Initial Research

This week I paired up with one of my course mates and went about conducting primary and secondary research relating to the use of and experience with portable gaming devices. We started by conducting a questionnaire, which we made on a website called ‘Survey Monkey’. Each of us then distributed and shared the link to our survey with our peers, relatives and other people via social media, allowing us to get results form a medium sized sample. We then went around the university campus doing brief interviews using open ended questions on why and how people game, the nature of this research allowed explanations to be given about the answers. Once our questionnaire had been out for some time, long enough for multiple people to have given their answers, we then checked the results. After looking at and analysing these results when then presented them to our class.

Ceramic Induction

During this week we were also inducted and informed on how to use clay as a material for our course. In order to take advantage of this opportunity of working with an unfamiliar material, I went about making a model of one of my 50 designs for a portable gaming device, see photo below. Making this concept into an actual physical object allowed me to actually see what it would look like as a product and it will enable me to test the ergonomics of it once it has been fired.

Soft Modelling Induction

I also was given a talk on model making with soft materials such as card, where I made a 50mm³ cuboid, which I glued together using superglue. Using a scalpel to cut and score the edges and tabs of the net I was able to practice my model making skills, preparing for my project.

Rapid Ideation

For my gaming device brief I was tasked with coming up with 50 concept sketches of designs which could be developed for my gaming device, this proved to be a challenge, but allowed me to experiment with a range of different shapes.