Smart Home tech

I find smart home technology extremely fascinating. But a lot of people find it weird and creepy. Of all the “future” thinking applications, user-centric forecasting is something I’m very happy about. Setting the thermostat in your home can be annoying and completely tedious. Technology shouldn’t only be thinking about the out-of-this-world ideas. Honestly, the average day to day “meaningless” stuff is what designers should be looking at.

Design should be focused on creating things that make the average, mundane task not only easier, but almost obsolete. At CES this year, consumers saw an increase in random machines that do random tasks. Now, there’s an argument against creating more devices for very specified tasks – like the shirt folding machine that is about as large as an actual washer/dryer.

But, to me, Nest is a company that is revolutionizing something that is fundamental to a household already in place. Nest thermostats track your usage (specifically your interior temperature settings in relation to exterior/outside weather) and predict your habits by setting the temperature for you in the future (self-regulating and self-aware). I think this is the part where people are a little scared and skeptical.

I had a conversation with an automotive design professional last semester, where he told us cars will eventually be an extension of a home. He predicted that your home thermostat will then be connected to the interior car temperature, so when you cross the boundary between home and car, you won’t feel a difference. Honestly, it’s the small things that oftentimes make the biggest (or in this case, the most seamless) difference. Futuristic design isn’t necessarily the most show stopping technologies. Seamlessness is the future, and sometimes it’s the hardest to grasp and problem-solve for.

Personal branding: hypocritical or inspirational?

As someone who has a fairly loud personality, putting myself out there has never seemed difficult. Yet, somehow, when I have to market myself, I feel completely hypocritical and self-conceited. I’ve been working on a portfolio to hopefully get a job for the summer, and one of the things being impressed on me right now, is the importance of personal branding. I’ve never had to do anything like this before. And as someone who is trying to stray away from social media too, it seems even more taxing.

Like I said, I can be very loud and outgoing, but for me, that’s just my personality and way of life. It comes fairly naturally to me now (I wasn’t always the boisterous person, believe me) and I don’t really have to think about it. But when it comes to taking pictures, explaining my strengths, and actively putting out good PR about myself, it feels wrong.

There has to be some psychological reasoning behind this. Because even in this context, I feel strange putting my photos up here. The photos are supposed to give a small insight into my personality and image (hopefully that is the case) and yet, I find myself second-guessing myself. Which is the opposite of what personal-branding is about.

In a male-dominated field, the last thing I want, is to be hired for diversity quotas. My photo – clearly showing I’m female – isn’t supposed to be a “I’m a girl! Hire me!” kind of proclamation. Is personal branding really supposed to state the obvious? Or is it showing the nuances of a person? And if so, does it really achieve all of the above?

The whole reason for a resume, a portfolio, a photo, etc is to show people who you are. I know for a fact, employers love seeing people’s faces, hobbies, and interests. They love seeing the person behind the job titles. And yet, here I am, debating if a photo is too personal to put into a portfolio. Who knows if these will ever go somewhere (ironic since they’re on the internet for ultimate posterity now), but only time will tell. Maybe I’ll become more brave in my pursuits and personal branding soon, but as of right now, it’s still an internal debate.

I lived for 6 Months without wifi; I survived (and Kind of loved it)

Oregon is a strange place. And I say that in the fondest way possible. There are people that live completely off the grid, and others that surround themselves with technology every chance they can get. Seeing this juxtaposition in person for the first time, living 2500 miles away from home, it was quite jarring.

When I first moved there in June of last year, I was downtown Portland, surrounded by gleaming buildings, people zooming by on scooters, the whirring of metro cars, and the streams of bridges winding over the river. I was convinced I had moved to this new Emerald City where everything was new and improved. But my first glances soon started to fail me, and in came this sense of nostalgia and warmth; I couldn’t quite grasp it until I was standing, walking, sitting in the thick of it.

Coffee shops for me, are a great way to get to know a place. A new city, that is. And one of the coolest places in Portland (forgive me because the name escapes me now) was this internet-free coffee shop. Now, most of us who go to coffee shops, do homework, surf the web, read up on some emails. Most of those activities done through Wifi. So, what do you do at an internet-free coffee shop? I suppose you could use your phone with cellular data, but the premise behind this unique place, was to relieve people out of their usual tech habits, and force them to think out of the box.

