field study - humans and computers living hand in hand

IST 659 – Information Design

2 March 2011

Joshua Kitlas

Field Study 2

Humans and computers living hand in hand

JoshuaKitlas [email protected]

http://kitlas.com 347‐453‐2675

2

ContentsElements...................................................................................................................................................................................3

Relationships..........................................................................................................................................................................4

Flow.............................................................................................................................................................................................4

Function/purpose................................................................................................................................................................6

Boundaries...............................................................................................................................................................................6

Context.......................................................................................................................................................................................6

Comparison.............................................................................................................................................................................7

Analysis.....................................................................................................................................................................................7

SupportingInformation.....................................................................................................................................................9

1. TimelineofKitlas..............................................................................................................................................9

2. Brainstates..........................................................................................................................................................9

TimelineofKitlas................................................................................................................................................................10

BrainStates............................................................................................................................................................................11

Appendix.................................................................................................................................................................................12

Bibliography..........................................................................................................................................................................14



3

Field Study Two

Elements

Theelementsofmystudyexistonseverallevels.

Therearethosethatareapparentandthosethatare

unperceived.

Someelementsaretactile,whileothersareintangible.

Somemakesenseandothersdonot.

Theyareconnectedandyet,theyarenot.

Thereareseeminglywhimsicalrelationshipsandothers

thataresetinstone.

Therearesomelimitations.

Thisisaconvergenceofgraphicdesign,computertechnology,softwaretechnology,andme

(Connolly,1999)(Wikipedia)(Meggs&Alston,2006).

ExecutingthisprojectwhereeverythingIdoisinfluenced.(SeeSupportingInformation1)

Thetangible,physicalelementsinclude:mykeyboard,mymouse,aUSBcable,anHDMIcable,a

ViewSonicmonitor,aToshibaSatellitelaptop,twopowerjacks,anelectricaloutlet,and

electricalwiringinmybuildingconnectedtoaregionalpowergrid.

Thevirtual,andsomewhattangible,elementsinclude:thesoftwaredriversconnectingmy

keyboardandmousetothecomputer,theWindows7operatingsystemthatrunsthecomputer,

thesoftwareintheAdobeCreativeSuite(Photoshop®CS5Extended,Illustrator®CS5,

InDesign®CS5,Flash®Catalyst™CS5,FlashProfessionalCS5,Dreamweaver®CS5,

Fireworks®CS5,Acrobat®9Pro,BridgeCS5,DeviceCentralCS5‐all

ofwhichI’mhugelyintimidatedby),MicrosoftOffice(Word,Excel,

PowerPoint,Outlook,OneNote,Publisher,Access‐onlyafewofwhich

I’mintimidatedby),GoogleChromeandFirefoxwebbrowsers.

Theimperceptible,yetphysical,elementsinclude:thegreater



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Syracuseareapowergrid,connectedtoanevengreaterregionalpowergridthat’sconnectedto,

amongothers,thoseinternationalthievesatNationalGrid(NationalGrid)whoarenodoubt

trashingtheenvironment,tosomeexecutives,employeesandshareholderswhowillprobably

neverthanmefordutifullypayingmyutilitybill(orintroducethemselvesforthatmatter)

Andthen,ofcourse,thereisme.

Iworkonthekeyboard,themouseandthescreen.Isketchoutconcepts,writedownwords,

drawpictures,eatcashewsanddrinkapricotnectar.Isearchformeaning,depth,images,

contentandinspiration.

Iamdrivenbyinvestigation,researchandanalysis.IamalsodrivenbythebrowniesIateasa

kid.ThewomanwhotaughtmehowtosurfinLosAngeles.Runningamarathon.Myinfluences

comefromeverywhere.

Ireviewthereadingsfromclass,findnewones,andevaluatetheevaluationcriteria.Checkit

again.Lookovermylastfieldstudy.Idonotwanttogetapoorgrade.

Relationships

Thereareanumberofrelationshipsinthissystemthatoperatesonvaryinglevels.

Therearephysical,mental,socialandemotionalassociationsthatplayapartin

enabling,disablingandmonitoringoftheflowandstructureofthisinformation

system.

Theprimaryrelationshipisathree‐wayconvergencebetweenthecomputer,thesoftwareand

me.HowwellIknowthesoftware.HowcomfortableIamwiththecomputer.Therearealsothe

relationshipsIhavewiththeclassandtheinstructor.DoIcareenoughtotrymybest?Isthere

competitionbetweenmyselfandotherclassmates?Theanswertobothisyes.

