Reflection

If I’m being very transparent, I’m not really the most proud of my presentation this week mostly due to the lack of rehearsal. In the time leading up to the presentation, I spent a lot of time thinking about the feedback that I received from my thesis proposal and considering how I could revise parts of it so the idea of my project would be clearer. This in turn led to me spending more time overthinking and less time actually putting my presentation together, and so when it came down to the actual presentation itself I found myself stumbling over my thoughts and not communicating what I genuinely wanted to express in a clear manner.

Nonetheless, as midterms have concluded, I want to spend the remaining weeks of the semester creating physical prototypes of my project that I can use to test with people, specifically family, to see how they react to them and if they evoke the desired feeling of nostalgia that I’m aiming for. I also liked Ruta’s idea about user testing different versions of my thesis question with people to see how they understand it. Perhaps this will help me to gain clarity and more practice when pitching it for presentations in the future.

Production Timeline

Create a production timeline that encompasses the remainder of the Spring semester and the Summer session. Break this down into the following categories and post to thesis journal:

    • Continued research (references, experts, conversations, reflections on previous research)
      • Hold conversations with family & friends to collect/gather their stories
    • Design & development
      • Create 3D prototype of the box
      • Compile different objects to be stored in the box
      • Compile audio from conversations & old videos
    • User testing
      • Test different approaches to the phrasing of my thesis question amongst different people
    • Iteration & continued production
      • Build physical box(es) based on user feedback
      • Add p. comp sensors & code to trigger stories based on user interaction with the objects
    • Documentation & presentation
      • Revise thesis question for clarity on the culture vs. memories aspect
      • Develop a medium to summarize my project (e.g. thesis question, artist’s statement, research, process, etc.)
      • Create a storyboard for the presentation & desired experience