Idea Log

Due for review at various checkpoints through out the quarter.

Idea logs are a sequential visual record of your design insights to free up your short-term memory and to increase the utility of your insights via ongoing personal reflection. Owing to the personal nature of this task, we allow flexibility for you to find a good fit. But, they must contain the following:

1. Functional Sketching of your insights
Visual representation is a foundation of design in general, and interaction design in particular. However, it is important to record and express your conceptions visually, not to make fine art. If skilled drawing is a goal or talent of yours, you are welcome to do so in your idea log, but it is not the goal of this project. If you have trouble clearly expressing your ideas visually, you'll need to focus on this. You're free to use other visual media (photos, videos, etc) as well, but your idea log must, at a minimum, include functional sketching.

2. High Volume of entries
The teaching staff expects approximately 150 – 200 distinct entries in your idea log over the course of the quarter. We specifically allow flexibility so that your "idea log" can be tailored to your work and life-style. You are encouraged to develop an artifacting mechanism that works for you and habitually make use of it throughout the quarter.

Format
Although we encourage the use of online material, we want you to maintain a physical log, in some form of book. You can print out on-line materials to add to it as they are useful. Carry the book with you and whenever there is some potentially relevant thing to write, draw, or note, you'll have it. Or if you do it on a napkin, you can paste it in later. Include anything that helps you illustrate your ideas!

The goal is to generate new designs wherever you are and bring them back into a single repository.

When working in a team, it is sometimes cumbersome for each member to record their designs independently. In these situations it is appropriate to have one "scribe" and share notes/pictures/etc for everyone's idea logs. At several points during the quarter, we will review your idea log. We will ask you to identify for us places in your log to look at specific things we will be asking for. If you have any questions about the format or medium of your personal idea log, ask the TAs or professors.

Grading
When we review the idea logs, during the term, we will ask you to flag particular things we are interested in looking for. The final log grading at the end of the quarter will be based on:
50%   Volume of Entries: The number of distinct and clear entries.
25%   Functional Visual Representation: Again, this is not an art critique, it is a measure of your entries' functional clarity. You can use text, but it should be sparing and in conjunction with visual representation.
25%   Novelty of Insights: The breadth and depth of your insights.

Examples

Detailed sketches of gate mechanisms

Sketch utilizing outside artifacts

Team brainstorm artifact

Design mind-map

Functional design sketch by untrained illustrator