Allrelationshipsareinfluencedbymeandmyreactiontoelements(physical,mental,socialand

emotional)aroundme.

Flow

Theflowofthissystemstartsandendswithme.I’mthe

conductorofthiscreativitytrain.Withoutme,thecomputerand

softwarewouldsitdormant.Myinfluencesdefinetheflow.



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Whereitstartsandwhereitstops.

UnfortunatelyIamnotasbinaryasacomputerorsoftware.Itismycreativitythatfortunately

andunfortunatelypoursoutofmeatdifferingrates.Itsometimespoursoutofmeandatother

timesstaysbottledup.Whenitpours,itcanreallypour.

An example of an unfiltered thought:

WhatamIbreathing,smelling,eating,drinking,andwearing.DidIeat?Drink?Shower?How

longhasitbeensinceIlasthadareallygoodworkout?CalledmyMom?Dad?Grandmother?

Sisters?Whowasthatgirlwhousedtoliveacrossthestreet?IbarelyknowIllustrator.Weused

toplaytogetherwhenwewereinkindergarten,butshemovedawaybeforewewereinfirst

grade.AmIgoingtobeabletofindajobaftergraduation?IfImovetoLosAngeles,willtherebe

that‘bigendall’earthquakeorshouldIstayontheEastcoast?Isblueagoodcolor?Keslikes

blue.Iusedtolikeblue.Ilikeredmorethesedays.Whatwasthatsite?Thecolorsite.Withall

thedesigns?OHyesColourLovers.Letmefindagoodcolorpalette.Thesepostershavegreat

colorconcepts.Howdotheydoit?WhycannotIdoit?Ihatethecold.ShouldIcheckout

everythingyoulovetohateagain?WhyhavenotIgottenwordonanyoftheinternshipsI

appliedfor?GooglerejectedmeforthePolicyFellowshipprogramtheyareoffering.Thatisfine,

really.IamlisteningtoYankeeFoxtrotHoteltoomuchthesedays.Facebook.Email.

Goodthingtherearefunnels.

Now, after the funnel:

IbarelyknowIllustrator.Isblueagoodcolor?Letmefindagoodcolorpalette.

Someveryquickandbasicmathshowsthatthepostfunneldatais

roughly8%ofthepre‐funnelmess(Itookthewordcountanddividedit‐

16/210=.076).Thispartoftheflowoftheinformationanalysisand

responseprocessclearlycanhavevaryingresultsdependingonwheremy

mindtakesme.

Thisthinkingcloselyparallelsarecentstringoftelevisioncommercialsextollingthebenefitsof

theMicrosoftsearchengine(theycallita‘decision’engine),Bing(Microsoft,2009).Inthe

commercials,anactormakeastatementsuchas‘bail‐out’(referringtotherecentbailoutofthe

financialservicesindustry),anotheractorrepeatsthewordorphrase,butwithadifferent

meaning,say,‘bail‐out’ofasinkingship,whileanotherreferencesabaleofhay.The

commercialscontinueinthefashionuntileverythinggetssodistortedyouforgetwhereyou



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began.Itsimilarlyparallelsthe‘organized,butnotreally’styleofbloggingby'lifestylefordigital

natives'expertNalden(Nalden,2002).

Function/purpose

Thefunctionofthissystemissimple;itistheanalysisandinterpretationofinformation

preparedforevaluation.Itspurposeissimilarlystraightforward;todevelopagreater

understandingoftheinformationstudiespresentedinIST600–InformationDesignaswellas

thematerialpresentedinothercoursesthatareapartoftheSyracuseUniversityInformation

Schoolprogram.

Boundaries

Requirementsoftheassignment.Theneedforsleep.

Theneedforfood.Intelligenceandknowledge(orlackthereof).

Physicallimitations.Lengthoftheassignment.

Mywillingnesstowriteashortfieldstudy.Alongfieldstudy.

Inthegreaterviewofthesystem(inthiscasemyapproachtowork),viewingboundaries–

howeverinterpreted–fitavital,andperhapsunderappreciatedorevenunrecognized,rolein

theflowofthesystem.IftherewerenotaformtotheEnglishlanguage,thisassignmentcould

bewritteninanincomprehensiblemanner.Iftherewerenotlimitationstomyownabilities,I

couldconceivablywrite,edit,rewriteandresearchthisfieldstudyforever.

