Fragments of Ricocheting Thoughts

Heads up, the following is a technical reflection blog post. I do a lot of web development after all.

Launched the SVA MFA Interaction Design Thesis Festival website on Tuesday. Another foray into responsive design, using Andy Clark’s 320andUp framework. From receiving the basic identity and content structure to launch, the site took about five days.

The website is relatively straight forward, just a list of thesis profiles, plus a couple ancillary page. Since the site was so simple, I took the opportunity to try out some new approaches. Firstly, I went straight for a responsive design, and secondly, I decided to completely skip designing in photoshop, and went directly to design in browser.

I must admit I flailed around a bit before landing on a workable iterative process. As usual, I began with thinking through content hierarchy, and main flows of experience through the site.

The two main scenarios in my head were focused on visitor browsing through the thesis projects, and festival attendees looking for event information. According to these scenarios I built out a basic content hierarchy.

The next task was to write the HTML. True to what I try to teach others, I began strictly with HTML content first, making sure that each page template will read write without styling or layout. This was particularly important since I was taking a mobile-first approach. Forcing myself to put together the content hierarchy first ensured the site communicates clearly.

Basic typography came next, and this is where I began to run into trouble. I had no strict forward process for this, except to address each device size, from small to large, and circle back as inspiration leads to changes and iteration. From typography I expanded outwards, polishing the layouts and making small aesthetic and usability adjustments. Throughout this process there was a rapid back and forth between CSS changes and browser refreshes. The responsive.html file Andy included in 320andup was very valuable here. (As was a second monitor.)

Designing in the browser was great for evolutionary, iterative improvements. For a project this small, with such a short turn around time, this approach worked well. I stuck to a tried-and-true two-column layout above 768px, and simply polished it as best I could while keeping with responsive design principles. I imagine in a bigger, more extensive project, I would want to experiment with more radical variations. I am not sure those variations would be as quick to do in the browser as it would be through a graphic program.  

There is one big flaw in this process. All the testing I did were hallway tests, mostly with other interaction designers. I guess I will walk around the thesis festival and see how (and if) people visit the site on the mobile phone as I imagined. The other big down fall for the site is the lack of a responsive image strategy, since the imagery is such a big part of the site. I need to read up on what is the latest in responsive image delivery soon - anyone have good suggestions?

The thesis festival is tomorrow, May 12th. My seniors have done some really awesome projects. Will you come and hear from them? Check out their projects here: http://interactiondesign.sva.edu/festival/2012.

Part of the MFA Interaction Design Weekly Thesis Blog series - 8 of 64

This past weekend marks the fourth Financial Literacy for Youth conference, and the first one I did not attend. Flipping through the photos on Facebook was a bittersweet experience. I miss the young ones I mentored, and I am immensely proud of what they’ve achieved.

Almost four years ago, two friends of mine approached me with the idea to start a financial literacy organization. Over the next three years we built an organization and a culture around the idea of promoting financial literacy among teens. We ran three conferences, in which I did everything from writing curriculum, mentoring teens, to folding pamphlets and cleaning floors. Not a single moment of that would I consider lost or wasted.

It goes to show that, sometimes, you don’t find meaning, meaning finds you. To be completely honest, before the start of FLY, I had never thought about financial literacy at all. Now it is one of those issues I care deeply about. It also goes to show that the narrative of life only makes sense in hindsight. That afternoon I had no idea how much this endeavor would mean to me today, nor all the people it would bring into my life.

I am carrying this feeling with me as I approach my thesis project. Thesis right now still feels vague and far away. From watching my seniors in the program struggle through the final weeks of thesis, I can see how much this project now means to them. The look in their eyes a mix of exhaustion and determination. If the project didn’t mean much to them last year, it certainly does now.

What’s the lesson? Stop trying to find meaning. Invest in an idea, invest in the people around it, and it will become meaningful.

Related: David Brook on finding yourself and finding meaning, “It’s not about you” (via Erin Tao)

I struggle with balance a lot. I have a habit of going to extremes, particularly when it comes to achievement. I am a serious workaholic. My nickname among several social circles is either “machine”, or “robot”. It is not a mark I wear with pride.

What does it mean to be balanced anyways? Some of my friends advise me to do “normal people things” like watch more TV, or go out more, or just don’t work so hard. That kind of advice wears on me a bit. I don’t want to watch five hours of TV a day, go out and drink two nights a week, and have two and a half children. Balanced, in my mind, ought not to mean average.

So maybe I don’t need balance after all? That’s clearly not true. I’ve lost ten pounds since I moved to New York. I am constantly working late into the night.  I am doing the best work of my life, and opening new doors every day. I am meeting lots of people all the time. I am certainly living a life of extremes, and while I don’t feel the wear and tear much now, I suspect it is take a toll.

What should balance look like for me? I am not sure, but I do have a hypothesis, which I will test this summer. Balance for me might mean living at the fastest sustainable pace. I was recently talking with a friend and mentor, and she mentioned how I am firing on all cylinders, all the time. That can be great for a while, but it shouldn’t be a continuous thing. I ought to find a way to pace myself.

This requires a mindset switch. Instead of asking how I might be the most productive person I can be now, I ought to ask how I might be the best person I can be over time. Instead of investing in work that has clear immediate benefits, I ought to invest in more speculative, playful activities. Perhaps this means I should spend some time studying great movies, instead of keeping up with Hacker News. Perhaps this means going to events and meetups that are not strictly design or technology related. Perhaps this means means doing what I feel like doing, instead of what I think I ought to be doing.

