Tag: tan-yang

Yang Tan

Gestalt Redo Final Resubmit (Resubmit of resubmit)

Rubric Info pasted below. (You may also find images of my rubric pasted in a separate earlier post under my name and tag tan-yang):

Set: SAFE EFFICIENT
Visual Language (VOICE)
Contrast of Space 75% or more white space
Shape of Forms Squares 1×1″, Squares 2×1″
Orientation of Forms 90 degrees
Size of Forms sizes match – either 1×1 or 2×1
Placement of Form center
Space between Forms thin: about .13 inches

Objective Rules (assignment rules)
#1 New forms expand outward from center horizontally, taking up more horizontal space
#2 New Forms should be placed symmetrically on horizon line
#3 If a form rises vertically above midline by +X inches, is balanced by other forms moving down below midline by -X inches. (Example: see #5 composition)
#4 If a form moves more* than the default thin* (.13 inches) distance horizontally away from centerline, then increase the visual weight of that side of the page by increasing the size of the form on that side (example, see #6 composition)

Interpretation of Visual Language
What did you interpret to apply your rules? fortress expanding horizontally, from mirror set in center.
Explain your process. I used the process of a mirror placed symmetrically in the center, with one side a reflection of the other side (left vs right), with exception allowed for emphasis (set 7 – emphasis). Achieve objectives only using 2 types of form size feels spartan, concise, thus adding to feeling of efficiency. While building out the objective rules, keep the larger strip (2×1) on the outside to “box in” the smaller pieces, thus maintaining the aesthetic of a fortress and to heighten the consistency/rigidity/efficiency feel within the set. Allow for vertical (up/down) expansion occasionally as the objective necessitates.
Inspired by fortresses that sit horizontally symmetrically upon a flat land, growing out in width, with an austere symmetric eye, and only allowing occasional complexity.

Set: DYNAMIC
Visual Language (VOICE)
Contrast of Space 65% or more white space
Shape of Forms Squares 1×1″, strips 5×1″, 2×1″
Orientation of Forms 50 degrees angled, except 90 degrees for emphasis
Size of Forms sizes match – either quares 1×1″, strips 5×1″, 2×1″
Placement of Form offset from center by visual weight
Space between Forms thin: about .13 inches
Other Forms get cut off if they extend past the square background

Objective Rules (assignment rules)
#1 First establish balance as two angled strips pointing to the NE
#2 New Forms move/expand the central line visually up or down along the same angled axis (i.e. extend to NE, extend to SW). They can also “thicken” the angled axis by adding parallel forms
#3 If a form expands the overall composition more towards e.g. NE, is balanced by other forms moving down more towards SW.

Interpretation of Visual Language
What did you interpret to apply your rules? Dynamic form as a rocket shooting towards goal
Explain your process. building out the forms along a tilted center line (angled ~50deg) for a dynamic feel. Building out components to reinforce the rocket, and extend its trajectory along its tilt, whether “down” or “up” (NE or SW corner). Use smaller forms for pattern/rhythm but maintain the angle rigidly to maintain discipline and dynamic nature.
rocket/spaceships with rigid, parallel lines, with the appearance of motion through the positioning of lines in the composition to give dynamism.

Set: WHIMSICAL
Visual Language (VOICE)
Contrast of Space 70% or more white space
Shape of Forms Squares 1×1″, Squares 2×1″
Orientation of Forms any angle, usually not 90 degrees
Size of Forms sizes match – either 1×1 or 2×1
Placement of Form starting from bottom left
Space between Forms small, ~.5 inches, but haphazard
Objective Rules (assignment rules)
#1 Objectives alter bottom left corner object unless unable.
#2 New forms grow “up” organically from the bottom left corner, unless moving right for emphasis
Interpretation of Visual Language
What did you interpret to apply your rules? Plant growing organically from a corner
Explain your process. Anchoring the initial “bud” of plant in the bottom left and establishing balance there. Then forms grow upward, eventually outward for emphasis (a flyaway blossom). In applying the rules I kept the angles/spacing slightly varying to create the whimsical effect. While applying rules, keep feel that the plant is slightly using the left edge of the screen as a wall to maintain balance.
An example of whimsy as a plant growing organically starting from the bottom left corner. I established #1 balance rules first. Decisions of placement were playful (slight variations in angles and spacing) to keep the organic, growing feeling but also still consistent enough to be in keeping with the objective rules.

