Test sprint: getting settled
After a few days of fun cooking challenges and getting to know each other better, it is time to finally start working as a team.
On Monday we start with a SCREAM workshop, getting better acquainted with the structure and ideals MediaLAB works with. This is also the first time we are tested as a team, having to find the most efficient way to work together and blow and tie up as much balloons as possible. We have a few setbacks in the beginning but managed to find a slick system at the final round. I hope this will also be the case for our future projects; having ups and downs but being able to learn from them and make something great with it in the end.
Tuesday: Brainstorming and Getting Acquainted with MakersLab
On Tuesday we begin on a test-sprint that will last until Friday. We have to work with the following question:
“How can we empower children with disabilities so they can have clear and customized representation in the toys they play with in a sustainable manner?”
It’s a pretty challenging topic, so immediately we get stuck while brainstorming; we have a hard time “falling in love with the question” and keep straying away from its key points. What group the we want to appeal to? Will it be for children with disabilities themselves or will it be to make other groups of people more conscious on the topic? How will it be sustainable? All the while keeping in mind how to keep our ‘product’ ethically conscious. We decide to go with a board game incorporating a few physical disabilities. A few concepts are made based on that idea, and Casper makes the designs on Illustrator. We then head to the MakersLab to put our ideas into practice.
Wednesday: Finding Test-groups and Rethinking Ideas
Today we need to find test groups to test out our ‘prototype’. We go for the HvA students as we don’t have any other quick options at the moment. We manage to find two groups of four, and they enjoy playing the game. There are a few things that we have to change though:
-Make better and clearer tasks for the card, right now the players still need a lot of guidance from us while playing the game
-Make the board a bit more clear, people get confused about the direction they have to go in on the board.
-More physical tasks that really confront the player with the physical disability
We regroup in de studio and start thinking about ways to use the data we gathered from the test groups for a new prototype. We get a bit stuck because we want to appeal to a large group while still being able to empower the children with disabilities themselves. In the end Rizal proposes a slight remake of the famous but simple mind game ‘ tower of Hanoi’. For this game we want to go for a smaller target group, for people with bad or no eyesight. We want to make it more for them to play by implementing the small modifications of making the tower more streamlined, thus nicer to touch and putting little holes in each tower piece so you have to not only finish the tower, but also find a way to make everything fit perfectly. Burak makes the 3d model for the tower on SketchUp so we can 3d print the tower the next day while the others work on backup materials.
Thursday: Tower of Waiting…
Time to make it all come together! We already have all the files needed for the 3d printer and laser cutter, so we are occupied with the finishing touches most of the day.
Friday: Preparing the Expo
We spent the entire day on the finishing touches. Casper made a few pretty posters to go with everything.
A pretty interesting week to get acquainted with MediaLAB!