The Project:
The new David Tepper building is about to open at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). CMU Marketing and Communications will be building a Welcome Center exhibit inside the building, and they want to design an interactive installation that prospective students, current students, alumni, and other visiting members of the CMU community can engage with. They have approached the ETC to help design a “selfie spot” or digital kiosk that allows these visitors to photograph themselves along with customizable content. Ideas for this customizable content include backdrops of CMU’s campus, locations in the world that capture the Art and Science hallmark of CMU, or the faces of other CMU students with shared interests. The team has been tasked with creating an exhibit that showcases an innovative use of technology, but which also captures “the affinity of CMU” in its content.
The Team:
Douglas Luo: He will be a front-end and back-end programmer. He’s developed several games and has a background of computer science.
Matthew Floyd: He will be co-producing the project as well as creative designing. His background covers many aspects of film, including narrative development and sound design.
Sophie Kim: She will be working as a UI/UX designer and prototyper in this project. Her background is a unique mix of interaction design and computer science.
Sunny Park: She will design and implement the user interaction and installation content as a front-end developer. She has worked on user-centered experiences with a design and programming background.
Wonjae Kim: He studied Film & TV Production and grew interest in UX Design. He will be working as co-producer and experience designer, focusing on the physical installation and storytelling component of the project.
The Work This Week:
Week One mainly consisted of logistics, organizing our room, setting up roles, and creating an initial direction for the semester.
We recognize that our team roles will be a bit amorphous depending on the specific direction the project takes, but we hammered out basic role assignments based on our backgrounds and interests. We also figured out the core hours for our project:
Monday: 10AM – 5PM
Wednesday: 12PM – 6PM
Friday: 12PM – 7PM
The biggest event of our first week, however, was meeting with our client for the first time. CMU Marketing and Communications is represented by Beth Wiser, the Director and head of Visitor Experience, and Brian James, the Creative Director. Meeting in the space that we will be designing for, we discussed the core interests that we all have for the project.
We talked about how the “affinity for CMU” is a core aspect that needs to be captured in the project and how our target audience includes students, parents, alumni, and donors. They want something that is marketable, educational, and informational, but something that also “sizzles.” We discussed that the “Selfie Spot” idea is the base level of design we should target, but that there is opportunity to expand on the idea. They are excited about designing something technologically innovative, but want to make sure the exhibit is not so technologically complex that it confuses the visitors. As a final deliverable, they want (at minimum) key documentation and a prototype that their team can build afterward.
At the end of the week, we developed plans for doing further research, over the weekend, on both the Marketing/Branding Guidelines of CMU, and related “Selfie” installations around the world. We will then curate this information with ourselves and our advisors by next Wednesday, and then go from there in setting up our subsequent schedule.