Failing prototyping
Last week in class we had to prototype our concepts - It had not been a particularly connected week for the team and so we were a little unprepared - We had our concepts and ideas but had not come together to rehearse our role play enough. I think when it came down to it communication on what we were role playing broke down in front of the class. Luckily this is why we get tutorial time to learn and so our failure this week can be used to our advantage for progressing our pitch.
We reported rather than tested.
We were unsure of the aspects we were prototyping
We had too many ideas and tried to test them all in one go
We did not allow time to accurately and effectively measure and test the prototype scenario.
Bob Ross
I think we all realised just how broad our ideas was and we knew we had to narrow it down but not exactly how, and this is because I am lucky enough to be working with some really creative people and everyone has big ideas. I had laid out the report on miro as a template to fill in the week before and it was beneficial as a team to look back at that and reign ourselves in. I am keen not to drive my agenda or concept over anyone else's, and will endeavour to try and take a bit of a back seat as much as I can. My head is completely full of ideas for presentation and I know I will learn more if everyone else contributes.
Below is the first test prototype that we did just before class. It gives a slightly better indication of showing rather than telling. (very rough - very Rushed). We created our own room using the movable cabinets... we might do something like this for the final presentation so it was a little test - Jess has a projector and has read some time-lapse art for our project... I never knew who Bob Ross was before this week.
Draw a space ship.....?
In class we had a few activities which did really help me. I guess I had been struggling to understand how I would prototype the idea without making the service.
One activity was about interpretation and constraints. I had to draw what the team told me. They were looking at a snowman but could only give me simple directives. They used analogies which opened up the scope of interpretation much wider than it should have been. The task revealed that the more specific you made the instructions the better results were achieved. Clearly my space ship on a basket ball, baseball and golf ball was the least accurate.
The next task was very useful ( and we not only had to articulate our idea to other class members but also test our video prototype which was very poorly executed. A lot of imagination was required when conveying our concept which is not ideal - a bit like the analogy of the space ship - we used the analogy of Spotify. This brings about inherited constraints and assumptions that are not applicable to our service solution. We have yet to call it a name but let's just call it 'Artify' for now.
Projected masks for covid safe :)
and Cut.....
Chris and jess get feedback
Somerset and Paloma get feedback
A big wish was that this might serve in the reverse - Not just bring big exhibitions to remote or isolated communities (eg: remote and isolated - this could be the outback or aged care - anyone not able to attend the gallery) but also to bring those artist works from the remote communities to the galleries. I love this idea. It is actionable but might need to be a secondary purpose for this task. Let's see how we implement it in the service of the business idea.
Moving Forward
I have spent some time writing up our scenario. - this might be summarised to become part of our POV. I felt like we needed a strong scenario to build any prototypes off so we didn't get lost prototyping further role plays with too many outcomes - Our HMW has been decided upon "How might we view exhibitions outside of the gallery" and so I wanted to highlight the accessibility benefit of our 'Artify Product' as well as the engagement experience. I think Somerset is doing the storyboarding as he is an animator - he has the skills so having this down early was important. At this point it is Monday and I have sent out the persona and scenario - along with script ideas for feedback. I have recommended changes and input. They are still pending as below.
Senario
Bob waits with anticipation outside the Goondawindi Community Centre. This space is usually allocated to the local scout group on weekends, but this weekend is special.
Late last year Bob heard about the “Van Gogh alive” exhibition (https://grande-experiences.com/van-gogh-alive/) set to tour all major capital cities in Australia. He had reminisced to his wife expressing interest in travelling to see it.
Bob had been in Amsterdam when the Van gogh museum hosted the once in a lifetime complete collection of works. He had never forgotten the experience, even though he was not necessarily a big fan of fine art (it was something you did when you travelled), he remembers the impact of the exhibition. The experience taught him about a powerful story that created a lifelong appreciation and love of the artist. He told his wife how he remembered cueing in the sun outside the gates and standing in front of the ‘stary night’ for a very long time as people jostled around him to get their own view. He remembered all the different languages of the people whispering in a huge space that took hold of their voices and amplified them like echos. He remembers the brush strokes and he also remembers being alone.
Now he was about to share another of those experiences with so many others. He was not alone this time and it was exciting. The whole town was gathering with their covid safe check in apps in hand - this was certainly something special that didn’t happen often.
When Bob had mentioned travelling to Brisbane to see the exhibit, his wife had told him about Artify. They couldn’t afford the time or cost to go to the city at that time of year and Artify offered Bob a real opportunity of seeing the exhibition for himself. Artify was a digital service platform. It allowed people to purchase access touring exhibitions and artworks and present them digitally in their own spaces. Bob was a member of the local council and had managed to get permissions and funding to use Artify to bring “Van Gogh Alive” to Goondawindi.
The local media group had come on board to help set up the technical side of things. They had uploaded images and space specifications to Artify who had provided detailed instructions and installation tips on how to present the online files in the most effective way.
Bob was confident it was going to be a show like no other. A sneek peak the evening before had left him in awe of the transformation this simple technology could bring about. The images presented without the need or care of canvas, without transport, packing and security tape. The images were indeed ‘alive’ rotating between static and motion states.
It’s true, the community hall did not have those extremely high ceilings and perfectly polished cement floors like the gallery in Amsterdam, but the space felt just as special. The community had used what they available had to create and curate their very own exhibition. Artify had made it possible for a whole new audience to appreciate and experience art in a memorable and engaging way. This remote community, some of whom would never otherwise make the trip to a city to see art or even experience a gallery, now had the same opportunity and access as others.
Once again Bob stood in front of the ‘stary night’ projection art - watching as the stars swirled over the excited faces and hands of those jostling around him.
“Isn’t it amazing” he whispered to his wife beside him as his voice echoed up into the hall.
Teams-work
We are all quite busy this week and it is coming together - Storyboards are underway (Somerset)- Motion graphics for projection is underway (jess), Wireframes and app design is underway by Chris and Jess.
I will also set out the test parameters and start on the report design and structure. Below is a few shots of our very hectic teams chat. I am very blessed to have such a creative team. They are teaching me quite a bit.
The name we have chosen to replace Artify is Emblazon - Rapid logo designs for prototype