Data Visualization Workshop: Are LA Police Stops Effective?

TEAM #2 City/Mayor

CONTEXT: This is an internal, actionable report on the effectiveness of police stops for the Los Angeles Mayor. Our analysis looks at the police stop accuracy rate, i.e., the percentage of stops that are immediately followed with post-stop activity (as opposed to unnecessary stops which do not justify further activity). We showcase the 5 most effective and 5 least effective neighborhoods, and then further breakdown the police stop effectiveness by race for each neighborhood.

ACTIONABILITY: This data could be used to identify the top performing police precincts, reward their success, and analyze what specifically is superior in their policies and practices. Ultimately, the goal would be to transfer those policies, practices and perhaps even personnel to the lowest performing precincts.

What is your story?

Working in the mayor’s office, we have decided to create an internal, actionable report for the Mayor that cuts to the essentials of what can be quickly acted upon due to the Mayor’s limited time. We focus on the ratio of “Stops with Post-Stop Activity” / “Total Frisk Stops” in ten different neighborhoods across the city to convey the efficacy of Stop-and-Frisk legislation. We focus on the top five and bottom five precincts in order to best understand which practices lead to their success or failure. Additionally, we break down the police stop efficacy by race for each neighborhood to explore the possibilities of racial discrimination in the law’s application.

How does the selected data support your story?

The data allows us to ask, “Do some people get stopped and frisked for no reason?” The answer is yes, the residents of North Hollywood, West Valley, West LA, Devonshire and Pacific are over twice as likely to be stopped for no reason as the more effective neighborhoods like Foothill, Seventy-Seven, Central Bureau, Mission and Newton.

The data allows us to ask further, “Is there racial bias in who is stopped for no reason?” Given the national statistics in white versus black treatment by the police, one might assume that blacks are more likely to be stopped for no reason, but surprisingly, this “police stop efficacy” measurement is roughly equivalent between whites and blacks in all the neighborhoods. In other words, when blacks and whites get stopped and frisked in Los Angeles, they have a similar likelihood of experiencing further police activity, which suggests that blacks are not suffering discrimination. One surprising statistic is that Asians are the most likely to be stopped and frisked for no reason; in every single neighborhood, the “police stop effectiveness” is the lowest for Asians than for any other race.

Despite these interesting trends, our data is missing several key metrics: are more blacks getting stopped overall? We do not look at absolute numbers. Are fewer Asians stopped on average? We do not take into account the population balance of the different races in each neighborhood. It is possible that blacks underrepresented in the overall population but overrepresented in the percentage of stop-and-frisk incidents. Also, if blacks have an equal or even slightly higher percentage of post stop activity, is that really because police “accuracy” is higher, or could it be because whites get let off the hook slightly more often? Our chosen metric of “stop accuracy” uncovers surprising insights, but begs further investigation.

What data did you omit and why?

The most significant omission was the data (race and ID number) about the particular officers that were carrying out this law. Though these could be important for discovering the “accuracy” (in terms of the aforementioned ratio) of various officers as well as their personal, racial biases, its is both out of the scope of our report and outside the purview of the mayor to scrutinize individual officers in a city whose police force numbers over 10,000. Following the same logic of including only the information that could be absorbed in a limited window of time, other variables such as time of day, date of stop, and stop type (vehicle or pedestrian) were omitted.

How does the representation support your story?

The representation supports our story because bar graphs are simple to interpret, and keeping the y-axis the same for all graphs makes it easy to make comparisons between different towns and different races. For example, bar graphs made it easy to see that blacks and whites have about the same “stop accuracy” with it being slightly higher for blacks. Simplifying the color of the background and bar graphs makes it instantly recognizable which towns have more effective police stop policies (blue) versus those that do not (orange).

What visual metaphor(s) did you use and why?

The bar graph was chosen because it was the most immediately comprehensible. Though we considered using a map with pie charts and various layers with more sophisticated graphics, owing to the limited amount of time provided by our scenario of meeting with the mayor, we agreed that bar graphs would be the most efficient means of communicating the necessary information. The more effective neighborhoods are coded blue to signify well-being and stability, whereas the least effective neighborhoods are coded orange to signify danger and instability.

Yang Tan

These were my initial associations at the beginning of the project (before doing the compositions)

Dynamic: (per the option given to us in class that we can just focus on one word, I just focused on the dynamic part.)

