Markets, Innovation & Design - Spring 2020

  • News
  • Schedule
  • RESOURCES
    • Syllabus
    • Marketing Strategy Review Slides
    • Links
    • Videos
    • How to…
    • Archives
  • ASSIGNMENTS
    • Individual Assignments
      • Breaking Norms
      • Mind Map – Marketing
      • Individual Presentation – Innovation
      • Mind Map – Innovation
      • Individual Presentation – Design
      • Mind Map – Design
      • Draft Mind Map – M+I+D
      • Room Creation
      • Tea Light
      • Unstructured Inspiration
      • Directed Inspiration
    • Team Assignments
      • Marketing Strategy Analysis
      • Marketing Strategy Analysis – Client
      • Post-It Challenge
      • Constraint Map
      • Converged Concept Board
      • Converged Site Prototype
      • Final Site
      • Final Site – Client Manual
      • TEAM 1
      • TEAM 2
      • TEAM 3
      • TEAM 4
      • TEAM 5
      • TEAM 6
      • TEAM 7
      • TEAM 8
  • Design Challenge
    • Constraint Map
    • Concept Board
    • Brainstorm
    • 3 Concepts
    • Prototype
    • Test & Iterate
    • Habits Reflection

Habits Reflection

April 30, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

In my life, before and even at times during this course, embracing ambiguity and creative confidence had an interesting dynamic in which they tended to work against each other. Naturally, when undergoing a creation or design process of something, I grow a bias towards my personal work. After all, it was my mind that decided what course of action to take that would be best for tackling the situation, and so I hold a stake in those choices. So when it came to accepting others’ alternative routes of creation, I would look for ways to critique their work. It was difficult for me to be open towards counteracting ideas and to understand other’s mindsets. However, this course has shown me how both of these habits can effectively work together. 

Embracing ambiguity played a significant role in all of the group work and exercises we performed this semester. Partnering up to share our mind map concepts allowed us to hear the opinion’s and insight of others. Even just walking around the classroom to view each others’ creations practiced a form of embracing ambiguity; we all executed the prompt differently and it was interesting to see other interpretations of the assignment. In terms of the mind-maps where their were several different iterations that progressed throughout the semester, observing how others modeled their maps proved to be beneficial in spurring new approaches to tackling the assignment. I begun to place a greater emphasis on the visual aspect of the maps: creating color schemes, emphasizes symmetry, and even displaying my drawing skills or lack there of.  In some creations, however, such as the tea light or the key hanger, embracing ambiguity prior to designing your own creating was frowned upon. In my opinion, not having an example to work off of makes the assignment more interesting and exciting to tackle.

In these creations, child’s eye observation played a significant role. One might look at an empty tissue box and an old coffee cup and think, “how am I going to create anything with this garbage laying around in my room?” But perhaps a child would play around with the items and realize that the cup fits perfectly into the top of the tissue box. This is an example of how I manifested the child’s eye observation in my room creation.

Failing forward and creative confidence also share an interesting dynamic and can be tied to another habit that I feel as though the design challenge has encouraged: embracing change and adjustments. In my design challenge, I thought that I would be drop-shipping electronic accessories and reselling clothing items in a similar fashion in which my eBay store was developed upon. However, different shipping and availability conditions have transpired since my previous endeavors so I was forced to change my eBay project’s agenda. My new listings proved to be successful and have prompted another new development to my project; I now have more capital to invest and a new drop-shipping opportunity because of the changes I made to my original plan. This manifests the importance of getting an idea going, without spending too much time overthinking the design to get it perfect, because it will be changed at some point along the design process as you move from step to step.

This ties into what I have learned about myself through this process in term of failing forward. Although my sneaker listing hasn’t spurred much interest as of late regarding the item itself, I received a new partnership opportunity. In this sense it’s important to understand that “where one door closes another door opens” but that door will not open until you put your feet in the water.

In the past couple years, I have noticed that I tend to be afraid of failure, even in something as simple as speaking up in class. Being able to communicate with others effectively is a habit that, while not exactly central to MIDE 300, is crucial to group projects that entail the design process. The professors did a good job eliciting students to provide insights to the discussion. One thing I wish I could go back and change about my performance in class is not being scared of being wrong and adding more to the class discussion. I think this class proved to be an environment that encouraged people to talk. The presentations we performed throughout the course helped practice verbally communicating our designs. One way I am looking to practice this skill is by taking a public speaking course next semester. I am facing my fear of sounding stupid when opening my mouth by joining an environment in which my perceived act of sounding unintelligent is actually making strives to improving myself.

