This week our assignment is to describe how our MicroCal fulfills the laws of simplicity.
Ten laws of simplicity
Reduce
Organize
Time
Learn
Differences
Context
Emotion
Trust
Failure
The one
We try to organize our calendar very compact. Users can see everything, but aren’t lost in unnecessary data. We prefer to hide data when they are no more needed (i.e. sliding year part). Also “QuickAdd” or “Jump to date” features are added to reduce input data. For instance, just typing “Meeting with John tomorrow at 7:30” in a pop up screen will add this event to the schedule. Likewise, a time saver feature “Jump to date” helps users to spend less time to reach their specific schedule. We choose pictures of the icons so they can reflect the emotions such as icons for adding a “Birthday” or an “Anniversary”. We aim to provide a recognizable interface to users. Thus, users do not need to spend too much time to learn how it works. Additionally, we add some more features to traditional calendar. For the sake of improving usability, we run the risk of complexity to a certain degree .
All the users can easily control the things that exist in the calender and easily work with it without any problem.
This post was last modified on 18 March 2010 at 15:04.
Today many people watch TV to see the films or favoriture TV series on it. Special series are interesting for the people more than others and many people continue to see the episodes of different series on TV.
We are taking these one-dimensional TV schedular world into more interactive and social environment that uses additional social media features and a brand new user-oriented interface.This is a special site that you can see the series on it. http://www.aetv.com/
Original Format: No User Account, Just ONE TV Channel, No Social Media Features
OUR PROPOSAL: It is so good to put different parts in this site as a social media features so that people not only can check what's on on the TV but they can also discuss about their opinion about Tv programs,communicate with each other to know more about the others opinion.
We start adding some social media features to the regular one TV page. Firstly, we add that twitterlink, which automatically makes search for the chosen TV program. So the user can have a look what others' currently thinking. Secondly, we add a Youtube link, so that user can watch the trailer or promo of the upcoming episode. Thirdly, There is IMDB (The internet movie database) link that everybody can go through it and see the update news about movies and actors or actress and other things. Or by looking at the evalution start on this site.
Moreover, Each user can have her or his OWN interface view and private schedule on it. This means everyone who has an account on this site can make own schedule for favoriate TV program from many TV channels.
If the user wants, she can share his/her schedule on the application. Then the application will present this user (pictures or contact info. )to the others who shares the same TV programs or series. For example, I am a fan of House MD, and I want to see the other user who are also fan of it, and contact with them withing the application or comment together about the episodes, which is another additional feature of this application. The user can see the other fans in a box under the followers link.
The users can make suggestion to each other, when they share the same taste of Tv programs. Also suggestion to change your schedule LIKE "see this series is more better than other" and suggest each other their schedule and this is a good way to take an idea and know about the other schedule.
FOR EACH TV EPISODE:
In near of the each episode every person that watch it can make a comment on it and say their opinion about this part and say the good and bad things about this episode.
In near of each episode there is a part of vote that when user choose it can go to the part that vote this episode and saw the other opinions too that how many people like this episode and the total number of people that watch this episode is shown that everybody can understand that how many people like it and how many do not like it.
So watchers ("Followers") can make a group and discuss the points of themselves and everybody who is not like it or who like it can discuss in a room that is special for this episode and discuss about their point of views of themselves.
2) Explain the benefits that is made possible by doing this
The schedules of the Tv channels just shows for their own program. However, Our proposal application brought to user easiness that s/he can see each program/Tv series or etc. of the ANY Tv channel that s/he wants to see for the chosen day in a time schedule.
SIMPLE AND FUN: Our application is more fun with all brand new social media feature additions.
CREATE YOUR TV SCHEDULE: The most useful features are available for the users who have account on the application, because they can create a TV program schedule of their own.They can add their favorite Tv series or programs from different channels, which can be weekly or they can add some interesting document or movies, which are just shown for once.
DO NOT WORRY YOU WON'T MISS ANYTHING: If anything changes, for example, change in hour or the cancellation of the TV program, the user does not need to worry!!, the schedule will adapt those changes automatically.
