Sunday, February 9, 2014

4 - Bryan Mayer

People have a hard time conceiving ideas on their own.  Unless that person is Alexander Graham Bell or the Wright brothers, they most likely will not come up with the next best thing.  Before the car, the mode of transportation was a regular horse.  Horses were a great way of travel prior to the development of the automobile.  People could only conceive of the idea of a faster horse; they couldn’t envision the idea of an engine with four wheels, gas and brake pedal, and a steering column.  Post-Industrial Revolution early versions of the automobile are traced back to a man in Germany, Karl Benz in 1885-1886.*  He envisioned a new idea other than building off the current models.

This short is just an example of how people view objects as themselves and how the object can be improved.  Sometimes the object may need to be trashed and start with something new.  Although the common radio is not as commonly used prior to the television, it is still used but in scarcities.  A new technology (TV) was created because the radio was being outdated and technology was improving.  New concepts and ideas call for advances in the industry.  Ideas can be looked at for a consumer position or the market view; what is better for the customer/market price?

For Project 2, I redesigned the bike main screen more in tuned for the user.  I wanted them to be able to get started quickly into their workout.  Most people struggle to find time in their busy schedules to make it to the gym in the first place.  I used the user-centered approach while testing and redesigning the model.  If I watched someone during their workout without giving instructions, I could have seen a more situation-centric approach.  My design would have been accustomed to that user over someone I was coaching, which would call for a completely different machine design.  If the person chose to make their own workout with the advanced options and hill climbing, I could have added different hill styles (elongated, short intervals, short and steep slopes, etc.).

*Automobile reference:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html

1 comment:

  1. Hey Bryan,

    While you were getting at an argument the author made in your first paragraph, your post got muddled after that. Your second paragraph doesn't really address any of the questions asked for this entry. Your post comes across like you haven't looked at Chapter 3, since you never addressed the key questions which have to do directly with the reading. I would suggest that you re-examine the chapter and then reply here with your new thoughts.

    ReplyDelete