A/B Test

If Google provided you with the resources to run an A/B test with a million users in any country you chose, what would you want to learn? How would you design the test to learn this? What impact would the findings have?

At the moment and more in the near future, a large working/studying/mobilised population will have some amount of understanding of a dominant foreign language. Currently it is English but we cannot predict the exact direction of the future. However the situation would be that, a larger population will be speaking more than one language according to the economic situations that arise, In this case we see a new issue, where, one who has some amount of understanding of a language is expected to interact with it efficiently. At the moment we dependent on translators, translation digital technologies or simplified communication. However this process has its own set of problems. IF one doesn't know the other language at all, then it creates a completely different situation and expectation, however that is not the case being studied here.

For a user who is fairly familiar with the foreign language and needs to communicate quickly with people.
Is it easier to understand/comprehend a new word/term
by translating it to the most comfortable language                                               
or
by defining the word in the same language itself
The test is to determine which cognitive process while interacting with a new language is more efficient and meaningful, especially when one is not completely alien to the new language.

The A/B test in collaboration with google will set up a condition where this can be tested by a series of small comprehension tests.

Experiment A
1. A user logs in, selects the most familiar language and the second language that he/she is using.
2. An audio file passage is played out in the second language.
3. Questions about the passage appear with a timer.
4. The user also sees a list of the difficult words on screen,
5. On rollover the words are translated to the familiar language

Experiment B
1. Repeat above steps till no 4.
2. On rollover the definition of the words are shown in the second language being used

Another factor that can be tested is also the difference between listening and being provided with a transcript, as if the audio was transcribed in real time.

A journey map to CCA

Trigger
Not satisfied with current work, Desire to travel, The need to integrate different skills and gain command over interdisciplinary practice, Need to take time and guidance to re-look at current skill sets while expanding and refining them further. Entry point into interesting international work situations. To be in the company of a group or learners. Revaluation of my philosophical - political leanings.

Research
Introspection of personal interests, skills and goals
Major universities, their programs and resonance with these goals
Looking at course work, syllabus, faculty and alumni
Finding alumni from different colleges
Speaking to faculty and friends about goals, plans and selected colleges.

Criteria
Nature of course: Multidisciplinary, balance of theory and practicals.
Level of complexity and sophistication: The college, past students and the course work has to reflect a standard of sophistication.
Nature of economy/Location: Which areas have opportunity and is buzzing with activity
Fee and scholarship : How expensive is the course and why ? Do they offer scholarships to international students and how much can it make my life easier ?

Articulation
Penning down points of introspection and aligning it with the nature of courses.
Compiling and editing portfolio

Selection
Making a final list of colleges that align with all the above criteria

Procedures
Qualifying examinations and certifications, TOEFL and contacting college for all transcripts and other paper work.

Customising application for each college according to deadline
Re articulation and recompiling of past work accordingly

Fingers crossed and submitting applications online

Hearing back from all colleges

Preparing for interviews.

Revaluation of goals and priorities

Asking family traveling through San Francisco to visit the college.

Discussing further details about the course, faculty and scholarships with colleges

Committing to CCA

Trying to find a place to stay

Booking Airline tickets

Visa paper work

Hunting for more local scholarships

Wrapping up all other professional work

Small Holiday

Packing and figuring things required

Boarding Flight armed with everything, with some plans and lots of nervousness.

Ethnography

Prompt: If you could conduct an ethnography with any person in the world, who would you choose and what would you want to learn?

Ethnography was a process of immersion in cultures other than ones own in its most earliest form. Nowadays it used to study and understand individuals and groups more deeply for various reasons.

What would make an interesting ethnography today? The answer to this would be a reflection of ones intent and its underlying world view. Since this question is not specifically addressing any context, other than my own personal interest, there is nothing more intriguing to me than the state of the current world we are living in. In this case one is confronted with more than one factor that needs to be studied to reveal the complex nature of humans that shape the contemporary post modern world-view.

These individuals and archetypes may be studied in their own respect and there need not be relative comparisons, as they are all extreme conditions of humanity, and representative caricatures that shape the current world view in their own respect.  However there might be interesting insights if they can compared.

1. The future forward, nihilistic, Wall Street Professional, knowledge seeking, consumerist
2. The urban conservative, middle class
3. Ethnic tribal leaders whose tribes still live in isolation, among them the tribal leaders or members who have come in contact with the modern

The ethnographic study could reveal more information about how their world view has come into being and how it reflects in their day to day life.

