The Constraints of Mobile Browsing

CLICK HERE
artefact supports Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox and Netscape
to see my critique of mobile browsing and the constraints that it faces.

I produced my artefact on a PDA as this leant itself well to an ease of navigation as the user interacts with the device using an ‘anoto pen’ that works on a touch screen basis. The artefact starts with a movie clip of a user selecting the Internet on the small screen device. As soon as the Internet starts a costing bar is inserted at the top of the screen which goes up by ten pence every 5 seconds. This was to demonstrate how expensive mobile browsing can be and how this is what puts a lot of people off using it. The device then automatically loads a page called ‘text you can’t see’. This is based on a page I found from re-vision.com/hell called ‘big ugly banner’ which was designed to show the mistakes that web designers can make, however I adjusted this page to show how difficult it can be to view a page and all of the text on it from such a small screen. It included discrete banners that read ‘put your glasses’ on and ‘this is flat-out stupid’. The page purposely had very small text and lots of scroll bars to resemble how the user has to scroll on a small screen device if they want to see all of the information.

I produced a URL bar that was designed to show how difficult and time consuming it is just to enter a web address. I configured the URL bar so that it went to ebay.com by default. Once the address had been entered I created a loading bar that demonstrated how slow small devices can be to load simple pages. I inserted comments such as ‘bored yet?’ and ‘annoying eh’ to further demonstrate this point. Once the loading has completed the ‘overly simplified’ Ebay page is presented to the user. I came up with this idea to show how pages have to become extremely simplified in order for them to be viewed properly. I created this page so that it gave the user a very limited number of options. As soon as the user tried to interact with the page they are presented with a message that reads ‘this program has performed an illegal operation and will shut down’. This is to demonstrate how there are still many problems with these small devices and mobile browsing can often be interrupted. Once the device turns on and the Internet is once again selected the user is presented with a lastminute.com website which shows a selection of one hotel and then in the same format the remaining options read ‘there are loads and loads more hotels available, but they won’t fit. Sorry’ and ‘there is a free holiday available but you can’t see it because it is off the screen’. I wanted this to further emphasise how information has to be simplified in order for it to be viewed on the small screen and the user is often missing out on extra information etc.

From my research I considered how it might be commercial companies that are trying to stop progression towards mobile browsing, as there is little or no space for advertising. In order to resemble this I used a series of corrupt style images that flashed quickly on the device so to appear as if it was broken. This series then stops to read ‘you cannot use the Internet on your PDA as us companies are going to stop you as there is no room for advertising’ ‘got the message’. The screen then turns off once more and then when switched on again the ‘anoto pen’ selects the Internet. The user is then presented with a yahoo.com web page however they are quickly interrupted by a SMS message that reads ‘Jst thought I would txt you 2 interrupt ur browsing of the Internet. I thought that it would b real annoying. Is it? See u L8r M8’. This was created to demonstrate how easily mobile browsing can become interrupted as the devices does many more functions. The device reverts back to the yahoo.com page and now the user is given the chance to read the text on screen which is designed to show how long it can take to view a relatively small page by stating ‘if you want to see the whole page you will have to scroll up, down, left, right and diagonal and it will take you 1 hour just to view this page’.

I then wanted to show how difficult it can be to read text on screen due to glare, contrast, etc. I showed text on a background that competed with the colour of the text itself to demonstrate this point. I also created a page to follow this one to show how text is made up of pixels and how it is easier to read the more pixels that there are on screen as it becomes more defined. This is something that is somewhat of a challenge on a small screen as they have relatively low levels of dpi (dots per inch). I then wanted to show how it can be annoying for graphic designers to have there work viewed on a small screen as it cannot be fully appreciated so therefore I created a page with some graphic artwork on it along with some text from a graphic designer stating how the user cannot fully appreciate there work.

Finally I created a battery low warning. This was supposed to interrupt the user once they had got into the flow of using the Internet on this small screen. The device then runs out of battery to end the users browsing and complete the digital artefact.

Revised Idea - BFI London Film Festival

I have chosen to revise my idea that I had previously for the Cannes Film Festival and i have now changed it to the London Film Festival because after some research i discovered that it would be unlikely that the film corporations would allow the public to view the films before release, due to the fact that the Cannes Film Festival is designed for selling films.