What does balance mean to you? How do you keep it?

It’s been said that life’s trajectories only become clear in hindsight, and that’s certainly how I’ve felt about this year. My teenage years of painting lessons, my college major studying computer science and psychology, and my odd kinship with commerce students all strangely map to aspects of what I am studying in graduate school in interaction design. It’s only now, however, that I begin to see the linkages between all these fascinations, and how it’s prepared me for all that I learned here in New York.

Reflecting on Learnings

So, eight months of graduate school, what did I learn this year? Zooming out and looking at the whole year, the first lesson is about the landscape of the interaction design field, and its adjacent disciplines.  I stumbled into web design and development by accident, driven by a desire to make things and fortunate predispositions to graphics and computer science. Coming to the program was like getting a map to this territory I’ve been hurtling through for the first time.

Technology is Still My Home Base

On the technical side, I was introduced to the vast world of creative coding by Amit, who taught me to see code-as-art, in addition to my past conceptions of code-as-engineering and code-as-mathematics. I was also introduced to the world of creative electronics by Rob and Jeff. Did it ever cross my mind that I might build a popcorn machine that responds to Foursquare checkin’s? Never. It became fairly evident that my affinity with the technical is a gift. It also revealed itself to be a trap, since it was so easy to simply keep doing what you’re good at.

Design is More Vast Than I Ever Imagined

In terms of design, I learned that I had no idea what the word “design” even meant prior to coming here. I only had the vaguest intuition what design might be about. It was incredibly enlightening to have the philosophy and the process of design laid out and made legible. (Thanks Liz!) From the nitty gritty of typography, hierarchy and sequence (Jason), to the explicitly iterative process of learning and refinement (Paul, Josh), to the methodologies of design research (Nate, Carla), to the art of storytelling and narrative (Clay, Jill), this year has been a crash course in what the act of design encompasses.

Yet Design Itself is in a Larger Context

Of course, there’s the systems and strategic side of the program. Paul Pangaro’s class, John Zapolski’s class and Gary and Christina’s class were some of my favourites this year. Coincidentally they were also the classes over which I agonized the most. These three classes really helped set the context in which we as designers and makers operate. They taught me to ask the questions, “What is the role of design in the world?” “What is my role in the world?” “How will I make an impact?” The conceptual framework I walk away with from these classes has uttered changed how I see my work, how I communicate, and how I look at the world.

Meta-Lessons Emerges

The second big lesson is on the depth of the learning still to come. Even as I push to learn more, I have given up all hope of mastering any one of the disciplines I studied here. Whether it is electronics, typography, or strategic innovation, all I’ve learned this year points to the vast wealth of knowledge I simply will not get to master. The most you know, the more you know that you don’t know.

The follow on lesson from that is the importance of collaboration. I had the privilege of working in some incredible collaborations this year, and it is obvious that the work was only possible through a compliment of strengths. It is increasingly obvious that in order to do any good, significant work, I must learn to collaborate with people in a wide range of disciplines.

The final big lesson was the value of time and space. This idea began in conversation with Tom, when we reflected on how much we got done during the 24 hours of the GOOD hackathon because we dedicated the time and space to it. This year at SVA as a whole is similar. It is incredible how much I’ve learned and how my thinking has progressed because I have devoted the time and space to it.

All in all, this has been an incredible year. I am simply grateful.

First year of graduate school ended Monday, and so my summer begins. In the spirit of working in public, I want to share with you my plans for the summer. Last week, I’ve proposed two ideas for my thesis project next year, both of which revolve around the idea of a networked and social approach towards information distribution problems. This summer I plan to interview lots of people, conduct experiments to validate hunches, and build networks around these ideas.

The first idea is around education and career planning. My hypothesis is that young adults crave a more authentic picture of careers and work to help them choose how they educate and equip themselves. What might career counseling in the 21st century look like, if we leveraged the networked technologies of our world today? In my initial, blurry vision, we might bring together people telling stories of their messy career paths, giving their audience a sense of where they came from, and how they go there.

My second idea is around legislation and democracy. My hypothesis is that the average citizen is too far removed from the legislation being passed in their name to effectively stand up for their rights and interests. How might we use networked technology to bring a larger subset to the public to the legislative process? I am inspired by the open source software movement, and social news sites like Reddit. I wonder if we can make the “source” of the bills more accessible to the public, and build social hooks around the bills to making sharing and commenting on bills more commonplace.

Still with me? Would spare a couple minutes and help me out?  After reading about these two ideas:

• Who is the first person that comes to mind that I should talk to?
• What is the first book that comes to mind that I ought to read?
• What is a project I simply must see?

So far, my research/talk-to list for the education idea:

• Carol Dweck, Stanford Researcher and author of Mindset
• Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why
• The Story Pirates
• The Story Collider
• Jonathan Harris and the Cowbird project
• Dan Savage and “It Gets Better”
• Brooklyn Free School
• Thiel Fellowship

And my research/talk-to list for the legislation idea:

• Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law professor and founder of Creative Commons
• Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody
• Anil Dash, Co-founder of Think-up and Activate
• Alexis Ohanian, Co-founder of Reddit
• THOMAS, the Library of Congress online legislative information website
• Votizen
• The Brooklyn Law School
• Columbia Graduate School of Journalism

Who else should I know about? Suggestions or comments on the thesis ideas? I’d love to here it!