Limitationshelptoframethesystemandputsomeordertoit.Havingboundarieshelptodefine

thestructureofthefieldstudy.Thoughtheycanbeunseenandambiguous,theyare,perhaps,

‘themostcrucialdeterminantofthesystem’sbehavior’(Meadows).

Context

Thecircumstancesthatformthesettingforthisfieldstudyistheculminationofmylifeand

experiences(seeSupportingInformation1)joinedwiththeboundariessetforthinthefield

studyrequirements.Myinfluencescreateanswerstothequestionsposed:beitphysicaldesign

ofpaperlayout,designofsupportinginformationorinterpretationoffacts,dataand

information.



7

Comparison

Incomparingmysystemwithahuman‐onlyormachine‐onlysystem,therearebothsimilarities

anddifferences.Theybothsetouttoachieveataskorsetoftaskstothebestoftheirability.

Theybothhaveparametersthatdefinetheprojectortasktoachieveaswellasexpected

outcomes.Themostglaringdifferenceisthatwhenyouthrowahumanintopicture,the

likelihoodforconsistencycanbegreatlydiminished.However,whenasystemrequiresanalysis

ofanintangible,forinstanceemotion,amachine‐onlysystemwillfail.

Unlikemachines,humansareincapableofbeingprogrammedandhavelowerlimitstooutput.

Forinstance,toexpectahumantosew10,000socksinadayiscompletelyunrealisticwhilea

machinecouldconceivablyhandlethattaskplusmanyothers.

Ifapartofthehuman‐onlyormachine‐onlybreaks,therewill,providingthepartsareavailable,

beamuchgreaterchancethatthemachine‐onlysystemwilleasilybefixed.Ifahumanbreaks

downphysically,theywilloftenbeabletorepairthemselvesorgethelptorepairthem.If,

however,thehumanisexperiencingaterminalorpsychologicalbreakdown,thepieceswillbe

eithermuchhardertorepair,orunabletoberepairedatall.

Analysis

Thisfieldstudyisaboutmyinfluencesandthatspaceinbetweenthings.Thereactuallyisnot

anyspacetospeakofphysically,justashifting,amorphousareabetween

concept,execution,review,analysisandacceptance.Howtopullthese

piecestogetherandmakesenseofthemvarieswiththeprojectandmy

moodandhowIfeelwillbestconveythepointsI’mtryingtogetacross

(Tufte,1997).Thisfieldstudyisasmuchabouttheanalysisofahuman‐

computersystemasitisadissectionofmyhabits,influences,limitationsandunderstanding

(Norman,1988).

Inmyownegotisticalway,thisfieldstudyisallaboutmeandmyinfluencesandhowtheyaffect

myworkoperations.Itisnotjustwhatisplayingontheradiothismoment,orthatsliceofpizza

fromlunchorthevitaminsIgulpedthismorning.Whatisgoverningmyworkis38yearsofups,

downs,challenges,triumphsandexperiences.ThewayinwhichIactandreacttoinformation

willprofoundlyimpacttheproject.

Thingsareclearyetcaneasilybedistorted.Thewayoffilteringinformationthroughmyown

personallensandgainingmorearmsinthearsenalofinformationhelpsintheedificationof



8

whatisaroundme(Tufte,1997).Themoremyeyesareopened,themoreinformationthereis

tosee(Lester&Kohler,Jr.,2007).

Forme,thiswasajourney.IcametoSyracuseUniversitytopursueaLibraryandInformation

Sciencedegree.Thirstingformoretechnology,IaddedInformationManagementtothemix.

Curiousaboutdesign,ItookIST659.Now,especiallyafterthisproject,allIwanttodoisbean

InformationDesigner.



9

Supporting Information

1. Timeline of Kitlas

2. Brain states

1970s2010s

2000s1990s

1980s

visce

raa

rtistic m

om

en

ts in m

y

1972

Re

ad

y or n

ot,

he

re I a

mA

big

tha

nks to

Mo

m a

nd

Da

d1978

Wo

n first p

rize in

th

e to

wn

Ha

low

ee

nstre

et p

ain

ting

co

mp

etitio

n.

First time

usin

g

Lexis-N

exis

an

d u

nd

ersta

nd

ing

da

tab

ase

s

wa

tch

ed

in a

we

as

staff d

eve

lop

ed

first we

b p

ag

es

IST 600In

form

atio

n D

esig

n

MSIM

an

d M

SLISM

aste

rs Prog

ram

sa

t Syrac

use

Un

iv.

