PROJECT PROCESS

Project Length: ~6+ months

This project started off with research, brainstorming, iterative ideation phases and discussion. We looked into the areas of data visualization, tangible objects, and emotions as separate topics to explore. We ended up combining these into what is now the Keep In Touch project.

The first phase of the project was research into design precedents, examples, people and emotions. A brainstorm that was conducted and also a survey that explored peoples emotions, communication methods/desires, and iterative ideation phases and critiques. This assisted us with a better focus on what was important, valuable and what to proceed with.

Once we figured out what area and what our project purpose was, we went into more detailed research into online networks, data visualizations and analysis of the data we collected from our user surveys and brainstorming.
We also started to begin our physical prototyping, doing research on Arduino, sensors and physical models.

The online user interface was thought through and visually designed. Using the Arduino and Flash we were also able to connect our physical prototypes to our online network interface. The physical prototyping aspect of the project took a large amount of time as we experimented with different sensors worked our way towards final versions. We were able to bring our project and prototypes to demo at the Made In Brunel exhibition.


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