project research and development
The state library has good books and photos for western australian history. There are lost of historic photos, including some of the old perth gaol. I find it fascinating to see the old photos and to try to imagine how the gaol is now - in the middle of the city.
I really wish that these kind of photos were on display at the museum. I think that its a pity that there is such a historic building that is part of the museum, that hardly has any information about it at the museum! The museum only has two tiny cabinet displays about the gaol and the whole gaol is full of other exhibits. Any information is hidden away never really seen, in the state library next door. But I feel like the building is history - and the building is a museum, why isn't there more about it at the actual museum!
I find the storys of the old perth gaol quite fascinating. I find it eerie to look at the building and think about people being imprisioned and killed here. It seems so much like an ordinary old building, but it has such a eerie history. I think this would intrigue children if they were told about the stories of the building and the prisoners.
other research I have done has been from the state library, they have old records from the gaol and there was a small book published when the gaol was restored in 1970. "The Old Perth gaol." - published by the museum, but now no information is still available from the museum. I think the museum must have been quite well funded in the 1970s, but now it must have virtually no funding. that's probably why there is not much information still available at the gaol itself anymore.
I also found useful a book on early prisions in perth "Early prisons in Perth and Fremantle" by J.H. Dickinson.
"Punishment, prisons and reform : incarceration in Western Australia in the 19th century." by Louise J Bavin, which talks about statistics on numbers of inmates, plans of the prisons and philosophy of incarceration.
In my project I am trying to present the historical images from the state library, and the information about how prisioners lived that I have learned from the books. I also want to include information from the displays that are already in the museum about a few artifacts that were found at the gaol. I am trying to do this by telling stories that will hopefully engage a child to think about the old gaol, and the history of the buliding. I hope that the short multiple choice quizes that I am working on will also help involve and intrigue the viewer.
There is alot of information that I have researched, and I want to present the history in a narrative way, which places the viewer/hearer into awareness of the building and its inhabitants' lives.
I think by getting the walls to talk, this should appeal to kids, and it is an interesting way to characterise the narrator of these stories.
Thoughtful interaction design - Lowgren and Stolterman
I want to take on board the ideas of the reading about being a thoughtful designer in the way I think about all aspects of the interaction that I am designing. I need to think about that I am constructing knowledge when I design.
As a designer my task, as Lowgren and Stolterman say, is to develop something of lasting quality in the most suitable and creative way for the given situation. I need to challenge existing conceptions and restrictions that are based on false assumptions. I want to be able to really learn to critically think about the assumptions that I come to a design problem with. I want to be able to try to define what needs doing, and not define just my pre-concieved ideas about what I should do, but come fresh to the possibilities available.
I think it is important to remember like they said that design is in a cultural context, the choices you make are cultural. Often cultural decisions and ideas will be invisible to yourself as a designer, but it is helpful to try to see even the invisible ideological context that you are desinging in. If you can see the things that you assume as natural common knowledge, maybe you can realise that it is not so natural and common knowledge, but cultural context. This is helpful to think of cultural context of myself and my audience, and make more concious decisions.
The limited time, skills and resources in this project are as they say in this reading not really just limitations, but they are just part of the considerations that I need to take into accout as I am designing anything. So often it is tempting to think - if only I had more time, or knew more about flash. But really these are part of the design problem, and finding the best solution involves learning what I can, thinking of creative ways to learn what I need to know, and how to achieve what I want to achieve with my skills and time available.
Metaworx - young swiss interactive
Windowmat
This project aims to guide people in learing more about cultural diversity, integration and ecological concerns. It wants to be like a learning tool on the street in a multi-ethnic neighbourhood in Basel, it aims to create an experience that teaches people about these big issues while being enjoyable and intriguing.
The aims of the project were achieved by using a vending machine placed on the street. It relys on people being intrigued, and the "vending machine" plays on people's consumerism but then aims to entice them into learning rather than consumerism. It aims to be easy to access by anyone and for anyone to be able to learn from an experience with it. And aims to get anyone on the street intrigued.
This project uses vending machine technology and multimedia delivery of information. I like this project because it inspires me to think about having a whole system of interaction to design. In our animations we cannot choose the machine people view the work on, but this project created the machine and the content.
It is useful to think about trying to design a learning experience that will intrigue people and get them to interact more with the work. I think if I saw this "vending machine" on the street I would definately be intrigued, and when I found out that it was a learning tool, I would be very intrigued by the information it presents.
In my project i would like to intrigue my audience and go on to present information in a very accessable way.
Nathan Sherdoff - Information interaction design
This reading made me think in more depth about what I want to do in my project. I want to create, like Nathan Sherdoff writes about, a design for my information that creates a powerful compelling learning experience that presents knowledge rather than just data.
To design "information interaction design" I need to take into account information design, interaction design and sensorial design. I need to oraginse and present the knowledge. Every design choice I make should be deliberately chosen to further the aims of my project. In the visual design, sound design and designing the story I am telling, I want to strive to present information not just data. I need to build context and meaning, orgainse the information in the best way, and think about every aspect of the design and how the different aspects add to each other.
He also talks about the continuum of interactivity - where the amount of control the user has over the information is placed on a scale. How much control the user has over the outcome, how productive or creative the experience was for the user, how adaptive the environment is to the user, how communicative of stories the piece was. All these factors contribte to the interactivity, and it is important to choose the ways I want people to be able to and guided to interact with my animation/learning tool.
I want to be interactive in presenting some stories/history of the old perth gaol. I want there to be some productive quiz-like elements to the animation/stories which will be a learning interaction that encourages the viewer not just to be passively hearing/viewing history but to be thinking about and learning about it.