– up
– a ballet dancer
– running
– angles
– jumping
– arrows
– flight
– ballistics (a bat hitting a ball)
– spaceshuttle launching
– thumbtacks falling

Whimsical and delicate:

– flowers
– curling tendrils
– dandelion
– butterfly fluttering
– small bird drinking
– a feather
– snowflake
– puff of air/smoke
– leaves on the wind
– nautilous shell

safe and efficient

– safe boxes
– the pyramids (triangular)
– an egg held in crates
– cogwheel piece on machine
– automatons – boxy robots
– square trough
– step-pyramids
– very large door (viewed from bottom up to maximize imposingness = trapezoid)
– roman column
– a barred window

Yang Tan

Original Object: Tea Candle (brown, cinnamon-spice scented)
Original characteristics & properties: wax portion is round, symmetrical and smoothly shaped, in line with the candle holder. Able to be lit. Pleasantly scented (cinnamon spice)
Original emotions & associations: warmth, comfort, romance, happiness, positive ambience, mesmerizing soft light, home, fire (and thus potential).

New Object: Wax model of a whimsical poo, shaped from the wax from the candle, in the candle base (still cinnamon-spice scented)
New characteristics & properties: wax portion more organic/asymmetrically shaped (into pyramidal poo pile shape). No longer follows shape of the candle holder but sits in it. More fragile. Not able to be lit. Still pleasantly scented.
New emotions & associations: disgust, mischievousness, bathroom, harsh light (as found in a bathroom), finished/done (no potential).

About:
I had a hoard of very positive associations and emotions with the scented tea candle, which evoked home, romance, and happiness. I wanted to break that positive emotional association as much as was possible, within the medium of the object. Because of its form factor (roundish, and brown), a mischievous voice in the back of my head suggested that I try to shape it into the shape of a whimsical poo, which was inspired by whimsical toys I’d seen in Japan [similar example image also attached].

Because of my high level of negative associations and disgust with actual poo, I felt that this was a strongly negative association such that resembling it (even a small amount) would conjure some degree of disgust or negative emotion in the viewer. Furthermore, there was an interesting tension that is created because the smell is still that of the original candle. So if you interacted with the new object long enough and smelled the wax, you would be driven to want to smell it because of the scent and have positive associations, which clashes with your sight (glistening brown turd) and also what you expect the smell to be because of the visual.

Thus, the changing of the shape from candle to poo already creates an uncomfortableness, which is then heightened by the discordant smell that was not changed. As I talked about, it was even hard for me to bring it to my nose to try to smell it (because of the mental image of what that act would be if the poo was real).

In terms of audience feedback, I was one of the last people to present in the class so there wasn’t time for much in-depth interaction with the audience. Lisa mentioned mischievousness in relation to poo, which I definitely felt when I was making it. So I supplemented by asking more peers outside of the class to give feedback. The feedback was that the poo was quite realistic looking, and people had the proper associations with poo I’d imagined. Also people tended to have similar associations with the original candle to my own (if not as many associations, still positive – warmth and fire and soft light was predominant). In addition to the normal associations with poo that they had, it was interesting to hear that for the candle they associated with “potential”, because the wick can be lit, so the candle had potential to become something, whereas the poo did not (was already final state). This was a change in association beyond what I had thought of. Also some people associated bathrooms with harsh fluorescent light, and they associated the candle with soft pleasant light, which was another reversal of association to add to the reversals I had planned. Due to this feedback I think the changing and reversing of the associations was successful.

User Interface Metaphor Discussion Presentation

User Interface Metaphor Discussion Presentation
Teresa Haun, Yang Tan, Meghana Battini

[Please note you can see the presentation attached as images of each slide. The below are some written out explanations, similar to what we talked about during our presentation. Due to the image # limitations per post, there will be an additional addendum post to cover remaining slides]

What is an affordance?

“An affordance is a property of an object, or a feature of the immediate environment, that indicates how to interface with that object or feature.”
Metaphors help us understand affordances. We associate characteristics or emotions from one thing and apply them to another.

Affordance example 1: Computer mouse (Teresa Haun)

A computer mouse allows you to click and select different items on a computer. A metaphor for this is driving a car that gets you around the world quickly, since a mouse is like a little transport vehicle to get you around your computer quickly. This is a universally understood example that works across cultures as people all over the world use the computer mouse and drive automobiles. This metaphor is understood through teaching, since it is not very intuitive to figure out what to do with a computer mouse or how to drive a car. You are taught both usually by a parent or mentor and there is even driving school to make sure everyone understands the process similarly.