Within the London Film Festival there are often many premiers of up and coming films, these may include independent dramatic films, documentary films, non-competitive showcase art films and Holly/Bollywood enforced films that will be shown worldwide. In order for the public to gain more interaction with this private event I have devised a way in which they can view the films immediately after the initial premiers.

The concept is as follows: there will be a large building containing many screens. This building will only hold screens, no kiosk, no pay desks, no nothing (maybe some toilets). The user will approach the doorway to any of these screens and will automatically be Bluetoothed a preview of the film being shown. The reason for this is because none of the general public will have seen any previews for the films as they will be in their infancy and will have only just presented their premiere. The user will then walk to any or all of the other screen entrances and, again, they will be sent a Bluetooth message containing a preview, this is so the user can choose which film to see.

Once the member has chosen which film they wish to view they will take a picture of a Semacode (a type of barcode that can be read using a photo from a camera phone) situated outside the entrance to the screen showing the required film. This Semacode will then be used to automatically deduct the cost of viewing the film from the users phone credit/balance. In response the user will receive an SMS message containing a code to enter at the entrance to the film.

Upon departure of the film the user may then deposit an SMS or Bluetooth message within a review pool located at a specified review hotspot. This review and many others written by the viewers can then be read by any potential future viewers. New customers would stand within range of the review pool and browse the comments left using their mobile web browsers. This will then aid their decision as to what film to watch along with the received previews. The reviews left by previous customers may also be automatically uploaded to an Internet site where people from all over the world will be able to see the comments.

I have also considered some other potential areas that could be incorporated into my idea. I realised the potential of targeting customers with similar interests as they leave the cinema at the end of the film using Bluetooth advertising. The cinema could send messages recommending other films that the viewers may consider watching. This would be successful as you will be able to stream influential messages to a group that have something in common (even if it is just the enjoyment of film). Therefore this is allowing the cinema to conduct specific advertising to a specific audience therefore possibly resulting in a higher success rate of the advertisements.


Do i know who my audience is?
The audience that I will be targeting will be those that enjoy cinema and film. This I realise, is a large audience, however as it is only limited to the event of the London Film Festival then it will be specifically targeted at those participating, visiting or surrounding the immediate event.

How do they consume media?
The audience will be consuming through cinema, but not only cinema, as in order to interact with the event they will be using their phones/PDAs as a platform to communicate and gain a richer experience from the event.

What do they enjoy doing?
Those participating within this area of the event are going to have an obvious interest in film and cinema. I should also consider that these people are going to be people that are interested in seeing films before anyone else and so therefore they are going to be the first group to advertise the film to. By targeting this enjoyment I can reach other potential customers through recommendation, either through word of mouth, PR or even the comments pools containing customer feedback.


Incorporated Technology

Bluetooth is an open specification for seamless short-range wireless data and voice communications between mobile and stationary devices. For instance, it specifies how mobile phones, computers and PDAs interconnect with each other, with computers, and with office or home phones. The first generation of Bluetooth permits the exchange of data up to a rate of 1mbps, even in areas with a great deal of electromagnetic disturbance. Bluetooth transmits and receives via a short-range radio link using a globally available frequency band (4.4Ghz ISM band).

I also considered using infrared technology to communicate with the user, however, this requires a direct line of site (up to 20 feet) between the two devices (comments pool and phone) and so therefore this would not be suitable if lots of people wanted to use the same technology at once.

WAP: Wireless Application Protocol is a secure specification that allows users to access information via hand-held wireless devices.

Roaming is the means by which a mobile phone links up to a different base station as they come within range.

SMS (Short Message Service) is a service available on most digital mobile phones (and other mobile devices, e.g. a Pocket PC, or occasionally even desktop computers) that permits the sending of short messages (also known as text messages) between mobile phones and other devices.

Semacode is the name for machine-readable ISO/IEC 16022 Data Matrix symbols which encode Internet URL’s. It is primarily aimed at being used with mobile phones which have built-in cameras. Using Semacode software, a URL can be converted into a type of barcode resembling a crossword puzzle, which is called a "tag". Tags can be quickly captured with a mobile phone's camera and decoded to obtain a Web site address.

