Int Sem 2: ICW 2.1---Environment Behaviour Research

I used to have Integrative Seminar 1: Avatar on the 7^th floor of the 6 E 16 building. However, with the Zeisel reading in mind, I revisited it last Thursday. I have to say, it was a quite a different experience.

My visit took place during the class hour, where the common area and hallway are almost empty.

By-products of use

·         Erosion: Recycling. Recycling is a big issue in The New School since all trash cans have signs on them. However, not all the recycles were in the right place.

·         Leftovers: Messy chairs. Students like me come to class very early so they will have to sit outside and wait for their class to begin. After their doors are opened, they tend to forget the chair they were sitting on.

·         Missing Traces: Stairs. When the elevator on the lobby level gets too crowded, people turn to stairs inside. The stairs can be only accessed inside the building, which leaves people that are in hurry no choice but to slam the door hard to get attention so that someone will open the door for them.

Adaptations of use:

·         Props: Signs, chairs and tables. These are the most common objects in a school building.

·         Separations: Different areas, classroom size. There are different areas on the 7^th floor which I would rather not focus on listing. But, different classroom sizes are the real separations between different areas.

·         Connections: Aisle, signs. Aisle is like a highway, whereas signs tells you which exit you should drive towards.

Displays of Self:

·         Personalization: Private area. There are no actual private areas in the building. However, if used with skills, some public areas can be private areas as well.

·         Identification: Signs, designs.

·         Group Membership: classrooms, common areas, elevator

Public Messages:

·         Official: School Information. Usually they are posted in the lobby or where everyone can see.

·         Unofficial: Activities and groups. Student workshops or groups will post their information on billboards within different buildings.

·         Illegitimate: Classroom walls & tables, restrooms.

A person:

·         Actor: A female student

·         Act: Sits in common areas

·         With whom: no one

·         Context: no class or class over

Int Studio ICW: Strange Object Blog Post

Name:

The Furry Broken Harp

How did I find it?

One day a rat tried to eat my lovely little harp, it got stuck within the strings. Then, I put my gloves on and pulled it out. The rat was killed and part of its fur left on my harp. So, I decided to transform my little harp into a mousetrap to kill more mice.

Function:

First, the fur on the harp delivers a scent to attract one mouse at a time. As the mouse comes, the metal line holds the mouse back. If it tries to break through the lines, part of its fur will be damaged and get trapped. I will then collect its body and execute it. 

Int Studio 2: Along The L Blog Post

Even after about one and half semester here at Parsons, I have seldomly been to areas other than Manhattan. When people say the word "New York", they actually mean "Manhattan", but not other areas.  he only few times that I have been outside of Manhattan was one Brooklyn Net game at the Barclays Center, and several subway rides to JFK airport to pick up some friends. After a virtual road trip along the L train, which were mainly in Brooklyn, I felt how little I know about New York. 

There are way more spaces in Brooklyn than it is in Manhattan. The buildings on Google 3D (actually, more of a 2.5D) maps are relatively blurry, some are still under construction. However, the 3D maps were made about 3 years ago. So it is reasonable to see some construction going on (construction has been going on since forever...). 

The most empty lots are around Graham Avenue and Bushwick Avenue. It felt more like most part of the USA, where there are plenty of space and not so many cars. I almost felt like places like Graham Avenue and Bushwick Avenue takes me back to Los Angeles when I visited there during the winter break. However, the price of parking and a pack of cigaratte is still about 3 times higher than it is in California. 

As for green spaces, they looks pretty green. I am more than certain that the green seen on Google 3D maps are the kind of green in Spring. 

In conclusion, I am looking forward to the field trips to Brooklyn and explore New York City. 

In Class Writing 1.3: Common Household Objects Research

Object: Lamp

Questions:

1.      How does a light bulb (main components) work?

2.     What are the components that forms a good user experience for a lamp?

3.     The design history of a lamp?

4.     How does a good lamp design affects people?

5.     Does the placement of a lamp matters?

Bibliography

1. Harris, Tom. "HowStuffWorks "How Light Bulbs Work"." HowStuffWorks. Last modified March, http://home.howstuffworks.com/light-bulb.htm.

This short article explained how a light bulb works by explaining from a small scale to a large scale. Then, the author introduces some lighting basics. Finally, a video to illustrate how a light bulb works. (This answers questions 1 & 3)

2. Rubenstein, Ben, Zack, Sondra C, Versageek , and 19 others. "6 Ways to Choose the Right Lighting for Each Room." wikiHow. Last modified May, http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-the-Right-Lighting-for-Each-Room.

In this short guide, the authors gives detailed information on how to use lighting to create a better environment by suggesting different method and places such as:

·       

      Foyer, Halls, and Stairways

·        Living Area

·        Dining Room

·        Kitchen

·        Bath and Vanity

·        Exterior Lighting

(This answers questions 2 & 5)

Objectives:

I think this research could go really far. Lighting is used every day, from common households to large concerts. I would like to know the relationship between the design, placement of lamps and interior design.

The reason I think this topic is interesting is because I have two lamps that are practically the same in my room, one for reading and the other one is a bed light. Just because they are placed differently makes their function different. So I figured, is there any way to make lighting multi-functional? That would save us not only energy but also space. 

Int Seminar 2 In Class Writing 2 Blog Post

Our group investigated the Whole Foods Market at Union Square. I have been to two Whole Foods, one was this one, and the other one was at East Houston Street. I had to say, this one was relatively crowded because Union Square is a main transfer station and a site at downtown Manhattan. After reading the Hiss and the Underhill articles, it really helped me to understand a space, especially crowded space like Manhattan.