Affordance example 2: Apple Home Button (Yang Tan)

The apple home button is the sole tactile button. Metaphors for this are:
– “big red button”, with associations of power;
– rube goldberg machines, with associations of one touch that triggers a delightful cascade of events which you do not have to do yourself, whimsy, fun;
– a nest, which is perhaps a more personal metaphor, with associations of warmth, familiarity, comfort. The home button’s round design evokes this, as well as its function of bringing you “home”.

The metaphor of the big red button for example is more universally understood in post-industrial societies. This metaphor is learned through experience (cause and effect is pretty directly observable without being taught).

Affordance example 3: Mug Handle (Meghana Battini)

Whenever we hold a mug using its handle, we build a connection towards it and feel like it’s ‘ ours!’ just like holding onto something or someone really close to you. Keeping this in mind, the metaphors used for this object are – Affection or holding onto something / someone really close to you.

HOW and WHY do we associate that action and feeling towards it?

We can see that the shape of the object implying the purpose and function of the affordance. In a way, the shape itself can be used as an interface to use the object. We have been trained to do that action whenever we see that shape and we associate that in many other situations like holding a scissors/ a ring/ a person etc. We can see how these metaphors are being used in actually designing an object

It is Universally understood and works across cultures. We have been trained to do that action right from our childhood and now we do it by instinct. No matter how you hold it, the basic initial actions of your hand is the same and that is how you connect with it.

Bad Design example 1: Door that is too close to toilet (Teresa Haun)

An example of bad design is a bathroom that is far too small and the door is so close that your legs hit it while sitting on the toilet or you just can’t get out easily. A metaphor for this is public transportation systems where there are far too many people jammed together and so you don’t have the space you need. Even with more experience using a tiny bathroom or commuting on a packed train, this would not improve the bad design since it is a functional problem driven by too little space accounted for. This is a universally understood example but it is appreciated more by certain cultures that value more space and have the opportunity to give each person more space. This metaphor can really only be understood and appreciated by experiencing the inconvenience of small spaces for the sake of efficiency.

Bad Design example 2: Rally Race Computer (Yang Tan)

The Rally Race Computer has a lot of knobs, buttons and requires a lengthy key combination to execute a simple task. Metaphors for this race computer include: traditional programming thermostat, airplane cockpit, a robotics technician (evokes technology and “expertise required”). Some of these metaphors contain some positive associations (airplane cockpit could connote excitement, speed, technological expertise) but a lot of them have negative associations and emotions such as frustration, overly-complex, confusing.

Experience could improve this, such as by learning key combinations, but only up to limit. After that a functional matter because the core function is impeded: you could forget how to access certain core functionality because of the complexity and diminish your experience.

These metaphors are perhaps more personal. Metaphors for this object are somewhat individual – e.g. generational, expertise-based.

These metaphors are taught, based on your exposure to electronics, tech experience, and/or media concerning race car cockpits, airplane cockpits etc.

Bad Design example 3: An Umbrella (Meghana Battini)

I personally had bad experiences with this object and because of this I would split the metaphoric interpretations into 2 parts –
1. When using it for the first time: Protection/ Blessing.
· An umbrella can be associated with a roof, which protects us from rain and other environmental factors.
· It can also be associated with an Indian way of blessing, which usually implies support.
2. After bad experiences with the object: Weapon/ Pushing people away from you.
Due to some aspects of the object, which makes it a bad design, unintentionally we tend to use it to push people away from you or used as a weapon to protect yourself.
· It is too big for one, too small for two, has sharp ends at its circumference.
· Because of its size and material, it is really hard to use this object in the crowded areas – We usually tend to lift our umbrella due to lack of space.

It is universally understood and works across cultures. The metaphoric associations wouldn’t improve the experience of it as it’s purely function based and is personally linked with every individual using it.

Yang Tan

My workshop experience was, in a nutshell, a rollercoaster. At first the surprise was not there. I remember thinking maybe the berry didn’t work for me as well as others, or maybe my taste buds are wired a certain way, I’m physiologically deficient somehow. I thought this because many of the foods just tasted to me like the essence of that food, the purified and more voluptuous, crazily aggrandized version. Like my previous impressions were of a music box playing a tune, and now I’m experiencing the symphony version. But it’s still the same tune. In this way my association didn’t really change astronomically.

