Prototyping for experiencing

During this week, we worked with Kristina Andersen and Angella Mackey. They helped us bring creativity up high for creating prototypes and then experience what is living with them. In total, we made three, each with a particular motive.

For the first exercise, Kristina asked us to choose a word from a list. I chose curiosity. When I first picked up the paper, it reminded me of my parents' house. Mexico is full of flavors, sauces, and new dishes. Every time I visit them. I open the fridge and start asking my mom what some of the products are and what they are for. So I decided to make my fridge of materials that represent different "ideas," "terms," and "experiences."

What new recipe can I create or cook from these? And what will I get? People can add new ones. I can remove some others or maybe get new ones for me to create new experiences. Curiosity is about opening my mind to new universes, unreachable and reachable possibilities, and endless mixtures of different outcomes.



For the second exercise, we had to work on our projects. Prototyping an idea for living what I'd like to work on. I'm intrigued by how deaf and blind people develop their senses even further than people with no disabilities. So, what if I block my sight and hearing, will I be able to sense "touch" a bit more? What if I add amplifiers to my machine for it to enhance touch? Like bats! Echolocation for me not to crash against the wall or maybe amplifying sound for me to feel voices run into my body. What if I could sense:

• Objects nearby
• Police nearby (hate when they are behind me, and I'm trying to cross the red light on my bike)
• Words (like specific words in a radio of 10m - every time someone says "bomb" - imagine this in Syria ...-)
• Sites of interest (Cultural: museums, galleries, theaters, cinemas, cultural centers; Restaurants: depending on what you like; Bars: your trip advisor choices into vibrations to "warn" you are close to one! )

Can this amplifier sense whatever on the list you need to know and then shows you how far or close are you to it?



Finally, for the last exercise with Angella. I decided I wanted to sense and enhance touch in a different way. So I downloaded "Goodtime," a timer app, mostly because it was difficult to make my initial idea, real (vibration every time google maps uses some words - left, right, forward, x meters).

• Why?: I'm interested in enhancing senses. Some studies say that visually and hearing impaired people learn to develop their senses to have more memory, language abilities, and sensory-motor functions. So what if I add something to my body that reminds me of something?
• How?: Feel vibration every "x" time
• What?: Attach my phone to my arm and set the app to vibrate every 25 min

After my experiment, I realized that: I didn't perceive the vibration when I was riding my bike! I was too aware of what was going on the street paying attention to the cars, sounds and even pavement… There is a need to adjust senses. So the context won't affect how you perceive them.

I kept asking myself why studies say they learn to develop senses differently. For me, it felt like it depended on awareness. How can touch help me learn about something? Would it for guiding or comprehending something?



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What did I learn?

I learned to live and experience your prototypes. For design, it is fundamental actually to experience what you are building.

Learning process?

• Listen to their work
• Apply their methodologies in exercises
• Prototype my ideas
• Live with them for completely understand what it will be like