by Annie | Sep 9, 2015 | Education, Game Design, Interaction Design, Product Design, Psychology of Games
Early on in parenthood, I thought I’d somehow magically received the perfect child. He was no picky eater, rather quite the opposite. He was into steak, broccoli, watermelon, pretty much anything we put in front of him. …and then that phase ended. Nowadays, we spend dinnertimes bargaining, pleading, and joyfully cheering when even a single bite makes it down the hatch. Contrast that with the time he spends in front of a mobile device, wholly sucked in and willing to do anything to progress the game or storyline. That’s where new innovations like Yumit come in. Yumit is an interactive dinner tray that reinforces healthy eating habits by converting actual bites into virtual energy. Whether this actually has long term effects on kids’ experience and interaction with food remains to be seen. But more and more, the lines are being blurred between reality and the virtual world, which isn’t always a bad thing. After all, people are often much more engaged when cleaning a virtual room through a game than cleaning their actual room. Why? Because we all crave feedback for our actions, and online worlds often provide that instantaneous feedback to let us know the path toward a desired behavior. As for parenting, I’m on the fence as to whether I’ll try something like Yumit. While it may instantly boost veggie consumption, I’m curious about the lasting effects. But hey, I guess even one broccoli happily ingested is a...
by Annie | Feb 11, 2015 | Interaction Design
There’s nothing quite like the buzz you get from a creative conference. So many new ideas, rich conversations, and memorable characters. The annual Interaction Design Association (IxDA) conference, held right here in San Francisco this year, just came to a close today after three days of engaging sessions, keynotes, and workshops. My head is swimming with new ideas, my notebook is filled to the brim with sketches and notes, and I’ve made a number of new friends in the community. Here are my top 5 takeaways from Interaction15: 1. Selling the design is as important as doing the design. Like many designers, I often assume that a strong design will speak for itself. In actuality, any design relies upon the designer to make it come to life. And as such, designers need to be sellers. And performers. Just as a realtor sells a house by helping the client envision their life in that home, we as designers must sell the vision of our designs. 2. Communicate the vision throughout the project. I realize now that I often start meetings as if we’re picking right back up from where we last left off, as if clients have spent just as much time as I have thinking about and tinkering with each aspect of the project in the days since our last meeting. In actuality, clients are often coming in from other meetings and need to be reminded of the status of the project, the connection between what will be covered and the project vision, and how they can contribute. 3. Confidence is part of the job. Humility is expensive. Being a designer can...