The Creation of a Multimedia Guide to Marwell Zoo, Winchester, UK

Christian Langer, Lapavalley GmbH

“Multimedia guides for museums, exhibitions and similar venues were already a subject of discussion in 2002. So when we founded our company, we realised that we needed to set ourselves apart from potential competitors and find our own market niche. We developed the idea of producing mobile multimedia guides for zoos, animal perks and aquariums. To be as convincing in our acquisition of clients, we designed a realistic demonstration guide.

To make a name for ourselves, we sent a brochure describing the exact functions of our guide to almost all the zoos In the UK. We were fortunate to receive a positive response fairly quickly; Marwell Zoological Park in Winchester was interested.

In an Initial meeting we presented our demonstration guide to the zoo's Director, Deputy Director, Marketing and Promotion Officer and Head of Education, The reactions were very positive, but we were not able to remove all doubts about this new technology. Marwell was very interested, but the zoo was not keen to be the first zoo in the UK to bear thee full risk of funding such a project. However, we wanted to preserve our chance to implement the pilot project as far as possible.

After brief negotiations, the two parties came to the following agreement: Marwell was willing to fund the hardware, and we were willing to develop the software, free of charge, as our share of the risk, The potential revenue from hiring the device to visitors was then to be shared.

Marwell was very cooperative in the organisation of the content and the interface design. Of course the guide needed to fit in with the existing corporate design, but otherwise we largely had a free hand and were able to experiment with the system in the location until we, along with the voluntary testers and the responsible parties, were finally satisfied.

The picture material that Marwell sent to us in the form of a VHS video and some photo CDs proved to be almost redundant. There was obviously some confusion about the entertaining and instructive potential of our multimedia guides - alter all, a visitor does not want to see a video clip of a sleeping panther if he is standing in front of the enclosure in which the same panther is sleeping.

So we decided to produce the picture content ourselves. We went inside a number of animal enclosures, hid the feed of big cats inside jute sacks, stroked rhinos, tapirs, bird-eating spiders and more, and we recorded everything on video or by taking photographs, We also interviewed some keepers, and we accompanied the vet on his rounds. After a week we had collected enough material to fill the guide with exciting and informative content.

Initially we had problems with the hardware. The PDAs had to be enclosed in a waterproof covering so that they could survive both wet weather and accidental submersion in the penguin pool! However, the plastic waterproof bags with transparent windows, which were specially made for the device, had a detrimental effect on the contrast of the displays, and this effect was exacerbated in bright sunlight, After two weeks of conducting usability tests carried out with volunteers from all age groups, it was clear that the contrast of all graphics had to be enhanced in order to ensure their legibility.

In August 2003 we launched our first multimedia guide, almost 10 months after our first contract with Marwell. Now the devices have been in operation for more than two years, and all parties are more than satisfied with the results. The number of units hired out per quarter shows very clearly that our work was worthwhile and visitors to Marwell have enthusiastically received the guide.”

I think that this article helps to give a true insight into implementing a digital device for a particular purpose. It shows that when creating the device you need to work closely with the client to make sure that you are both working towards the same thing. Marwell zoo stated what their needs were and then the creators were then allowed to do what they wanted with these requirements as they had the knowledge as to how was going to be best to implement it.

The article also showed me that there can be many unforeseen problems that can hinder the project. The article states that the designers used usability testing and this helped to show the real problems with the device before it was launched. The results of the project show that the constant development and revisions can mean for a hugely successful result.

I will be considering these areas when designing my device, as I will need to conduct lots of research into how my device is going to be technologically feasible. I will need to realise the problems that it may encounter and work our ways in which i can prevent or overcome them.

Text on Screen

Text is a visual interface for language. In contrast to speech, which is linear and will usually need to be heard in full before the listener can understand the meaning, written text offers a variety of possibilities for access and use. Written text can be read thoroughly, skim through or it can be ‘scanned’ for key words or phrases. Although small-screen devices are already multimedia machines, the incorporation of text on the display will play a decisive roll as an information medium. This is probably because the transmission of information by the written word, particularly in a public setting, can be done far more discreetly than by the spoken word. (fig.1) In order for text to be clearly shown it needs to be presented on a contrasting colour to the text itself. (fig.2) The smaller the text is the darker the background needs to be in order for it to be seen clearly. (fig.3) An intricate background always makes legibility difficult. Therefore it should especially be avoided on small screen devices. (fig.4) Increasing letter spacing improves the legibility of the text on screen. (fig.5) When showing text on a background it is often best to show it in the most contrasting colour to the background, this will often be the directly opposite colour on the colour wheel.