After that place specifically, I stopped looking at my phone when I was out to dinner or browsing a gallery. I started carrying a book with me, so when I had a lapse in the day, or a few minutes waiting in line, I’d reach for my book instead of reaching for Facebook. The first few times felt strange; flipping instead of scrolling. However, I came to really enjoy it. But I found that, as soon as I got home, the devices would be right back out, and the screen time would suck up my whole day or night.

Clearly that needed to change. So I never got Wifi for my apartment. Which eliminated my laptop right off the bat. And because my cell service was so bad in my corner room, it physically disabled me from scrolling too much.

When I tell people I lived for 6 months without Wifi in my apartment, I’m usually pestered with questions: Weren’t you sooo bored?? Why not?! How did you stay in touch with people? What did you do all the time then? And then that’s usually followed by “You’re crazy” comments. Quite frankly, I did go a little crazy sometimes. When you’re constantly in the habit of being on the internet, watching TV, talking to friends, posting on social media, your brain is primed for those actions again and again. But once you break out of that cycle, your body almost resets, and gets used to the new thing.

Yes, I had to be creative. Yes, I got bored. Yes, I would still be on the internet and watch TV and talk to friends, and do “normal” 21st century tech things. But what I did learn is that if you stop the cycle, you’re more likely to start up a newer, better one. I’m back to having Wifi now that I’m in Michigan again, but I find that I’m less likely to grab my laptop than a book now. And I think that’s a small win for me.

Untouched Territory

I have had the privilege to travel to quite a few places – both within the U.S. and outside of the country. Honestly, I love flying. And road trips have recently become something I really enjoy. However, I have only been on a few trains in my life. There is one line from Detroit to Chicago. But it is quite inefficient (takes longer than if you were to drive) and not that beautiful landscape wise.

I wish train travel was a bigger phenomena in the States. Especially around Michigan, with Detroit being the Motor City, cars are the most prominent way of travel. And even our public transport system is lack luster (if not inexistent). So, whenever I travel to other cities – NYC, Chicago, Portland, San Fransisco, Washington D.C. – I’m always overwhelmed by their metros and subways.

I find it fascinating, seeing everyone jumping through doors, weaving along the crowds. Rush hour is always stressful when you need to be somewhere, but observationally, it’s really out of this world. You feel as if you’re moving in slow motion, as the world – and everyone else around you – is eager to get moving, breezing along, almost completely unaware of the surroundings.

Train travel seems to be getting more and more watchful anticipation from the world. Few countries have started luxury lines, but the iconically unkempt New York subways cars are in dire need of an upgrade. Japan always seems to do it faster and better than the rest of the globe, and their Shinkansen (bullet train) is revolutionary.

As the strive for mobility takes over the U.S., I sense trains will become a key component for long distance travel in the coming years. I’m really curious how it’ll happen, what places it’ll connect, and who will be affected by these newly connected dots.

The Uncanny Valley

Think of a robot. Now describe it.

What is it wearing, if anything?

Is it all metal? Does it have a human, animal, or extraterrestrial-like face?

Does it walk on all fours? Or stand up like us?

Is it smiling? Or seem angry?

There aren’t “right” or “wrong” answers here, and not everyone will answer the same way. Because not all robots look alike. Wow, thanks Sydney, for stating the obvious over here. But…have you ever thought about why some robots are cool, and then others seem way too creepy? Welcome, The Uncanny Valley.

Scientists have (somewhat) figured out why the phenomenon of almost-too-realistic-human-like robots makes our skin crawl.

“I think the key is that when you make appearances humanlike, you raise expectations for the brain. When those expectations are not met, then you have the problem in the brain.”
Ayse Saygin

The Uncanny Valley is met when the robot (almost identically human in characteristic) tries, but fails to mimic a real human. Saygin says things like shoddy eye contact or jerky movements are usually dead giveaways. Our brains instinctively and unconsciously pick up on these unnatural movements, sometimes before we even consciously realize. Even when we know something is off, it’s hard to tell what exactly is making us so uneasy.

Some people in the field say it’s a good thing we’re able to have this ability to sense when something is non-human. A self-preservation intuition, as robots become more commonplace, this Uncanny Valley will “prove itself crucial as humanlike robots or virtual companions enter homes and businesses in coming years.”

