Level 3 students have been working on a project where they were asked to conceive, design and prototype an app for a grandperson.
On the first stage of the project, every student worked individually with a specific grandperson (grandparents, parents, other relatives, etc.) trying to come up with a solution to an everyday life problem of that persona which would involve the use of mobile technology.
During the research phase, students had the chance to put into practice some ethnographic methods such as interviews or “a day in the life”. These methods allowed gaining a better insight about the user, helping to form a detailed profile and to detect opportunities and barriers. Other methods also used include brainstorming, affinity diagrams, storyboards and scenarios. The combination of the above implemented as an iterative design process led to a better understanding of the brief and the person they were designing for. As a result of this process every student have ideated a concept for either a mobile phone or a tablet app.
On Tuesday 6th of March 2012 students presented their boards pitching their concepts to Kathryn Saunderson (the lecturer) and a guest. The guest for this event was Ryan McLeod, a Digital Interaction Design graduate who is working at Equator, a design agency in Glasgow. Ryan took the opportunity of his visit to give the students a lecture about how they should sell themselves and offered some valuable tips about how to bridge the gap between education and employment.
Following the event the next stage of the project began, redesign and prototype an idea. For doing this, a series of groups from 4-6 people were formed. Every group decided democratically, taking into consideration not only every member's opinion but as well the feedback of Ryan McLeod and Kathryn Saunderson, which of the concepts presented within that group was going to be chosen and further developed.
There will be a final presentation to show the working prototypes on Tuesday 24th of April 2012.