Not before entering the Whole Foods Market, one of the things that we all agreed was the entrance was somehow confusing. Although there is a small sign that shows the exit is “not an entrance” (duh!), people that goes inside can be trapped by this inconvenient design. As soon as we walked inside, my brain began to process and receive different information about this place, although it was not the first time that I was here. The first thing that showed up was some fancy juices and artesian water. Then the bread and bakery products. It makes sense because people can easily get through a meal with some bread and water or ever juice.

Next, some promotion products came to our sight. I remembered it was coconut water, and I remembered it because one of my friends told me this particular coconut water (100% Raw Coconut Water), that are regularly $4.99 for 500ml that is now $1.99 for 200ml in a smaller size. There was also a sign that was medium sized to promote it. Without further calculation, this seems like a pretty great deal. However, if we dig a little bit deeper, everything becomes clear---it was not a great deal. Signs like that will create an illusion for customers that they will purchase it. Sadly, there was quite an amount of people who really thought it is worth it.

As I walked to the escalator, there is a boiled food section, which was a major reason people, or at least my friend and classmate David come here---to eat some fresh but delicious food. After I took the escalator to go downstairs, something was just off, or very different from the first floor. Perhaps this is the “Simultaneous Perception” that Hiss wrote about. As for design aspect, the first floor was more like an actual market, whereas the underground floor looks like a supermarket, where everything is on the shelves. As a pass through the pharmacy section, there was an artificial scent like smoke mixed with perfume that really annoyed me.

When I tried to take the escalator to go upstairs, I had some trouble finding it. In my opinion, the two escalator should be parallel. After I got to the second floor, the simultaneous perception factor was restarted. In comparison to the dining area at East Houston Street, this one is smaller in size, but more reasonable in its layout. There are areas for to-go customers who just need to finish their food and get lost, and there are also areas for proper dining featuring long tables.

The Hiss and Underhill reading truly helped me with my perception in a space. I wish to explore more open areas such as Times Square or some boutiques such as Barneys or Bergdorf Goodman. 

Art In Transit Video

http://vimeo.com/86262837

Integrative Studio 2 Blog Assignment: Grand Central Scavenger Hunt

This Monday, Professor Jensen took the class to Grand Central for a scavenger hunt. The experience was quite interesting. In class that day, we were given insightful talks on Guastiavino designed vaulted ceilings. Here is the one that I found in Grand Central: 

After we got inside of the MetLife building, we saw a beautiful compass rose:

Grand Central is a train station, so there are many clocks inside,such as (one on each side, four sides total, two different sets of clocks):

I found this escalator that is now no longer used: 

Some of the artworks were also interesting, such as the carved dragon and bi-plane:

Unfortunately, my sign was not on the ceiling.

The best selfie spot would be a cake shop:

The best dressed passerby was wearing a classic suit 3 piece with a long coat. Sadly, I did not get a chance to take a photo of him.

Here's some marks of wear and tear:

Something I would change is that, there should be less shops.

The statue:

The transit museum: 

People were talking French and Spainish during our snippets collection.

A guy looked totally lost. I watched him walking like particles doing random movement.

I said "Hey, how are you?" to my friend at the whisper chamber and he did not hear me. 

The foods were really great, the way their store was set up looked interesting.

Cupcake from Magnolia Bakery:

Int Seminar 2: In Class Writing 1.1 Blog Post---Redesign Project (Revised)

The mainstream cigarette cases today are flip-top hard cases and soft cases. However, each of them have their own flaws.

Flip-top cases are one of the most universal cigarette cases for filtered cigarettes. 

Affordances: Like it was named, the case is supposed to be opened with a flip. 

Constrints: However, the case does not allow smokers to open the case without touching the cover of it. 

Mappings: Flip-top hard cases gives a linear relationship between smokers and the case: flip the cover, get the cigarette. 

Feedback: The intender action can be rather easily executed.

Soft cases, on the other hand, is soft but carries most premium or unfiltered cigarettes.

Affordances: Soft cases can be opened by tearing the paper on top of the case. 

Constrints: To get the cigarettes, however, could be rather hard: either turn the case upside down then knock on its bottom to get the cigarette or tap on the side of its top. 

Mappings: It does not allow smokers to get the cigarettes with ease. Most soft cases are small, so they save some spaces for the smoker. 

Feedback: But, soft cases are more fragile than the hard cases. Therefore, the cigarettes can be damaged more easily.

After listing all the advantages and disadvantages, my group members and I introduced a sliding hard case whereas the case functions through a sliding device. 

Affordances: The device consists of a thumb zone and an auto flip-n-push mechanic. As the smokers put their thumb in the thumb zone, they can slide their thumb upwards, then the cover will be opened by itself. 

Mappings: What’s more, the flip-n-push mechanic allows cigarettes to be pushed up to a comfortable place where the smokers can get them easily. While sliding, smokers can hear the soft “click” that the case makes. 

Feedback: The packaging of the case is based on the shape of our hand, where five fingers can be putted in designated places. Our cigarette case have two sizes: filtered cigarette size and unfiltered cigarette size, where smokers can store their cigarette after buying or rolling them. The material for the package would be steel. Therefore, the case is relatively expensive. However, with proper promotion and collaboration with brands (fashion, hotel, customization etc.), the case can be sold quite well.

The case was inspired by a Lamborghini cigar lighter that has stunning design---smoker flip the cover of the lighter upwards, then push the button in the middle of the lighter to light up their cigarette. As I mentioned before, there will be a "click" when opening the case. This was also inspired by the iconic Zippo lighter, where their "click" is unmistakable. 

The cigarette packaging redesign also raise some questions like:

1. How important is product packaging?
2. Why do certain cigarettes sell better than others?
3. How does a good-looking and functional lighter help to improve the smoking experience? What about cigarette packaging?