Before taking cs247b, I didn’t think much about what it took to change things. In the end, the work always got done and what needed to happen usually did. But through the course of this class I have begun to become more aware of the individual power I hold and all the choices I make each day. It helped me think clearly about what changes I want to introduce in my life as I transition from undergrad to grad student.
Although I complained often to my friends about the course and how much attention it demanded me (the course should be offered for more units and no work increase imo), it was also the class I spoke the most about. I took the thought of the day or what ever stuck out most to me and discussed it outside of the classroom. I have not done that really ever. I sent my partner to go get a copy of Christina’s book about sketching ideas and practiced drawing/sketching with a fresh eyes and a renewed sense of wonder. I have not practiced skills outside mandatory requirements in also a very long time. And it makes me happy that I am now doing HCI because it is just confirming I am where I need to be. I am an EE undergrad, interested in the course material and the idea of EE but not in the applications of its work per se. It wasn’t until I was convinced for a split second that I could just do what I always say I hope to learn to do and I started writing things down. I listed ideas I had, things I would love to know about, and things I had to build and I realized all I needed was HCI to do that. I feel really confident about being interested in something that can be translated into a career now and it is a great feeling. I am really excited to take cs247g next quarter and do it all again, but better.
My favorite part in all of this is learning from the fellow students on how to design and use tools. Without them, my design skills would be bad and I wouldn’t begin to understand how to execute my ideas. It inspires me to learn more about design and develop better visual skills. Next quarter I am taking intro to design drawing just because of that. I have started compiling a portfolio of my old projects in github so showcase my work. And I feel like I just know how to approach everything much smoother now.
When developing our app, we took quite a bit of ideas from our ethical discussions and incorporated them into our business model. We wanted to respect our user privacy as much as possible by minimizing the amount of information we ask from them. Our notification settings are designed to be as least intrusive as possible. Everything was designed to be clear, simple, and legible. We put larger invisible boxes around items to make the clickable area easier to click. Our app is designed to be as easy and simple as possible and gives the user as much freedom as possible.
Now I think I will be really happy to continue learning about design and work somewhere after school. I want to keep facing design challenges and keep developing solutions.
Next time when I face similar situations in cs247g, I will better equipped to handle them and know how I want to pop off on assignments now and where to better direct my attention.