Start to

lea

rnd

esig

n so

ftwa

rea

nd

som

e c

od

e

Intro

du

ctio

n to

(& a

ba

nd

on

me

nt)

of vid

eo

ga

me

s

De

cid

ed

I liked

art

also

de

cid

ed

I ha

tea

rt an

d a

rtists

1989-91

1985

Olym

pic

s of

the

Min

d.

CBG

B Sun

da

yM

usic

Ma

tine

es.

Every w

ee

ken

d

bu

t Ch

ristma

sa

nd

Easte

r

1987-90

1982-85

Self-p

ub

lishe

d‘Sp

ellb

ou

nd

’.N

YC a

lt-roc

kfa

nzin

e

op

inio

ns e

dito

rfo

r HS

ne

wsp

ap

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1989-91

2005

9600 ba

ud

c

on

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ctivity

to th

e u

nive

rsity’slib

rary syste

m

first time

usin

g

GU

I inte

rfac

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EXT te

rmin

al

co

mp

ute

r cla

ss

19921992-93

1994-95

1995-96

HS a

rt cla

ss with

Ja

ne

Ga

rne

sb

est te

ac

he

r/cla

ssEV

ER.

De

cid

ed

I liked

d

esig

n a

lso d

ec

ide

d

I ha

te d

esig

na

nd

de

sign

ers

2005

Intro

du

ce

d to

d

istan

t rel;a

tive

wh

o o

wn

sd

esig

n firm

in N

YC

2005

2010

2010

2011

Wh

ere

I w

an

t to b

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he

re I a

m(m

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re I

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Wh

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righ

t no

w

josh

kitlas



12

Appendix

Key moments in graphic design history

15,000 - 10,000 BC The first known visual communication, with pictographs and symbols in the Lascaux caves in southern France.

3600 BC The Blau Monument, the oldest artifact known to combine words and pictures.

105 AD Chinese government official Ts’ai Lun credited with inventing paper.

1045 AD Pi Sheng invents movable type, allowing for characters to be individually placed for printing.

1276 Printing arrives in Europe with a paper mill in Fabriano, Italy.

1450 Johann Gensfleisch zum Gutenburg credited with perfecting the system for printing type in books.

1460 Albrecht Pfister the first to add illustrations to a printed book.

1470 Nicolas Jenson, considered one of history’s greatest typeface designers, sets news standard for Roman type.

1530 Claude Garamond opens first type foundry, developing and selling fonts to printers.

1722 First Caslon Old Style font developed, later used for the printing of the Declaration of Independence.

1760 Industrial Revolution begins, setting the stage for advances in graphic design production.

1796 Author Aloys Senefelder develops lithography.

1800 Lord Stanhope invents first printing press made of all cast-iron parts, requiring 1/10 the manual labor and doubling the possible paper size.

1816 First sans-serif font makes a subtle entrance as one line of a book.

1861 Williams Morris, who became a highly influential figure in design history, sets up art-decorating firm.

1880 Development of halftone screen allows for first photo printed with a full range of tones.

1890 Art Nouveau movement begins and changes design, making its way into all types of commercial design and utilizing all types of arts.



13

1917 James Montgomery Flagg designs famous “I Want YOU for the U.S. Army” poster. The poster, a self-portrait, was actually an American version of a British poster by Alfred Leete.

1919 The Bauhaus, a German school, is founded, eventually providing the framework for modern design.

1932 Stanley Morison oversees design of Times New Roman font, commissioned by the Times of London.

1940 First issue of Print Magazine printed.

1956 Paul Rand designs IBM logo using City Medium typeface.

1957 Max Miedinger designs Neue Haas Grotesk font, later renamed Helvetica.

1959 First issue of Communication Arts printed.

1969 Douglas Engelbart develops first computer mouse, setting the stage for the future tool of graphic design.

1984 Apple releases first Macintosh computer, featuring bitmap graphics.

1985 Aldus, formed by Paul Brainerd, develops PageMaker software. Brainerd coins the phrase “desktop publishing.” In the same year, New York firm Manhattan Design creates the MTV logo.

1990 Photoshop version one released, and physicist Tim Berners-Lee develops the World Wide Web, along with HTML and the concept of website addresses.

Source: (Meggs & Alston, 2006)



14

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