The iPod and the Culture of Mobile Listening

I wanted to investigate how iPod users re-inscribe their experiences of commuting through the use of music. I recently saw a television documentary that discussed briefly how the Japanese were the first consumers to use the iPod to give them an unprecedented power of control over their experience of time and space. The users were living in an environment that is busy and overcrowded through the levels of commuters travelling to work every day. The users would manage their moods and orientation within this crowded environment through the ‘micro-management of personalised music’.

I am going to be using an article written by Michael Bull from the Department of Media Studies, University of Sussex, UK called ‘No Dead Air! The iPod and the Culture of Mobile Listening’ to help me argue my points.

Within our cities people commute everyday often by means of public transport to and from their places of work. These people have a need for ‘social proximity and contact in daily life’ (Katz & Aakhus, 2002) With the introduction of the MP3 player the user has complete access to their entire music collection whilst on the move, therefore allowing them to be ‘warmly wrapped up in their own personal space’ (Bull, 2005, p343) and morphing their surrounding space into a visual mindset that can reflect their own mood. Older devices meant that consumers were limited to only a few tracks to choose from therefore meaning that they would have to listen to the same track often, this would then mean the user would be forcing the environment that they were attempting to inhabit to mimic their own mindset. With the creation of the iPod the user is able to choose from thousands of tracks ultimately allowing them to manage their thoughts feelings and observations through any track they like.

Michael Bull states that consumers use the iPod to ‘fill in the gaps’ in-between communication or meetings. I would agree with this statement to the point in which I consider how Apple have also introduced a complete range of products to compliment the iPod. The iPod has become a part of the home, the car and many other environments because of these products that allow your iPod to communicate with your Hi-Fi, car, computer etc and so therefore giving the user the ‘unprecedented ability to weave the disparate threads of the day into one uniform soundtrack’ (Bull, 2005).

It is possible to alike this idea to Raymond Williams’ arguments that people are privatising themselves and the media that they consume to ‘the living room - and increasingly the bedroom’. People are shutting out what is not important in their lives and the ‘desire for company or ‘occupancy’ whilst moving through the city is thus contextualised through the daily or habitual use of a variety of media’ (Bull, 2005, p.345). The freedom of mobile sound media enables the user to maintain a sense of ‘intimacy’ whilst moving through the city. Adorno in his book ‘Introduction to the Sociology of Music’ states that ‘music creates a form of sociability in a world that is increasingly bereft of it. As such, music performs as an ideological function of integrating the user into the world’. I personally believe that this refers to the fact that people hate unusable time. Consumers need something to capture their imagination in order for it to be important in their lives. Day-to-day commuting does not accommodate this capturing of imagination so therefore people will seek to cover up these irrelevant areas by converting them into the soundtrack of the street. Consumers can use their portable music change the environment and create their own individual movie, unrealised by public around them. For example a user can walk down the same street and it will look busy and colourful one moment and then – when a different song starts – it can change to a mysterious and unnerving place.

The creation of a personalised soundworld through iPod use creates a form of accompanied solitude for its users in which they feel empowered, in control and self-sufficient as they travel through the spaces of the city. iPod's tend to be non-interactive in the sense that users construct fantasies and maintain a feeling of security precisely by not interacting with others or the environment.

Mobile Keyboards

Trying to incorporate a 'QWERTY' keyboard into a small screen device is the second problematic factor alongside the small screen limitations. Folding keyboards are available for PDA's and some smart phones however this still constrains the user to a static seated position and so therefore these devices have not been very successful, as the consumer will often decide that they may as well use a laptop.

There are several variations of virtual keyboard. One device in particular is available in the form of gloves that interpret the movement of the fingers. Again this invention has not been very successful, as often the device will misinterpret the words being written and therefore resulting in slow productivity levels.