A friend of mine is doing a project surrounding robots and mobility products in children’s hospitals. I had suggested doing facial charts on what we find charming, tolerable, and downright chilling. I’m placing a few photos below. See if you can spot the differences between them. The future is quickly approaching, and how will designers be able to fully integrate AI and robotics with us seamlessly? And do we really need, or want that?

Black and White is new, improved and refreshing

In a world filled with superhero movies and blockbuster chick flicks, films like Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War, is something special. Breathtakingly beautiful, the cinematography is exquisitely pristine (thanks to the updated black and white film) and yet somehow, alluringly antique.

Most of this post is going to be stills of certain shots, because quite frankly, I’m not going to do it any justice writing about it. I highly recommend going to see it as soon as you can. Running 1 hr 28 mins, it’s perfectly paced, and shot after shot is a masterpiece. I’ll need to see this more than once to really take it all in. I hope Hollywood is watching and learning from this, because my goodness, it absolutely dazzled me.

a physical object is merely the representation of the idea

Image result for flat lay — @you.work.for.them

I met with my teacher Sally this afternoon (if you’re reading this, hi Sally!). We had a brief discussion about my current department at school. I had mentioned how the transition between an industrial design major to CMF design major, was interesting, to say the least. I told her I always came up short when people asked me what Color and Materials was all about. Saying that we research and develop color and materials for future applications, seems rudimentary and frankly, kind of stupid. It’s always met with blank stares and silence. So, being someone who talks a lot, I launch into babbling that just results in them being even more confused, inevitably making me feel even more useless. A mutually frustrating conversation.

I’ve been in the art and design world for almost 6 years now. I’ve gone through several study changes, and in the process, have seen the very different approaches to art. Some areas of art and design are slow and steady, with a heavy emphasis on the front end of a project. Others, fly through the beginning research stages and launch right into product development. Others still, skip most, if not all, of the R&D and go straight into producing. My current department tends to fall into the latter of those categories. We skip most of the thinking and just produce things. If you don’t deliver a final model (car exterior, interior, etc) then you have failed the class. That process is conducive for what our industry calls for. So I shouldn’t be frustrated. But I am.

When Sally and I talked, I expressed this irritation. How do I explain that the thinking and front-end of a project – research, user experience, interaction processes, etc – is just as important, sometimes even more so, than the final product?? Why do people put so much emphasis on a physical, final product? I am so intrigued with the fleshing out of the research. Hence why so may of my posts here are just questions. Why this? Why that? What am I not asking that I should be? And she told me something very simple that will stick with me for a long time. She said (and I’m paraphrasing): “Sydney, a physical object is merely the representation of the idea.” Without the idea, that product wouldn’t exist. Without the idea, there is nothing. WOW. To hear it said so simply and effectively.

But if the above is true, why isn’t the process itself treasured? Our world has become mesmerized with material objects. There is so much value placed in a physical thing, that what goes on without a physical element, is rendered almost useless. How do you make original thoughts, feelings, intent, analysis, etc materialize? Being smart, and I mean truly smart, is not valued as being society’s smart, until you make something of it. Take Elon Musk. Brilliant guy. Would he be any less brilliant if he had never made a Tesla car? No, I don’t think he would be. But, I would argue that society would call him crazy in that instance. So how do we solve this problem within our society? Beats me.

Like I said before, most of my posts here are just questions. And random thoughts being flung into the void of the internet doesn’t necessarily count as materialization. Right now I don’t have an answer. But maybe within the next few years of my life, I’ll be able to get closer to it. Right now, I’m content with just learning, even if I have “nothing” to show for it.

Decluttering my phone

Welcome to my lock screen and home screen. I have no idea why I had the intense urge to go through my phone and rearrange everything last night. I used to be a big app person, but over the past year, I’ve gotten in the habit of purging things from my phone that I don’t use. I only deleted about 5 apps last night, so the main event was organizing them.

We clean our house pretty frequently. We do laundry often. We clean out our car every few weeks. Yet, for some reason, we never clean out our technology. That seems off. I feel this great relief, knowing I only have apps that are essential. And storing them in folders (color coordination was very pleasing to me) puts them out of sight and out of mind. I’ve swiped through people’s home pages before, and the worst one I ever saw was an ex-boyfriend of mine. He had almost 9 pages of screens, all completely full of apps. I had asked him if he used all of them. He said maybe 50% of them were something he touched on a weekly basis. That enraged me for some reason. If you don’t use it, why is it there?? I’m not judging other people’s habits, but rather, questioning why this isn’t something the general population is aware of with technology.