Then I tasted the vinegar, and I realized that yes, the berries are definitely having a crazy effect, because my impressions were now very different. The earlier lack-of-surprise was concerning some sweet foods (berries, chocolate). But when it came to the acidic or formerly unpleasant tasting foods, the berries have done a 180 degree shift. I was fully savoring the vinegar, it tasted like a rich and complex wine(!), and I would have willingly drank a whole glass of it.

I also experienced a dramatic reversal on the cherry jam. I bought this fancy organic cherry jam spread, and it’s always disappointed me — it’s too closed, too flat taste-wise, not sweet enough. But the berry just exploded the flavor and made it rich and alluring, as well as much, much sweeter of course. My associations went from negative (cough medicine) to highly positive (pop rocks!) The jam became delightful.

Regarding frequency: surprise is quickly tempered and becomes boredom, even annoyance. I think if this happened once a year, it would renew my appreciation for the taste of the foods, and make me more appreciative, more contemplative. I would savor my meals more. However, if this happened all the time, I would become annoyed and crave the “normal” taste of foods. My perception of both surprise and anticipation would decrease dramatically with increased frequency.

Examples of association changes, by food item:

White vinegar
Old association:
– “fish and chips”
– acid
– corrosive/destructive
– cleaning agent
– potato chip flavor

New association:
– wine
– burning (at end)
– sophistication
– smooth
– full-bodied/complex

Jalapeño:
Old:
– spicy
– Mexican food
– cooking
– chefs
– exotic

New:
– bitter
– ashy
– numbing
– nuclear
– overwhelming

Cherry Jam:
Old:
– cordials
– cough medicine
– blackberry
– school
– pie

New:
– super sweet
– acid
– poprocks
– (extreme!) tart
– (extreme!) candy

Yang Tan

This object – the lamb – has been top-of-mind for me because I’ve had a recent, novel experience with it. Over winter break, I travelled to Chile, where in the Andes mountains I watched local Chileans kill, skin, prep and ultimately roast two lambs. It was a more everyday occurrence for them, a “get back to your roots” event for others. I had seen and petted the lambs while they were alive, just minutes prior. The affair felt eerily ritualistic. Before this, lamb in my mind was little more than a food dish, perhaps on the more gourmet side of foods. But now, post this experience, I wanted to explore more deeply what the lamb means, to me and in general societally through the imagery and symbols that are associated with it. Post-ritual experience, the lamb had taken on layers and layers of complexity of meaning, which is illustrated in my poster: from the basic childish associations (a childhood toy) to higher abstract concepts like sacrifice and purity.

If we looked at all objects this way, the world would definitely become richer. There would be layers and layers of symbolism and meaning when we glance at the things around us; the world would be come ultra “high signal”, with lots of information being registered by us with every scene.

However, with the “high signal” quality comes “high noise.” By which I mean that in order to carry about our daily lives and tasks in a normal, medium efficiency manner, we usually have to focus on the most important message or signal that is being conveyed to us by an object. When we see a traffic cone while driving for instance, we should grasp right away that we should not drive past the area delineated by this traffic cone object. However, if we were perceiving the traffic cone in this more rich perceptual manner, we would be pondering about the meaning of the color orange, the history of said color, the shape, the material, and many other layers of complexity on top of that. This would be a perhaps detrimental distraction that prevents us from moving onto the next images and next signals (quite possibly very detrimental, in the context of driving!).

Because of the above problem, we may learn to tune out the noise of all these other layers – in fact our brains are programmed to tune out noise. There is a biological basis for how our attention is tuned, which makes sense as behavioral changes due to attention is linked to survival. (Again, the driving example is salient here.)

On the flip side, we would need to look at the world this way when we are coming up with very high-meaning, frequently observed things. For example, in the realm of consumer goods or services (both digital and otherwise), icons/logos for companies may need this depth of analysis to make sure that all layers of meaning or signal that is perceived by most people still align with the values and image that the company seeks to project. Another area is religious iconography and images that are venerated. The details and symbols that are portrayed are rich and layered there, as people focus their attentions and derive meaning from those images. Most art – designed to be looked at and pondered upon – also fall into this bucket.

The meaning of the object has changed quite a bit. I’ve made much deeper linkages through the act of going through this exercise between the object (lamb) and meanings that has surrounded this object from historical/religious context. All those past interpretations and usages of the image of the lamb make a lot more sense to me now. Those concepts seem to have more natural linkages and flow, for example from childhood, to purity, virginity, holiness, and sacrifice.