Reviewing Concept Videos

For this weeks contact we had to watch the following videos and assess the quality of them. The videos are Brisbane Park Finder, Google Docs in Plain English and Pegasus. This is helpful in preparation for our videos i.e. working out how to frame a concept and present it in a simple and easily understood manner.

For each of the following videos:

Brisbane Park Finder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ak3sKs-LVc

First impression or can you really understand the concept? - I can understand the concept and think that the website would be worthwhile.
What could they do better? - I struggled to understand how exactly they implemented the website, or what technology they used. He mentions this briefly. This may be assumed knowledge...but for someone like me it makes it hard to grasp the whole concept.
Some scene variety would be appealing - I found it difficult to maintain concentration because it was the same shot/similar tone for the majority of the video.
What do they do well? -  I liked seeing the input of how you search for parks and what the selections are that you could choose from. Making things visual helps to understand them faster.
Quality of the video? Audio? - The quality of the video is okay, nothing too special. The cut scenes are quite abrupt and difficult to keep track of. The audio is a little bit muffly and it would be better if there was some kind of background music.

Google Docs in Plain English
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muVUA-sKcc4#t=22

First impression or can you really understand the concept? - This video is fantastic. Love google docs and love when people make these kinds of videos. Easy to understand the concept, the title says it all "plain english"
What could they do better? - I find it hard to find a flaw in this video. Perhaps they could have background music? I was fully engaged and interested during the whole clip.
What do they do well? -  The way they have described the concept of google docs is so easy to understand. I enjoy how visual this video is, its easy to create and gives a great result. I don't have much "video" skills so maybe I will consider something like this!
Quality of the video? Audio? - The quality of the video and audio is good, it could be improved slightly i.e. it looks a bit dark and dated but overall I wouldn't complain!

Pegasus
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/excelsiorgames/pegasus-the-next-generation-of-chess-0

First impression or can you really understand the concept? - In all honesty my first impression was "what the hell is going on here". Seeing as only $38.00 has only been pledged makes me think that a lot of others have had the same reaction...I have absolutely no idea what is going on - the entire video!
What could they do better? - Just about everything. Several questions are raised - what is the concept of the game? Why did they pick that song? Explain to me the rules (how is it different from chess)? What technology did they use? How much would it retail for? Why do they need $300,000???
What do they do well? -  If it's a joke, it was funny? The actualy video/audio quality is actually good there is just no content...
Quality of the video? Audio? - As above!

Connect Ring

Connect Ring is a wearable piece of design technology that allows you to stay connected with friends and loved ones. The concept is an interactive ring and accompanying app for iOS and android.

The inspiration for this idea came from moments where you realise you’ve been left alone before it’s too late, i.e. getting lost in a crowded city, dancing at a festival, a long night out where everyone goes their own way.

Connect Ring is designed for young people who are easy to lose track of, parents who need to spy on their children and travellers who are exploring in large groups.

The concept of connect ring contains two parts, the wearable interactive device and an application for iOS or android.

The ring itself features one button on each side and an NFC reader placed on top. The ring operates using Bluetooth, gps and nfc technology.

The application is customisable for the user and pre-determines the ring settings based on the assumed social situation the wearer will be in.

For example…You’re stuck in an awkward conversation at a bar and need some help to get away, press the ‘distress’ button on the ring and one of your friends can come and collect you. Alternatively, if you lose fellow travellers overseas you can drop a pin to create a collective meeting point.

The four available settings are party, travel, meet and share.

Once the user has chosen a setting, they can bump to connect and add another ring wearer. Once connected the two users can keep track of each other’s locations through gps tracking.

Furthermore, in the event that two users lose each other, one person can choose to drop a pin of their location using one of the buttons on their ring.  

Another aspect of the Connect Ring is the sharing feature. Just as you connect through bumping, users can also share memories by sharing photos. These may be intimate moments from your travels or a funny clip from a night out.

Connect Ring is a fun way to keep track of your loved ones in a constantly crazy world. Wearing the connect ring ensures that you’ll stay in touch, save your friends and never miss a beat.

Connect Ring Development

This week I started on concept development. I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to do wearable technology, I'm not sure what influenced this decision but I made my mind up quick smart!

To get my head around the concept of wearable technology I started looking at existing products in the market place. There are a lot of things just released or about to be released for e.g. 

• Google Glass http://www.google.com.au/glass/start/
• Ringly https://ringly.com/
• Smartwatches

Out of all of these products Ringly is the most attractive and so it got me thinking what kind of wearable technology would I wear and why would I wear it? This thought, when coupled with the questions asked of us got me brainstorming...i.e. What is wearable? What frustrates me?

From there I started to think about where these instances happen and what kinds of places they occur....

Ringly

On top of this I started to think about things that had frustrated me recently...The thought on the top of my mind was going out on the weekend with my girlfriends, how packed the bars were and how quickly we got lost. From there I started to think about how we could solve this problem!

One of the girls I was out with didn't have a phone (she just got back from overseas) and I thought wouldn't it be great if I could have kept track of her...light bulb moment! Wearable tech. I know this makes me sound like a crazy mother hen but I just wanted everyone to be safe and enjoy indulging in a late night feast after a dancing night out! This is when the concept started to unfold for me, however at this stage I have no idea how I'm going to prototype it!

What problem is it solving? What challenge is it meeting? What opportunity is it exploiting? Simply, why does it exist?

Despite our connectivity it is easy to be left alone in a busy and bustling world. If you are going out in groups or travelling alone it can be nice to know that you’re connected to your friends and loved ones.

Who would use/interact with it?

This accessory would be most popular for persons with a need to keep track of others i.e. friends at festivals, people travelling in groups, parents worried about their children, friends on a big night out.

How would they interact with it? What would be needed for that interaction?

Users need the ring and a smart phone to use the connect ring app. They would firstly connect the device to the app and choose the setting preference they require i.e. Travel, Party, Share.

What is Digital Prototyping?

Digital prototyping, explained simply, aids in the journey of production. The process itself, allows an idea to become physical, no matter how basic.

The road to designing a product or object can be long, expensive or seem somewhat unachievable. By using digital prototyping, designers and users alike, can have the opportunity to experience or use the object. This short cut to the final product can reduce expenditure and provide rapid time to reassess, redesign or release a product.

By allowing the user, whether it be the designer, customer, marketing team or executive, to touch, see and receive feedback from an object, you may identify problems early on that would be costly if unidentified until after post-production.

I seem to think of 2 things when it comes to digital prototyping (however I'm sure I'm about to discover a lot more):
1. MakerBot (Digitiser 3D Scanner) digital prototyping technology. Their 3D scanner allows you to make 3D printing easier, i.e. you scan a physical object, digitise it and then print it in 3D. This technology would aid companies in large scale and/or costly production in that they can test a product before they commit.
2. Marvel app - turn sketches into prototypes (available on itunes). The app allows you to turn sketches on paper into interactive, tappable prototypes that allow you to demo your ideas on your iphone to share with users etc.

 

Images from the Marvel iTunes Preview