Test and Iterate: Ebay Listings Update

April 28, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

There have been three major developments to my project on revamping my eBay store. The one I am most excited about is that my Xbox sold within several hours of the initial listing for the price that I was asking for. I received twelve offers from buyers before the item was purchased. For the majority of online deals that I have made throughout my life there has been some sort of bargaining or adjustments made on my end in order to finalize the deal. Generally, when an item sells this fast with this many offers in a short period of time it signifies that item was sold for below market price. This makes me question whether I did enough market research on my Xbox and the accessories included before deciding on what price to ask for. Looking back, I primarily based my asking price on what I had paid for the item which was slightly lower than what I was asking for, and I even raised the price from what eBay suggested I list it at. I foolishly did not check the listing in the hours following its initial post. If I had done this and seen all the offers, it may have resulted in me raising the price. This is definitely a change I am going to make going forward: keeping up with the immediate response that the listing receives.

The other development is that I received a partnership offer from another eBay store located in China. I followed up with them over email, and essentially they have a large inventory of replica sports apparel that they want me to list on my eBay store. Perhaps I will be drop-shipping on eBay after all. I believe they saw my eBay store and its success as a way in to the American customer base. I need to do more research on this partnership and the items they have to offer to better understand how it would work, but I am certainly intrigued by their offer. Considering this partnership development as its own new project within my entire eBay project, this embodies the communication stage of the design process. I didn’t expect a new project to emerge out of my initial design-project strives. This provides a good example of an idea discussed by Aspelund on how changes are always made along to the design process. It manifests the importance of getting an idea going, without spending too much time overthinking the design to get it perfect, because it will be changed at some point along the design process as you move from step to step.

The immediate success that I have received from my eBay project is a major confidence and motivation boost. It has made me reminisce about my sneaker-selling past and how good it feels to make a deal and turn a profit. With a sale under my belt, a little more capital to invest, and a new partnership opportunity in the works I am motivated to keep this project going and I am already thinking about things to sell next and who else to reach out to.

Prototype: Ebay Listing

April 27, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Once I list the items, I will have to check my eBay and the listings regularly for customer questions and offers and to see if the items are generating any interest. If the listings receive a few “watchers” then I don’t necessarily need to change anything for some time. But if they do not receive an ample amount of views and watchers, I may need to tweak the price, buying format, or other listing details.

For my prototype, I chose to prepare several items and create their previewed listings to put on my eBay store. This process begun with going around my house and finding sellable items of mine I that have no use for as well as reaching out to people to see if they have any items that fit this criteria. I decided I would try to sell a pair of Jordan 3 Infrareds that are too big on me as well as my Xbox One which I don’t use anymore. In order to restore the quality of the shoes, I jammed some old socks into the shoes near the toe-box in order to remove the creasing. I took a sponge with soap and hot water and scrubbed the scuff marks and dirt off the shoe to the best of my ability. For my Xbox, I decided I would sell all the accessories that go along with the console in order to help it sell better and generate more revenue. I had to dust off several of these items: chords, a charging station, a headset, and a controller.

Ebay makes it very easy to create a listing by providing examples of similar items that are listed. I added the details of the shoes including its condition, size, brand and other details and took a few pictures of all angles of the shoes. For both items, I added to the description that eBay provided including the shoes authenticity (there are many fake Jordans out there that are not as good quality) and that neither item includes the original packaging/boxing.

3 Concepts

April 12, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

The first of my concept designs is a grocery store delivery service. I think during this time there are a lot of people, especially of older age, that do not want to go to any public spaces like a grocery store. My design is very similar to the DoorDash or UberEats business model, except it would be much more strict on the deliverers. The drivers would be expected to clean their masks/gloves after every use as well as to wear clean clothing. If a driver fails to wear a mask/gloves, they will be banned from the app. My design’s function is to create a delivery app for groceries which it does so. In terms of reliability, the app is pretty contingent on supermarket cooperation in order to know which items are in stock and their prices. Another point of vulnerability is that there is no way to be sure that the deliverer washes their gloves/clothes/mask after every use. The app would be extremely easy to use as are other food delivery apps. I think the concept does reflect proficiency as the buyer is at much less risk of being infected.

