All Together Now

Written by: Nicolette Mah and Tan Lu Pin

Published: 31 Dec 2011

The UX Singapore 2011 Workshop – The Design Studio was a success!

Introduction

In the design field, a good design studio is very important. It is not only a physical place, but also a living space. And this space allows everyone to get involved, better understand the situation, find unmet needs or opportunities, envision and design solutions that matters to people. This was the first time we are helping to manage a workshop as part of the organizing team and we were looking forward to it.

The speakers invited for this workshop were Daniel Szuc and Steve Baty, both with many years of experience in the UX field. Daniel is the Principal Usability Consultant at Apogee, a usability consulting services company based in Hong Kong. Steve is the Principal at Meld Studios whom is well-known in the area of experience strategy and design. The workshop was held on 18 November 2011, Friday at the Heritage Place, Seminar Room. This year, a total of 17 participants from 10 different companies and institutions signed up for the workshop.

Weeks before the day of the workshop, we started planning the logistics list, source out musics that were suitable to be played during the different segments of the workshop and buying the necessities needed. We thought that it would be an easy task to do, but to get everything done perfectly, much effort and brainstorming is needed. Of course, we still enjoyed the process.

What we did

On the day of the workshop, it was great to see all participants being punctual, in fact, early and already mingling with one another. We were feeling excited with a tinge of nervousness and thoughts kept running through our mind. However, as soon as the workshop commenced, we were slowly getting into situation.

The problem of the day was to understand and discuss about the Singapore Public Transport System to come out with ideas that improves the commuting experience. It is used as a platform for us to experience and learn to run a “Design Studio”.

Before heading out to Bugis MRT station to conduct a field research, we did some brainstorming on the various types of public transportation modes in Singapore such as MRT, buses, taxis, etc. We went back to the room with our documented findings of images, videos or sketches and shared our observations enthusiastically within our teams. With the overflowing of ideas, we had to choose and area to focus on (e.g. the waiting time, the wayfinding towards the MRT station, etc). From there, we sketched out our ideas and narrowed down to the most suitable ideas in solving the problems that we are focusing on.

There was a critique session for each team to showcase their big idea and allow other participants to provide further feedback to improve the ideas and help in creating the storyboard for the final presentation. Daniel and Steve played the role of executive management of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and we have to treat them as board members to present our ideas to them.

Even though our ideas were different from the rest of the team members, it was important for us to listen effectively. Active listening helps to promote open communication of thoughts and feelings by making everyone feel that their ideas are being heard and understood. Though the time frame for each activity was rather short, it helped to bring the unity in each team. The scene of every team being so involved and engrossed in working on their solutions still lingers in our minds.

What we learnt

In our opinion, the workshop was structured in a way it encourages us to contribute actively to both learning and teaching rather than passively receiving information from overseas experts who may not have local understanding of the issues. This approach also encouraged us to share information, learn from one another and work together to solve a common problem. When everyone contributes to the learning process, people tend to feel more ownership of the problem and thus put in more effort with commitment for the context. Through this workshop, it has provided us with a framework of skills that are applicable in any situation to explore issues and take action. It felt like we were back in school attending lessons because problem-based learning is definitely not something we are unfamiliar of.

Now we learn that with members of different professions coming together to build a “Design Studio”, it truly promotes collaboration, creativity and openness so that there is no restrictions to ideas. In addition, “Design Studio” works best with interdisciplinary teams as the intersection between the different professions represents a place that drastically increase the chances for unusual combinations to occur.

Conclusion

As students, it was a good opportunity for us to be exposed to more people and things related to the field. We truly enjoyed the workshop and hope those who have participated enjoyed themselves as much as we do.
Nevertheless, it was a great experience for us!

A design studio is like a kitchen where we bring our best or even the rarest ingredients and share it with others to create the ‘perfect meal’. Know what’s the best part? None of us know the ‘perfect meal’ until we all come together.

Happy 2012! Have a great year ahead :3!

Nicolette Mah & Tan Lu Pin

We are student interns in UX Consulting Pte Ltd from Republic Polytechnic (Singapore), graduating with the Diploma in Design for Interactivity. We come with great desire to better understand the interactions between humans.

About the author

Raven Chai - Raven Chai is the principal consultant and founder of UX Consulting Pte Ltd. His expertise in information architecture design, usability and interaction design ensures web applications and mobile phone interfaces are delivered with effective design that evokes a positive user experience.