SEE THE TRAILER: Addition of YOUTUBE links will enable user to watch the trailer, or fragman of the coming program/TV program.
SEE THE CURRENT COMMENTS: Addition of Twitter link will enable user to reach the list of people who are commenting on that TV program or episode right now.
SEE WHAT IT IS ACTUALLY: Addition of IMDB link will enable user to see and learn detailed information about any unknown, new or interesting program or episode. For the case that twitter or others comments is not helping =).
GET SOCIALIZED!! MEET THE OTHERS: See and be able to get contact which the people who are also fan of any TV program that you are also a fan of.
3) Do a critical reflection about what would be needed for it to work
Even though it is a set-up application on your computer, non-stop internet connections would be good, actually it is necessary. As we promised that you won't miss anything, all the schedules of TV's need to be controlled periodically because of any changes.
As you know, students always have a lot of things to do. Not only school related things (meetings for projects, doing assignments, etc.) but also social things such as meetings with friends, birthdays or trips. Also we know that an efficient time management plays key role in success. For this purpose, we design a MicroCal for students so that the students can manage their activities easily and use their time more efficiently. In other words, students can use our MicroCal to create their own time schedule. However, although, the target group is students, our MicroCal design can also be used by everyone other than students.
Highligts:
This calendar is designed for iPhones with touch screen. We try to add more features in their 3 inch screen without decreasing the usability of calendar.
MicroCal has the basic functions such as creating, deleting, and updating of an event.
Here is the brief description of these important icons in the design:
Create event: When the user choose special day it goes to other page that can create and write their things on it.
Delete event: After choosing a day, user can delete the event.
QuickAdd: If the user wants to add something fast, user can use this icon to create fast events. For instance, just typing “Meeting with John tomorrow at 7:30” in a pop up screen will add this event to the schedule. That is, QuickAdd is not time consuming.
Upcoming event: User can see the next events in a list form.
Jump to date: This feature is considered as an short cut to reach a day. For instance, if user wants to see 16th Feb’s schedule, s/he only selects the date and touches the “Jump to date” icon.
Plan: With clicking on it user can choose week or months and see the general information of it for example which day is off and why, the different occasion can see in the details by choosing one of them.
* Also “Country” selection part can be placed under the “Settings” part. Since the details of the calendar can change from country to country, so each user can see their calendar and know about their details of their calendar.
Design Details:
We use hide/show sliding bar, so user can make good use of the screen (See “Year” selection part).
Background color or font colors can be adjustable. Generally, Grey – White colors are used to simplify vision.
Geometric shapes, forms and several metaphors (Clock, Pie Chart) are used to support visuality.
For icons we follow general color codes and signs such as for “create event” green plus icon, for “Delete event” red cross icon, etc.
User can adjust the view of the schedule. User can choose Monthly view for general overview or weekly or daily view to see more specific details.
In selected month’s calendar, weekends are separated from the weekdays by a space. At the beginning of each week, numbers of the weeks are placed. Selected day is enframed with yellow shape. Also current day appears in yellow color.
Small indicators are used to guide users. For instance, user can get around with a square shape in calendar. Another example, small red triangle is used to show that, day with this sign has at least one event.
How it works?
First of all, user selects the date from first page. Current year and month is always selected as default.
In second screen, user sees the current month’s schedule.
Whenever user try to add an event regularly (“Create event”) by touching plus sign after the selection of the day, user sees the current events for this day on the clock shapes. Occupied hours with color codes are shown. Since this design is especially for students, user able to see their social events and school related events in different colors.
Overview of the day and Add new Event to Day
To add an event to this selected day, user chooses a time space. Then at the bottom of the page, they can choose the activity type by clicking icons and edit the details for this activity.
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature are the goddesses or spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts.
In daily life, a muse is anything that inspires you to create something new based upon it. It can be a beautiful woman, a song or beautiful scenery, but usually a person...
Real question is when or where the Muse visits us. Answer is anytime or anywhere.
"The Muse can visit you inappropriate places. Be ready!"
We are all familiar the story of great Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer.
