Assignments

Assignment 1

Step 1: Select a specific creative domain that you have some experience with. Examples might include cooking Korean cuisine, playing a musical instrument, coding a web application, designing and manufacturing a printed circuit board, knitting, etc. Note: You do not have to be an expert in the domain, but you should have some experience with it, and more importantly, some degree of interest or passion about it.

Step 2: Provide a written analysis of your experience in the creative domain. Your analysis should touch on themes we've discussed in class thus far (Process, Learning, Materials and Mediums, and Collaboration). For example, if your domain is writing a web application you might detail the ways in you approached learning Javascript, and your process of debugging your application. You don't have to discuss each theme if it's not relevant to your experience. Provide specific written examples, photos, or diagrams as needed to communicate your experience. Aim for a written analysis that is 2 pages in length.

Examples:

Ricarose Roque's essay on Pencils

Interview Example from MuseInk Paper by Theophanis Tsandilas, Catherine Letondal & Wendy E. Mackay (study 1: INTERVIEWING COMPOSERS section)

Assignment Due Tuesday January 28th before class

Please add an assignments folder to your github repository and submit your final written analysis as a PDF or markdown document.

We will review each student's analysis in class on Tuesday. Be prepared to give a 5 minute verbal overview of your analysis. You may include additional photos/ videos/ or other visual material in your github repository to present to the class.

Assignment 2

Select a specific domain of art, craft, design, or engineering and a specific challenge or opportunity in that domain.

Design a pilot formative study aimed at investigating your chosen domain and challenge. This can include 1 or more of the following:

Conducting in-person interviews with target practitioners. (2-3 max)
Observing / documenting creative practice in the target domain (1 in-depth observation, or 2-3 short term observations)
Developing and testing a low-fidelity prototype- i.e. a paper prototype to elicit feedback on a particular approach or technique.

Conduct your formative research and document the process through audio or video recording, note taking, photographs, or other documentation methods. Provide a 1-2 page written analysis of the results of the study and which includes a set of design goals or primary themes that emerged from your observation, interview, or prototyping session.

Sample Interview Framework

Assignment Due Tuesday Feb 25th before class

Submit your final written analysis as a PDF or markdown document in your github assigments folder.

We will review each student's analysis in class on Tuesday. Be prepared to give a 1 minute verbal summary of your study methodology, and a 5 minute description of interesting themes, ideas, or takeaways that emerged.

Final Project

Apply principles from the course to an in progress or future creative technology research project. This may include one or more of the following directions.

Develop and pilot a formal evaluation and demonstration of the features of a tool or technology of your own design.
Perform a critical analysis of one or more established creative technologies. Provide evidence for the limitations and opportunities of these technologies and propose concrete directions for future development or alternatives.
Perform a study of the creative practice of a target domain. This could be an established domain, or an emerging one (machine learning driven video editing). Your study could involve interviews/ ethnography, observation, or analysis of individual practice. Describe the ways that practitioners leverage existing tools, the defining forms of expression that are relevant to this domain. Use this study to describe how this domain could be opened to new audiences through the creation of new technologies or support systems (i.e. education/ facilitation methods.)

Students will be required to write a 5-8 page final paper for the project (including figures) that details their methods, analysis, and findings. Students may opt to collaborate on this project or work individually. Students will also be responsible for providing written feedback on two in-progress papers for fellow students.

Structure for Peer Feedback

Our final in-person class will be structured around providing peer feedback. The structure is as follows:

Class members (or project teams) will meet in groups of two. The first member will have 7 minutes to review their in-progress outline with their partner. Review your current research questions and motivation, approach, and primary analysis or discussion points. Describe your plan to complete the report in the remaining week (additional steps, any study you plan to run, etc.) You can also raise remaining challenges or questions you have for the structure and writing of your project.

Following this, the partner will have 8 minutes to provide feedback. Consider the following points when providing feedback

How clear is the primary research question(s)? Do they align with the approach the author is taking in their proposed study or analysis?
What are the most interesting aspects of the project for you? How could these aspects be emphasized in the final report?
Does the author's plan to complete the remaining elements of the project? If not, what steps might be removed or simplified?

By Monday March 16th, provide 2 paragraphs written feedback that correspond with your in-class discussion.

Written Feedback:

Anzu -> Sonia/Ari
Mert -> Raphael
Jungha -> Anzu
Sonia/Ari -> Jungha