The purpose of this workshop is to act as a lead-up to the final assignment Collection of Collections, and help speculate on what constitutes a web-based collection. Through a series of prompts and timed activities, we will generate a series of collections that will incorporate the content we have looked through the course and readings. The outcomes from this workshop can inform the final collection, or adapted as an in-class exercise.
The total time of the workshop is approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the group.
- Unobstructed wall of at least 16 feet
- Stopwatch (Timer app)
- 2 × ScotchBlue™ Painter's Tape
- 22 × Sharpie Black Permanent Markers
- 1 × Ream of 8½×11, White
The following are suggested to help distinguish elements and bring more varied renderings to each prompt.
- 2 × Green Painter's Tape
- 22 × Red/Green/Blue Permanent Markers
- 1 × Ream of 8½×11, Yellow
Each participant should have 3 sheets of paper and a marker. In 10 minutes, the goal is complete the following statement with each participant contributing one entry (one sheet) per-section:
The following are a series of prompts, for each section, to help participants think about possible contributions:
- What is something that you, or your friends/family, collect?
- What is an object that you interact with on a daily basis?
- What is a recent gift that you have given?
- While in a new place, what is the first thing that you tend to notice?
- What was the last thing you bought?
- Aside from your computer, and smartphone, what object do you look at on a regular basis?
- On a visit to a forest, what would you look for?
- Other than books, what would you put on an empty shelf?
- How would you describe the weather today? yesterday? this week?
- What was the color of the last website you visited?
- How would you describe the environment/room/building you are in?
- What word comes to mind when you look out a nearby window?
- What was the shape of the last cloud looked at?
- Aside from click, hover, and scroll, what's another action one could take on a digital device?
- What was the last action you performed on your computer?
- What is an action you don't usually perform on your computer?
Each entry should be posted on a wall and grouped into 3 sections going from left to right. On to left, Items. On the right, Navigation. With Properties in between. Each section should be clearly defined with a line to help separate the groups.
Decide on a way of grouping participants into smaller squads of 3-4. Each group should have markers and paper from constructing the collection.
To be completed by each group in 8 minutes:
- Using painters tape, visually link: 1 item, 1 property, and 1 navigation
- The visual line should be continuous starting at the left items and finishing on an action on the right
- Once connected, an item cannot be connected to another query
- With the query, sketch wireframes of possible interfaces to articulate how the collection will be experienced
- Minimum of 3 panels to show an "index" view, "item" view, and states in between or specific design details
- Speculate on a name and logo for the collection
- With tape, mount the panels to a separate presentation area
- At the end of time: Present the speculative proposal back to the group
Repeat the Visual Query until all items are used in a query. Alternatively, different durations could be used: 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes. Allow for time for each group to present their speculative collection and discussion.
Using a sheet of paper and tape, record the queries on the wall with a distinct style to document past queries and remind groups of what has been completed. These are to be written as complete sentences.