camera study process

This diagram might be of help to those still wondering about how to conceptualize the disposable camera study process and arrive at design implications. Considering that your domain of interest is already quite narrow, each phase becomes increasingly specific, eventually arriving at concrete, actionable design implications for your domain and user group.

Project 1 Reflections

The focus of the disposable camera study should be centered on understanding people, not objects. You are not just investigating the ones they took the pictures of, but trying to understand the meaning behind the pictures. Make sure the next studies are focused on humans, rather than objects or systems themselves. If you are new to qualitative/social science research, you may feel uncomfortable with inferring the deeper meaning of what a person said or did, however it is the role of a designer to critically understand what people said. It takes a while to develop a sensibility for this critical stance, however this mindset will lead to much more meaningful & interesting insights.

• Usability can be formally evaluated through empirical measurements, however when we talk about experience (and how we define experience), thus it is important to use methods to understand experience and inspire design based upon qualitative feedback.

• There’s not an optimal amount of pictures to be taken, however the point is to understanding the deeper meaning that the pictures collectively reveal about the person’s life.

• How do you maintain objectivity, while still getting a sense of the person?
  It is challenging for researchers to be objective when dealing with understanding human experiment. This question alludes to the divide between research and design practice. From an HCI perspective, we are concerned with deeply learning about a very specific domain and the implications for future research within our field. However, from a Design perspective, the point is to provide inspiration to new designs.In this case achieving the best possible outcome is important, rather than objective results.