This week we had class at a different location than the usual Illinois MakersLab. We took a trip to the Champaign-Urbana community Fab Lab to get our hands on the resources they have available there to start our creation stage of our product. I have never been to the Fab Lab before, so I have been looking forward to this opportunity since the beginning of the semester. I have to say that I was not disappointed as I was amazed their abundance of tools and resources, they have available at the Fab Lab. The tools available ranged from 3D printers, laser cutters, numerous software, and most importantly Minecraft.
The structure of this class was also different from the usual as we are split into two different groups to learn about different resources, they have available at different stations. At my station, I learned to use the software, Inkscape, to learn how to create vector graphics that can be used for laser cut vinyl. The activity assigned to us was to design a watch face that would be able to detect arm motions to ensure that patients are doing the right exercise during therapy. The Inkscape part of the activity was relatively simple as the staff provided clear, easy to follow instructions while the harder part was to come up with a design that suits your specific users. I opted for children so my designed focused on creating an experience that children can have fun from. So, I focused on making my design one that will be fun for children when used. In order to achieve this, I tried to include cartoon characters and instead of plain designs. My design is not yet completed, and I look to finish it soon in the coming days.
Later in the course, we were once brought back to our groups to work on team activities. This time, we are asked to draw all the ideas we come up with on a poster paper. I really enjoyed this activity as it really helped us visualize our product and give as an even clear direction to head towards in the coming weeks.
Hello Ruei,
Unlike you, I still found using the Inkscape software to be difficult. Although most of the things on the interface seemed to be intuitive, there still were several functions that I struggled with during the activity. However, I do agree that it was not as challenging as coming up with the design itself. In order to satisfy the customer segment that I chose, I wanted to come up with a design that is simple, yet effective. But this proved to be very difficult.
I’m glad to hear that the brainstorming/sketching activity that we did in class helped you and your team to identify a clear direction for the project! I’m curious to know what the craziest idea that your team came up with though. I personally really enjoyed the session because we were encouraged to think out of the box and come up with sketches that are impossible to achieve. Instead of limiting ourselves to something that is deemed to be possible, we were coming up with the wildest ideas, from which we were able to derive more realistic ideas that we have not thought of before. I hope your team does the same thing to discover more potential ideas!
Hi Ruei,
Thank you for sharing your experience at the FabLab. I was in the other group this week working on circuits, so it was really cool to hear about your experience with Inkscape. I can tell that you had a very productive brainstorming session at the end of class. One part our group found very difficult was when to think about how to design the product if we had no money. What did your group come up with on that question?
Nice job this week!
Ryan