Interaction and Engagement Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Interaction and Engagement - Coursework Example Subsequently, the study will examine another project and offer five alternative design ideas that seek to enhance the interaction of the users with its technology and amongst themselves in a simple, yet engaging manner. However, rather than focusing on how specific technologies work to create the effects, the study will dwell on suggesting simple solutions that can produce the â€Å"Wow† factor. The case study being considered for this study is the â€Å"Piano Staircase,† a project created under the initiative of Volkswagen. THE PIANO STAIRCASE (Shinn 2010:6) The project, â€Å"Piano Staircase,† offers a staircase adjacent to an escalator on a subway in Odenplan, â€Å"Stockholm, Sweden† that makes passersby wonder as to what option to take (Shinn 2010:6). This was part of Volkswagen’s experimental campaign known as the â€Å"Fun Theory† that seeks to find out whether incorporating some innovations in design that contain the fun element can i ncite people to â€Å"engage in good behaviours† such as climbing the stairs instead of using the escalator (6). While Volkswagen and their PR professionals purport this as the fun element for the sake of entertainment, in actual practice they are aiming at analysing the needs of their audience and meeting their requirements in â€Å"new forms† (6). ... An analysis of Volkswagen’s innovative concept reveals that the inclusion of fun factor has enabled active interaction of most of the audience of the Piano Staircase as can be verified from the video clipping on YouTube. Their concept of encouraging more passersby to â€Å"choose the stairs† by providing a fun element in the design, works perfectly fine in this video (Piano Stairs: The Fun Theory 2009). The beginning, the video shows a nondescript, mundane staircase remaining unused by passersby who prefer the adjacent escalator. However, once Volkswagen adorns the staircase flooring with a piano key design on the floor, it attracts public attention. As a result, a couple of passersby, who initially decides to go by the escalator, reverses their decision and takes the stair after they notice a woman coming down the stairs and perhaps on listening to the sound of the piano notes as well. Subsequently, the video shows the number of people who take the stair increasing and as the video progresses, it shows the passersby interacting in different ways with the staircase and these interactions engage them intensely and actively with various aspects of the design of the staircase. For example, the pair of youngsters who walk the stairs finds the fun of the music quite engaging and fascinating. Lured by the design’s interactive charm, the boy hops around, in tune with the music. Similarly, a lone man walking the stairs jumps from key to key to listen varying notes of the piano. On the other hand, when a woman walks a toddler, the notes play the tune of â€Å"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.† In this manner, the piano notes cater to different audiences by understanding the needs of different users so that they can interact with

Raymond Carvers Cathedral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Raymond Carvers Cathedral - Essay Example ed helpless and plain and was even dreading their meeting following his wife’s insistence after a short interaction which opens an entirely new state of affairs in his life. The foregrounding of seeing over looking is the author’s centre of focus. This is well demonstrated through a juxtaposition of the two related but substantively dissimilar ways of ascertaining and acquiring knowledge and insight into different phenomena. Literally, the hosts who are composed of the narrator and his wife are able to see as they have fully functional eyesight. Their guest for the night who is called Robert on the other hand is a blind widower fresh from the mourning of his wife Beulah who passed away after suffering from bouts of cancer. It is through the dynamism of the narrator that the author successfully manages to bring out the distinction between seeing and looking. The narrator clearly portrays the picture of a person with eyes but ironically cannot see. He initially uses his ability to see as a special attribute that makes him more important than the blind guest they expect to host for the night. According to Carver’s Cathedral, the narrator quickly sums up the pitiable look of Robert asserting how peculiar his eyes looked with glasses instead of shades. In his imagination, a woman married to him was like bondage to sorrow especially the thought of not being seen by a visually handicapped man. However, with his fully functional sense of sight, the narrator is unable to describe the structure of a cathedral shown on the television to Robert with whom they are watching. It is then that Robert asks for a pen and a paper and asks him to draw what he was seeing as the blind man’s hands followed the movement of his own. He is later asked to try drawing with eyes closed which he ably does. On finishing, Robert asks him to open his eyes and look at the drawing but the narrator marvels at the artistic creation with his eyes closed exclaiming that he had never