The next concept designs are the hazmat suits. For my first design, it seems as though as long as Supreme puts their name brand on any clothing item, it will sell. People may buy fashionable Hazmat suits not so much to serve the function of germ protection, but to own an interesting artifact/conversation starter from this time period. I chose to create the mountains design to ease the tension of the implications/perceptions of wearing a hazmat suit. It also is suppose to reflect the theme of environment that I’ve discussed in the previous assignments: more people have been exposed to the natural world outside during this time period and pollution has decreased. One threat to these suits is that no one buys them because our situation doesn’t quite call for this extreme. However, they are creative and may change people’s perspectives on wearing a hazmat suit when in a public place.

The last design I created exhibited listing items on my Ebay through drop-shipping and reselling. I’m lucky that I already have a well established Ebay account to utilize and I might as well take advantage of this platform. In the past, the model/agenda that I’ve drawn has been effective but I’m unsure if the current state of the economy will affect this. There is very little risk with drop-shipping items as you only purchase the item once it is already bought from you. I think my access to an established platform along with the increase in online orders may work in my favor during this project.

Brainstorm

April 3, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

I decided to define success as the development of new and creative ways to overcome the challenges placed on society and yourself from social distancing. I split my concept board’s vision into the bolded categories displayed above. I also acknowledged that addressing the effects of social distancing in regards to society and your personal life are two completely different topics, so I organized my ideas based off that as well.

Concept Board

April 3, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

My concept board displays two sides of practicing social-distancing during the next 6-12 weeks: the lighter side and the darker side. The left more colorful and bright side displays the new developments, opportunities and creativity that will occur during this time period. The right more dark and dull side reflects the world being ‘put on hold’, the economic and mental challenges and the effects of isolation that will also occur.  However, although it may seem this way at first, this concept board isn’t so much trying to convey positives versus negatives; the themes displayed on either side may be relevant or cross-over to the other side. This idea of cross-overs may have been better depicted through a mind-map, and come to think of it now, this theme of light side versus dark side somewhat parallels our constraint maps, depicting constraints and opportunities. 

I chose the picture of the baby being the center focus point of the left side as it reflects an experience I believe most of us can relate to. While being bottled up at home for days on end, people have the urge to get out of their homes whether this be through taking a walk, going to the supermarket, or just going outside into their backyards. The effect of spending so much time indoors creates this new-found appreciation for the world outside the home. Because babies have seen very little in their time alive on Earth, everything outside their home is very interesting to them. I went on a walk yesterday and had a similar experience where I just became very appreciative of where I live and the beautiful nature in my town. I hope the affects of this time period and decrease in industrial pollution will have a positive impact on the way humans treat the environment going forward.

I think a picture that really stands out on the right side is the picture of the city that depicts “limbo” from the movie Inception. Limbo is really “an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution” and that is what the world is experiencing right now. This assignment calls for depicting the next 6-12 weeks, but no one really knows how long this period of social distancing will last. Social distancing has emptied the city streets and caused economic decline which is also illustrated in the picture. 

As I mentioned earlier, the theme of the two sides isn’t separative. Many of the ideas on the left side occur because of ideas on the right side and vice-versa. The family-time, the creativity, the use of Skype, going on walks and the urge to practice or pick up new hobbies is all a result of the boredom and isolation depicted on the right dark side. On the other side of things, there’s relaxing and lighter aspects to having time to yourself and being away from the pressures of everyday work and society. Even the economic changes depicted at the top of the right side affect people differently. Food delivery is a booming industry right now that needs more workers as is other delivery services such as Amazon or covid-19 test-kit manufacturing companies. Others’ occupations aren’t even affected much during this following time period and in the next few years the stock market should rise back to where it was previously. So, all-in-all, a hinderance to society, or anything to that matter, catalyzes the creation of new ways to overcome these challenges.

Constraint Map

March 29, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

At first I very much struggled with this assignment. After doing the readings, going over Module 1, scanning the media and reading about a historical event I begun trying to draft a constraint map but hit a road block in adapting the book template to this specific case. I had trouble understanding the book’s model as I found it extremely vague and not tailored towards an example or event like we were suppose to create. I understood that the map begins with three different areas in the design process where constraints pop up: the end-user, production, and the fabricator. But from there, I was lost in how to continue, in congruence to the template provided. Ultimately, with Professor Smith and Professor Allen’s voice in the back of my head and remembering the attitude that this course teaches towards following a prompt related to design, I decided to veer away from trying to duplicate the book template onto this specific challenge. 

