: I was really interested in doing something with geometric shapes. I stumbled on to funhouse hallways. I was interested in the idea of having the illusion of a set of shrinking arches floating over the stairs. Color palate: For my plan, I decided to do a series of LED geometric arches that start at the top of the stairs, and continueRead More

User testing and documentation

April 28, 2019 Thesis

Today I was able to head up to Harlem with two of my friends to test my sound walk, and thankfully, the weather cooperated.  It was a little nerve wracking to have friends test something that’s a pretty personal project.  Still, it was a good time.   There was one major thing that I thought was going to be a problem. Because I had started doing the recordings before I knew I was going to make a sound walk, it wasRead More

Route scouting in Harlem

April 26, 2019 Thesis

Wednesday, I was finally able to make it out to Harlem to do some scouting for my sound walk for thesis. While I roughly knew which stories I wanted to include, I didn’t have a firm idea of how to integrate the overall narrative with locations. I knew that I wanted to set the walk in a place that had a majority Black population, with the hopes of making the user feel immersed in the narrative they were hearing. AfterRead More

First draft of thesis presentation

April 24, 2019 Thesis

Today I presented my first rough draft of my presentation. And, I’ve got some work to do. Since the bulk of my user testing is happening this weekend, I don’t have documentation pictures or feedback from my users. But, I feel like I’ve got a good start to the presentation. Currently, I’m coming in at around 8:00 minutes, which feels about right. I’d wanted to err on the side of caution, and plan for a shorter presentation, knowing that whenRead More

Quick & Dirty updates, Pivoting, and other growing pains

April 23, 2019 Thesis

So, it’s been a moment since I’ve updated. Since March 14th, I’ve pitched my thesis to friends and to folks at the Quick & Dirty, pivoted to a different execution, met with some fantastic people about ideas, and was fortunate enough to sit down with friends & classmates to get their stories & experiences for my thesis. All in all, it’s been a busy time, even if it hasn’t quite been as productive as I would’ve liked. Oh. And theRead More

Recent thesis updates

March 14, 2019 Thesis

It’s been a bit of time since my last update, but I’ve been making (I think) steady progress. Most recently, I did a third tech prototype for my 360 video experience. Clareese was kind enough to sit down with me over the weekend and act as a parent speaking to her child about how to protect themselves in the world. While I have a pretty good idea of how the Theta works by this point, I wanted to quickly addressRead More

Midterm Slides

March 5, 2019 Thesis

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-FZrO5gyBtwfzK8zGiw3FGFO7Z3Z101Vm_EZSxWy_Cg

Thesis: user testing of quick prototype

February 26, 2019 Thesis

After a couple of starts and stops, I’ve managed to put a 360 video of a conversation on a viewer. This post will probably be updated (or maybe a new one?) after I get more feedback from my thesis group & other testers. Here’s the QR codes if anyone is interested in following along with this prototype. There’s a separate one for iOS and Android. It’s important to note that this prototype isn’t related to my thesis topic. It’s aRead More

Thesis: thoughts on microaggressions & racism

February 26, 2019 Thesis

Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.* As I’ve been turning over ideas for thesis, I’ve found myself remembering the microaggressions, unintentional biases, and racism I, and others in my life, have encountered. Some of them, on the surface, seem like well-intended compliments. For example, “you speak really well”, which, in my head IRead More

Thesis: Getting things up and running on Google Cardboard, take one

February 26, 2019 Thesis

So far, it seems like if I want to go the VR route, that 360 video will be quickest way to get up and running. However, what I need to figure out, is if it’s the best way/most impactful way to tell the story I want to tell. If the vehicle I use to tell the story doesn’t support/add to the story, I need to pivot to a new vehicle, and not get hung up on this one thing. IRead More