I was really excited that I got my demo to work (at a point).  Working with the technology was extremely challenging and had me second guessing the value of my project. It took while to get around all the SmartThings and IFTTT bugs, but the success definitely was an exciting moment. I can see the potential for these applications; however, there are a lot of gaps between the software and the user. SmartThings cannot accommodate for more than three people when a lot of families are larger than three. It also was not successful at pin pointing a location. Our studio space was obviously not within their problem space, but I uncovered so many issues in my exploration.

For A2, I learned that I do not want to work with SmartThings unless their interface and/or technology improves. I understand that a big part of technology is working around all the obstacles and bugs in order to get the result that you want, but is that really a good system? I feel like the world doesn’t have to be so finicky and sensitive.

I’m not sure I like working with mobile applications. I understand and accept that mobile phones are a permanent part of our society, but I think that as designers we can push the world so much further. Why can’t our spaces communicate well enough so that we don’t need to refer to our phones? And what happened to actually communicating with our friends and peers? Everyone just becomes distracted and absorbed in their devices. I really hope that I can get more experience with designing the environment of real spaces. I want to understand more about the traditional principles of how people move through space. Anyways, how can we move forward if we do not understand where we came from?

I continued to see how documentation can be imperative in the credibility of your work. I need a video to illustrate exactly what is going on even if the reality is slightly different; my concept and narrative need to be communicated because they speak greater volumes about the value behind the project and even who I am as a designer. The technology can always be improved or fixed, but the process behind that mechanical system is a lot harder to see and understand. However, that is the most important when connecting with a client or an audience.

I’m not really sure where I would like my idea to go for A4. I think conservation of energy through the monitoring of presence is a great concept, but I am also inspired by a lot of the work done by my peers.

Now I am focused on my analysis of the Carnegie Library. I am really excited to look at all the different environments that exist within it. There are so many resources inside, and the layout is very intentional and considers all the possible users. I want to go from big to small, from the large, airy rooms to the small chairs tucked away in small hiding places. They are all quiet spaces, but I was amazed at how many different quiet spaces they had created.