1. The future forward candidate will be a window to the psyche that is in the forefront of modern capitalistic society. How does he/she negotiate ecological impact while working for a multi national ? What factors and personal narrative led up to that situation etc

2. The urban conservative candidate will indicate the reasons as to why they chose a particular world - view in opposition to modern trends and pressure. What are the traditions they chose to hold onto and why ?

3. An ethnic tribe has always been of interest to the early ethnographers for various reasons. This specific example differ from the earlier as they could reveal how they perceived modernity and how it affected or not affect them .

Artistic vs Analytical/Analytical vs Artistic

Binaries exist in the realm of human cognition, and here we are not speaking of the binary code but the perception and labeling of opposites. For example terms such as left and right, be it in the context of directions or when we are thinking of political ideologues. It is argued that these binaries are only conceptual labels and that in reality we live in a spectrum between them. These labels however become necessary to ground and articulate the source of a discourse or an argument. We define these ends of the spectrum to create clarity to aid an individual or an organization to identify, align and appropriate a paradigm.

When we specifically compare different disciplines, fields or modes of thinking, we notice that this binary label is inevitable. For example, we can place art on one side and science on the other. This approach gets more tricky when we hone on to disciplines such as design which calls for combinations of both.

Design practice calls for a combination of artistic as well as analytical modes of approach and thinking. Design has become extremely relevant in this century since it is one such field which requires both modes of engagement approaching situations with a more holistic perspective. Lets us look at a specific example within design practice where the combinations of these modes of thinking has become paramount.

Brand consultancies inevitably use these seemingly opposing modes of thinking. When we are creating a sign system, symbol or experience to contain and express meaning that has to align with strategic goals, we are then dealing with these two seemingly opposing modes of approach. A brand has to communicate emotional cues and messaging, it also needs to align with the strategic goals. In this case, during the process of creating a sign system one has to analyze the intricacies of the strategic goals and then translate those insights into messages that create meaning through the senses. Or in other words, analytical insights lead to shape the multi sensorial experiences accordingly. The moment we speak of communicating to the senses we are already in the domain of the artist. Even if its is only words, it is no longer about the precision and clarity of the communication alone, but in the sensibility of triggering emotions. Then again it is not purely art, since this is not a case of artistic self expression alone.

The analytical mode dissects and deconstructs a situation, identifying, grouping and articulating some of the observations. Then by connecting the dots there is an attempt to create strategies that direct the artistic mode of production which creates experiences or artifacts. These artifacts are then evaluated through further analytical processes to identify their effects and impacts. These effects are then articulated so that it re-frames or refines the strategy. This process is not restricted to the case of branding but appears in many other disciplines within design practice and in some cases of fine arts.
We constantly move between analytical, rational, structured thinking as well as the creative, expressive and emotional states of mind in our daily lives. The human being and its collective whole is a combination of the hyper conscious and sub conscious. We are conditioned to move between these states of being on a daily basis during the most simple tasks to the most complex. How else did man notice the phenomenon of fire and learn to control it? The analytical observational mind must have perceived the cause and effects of fire and whereas the artistic and experimental side would have discovered the affects of fire to chance upon the idea of cooking or creating charcoal art.

When we look at these modes of thinking stripped from its usual connotation we begin to realize how it is applicable to different fields, vocations and activities. Let us look at something that is not closely related to our earlier examples. Sports teams are known to use extensive analysis to understand their patterns of movement. However we wonder what sorts of faculties are used to finally discern the overall strategy and individual game-play. Effective teams have learnt that they cannot predetermine and pre-plan every move. An individual member might identify an opportunity and then improvise. The rest of the team due to their rigorous training and sensitivity responds to this improvisation and then takes seemingly impulsive decisions which could lead to realization of a favorable end goal. Is that an artistic mode at play, in the sports team's realization of strategy ? It cannot be easily labelled as the analytical, then what else could it be ? It seems like between the artist, designer and the sport man we are looking at a state of mind which calls forth an intuitive decision making skill, which is shaped by previous learning, exercises and experiences. Does the accountant or scientist use intuition ? Did Newton really respond to the apple falling down from the tree ? Did the financial consultants interaction with a neighbor who had taken a housing loan trigger his absurd reaction to sell of some of the mortgage bond assets ? Can the sensitive, intuitive or artistic engagement inform and trigger analytical decision making ?

