I had a conversation with Sarah yesterday at noon. It went a lot faster than expected – wish we had more time to chat. We started off by me sharing a little bit about my background, work experience and the projects I had done in the IMA program. Sarah made connections between the 3 projects I shared with her (film RAIN, interface lab/creative coding Sea the Rain Lights, and connections lab Diary Balloons), and we both figured “weather” has been a consistent theme throughout my projects. I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but I realized I always tend to create something sentimental and personal. Some key elements in my work: weather, nature, mood, emotion, self expression, inner peace.
As for my thesis, I’m still a little unsure of what to do, but I shared with Sarah about the “elderly wellbeing” topic I did for critical experience. She suggested that perhaps I could extend one of my projects or combine them into a bigger project, and make it an interactive device or application for the elderly home & their social/mental wellbeing. Some action items: 1) take some time to ask elders (eg. grandparents) how they feel about the projects I did – not just the usability but what they bring/convey/solve. 2) did a couple of interviews to gather how they envision technology and its role in their daily lives. 3) research on experiences and products for the elderly, interactive forms & media of weather, and connected devices 4) dream review, imagine how a podcast would say about this product.