Description Feedback
I found the description difficult at first because I wanted to write something that would be easily comprehendible, but with something like Processing, I think there is a tendency to visualize things in an personal way which is hard to get across to an audience. When I was first understanding arrays, I used a lot of parallels to everyday life in order to suss out its functions - things like visualizing paints on a palette, lockers, drawers and so on. I only included one of these examples in my final description though because when I asked a few friends who were unfamiliar with the programme, the more examples I used, the more confused they were. In general, they found the paints on a palette the best example for this piece because its relevant to both the array and the wire structure(representing the sketch) components to my model where the array is the palette and the wire is the canvas.
Initially, I tried to keep the description short so there was enough space for some pseudo code, however my shorter description apparently was too brief and lacked details which were key in explaining the model. Therefore I used up all the words in the description and cut out the pseudo code aspect. Out of the 6 people I asked, 5 of them felt that the words were more explanatory than the pseudo code, which tended to show how the array is arranged well but not so much how interaction with the array leads to design.
Model Feedback
Because this was a physical model, it was important to get feedback before it was finished so that I could change the final details if needed. Although I got feedback at the start of the project, this was mainly on the idea rather than the model itself, and now I can see that the user has to anticipate the interaction and what they need to do, so I need to make sure its clear how it works.
1. My first concern was how the compartments were going to work given that only one chain can be placed in each compartment. This was because when I asked people what they thought they needed to do, a couple of them asked if one or more of the chains could be placed in one of the sections.
When I designed this piece, I considered each different coloured bead chain to represent different types of data, so only one chain can be attached to each index number. I therefore used made it to a scale that would only fit one chain in each, with a rod of pine clearly separating between index number sections.
2. I wanted to include a list of index numbers which showed the order that the chains should be placed along the wire structure. This idea was brought up through feedback in my interim presentation. When I tested the model for feedback, one of the things I asked was where this list should be placed in order to make its intention obvious. The two ideas I had were to write them onto the columns of the wire structure or put them on a card in front of the wire. Although I was intending to paint the numbers onto one of the columns, people tended to...
-think this was decoration
-get confused as to why there were numbers on one column and not the other
-associate the numbers on the column with the plaster slab on the array, thinking that the piece was showing a progression in structure rather than a progression of data.
Therefore I think the best way to incorporate this idea is to write the numbers on a card in front of the wire structure, with a title (e.g. beads[];) if possible.
I found the description difficult at first because I wanted to write something that would be easily comprehendible, but with something like Processing, I think there is a tendency to visualize things in an personal way which is hard to get across to an audience. When I was first understanding arrays, I used a lot of parallels to everyday life in order to suss out its functions - things like visualizing paints on a palette, lockers, drawers and so on. I only included one of these examples in my final description though because when I asked a few friends who were unfamiliar with the programme, the more examples I used, the more confused they were. In general, they found the paints on a palette the best example for this piece because its relevant to both the array and the wire structure(representing the sketch) components to my model where the array is the palette and the wire is the canvas.
Initially, I tried to keep the description short so there was enough space for some pseudo code, however my shorter description apparently was too brief and lacked details which were key in explaining the model. Therefore I used up all the words in the description and cut out the pseudo code aspect. Out of the 6 people I asked, 5 of them felt that the words were more explanatory than the pseudo code, which tended to show how the array is arranged well but not so much how interaction with the array leads to design.
Model Feedback
Because this was a physical model, it was important to get feedback before it was finished so that I could change the final details if needed. Although I got feedback at the start of the project, this was mainly on the idea rather than the model itself, and now I can see that the user has to anticipate the interaction and what they need to do, so I need to make sure its clear how it works.
1. My first concern was how the compartments were going to work given that only one chain can be placed in each compartment. This was because when I asked people what they thought they needed to do, a couple of them asked if one or more of the chains could be placed in one of the sections.
When I designed this piece, I considered each different coloured bead chain to represent different types of data, so only one chain can be attached to each index number. I therefore used made it to a scale that would only fit one chain in each, with a rod of pine clearly separating between index number sections.
2. I wanted to include a list of index numbers which showed the order that the chains should be placed along the wire structure. This idea was brought up through feedback in my interim presentation. When I tested the model for feedback, one of the things I asked was where this list should be placed in order to make its intention obvious. The two ideas I had were to write them onto the columns of the wire structure or put them on a card in front of the wire. Although I was intending to paint the numbers onto one of the columns, people tended to...
-think this was decoration
-get confused as to why there were numbers on one column and not the other
-associate the numbers on the column with the plaster slab on the array, thinking that the piece was showing a progression in structure rather than a progression of data.
Therefore I think the best way to incorporate this idea is to write the numbers on a card in front of the wire structure, with a title (e.g. beads[];) if possible.
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