Spoilt for choice.

That is one term I found myself saying a lot when trying to decide on my thesis idea. I am not saying I, myself, have an abundance of great ideas or anything (well I do hope for great results!), but when seeking inspiration for a thesis idea, the field of human computer interaction has a vast amount of amazing products. At this point of my thesis journey, it is pretty obvious that I want to explore the field of UI design and development. With my background in Music, Media and Performance Technology being one of creativity and computer programming convergence , I was very tempted to travel down a path of bizarre innovation. I have my fair share of cool interactive installations, Internet Of Things inspired, wearables etc. ideas but that voice inside my head kept telling me to commit to something that can secure me a job in UI design and development afterwards. Any other ideas I need to stick a pin in, I want to make something that looks good, feels good, serves a purpose, prompts me to explore user centered design and, most importantly, makes me an asset to the field. All signs point towards a mobile application (hence why I have been enhancing such skills). But I just can’t go make a mobile application and tell people that “this is the solution to your problem”.  Research is integral!

I have my plan made out as to how I will tackle my research. Initially I must do foundational research. This involves the exploration of HCI concepts and associated cognitive sciences. It is a means to apply usability terms and design principles. Fortunately I begun this research last year so I have a foundation to start building more on. Now, before actually “making something”, a crucial input on the design is the user! I must research the user extensively. Decide who I am aiming my product to and evaluate how I can satisfy their needs through effective design. This will be done through interviews, questionnaires, surveys, workshops and more. A third element to my research is my actual topic. as in; what’s the academic questioning behind what I am doing. As I already have a rough idea of the app I want to build, one of my recurring concerns was “if i make this app, it entirely depends on users contributing data”. This concern drove me to the thought of sustainability. Like every app developer, I want to seek a way to make the user frequently use the application. Fortunately this isn’t a novel concern in the field so previous research exists. One proposed solution that appealed to me was gamification. In short, this pretty much means taking elements of gaming environments i.e. scores, badges, rewards, competition, fun etc. and applying them to mobile applications. This is done all in an attempt to get the user in a sense of flow and also to give them the urge to keep interacting. Outside of gamification research, I also plan to research various other areas such as social networking, geo locations, sustainability theories, crowdsourcing, impact of UI aesthetics and the user experience

Exploring ideas: my mind map of anything relative that sprung to mind

Getting Ideas Going: mind map for gamification

Now, I do know that my app idea sounds very similar to Foursquare AT FIRST. I was actually very disappointed once I thought of my idea  only to see that an application (a very popular one at that) already exists. BUT, I assure you, there are features to my intended app that will hopefully set us apart (bearing in mind I am a masters student so I am not expecting to blow anything out of the water). For me, my idea is all about the RIGHT NOW real time data (hence why I am interested to explore ways to engage user input). I want to address certain specifics that Foursquare overlooks and attempt to provide a solution. This combined with a few other favourable social media habits of users taken into advisement, I may just have half an idea. Recently I have been appointed a supervisor for my thesis, Brenda Romero. Best known for her game development work, I am very excited to have my first meeting with her and see what input/twist she can put on my ideas. I may be completely re-routed yet!