In creating my constraint map, I adapted my own process, similar to constructing mind maps, but with more focus on constraints and with using the three headers of end-user, production, and designer as a base. I decided the end-user of this crisis is society, although I found it difficult to distinguish between what sub-topics of this crisis should fall under society. I decided the production process really had to do with the large industries affected by the crisis as it unfolded such as hospitals, big businesses, and schools. I also decided the designer of this whole situation had to be the government and CDC as they are the decision-makers. Looking back the designer could’ve been the disease itself and the constraints of its own spread. I’m now seeing how there are really many different ways of doing this activity. Given how I associated the production and the designer, I decided the end-user (society) really had to do with the constraints and opportunities of the people. 

The opportunities I highlighted related to social distancing and quarantining really had implications towards all three areas of this crisis’s constraints. Social distancing was initially introduced in my end-user section but ending up branching out through different dimensions, crossing over into the other sections. For me, social distancing requires staying home which has led me to spend more time with my family. My sister decided to come live at home in the suburbs instead of being bottled up in her apartment in NYC, so I’ve spent a lot more time with her. I’ve been able to begin reading books and working on music production. I think the world being under quarantine has forced people outdoors, whether it be walking, running, riding bikes, or sports. Friends of mine who I’d never think would go on leisurely walks have been doing so and the aqueduct trail is mobbed on a nice day. I think this newfound appreciation for the outdoors as well as the decrease in industrial activity has given the world a glimpse into a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future. 

Other opportunity areas I’ve highlighted help convey how this situation historically relates to effects of war-time on society. With many industries and establishments that are dependent upon in-person attendance being put on-hold or being severely altered, there is an opportunity for new services to thrive. This aspect of the natural development of new innovations and technologies parallels the urgency in war-time. Another opportunity of this international emergency is collaboration amongst countries to help one another. Hopefully, political leaders of different nations can realize that this problem is bigger than simply their country or region; it is a conflict that encompasses the entire human race. Social media helps promote the idea that people around the world are going through similar constraints right now, and hopefully this gives rise for positive globalization. Although it seems as though fragmentation is also occurring the xenophobia and the choice of words of certain “designers” of this crisis. 

Tea Light

March 18, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Inspiration 4

March 10, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

For my inspiration this week I hiked up Mount Taurus in Cold Spring, NY with a friend. The full hike was about a 5 mile loop that passed through a pond with thousands of chirping frogs on the way up, spectacular 360 views of the Hudson River, the mountainous surrounding terrain and the Hudson valley at the top, and an amazing waterfall on the way down.

At the top of the mountain you could see lots of smoke emerging from a point right across the Hudson river. When we were at the bottom of the trail, we noticed lots of police cars driving North with their sirens on and that the road ahead was closed off. It was cool to see the whole fire situation from a birds eye view. Another outcome was muscle soreness and realizing my current state of cardiovascular strength. It made me realize that I’m not in the physical shape I’d like to be and need to workout more.

I did not go into this hike with a certain inspiration in mind. However, as I ascended up the mountain, needing to take a few breaks to catch my breath, I became more and more determined to reach the top. I suppose the aspect of inspiration that I could take from the 3/18 reading is challenge. Climbing mountains is something I have done all my life, but in recent years, I haven’t done any major hikes. This hike refueled my love for reaching the top of mountains and reminded me of how fulfilling it is to overcome muscle soreness and loss of breath when you finally reach the view at the top. I have gone on a run today, which is a direct product of my hike yesterday, and will continue challenging myself physically as long as I can.

Creation _ Key Hanger

February 27, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Inspiration – Week 3

February 27, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

For my inspiration this week, I spoke on the phone for half an hour with a Bucknell alumnus who works as a Marketing Lead for Pfizer. In my pursuit of a summer internship, I decided that reaching out to someone in a marketing role would be a productive way to learn more about marketing jobs and broaden my network. I reached out on LinkedIn and asked a variety of different questions ranging from how he got to where he is today, his experience and challenges in his current job, to his time at and relationship with Bucknell.

The conversation went smoothly and was quite interesting. He explained to me his roles in leading marketing teams and what goes into to planning a marketing strategy in pursuit of brand building, product launches, sales planning and other roles. I noticed that he attended business grad school asked him whether he recommended graduate school. He explained how it really depends on what field and jobs within marketing you’re looking to pursue and urged me not to attend business school until/unless I knew exactly what field I was looking to go into.

