Interaction Design Final week

As I finish out my last week of class I worked on developing a user study for the prototype I have been designing for the past few weeks. From a research perspective I was really excited to start thinking about how I would want to test my prototype. As a designer I of course wanted to try to test everything in one go, but as a researcher I knew that to get the most meaningful data it would be more beneficial to look at only the few main aspects of the system first and then expand as further testing would require. It was nice to be able to have both perspectives this week as I worked on my final assignment.

Overall I really liked this course. Unlike the other courses I have taken for this degree, I felt this course really allowed me to flex my creativity and critical thinking muscles. It was really cool to see my idea come to life as the weeks went by. Hopefully I can prototype again in the near future.

Interaction Design week 6

During week six of interaction design class we wrapped up our prototypes of the Lunch Buddy app. I was really excited to see my prototype all come together. I really appreciate the thoughts and comments from my classmates in helping me make my app the best it could be. I was really happy with how the app eventually came out. It is really cool to see how all the interactions worked out and once animation was added it really came together. 

I did learn a few things as I finished up my prototype this week. First I learned that adding animation to interactions can be really helpful. Initially I did not have animation in my app, but by adding animation it gave a better flow to the app and in the end made it look so much more finished. I didn't realize how important a little animation can be. I also learned the importance of having an easy way to move back an forth within an app. I initially didn't think I needed back buttons, but once I added back buttons the whole navigation of the app seemed a lot easier.

Overall creating a prototype was a lot of fun and I was really excited to go through the whole prototyping experience from beginning to end.  

Interaction Design Week 5

In week 5 of my interaction design class we continued to work on the interactions of our Lunch Buddy app. I was able to learn more about the proto.io prototyping program. Sometimes this week while I was working on my prototype it took me longer to figure out how to do the interactions I wanted than initially figuring out what interactions I wanted. It just comes with the territory of learning a new program. So far I am pretty impressed with proto.io and hope to be able to use it again in the future.

Also this week I was able to look at some more of my classmate's prototypes. It looks like all the class is doing really well figuring out the common problems involved with making an interactive prototype. I wish everyone the best of luck next week.

Interaction Design Week 4

This week in class we finally started to prototype our apps. I am using a new software called proto.io to prototype all of the app interactions. So far I think the new software has been doing well for what our class has needed it for.
While prototyping I started getting more excited for this project. I can actually see my idea coming together in a way no wireframing or information architecture could do. I can actually see how my work would be seen by the people who would end up using it.
It has also been pretty cool to see some of my classmates work on the same app and how they are solving the same problems using different interaction methods. I am curious to see how similar or different the apps of my teammates become as we continue to help eachother create better apps. So far this has been a really cool class and I am really enjoying the process.

Interaction Design week 3

For the past two weeks we have been learning about and developing wireframes for our Lunch buddy apps. The purpose of the assignment was to create a wireframe for an application that would help parents manage their children's lunch money account. It was neat to learn about the process and the reasoning behind why wireframes are created. I personally have learned that creating wireframes are very helpful into not only understanding how the app or website will look but where all those little buttons will lead to the seamless navigation within the website itself.

One of the pieces of the past two weeks that I have found helpful was being to interact with my fellow students to get feedback on my initial wireframes. It was really cool to see how my group tackled the same problems for the same app in different ways. Everyone had great ideas and I understand how having a design group helps make an app even better. Working with multiple people can bring out the best designs.

Interaction Design Week 1

This week I started my last class at Kent State. It is interaction design. This week I created both a user journey and a sitemap for a new school lunch account app. 

One opportunity about this class that I am excited about is learning a new prototyping too called proto.io. Our class has received an awesome opportunity to try this tool out for free. I haven't had a chance to try it too much but it looks cool. I am excited to have the chance to make a prototype of an app. This is something that we haven't had the ability to do in this class before. 

Overall I am excited for the course. I think that I will be able to learn a lot about the process of not only designing via wireframe but also creating a prototype that can actually be clicked through. It is going to be cool.

Usability II Week 7

Today marks the completion of my second semester in my masters program. This semester I was able to learn a lot about usability and conducting research. In my job I had the opportunity to do some user research, but I am glad with these classes we had the opportunity to use some different resources to conduct our own little studies. I learned much more about how to set up and conduct a study as well as look and report data. I like the set up of the classes being more project based than lecture based. I feel that I have had the opportunity to learn a lot more because of this setup.

This week in particular I liked learning about gathering data from eye tracking devices. I have had chances read about eye tracking but having the opportunity to parse out eye tracking data was fun. I am excited for my next semester and to see what new opportunities this program will bring.