These cycles between modes of thinking has become instrumental to creating the world around us and has therefore been historically complimentary. It is awareness of these modes of thinking and mechanisms that really set the effectiveness in its usage and the degree to which one can harness their natural complementary nature. Perhaps we need to further explore the binaries of the world and discover the latent tensions between them.

Nouveau Logic

There is an area of intersection between design, art and technology that has been consistently growing and spreading around the world. It cannot be easily labelled as a mere aesthetic or a short lived trend as yet, since it has survived, permeated and perhaps silently evolved in our midst.

 How new is Generative art and algorithmic forms ? 

"Generative Art" is often used to refer to computer generated artwork that is algorithmically determined. But generative art can also be made using systems of chemistry, biology, mechanics and robotics, smart materials, manual randomization, mathematics, data mapping and more.

It could be a paradigm born to a pair of seemingly opposing forces; accessibility to computing and the drive to rediscover and respect nature and natural systems. What is interesting about this emerging style is that it challenges modernist ideas of aesthetics while cleverly maneuvering from being classified as mere ornamentation.

This is a style that could have born and died within the screen and the digital realm. However it is important to remember that in history there have been many instances in which fringe ideas permeate into the mainstream, due to its intrinsic nature that allows it to be translated to different expressions.

De Stilj could have been a short lived art movement, however it influences our aesthetics and visual language immensely till date. Similarly the styles from generative art has escaped the two dimensional surface and moved effortlessly into the third dimension, and in this specific case, fueled by the advent of 3d printing technology.

It is a scalable style that has been adopted by a spectrum of creators from etsy craftsmen to architectural studios. However this style is not spared of criticism. This method of making and visualizing is often realised at two different levels; either as superficial visual mimicry or through a systematic study of natural mechanisms.  

 

The former method pulls this practice closer to a larger system of thought known as Biomimmicry. where the design and material is inspired and modeled by actual biological processes and observations.

Since generative art is a fascinating futuristic visual style, it has also been misappropriated at a visceral level under the guise of being 'green' and sustainable. It is comforting to know that there are rigorous research labs invested in this particular area of study, and that it could have major impacts on sustainable practices in the future.  It is arguable that generative art is an idea that has always visited culture from time to time and that there is nothing 'Nouveau' about it. 

 

The fact that we are constantly re-visting this paradigm, with updated reflections of the tools and concerns of the time, is a tell tale sign that it cannot be discounted as a superficial trend.
Perhaps it is a transforming meme, one that appears in mainstream culture in different avatars, as a reminder and expression of our proximity and distance from nature itself. 

PROMPT

For this week's blog post, you'll build on the learnings from last week's class.  Take a look at the world around you - your classmates, your instructors - can you describe a trend you've observed?  It could be a trend in design, education, technology - or something else.  Describe the trend, give some examples, and tell us where you think this trend is going and what it means.  Pictures most welcome!

Opportunities around you

This week's blog prompt is based on the TED talk you viewed last week (Paul Bennett's Design is in the details). Paul talks about "seeing opportunities in things that are around you and snapping and turning them into a solution."  Think about your day-to-day life. Is there something you use regularly that could be improved by changing one or two small details of its design? In your blog post, describe what's not working as well as it could and how you would improve it. Include a photo related to your post.

Paul Bennett's talk on TED could initially seem predated to those who have been following, teaching and practicing design. However, this talk recorded in 2005, close to a decade ago, presents timeless principles that define contemporary design practice. IDEO has influenced the current paradigm in many ways, from the earlier days of the legendary Shopping cart video. 

 
I believe that the points he elucidated becomes a strong reminder for those in practice and a powerful introduction to the uninitiated. Before discussing Paul's talk and its content in detail I would like to analyze and reflect on something I use everyday, which I believe can be improved.

During my classes here in the California College of the Arts in San Francisco,  I have noticed that I and many other foreign language students have a fragmented classroom experience.

The dictionary, Wikipedia and translator is open along with a note taking tool. I wonder how it divides ones attention that could affect general comprehension as well as the level of participation in discussions. Continuously managing multiple reference tools, while listening to the lecture as well as making notes seems like a strenuous effort. Perhaps a simple way to improve the situation would be by simply connecting a projector to one of the student computer and then take turns each week or within the class hours if its really long in duration. It would be interesting to see how smart boards have explored solutions and ideas around these issues.