I’ve been trying to use my phone less and less. If I watch Netflix, I do it on my laptop. If I need to write down notes, I do it in a physical notebook. I’m not claiming to be some guru on time management (because quite frankly I’m a terrible procrastinator). But, I find that if I don’t have anything to do on my phone, I put it down and get on with my life. I remember spending hours, yes, HOURS, on certain apps (RIP Vine). I never realized how much time I was spending on my phone until I’d look up – seemingly rising from a deep sleep – and panic that the past 2 hours were wasted. Time I’ll never get back. Because of that, I am starting to believe that your phone should be used for just that: being a phone. Aka you call and text, look at the occasional email, listen to music, and FaceTime people.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was “don’t do your homework in bed.” It sounds stupidly simple. But the premise is that, your bed should be for sleeping, and a desk or homework area should be for working. Separating those activities and spaces – compartmentalization of your life – creates a more utilitarian and focused approach. But why don’t we do that with our phones? They become a magnet for all of these unwarranted and useless activities. I’m compartmentalizing my phone into a specific use, and hopefully that does some magic for me.

are we really ready for Autonomy?

Image result for future autonomy — @mercedes.benz

In class this evening, my teacher said she recently toured an automotive interior supplier (I’ll keep the name private) in the Detroit area. One of the biggest trends that has taken over the automotive world, is autonomous vehicles. Now, there are several levels of autonomy. There’s an article here if you’re interested in reading about the distinctions.

The highest level, level 5, is full autonomy. There have been companies, like Audi, who claim they have reached level 3. The jump to level 5 however, is extreme. But, more often than not, the subject that is barely discussed when gasping over new self-driving cars, is infrastructure. Whether that is direct urban planning, or company wide framework suggestions, itt seems to me, everyone is so excited about this new technology, that important – the most important in my humble opinion – subjects are being left out.

Insert my teacher tonight. She mentioned that during this tour, the supplier commented on how they are working around underground regulations currently in the works. Now, I have no idea what the details of this are, except for one thing: autonomous cars will be required to have cameras facing the occupants. They obviously have an intricate exterior camera system in conjunction with the sensor/lidar programs. But, if the autonomy were to fail, the occupants must be 1) awake 2) paying attention to the road and their surroundings and 3) able to reclaim control of the car in dire circumstances. SO, autonomy might not be all that it’s cracked up to be. At least for now.

We’ve seen a man fall asleep behind an auto-piloted Tesla. Who was then allegedly arrested after the video went viral. Uber’s self-driving car hit and killed a pedestrian who was jay-walking across the street at night during testing in Arizona. There are countless other examples of these unforeseen accidents. In several instances, it wasn’t the driver’s fault. In several cases, it was. So, I can understand how the laws and regulations surrounding autonomy will have a huge part in it’s formation and growth over the years.

With this in-facing camera rule, how does car-buying work? Do you sign a waiver that says you agree to being watched, listened to, and recorded at all times while inside the vehicle? What are privacy legalities for these situations? What if it’s disabled? There are so many questions, and the can of worms hasn’t technically even been opened yet. At least to the public. It’s very interesting to hear about these behind-closed-doors conversations that seem to be plaguing the auto community right now. And unfortunately, only time will tell.

Natural materials in unexpected places

I had done a project researching materials that we native to Hawaii a few years ago. One of the natural materials I had found quite interesting, was cork. We’ve seen product and automotive companies branch out with new wood and natural fiber applications, but rarely do you see extremely specific organic substances in the market.

Sprout, a home appliance line made by the Scandinavian design agency No Picnic, features a solid cork bottom on their products. It might sound weird to the average consumer. But I picked up a mug with a cork bottom a few years ago, and to this day, it’s one of my favorite cups. Completely microwave safe, spill proof, and germ-free, it’s a neat design that still captures my attention.

Cork has several attributes that make it so versatile. One of the most intriguing to me, is it’s ability to repel bacteria – effectively warding off insects and small vermin as well. The waxy substance called suberin, gives it this unique property. As one of the more physically soft, yet strong, organic materials, it’s a perfect choice – though definitely unexpected in the best way! – for kitchens.

Sprout products show us that natural materials are just as viable and pleasing as their overly-popular plastic counterparts today.

observations + rambles from a design student

I blog when I find something interesting. Welcome to a small part of my brain.