TINKERING& PROTOTYPING

Loes BogersTamara PinosSept 2014

TINKERER one who experiments with materials and ideas to fully understand their capacities, and who further iterates on their learning to find better solutions to current problems.

TINKERING is about hands-on experiences, learning from failures, and unstructured time to explore and invent. And through the processes of exploration and invention lies the potential for innovation. (Tinkerlab.com)

Bottle Radio - Steve Hobley (Make)http://makezine.com/projects/bottle-radio/

Minty Boost - kit based on Joshua Zimmerman’s instructablehttp://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-Altoids-USB-Charger/

Drawing Apparatus - Robert Howsarehttp://vimeo.com/channels/staffpicks/31933085

Soundcloud Track Alert - Steve22525 (LittleBits community)http://bit.ly/1qWnnHS

Insta-Ego Head - Littlebitshttp://littlebits.cc/projects/insta-ego-head

Useful for:- exploring a topic, understanding problem- understanding possibilities of materials- creating happy accidents- generating new ideas that you would not get brainstorming with your thoughts

Not so much for:- scientific investigations- doing rigorous research

As a team. . . we want to spend a morning to create and experiment in unstructured playful ways

In order to. . . learn experientially about the complexity and different aspects of our problem.

PROTOTYPING Putting together a prototype that will force you to think through the details and user experience of your product ideas.

PROTOTYPE a first or preliminary model of something from which other forms are developed or copied.

Google Glasshttp://www.theverge.com/2013/2/22/4013406/i-used-google-glass-its-the-future-with-monthly-updates

● Takes only a few hours● Can test multiple

alternatives● Can change the design as

you test● Allows designers & users

to work together

LO-Fidelity vs. HI-Fidelity

● Developed an stage of the project when ideas are beginning to firm up

● Are similar in look and feel to final product

● It is useful for detailed evaluation of the main design elements

Compilation of tools and techniques can be found here: http://www.pinterest.com/medialabams/

Paper Prototype:Smart phone app!

Interface prototypehttps://gomockingbird.com/ - https://balsamiq.com/

Clickable Prototype http://www.invisionapp.com/ - https://popapp.in/

Galvanic Skin Response ReaderArduino

● Identifying user interface and other requirements.

● Once you have a prototype, you'll be able to show it to people and collect detailed continuous feedback.

● It doesn’t need to be fully functional

Pros & Cons.

● Detailed special-purpose prototypes help to answer specific questions about a design, but building a meaningful prototype for each issue is expensive.

How do tinkering and prototyping relate?

discuss with your team - few mins

come back with a oneliner - somewhat intelligent, eg.:- summary- one point you find interesting useful- difference- similarity

written with marker on paper

As a team. . . we want to create ONE Prototype of one of the ideas that we have thought of so far,

In order to. . . test if it is a viable and interesting path to follow in our project.

Exercise 1: Paper Prototyping

● build paper prototype of an idea for your project ● test the concept with someone from a different team● record/write down insights, suggestions, things that are unclear● make a 30 secs video or photo set to explain the protype & test● post it to your blog with the insights you got (later)

45 mins + 15 mins test in front of the group

Exercise 2: Tinkering in teams

● explore given materials● no method play, discuss, experiment● find out how it works by creating ● reflect on possibilities materials give you● record insights & ideas

90 mins + 15 mins report back

Come back with a short report answering the following questions...

What did you find?

Verbal AND/OR visual report

● what did you tinker with?● how does it work?● how far did you get in one hour?● what is it used for? (1 or 2 examples)● can you identify limitations of the tool?● where is it on the scale of prototyping low - high fidelity● do you see ways to apply it for your project or for the others?

Materials & Tools:

Analogue stuff● Cardboard, craftsy stuff, textile

etc etc● Whatever else you can find lying

around ● Also think of conducting materials

to combine with electronics

Sensing & electronics● LittleBits● Makey Makey● Arduino

Automating● IFTTT ● Zapier● Google forms● Google sheets etc● Scratch

Internet of Things● LittleBits Cloudbit● Twine● LightBlue bean (adv)

Wearables● MetaWear● Arduino Lilypad

>>> and many many more….