I found how he collaborated his knowledge regarding pharmaceuticals and his marketing expertise together inspiring. All in all, he recommended going into a field you are genuinely interested in and not to jump the gun on graduate school. It was inspiring to learn about the business and marketing of pharmaceuticals, as this was a field I did not know much about and talking about his work really did interest me. I think this experience will inspire me to reach out to more Bucknell alumn to learn about their jobs.

Inspiration week 2

February 20, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

For my inspiration this week I attempted to do yoga in my room as well as meditate outside my house. I found both activities to be pretty similar, so I tried to do both and see what I enjoyed more. For the yoga, I followed a YouTube video that provided directions on what poses to do and how to breath and think. Along with physical benefits from stretching, the yoga as a whole made me feel relaxed mentally. Although I didn’t expect the yoga stretches to be so difficult; Some poses left me out of breath or somewhat starry eyed. 

As far as the mediation, I did not have such a productive experience. I sat down on the ground in criss-cross applesauce and closed my eyes, attempting to not let outside thoughts into my head. I had a lot of trouble not allowing any thoughts into my head and strictly focusing on the sounds I hear. I couldn’t do it for more than 5 minutes before opening my eyes and deciding this activity wasn’t for me. I didn’t have the discipline to go longer and couldn’t see the point or benefit of it.

I decided to try yoga for physical training reasons. I’ve had some back pains recently, and the yoga training, unlike the mediation, really resonated with me and prompted me to schedule an appointment with a physical therapist. This may have inspired a lifestyle of routine stretching for me.

The reason I decided to try meditating is because I was inspired by a friend who mediates to try these modes of relaxation and mental wellness. He acknowledged meditating as difficult explaining that the brain is a muscle, and just like any other muscle, it requires training to get it stronger and be able to have more control over it. Perhaps I’ll be more serious about it one day. 

MID Draft Map

February 13, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Inspiration – Week 1

February 11, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

At this stage in my life, there is a fine line between getting myself inspired and motivated. Inspiration tends to apply to music production and personal business endeavors while motivation tends to apply to school work, my health, and chores. Often times, my methods of inspiration work against my progress in completing school work, however my motivational mindset also applies to my inspirations. This is an issue I’ve been making an effort of working on; bringing inspiration to my school work.

Making beats on my computer is a hobby of mine that requires myself to be inspired. In order to get inspired, I simply listen to music on Spotify or my own beats to stir ideas and fuel interest. It generally works; often times as I am listening to others’ successful work on a professional level, I think to myself, “I could make something like this.” This past week I used this method and made a pretty gnarly beat.

I’ve found that once I actually get myself to begin working on something, no matter what it is, inspiration follows next. One way that I get motivated to start something productive is just thinking about the fact that future self will appreciate that I’ve gotten it finished or worked on it. Just thinking about my future self and telling myself that ‘once you get started on something, you tend to enjoy doing it’ helps me get motivated and ultimately inspired.

Fender Telecaster

February 6, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Section 2 Design Mind Map

February 4, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Design Mind Map

February 4, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Alphabet Innovation

January 30, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Alphabet-Innovation-Presentation-1Download

Innovation Mind Map

January 28, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Marketing Mind Map

January 21, 2020 by aks020 Leave a Comment

Project Calendar

May 2023

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

MIDE 300 HUMANS

Abby Harris (21), Abby Hislop (21), Alana Bortman (21), Alexander Smith (20), Allie Kotowitz (21), Amisha Chhetri (22), Caitlin Tucker (21), Carly Binday (22), Claudia Glasgow (21), Collin Smith (28), Elana Smith (21), Emily Chopoorian (22), Emily Goldman (23), Erin Mooney (21), Faith Reilly (22), Hannah Moriarty (22), Jabril Mohamed (19), Jane Meng (22), Liam Moriarty (22), Lindsey Knutzen (20), Liza Heyl (21), Lucia Singer (20), Madz Cabico (4), Matt Cervon (19), Meg Coyle (18), Natalie Notz (21), Natalie Ring (23), Nikki Bott (23), Olivia DeNicola (21), Prof. Allen (1), Renne Venico (19), Rowan Beiter (23), Tarrin Earle (20), Zack Yoelson-Angeline (14)

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in