Alternatively, a virtual keyboard can be projected onto an external surface. This device also requires a greater degree of user attention and as a result is unsuitable for peripheral use. All of the above devices are ultimately limited due to the space required for the keyboard, the need for the user to be in a static position and the small screens. Therefore in my opinion i believe that companies should stop trying to invent these 'virtual keyboard' devices and consider a blue sky approach incorporating technologies from other areas such as gaming etc as it appear these limitations are not going to be overcome by concentrating on the areas currently struggling to be developed.

Talk by David Garcia

During the first week of November i attended a talk by Professor David Garcia on Digital Cultures and their impacts on Knowledge, Networks and Freedom at the University of Portsmouth.

During this talk David discussed areas that very much interested me and i considered how they could be implemented in the Designing for Digital Devices.

He talked about how in Italy it is well known and understood that after a certain time in the evening, when all television broadcasting has finished, a group of people will often hijack the TV broadcasting to broadcast their own messages. They are not necessarily breaking the law but the area that interested me the most was that these people were using the 'downtime' of this platform to capture an audience. They were manipulating technology to their advantage and using it in such a way that had never really been considered.

I was able to apply these ideas when considering designing for digital devices as i started to think about using the technology that is already available to us and using it in such a way that hadn't been considered and in a way that it hadn't been designed for. For example i developed the idea of using the camera on our mobile phone to pay for things. The user would point the camera at a barcode say for example a vending machine and then send this picture off and the cost of the item from the machine would be deducted from the users credit. This could also be used by way of SMS (short messaging service), the consumer could fill out the code on the machine and then send this text message off to the vending machine company e.g. Coca Cola and they would receive a reply containing a code that they would enter into the machine in order to receive the product. This idea could be seen to take more time than the standard approach of just entering money however it would save time if the consumer did not have any change on them at the time.
I have seen this idea used before but in a different way. Frank Lantz, with help from Mattia Romeo and Dennis Crowley created a big urban game called Conquest. The game involved a group of people competing with each other to take over certain urban areas. This would be accomplished by taking pictures of semacodes, which are two-dimensional barcodes that can be scanned and decoded with a camera phone. These semacodes would be placed on particular objects within the environment and then the participants would have to take a picture of the code in order to conquer that area. Again this is a very clever way of using current technology but in such a way that it was not intended.

CLICK HERE to visit the Conquest homepage


"We make computers and computers make us'' this is an area in which David Garcia touched on but it did capture my thoughts. When i thought about this statement more it made me consider how this really is true. The world we live in today is in such a contrast to that of 5, 10, 20 years ago and why? well, because our lives are adjusted as these digital platforms become more of a part of our lives. We create these devices to make our day-to-day processes more efficient, and as a result our day-to-day behaviour changes. For example the media no longer controls us as we can consume this content wherever and whenever we like. Yes, i still believe the media can have an influence over the audience and often shape our social and cultural identities through social grouping, but we consume it on-the-go and as a result i feel people discuss their opinions a lot less therefore these devices are contributing to making us who we are as a person.

CLICK HERE for David's Blog

Really Simple Syndication

When considering the use of the Internet on multiple devices i started to think about how it could be simplified to accommodate for all devices. I had never really heard about RSS until recently when i started seeing these little orange boxes with a signal symbol inside on many sites. I therefore conducted research to find out more and discover how it has or could be implemented onto a variety of digital devices.

RSS is an XML-based system that allows a user to subscribe to their favourite websites. A websites content can be converted into a standardized format and then displayed using RSS-aware software and even displayed on another website.

I considered how RSS could now help users by making their processes quicker. The user will no longer need to visit a site as their most commonly used sites can be downloaded like a subscription and the information is at had if and when they need it. The RSS content is in a simplified format and there is no disruption from advertising etc, it is content in its raw state. In my opinion this is a new way to consider browsing and the user is becoming detached from the ‘online’ state and in control of the content that they receive.

Semiotics

In order to navigate the small digital devices it is commonly understood that users will be using symbols. For example to go back a page there will be an arrow pointing left and to look at your address book there will be a symbol of an address book. This idea interested me and I researched into the workings of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) and Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1913) and their study into semiotics.