"Once upon a time there were a boy called "Archimedes" and a king named "King Hiero II". Archimedes was asked to determine whether the king's crown was of solid gold, or whether silver had been added by a dishonest goldsmith. Archimedes had to solve the problem without damaging the crown, so he could not use traditional methods. While taking a BATH, he noticed that the level of the water in the tub rose as he got in, and realized that this effect could be used to determine the volume of the crown." We know the rest of the story. Archimedes then took to the streets naked, so excited by his discovery that he had forgotten to dress, crying "Eureka!", and the basic principles of hydrostatics was formed at that moment.
"What if the muse visits you, and can't find a place to sit? Be a tidy landlady/landlord."
In another case, imagine that you work in your work place like this one.
You leave everything in front of your eyes, so you can't spend time to find them. All of sudden, a great idea comes to your mind. You need to write it down, sketch it out. But you couldn't find your scratch pad, panicked for a bit, lost some of the idea in the panicking, grabbed a used paper, and wrote remaining words from the idea and sketched something, after a while threw it into trash. A story of wasted genuine idea...
Final words, personal Muse can be cranky, reluctant or impatient. Be ready at all times to meet…
As a competitor or maybe as a match to what google implements to increase creativity of its workers I recommend using Facebook at least it is the case for me. It is an online environment with various different functions within.
From my point of view, if you are looking for something that help you to increase your creativity, you should definitely look a few videos on the facebook. For each day, I found something to be inspired and imagined some designs what I saw in the video. For example, a few days ago I encountered that video below:
Do you regularly beat your cell phone’s screen in with a hammer (the action alone is creative enough or crazy maybe)? We get used to see those things in the movies. After watching that, I started to imagined designs combined with this technology for example;
On the screens of mobile phone, laptop, or television screen with the advantages of advantages thinner, stronger, not heavier anymore...
You put that screen on your wall instead of a painting and change the picture if you want.
On the surface of the glass for protect against scratches or use it like the agents in the spy-movies
Instead of a curtain in the cinema etc, etc....
creative bathroom for creativity:
We should make our places that we use a lot interesting for ourselves.Yesterday,When I go to bathroom I think about it that how I can make it more interesting .It is so important to make it interesting for use. You know that all the persons use bathroom a lot ,if we can use something special in our bathroom it makes it so good for use in everyday.These are the different creativity that we can take different idea about it.
How To become more Creative:
Creativity can be a very personal thing , something that needs to be explored individually by each person.Sometimes you can find nothing, something it is being under a heavy rain, the ideas comes so fast that you could not control.
The important things that help me to be more creative are these: Combination and synthesis :is the method of being creative by examining ideas from several different existing works, and combining them into something new and different. Research:Being creative is frequently defined as doing something new or different. In order to do something new or different, It’s often necessary to fully understand the current status quo — so that you can break out of it. This is why research is a very valuable part of becoming more creative. Isolating yourself: Isolation is not necessary to create something new, and researching and understanding the existing space is often a far more productive way to be creative. Try both isolation and research, try combining them, and see what works best in your situation.
Tools that might help you become more creative
Environment: Where you are working, living. Kindergarden always full of colour and different toy for child's development why not for an adult. Increase creativity around you, it will turn back to you like KARMA.
Read :Read on many topics. Reading is powerful tool indeed. More imagination involved.
Record Your Ideas : Record your ideas on whatever is comfortable and convenient at the moment. What is important is that you record your ideas. Remember the picture of the notebook in the shower.
Don't Limit Yourself : We are doing that ALWAYS.Do not judge at the beginning and Lower the standard (it is not end of the world). What seems impossible to you may not be impossible sometime in the future or for someone else. Can't we see that around us now with the advanced technology. Remember that impossible ideas encourage further creative ideas that might be more likely to be implemented.
Group members are: Leila ALIMEHR
B.A at Mathematics & Lingustic and IT Engineer MSC in Mathematics and Master Student of Computer Science Öznur ALTINTAŞ
"I study Computer and Instructional Technology Teacher Education at Bilkent University." Simge KAYA
"I study Computer and Instructional Technology Teacher Education at Bilkent University"
