STUDIOCAT
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Teammate: Lily Kim
Role & Contributions: Storyboarding, prototyping, graphics, animation, script writing
Carnegie Mellon University | Fall 2015
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Challenge
Design a studio environment "of the future."
Outcome
StudioCat is a smart pet that exists in the studio for each design student to facilitate his or her design processes. We created a proof of concept to show the touch-, voice- and screen-based interactions supported in the studio environment.
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StudioCat started as one of Lily's previous projects for interactive experiences with artwork at the CMOA (thus his resemblance to Art Cat). We wanted to adapt it to a studio context, so that students could showcase their work in an engaging way at their own desks. Furthermore, because studio is an environment for both learning and working, we wanted our product to enhance their design process by acting as a guide and helper at each step.
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BACKGROUND
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PROCESS
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Concept Development
My partner and I were equally involved in the concept development process. Our choice to explore artificial intelligence afforded nearly unlimited possibilities, but just because we could do something didn't mean we should. We wanted to determine how this pet could be ever-presently helpful yet non-intrusive.​
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We chose to explore artificial intelligence because although it is a well-established area of technology, our studio did not have any representation of it and we wanted to see how a "smart" studio might improve students' work flow and even wellbeing.
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In the brainstorming process we thought about what kinds of platforms and technologies would make the studio space more helpful for busy, stressed-out students. We explored many ideas for both work and play, such as:
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A mobile platform
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Customization/personalization
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Giving students control of the studio environment (temperature, lights, etc.)
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A class gallery of work
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Email and other notifications
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A creative play platform
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A "roaming" pet (AR)
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From feedback on our exploration, we could see that the cat's intended function was too confusing. To proceed we needed to select one clear design problem to solve, and refine a deeper solution to meaningfully enhance a student's working and learning environment.
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We decided to explore an AR pet that exists for each student's personal studio space and tends to his or her needs. This gave us much more focus and a clearer narrative.
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For her part Lily worked on the interfaces of the desk screens.
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Production
These are my sketchbook pages where I wrote out StudioCat's functions so I wouldn't lose sight of them, and a storyboard for our concept video that would show off the main functions.
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Lily and I both worked on the video content and storyboard. We co-wrote the video script, and I took charge of directing the camera work and editing.
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I also animated the cat as it would appear when students interacted with it. Our project did not involve coding, but rather "Wizard of Ozzing" the experience with projection screens, using graphics and screen interfaces created in the Adobe Suite.
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LEARNING​ & IMPLICATIONS​​
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Something I learned was the value of quick and dirty prototypes. Refined prototypes such as those we made have their place in the design process, but it was not here. Our problem space was not clear before we started refining. If I were to do this project again, I would instead employ simple prototypes that captured the essence of each concept, and devote more energy to understanding our user goals as well as testing and iterating. Other learning outcomes include:
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Identifying a problem and defining the problem space
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Exploring ideas both broadly and deeply
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Using "Wizard-of-Oz" techniques to show proof of concepts
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Critically thinking about how the environment impacts work habits
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Critically thinking about how outsiders view and engage with our work