I was interested in why we simply recognise these navigation symbols and what they will do when we press them. This is not only the case on the digital devices as semiotics are used all around us. An example can be seen with figure 3 in the image below. We use three different techniques in order to recognise symbols and they are as follows. Icon – this resembles physically the object that is being presented such as images 3.1 and 3.2 where a shopping center is represented using an iconic sign. Index – a direct link the sign and the object. Traffic signs are index signs as they have a direct link to the location in which they are placed. An example of this is image 3.3 where the danger of fire is linked to the forest by its physical location. Symbol signs have no logical connection between the sign and what it means. Symbol signs are used on small digital devices as the user is expected to know in advance what they mean. This is also the same with image 3.4 and 3.5. This

These functions can work together for example figure 1 in the image below warns us that we are approaching traffic lights. The mark on the sign, which resembles the lights, is both an icon and a symbol. It looks physically like the thing it is represents therefore it could be said to be iconic. However it is also a symbol. That is to say it is part of a set of signs for which we have international agreement for its meaning.

I believe the reason we use these symbols is because in the case of the small digital devices they have small screens so therefore it may be difficult for people to read lots of text. We use symbols that represent their meaning and this is commonly recognised by all people, speaking all languages and coming from a variety of cultures. I also discovered that symbols are often used on larger digital devices as well. I therefore started to consider the reasoning for this and I believe that it is for the same reasons as the small devices. Companies are distributing all over the world so therefore rather than having to create different platforms for different languages then symbols can be used as they are internationally recognised. An example of international recognition of a symbol is figure 2 in the image below.

Platform Constraints

With so many platforms to display content on designers need to consider how applications need to work on multiple platforms. All users may receive a different experience due to variations in download rates, resolutions and screen sizes. I personally believe that designers need to use these ‘media shortcomings’ that help take advantage of the uniqueness of each device. For example the web is a medium in itself and ‘it is not crippled, nor is it just waiting idly around for the advent of universal broadband so it can magically morph into interactive television’ (Cloninger, 2002, p.3). This statement suggests to me that designers should use the Internet in such a way that compliments a complete array of platforms rather than seeing them as a constraint. There is not going to be an invention of a human like Internet that can automatically detect your resolution, screen size, operating system, download speed, etc in the near future (I am aware this has been created on a basic level), so therefore work with the platforms rather than against them.

Cross Platform

I started to think about how the Internet is becoming a meta-level of information that is almost superimposed on reality. The user can call up any information no matter where they are in the world and this is becoming increasingly more apparent as people are carrying these mobile browsing devices with them wherever they are. This graph indicates this and shows just how quickly these devices have grown to become a natural companion in everyday life. The area that interested me most was how quickly ‘mobile contracts with internet access’ have grown. This therefore shows me that companies will seriously need to start considering how creating websites suitable for these small devices. However, this graph does not actually show how many of the people who have taken up these contracts actually use the Internet.

The Internet on a mobile is only one factor as there are a huge number of technologies that can be used on a mobile phone. I started to consider how people are no longer being broadcasted to as people now how a choice as to what they listen/watch and when they listen/watch it. ‘The new consumer experience is one of content that exists within a context that suits them’. Consumers are choosing which platforms to use and these platforms are not at the end of one channel as they are able to communicate with one another. For example a user may be able to receive video clips on their mobile but then this mobile can send the clips to other mobiles, therefore these platforms are cross communicating.

When considering the data I was also surprised at the numbers of PDA's that have been bought. It appears to me that in the years surrounding 2000 there was a belief that these devices would take off however it the sales levels declined and I believe that people may have realised that mobile phones would soon be able to do all that PDA’s can.

I mentioned earlier that the Internet is becoming so widely accessible and this is not only because of mobile browsing it can be accessed through digital TV. I therefore became interested in the other end of the scale, as instead of designers becoming challenged by the limitation of the small devices there was the ‘widescreen’ with complete freedom for the designer and user. The widescreen TV or Monitor will allow the user more space to view content etc and therefore making processes quicker.

The navigation of the internet through a TV became a problem as a remote control was not complex enough for browsing so therefore keyboard remote controls had be to created. Overall these new platforms further enables people to freely browse the Internet and many other platforms no matter where they are in the world or what room in the house they are in.

Mobile Interaction

When conducting research into current mobile devices i discovered that there is a complete array of different ways to interact with a device. The way that you interact with such a small devices is far more important than in design of applications for desktop computers. This is because as yet there are no equal equivalents to the keyboard and mouse. The user will be using the device in a variety of positions so therefore the interactive elements needs to complement this, whereas a desktop computer users stays in a static seated position.

The examples below show a range of ways to interact with a device, such as: one-handed menu interaction, clickable scroll wheel, mini joystick and touchpad.

Event ideas for interactive technologies

The interactive ideas that I will create need to be based around an event. The technology used should help to advertise the event and allow the audience to gain a more interactive experience. My Ideas so far are as follows:

Cannes Film Festival - founded in 1939, the Cannes Film Festival is considered one of the worlds most prestigious film festivals. It is currently a private festival that attracts many movie stars and producers. I personally believe that the general public should also be allowed to interact with this event whilst still preserving some of the event exclusivity.

In order to make more people aware of the event i have considered the use of large screens in many of the world’s largest cities. The participant will be able to park their cars infront of the screen and tune their radios or in-car TV's into a broadcasted signal. This location-based interactivity will give the events audience an insight into the films being shown and the event itself. The event may allows people to download the latest films to their mobile phones, however, this should only be available at certain locations such as the large screens in order to generate more media interest and public awareness.

I believe that this will be effective as the target audience should be those interested in new films and the glamour that surrounds the event. A large percent of the audience will have access to video mobiles and some may have cars with technology such as TV and even if they don't, participants will still be able to gain access through the use of radio.

The Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009 - is a yacht race around the world that is held every four years. This therefore means that information about the event, before and during, will need to be distributed around the world to a variety of users using a variety of platforms.

The potential audience of this even will have a high interest in how the race is going. The race can last many months so therefore people will want to access this information at very different times.

I personally believe that in the short-term future GPS will become more widely available on Mobile phones, Interactive TV and computers. Therefore this event should take advantage of this and allow users to access GPS that show where the boats are in relation to the route and other boats within the race. The GPS should be updated at such a rate that the user can see live positioning of the boats. Users should be able to look back at the route the boats have travelled along with satellite images that may be updated every hour using programs such as google earth. Many of the target audience may have boats of their own therefore the GPS route should remain available for months after the event therefore meaning that people can follow the route in which the boats followed.

The crew of the boats broadcast daily satellite videos giving feedback on their progress. The platforms listed above may therefore take advantage of this and allow the audience to view these videos to get a true insight into the event.


My other ideas

These are ideas about events however i have not thought of a way in which they can take advantage of the technologies as yet.

F1 Silverstone Grand Prix

The Royal International Air Tattoo

The history behind digital devices

The small and portable devices that we see all around us in our everyday life would have not been possible if it was not for some of the technological advancements that we have seen over the last century. All of these devices have roots that connect with the invention of the telephone, radio and computer. In order for something to become potable it needs to be small lightweight and easy to carry. Therefore the products that we use today are more sophisticated miniature versions of what we would have been invented in the beginning.

I was also state that the non-portable digital devices that we use to also have roots in television, radio and computing. They give the user more choice and control over the day-to-day task and can also aid the speed in which the tasks are completed.

Image from: Designing for Small Screens. Studio 7.5. 2005. AVA Publishing, Switzerland.

Aims and Learning Outcomes

Aims
1. To investigate the evolving contexts within which interactive media products and systems are developing.
2. To identify the key issues underpinning design practice within this context.
3. To investigate a range of possible types of interaction, the limitations and possible solutions.
4. As a designer identify technical, economic, cultural and social contexts within which the product or system and operate.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able, at threshold level, to:

1. Develop a context specific solution to demonstrate the interactive possibilities relating to immerging technologies and contexts.
2. Develop and apply concepts for either conventional or novel forms of interactive software, products or systems.
3. Engage in appropriate design methodologies in the production of a project.
4. Demonstrate a perspective of the current and historical contexts of design in this field.
5. Apply research methodologies in relation to interactive design problem solving.