Thesis of Interaction Design, IUAV University
Supervisor: Gillian Crampton Smith
Co-Supervisor: Philip Tabor
Date: 2014
" Books take us to faraway places and explain the world around us. They leave room for imagination and encourage reflection. Here at IDEO, we believe that an increasingly digital context can add to our notion of books, instead of taking away from it. " [FUTURE OF THE BOOK FOR IDEO, Exploring the potential of book publishing in digital formats]
The context in which Liquid Space operates is a complex scenario because in most cases these students have their own characteristics, needs and ways of studying and need to interact with different study sources.
This thesis project aims to create a digital space to manage and to customize the study. And it was designed for students who are used to studying on paper, offering a service that on one hand aims to help in the management of the curriculum for the various examinations a student must take, and on the other to assist him or her with memorising the material, providing a set of tools immediately to hand.
The application is structured in three main areas:
acquisition, the initial phase when Liquid Space learns about the student’s study habits in order to shape the application based on the individual’s needs;
the organization phase allows the student to manage the various files to read, make a study plan and modify any customizations;
and the study/reading section where the student devotes most time.
To develop the prototype I used Proto.io web platform, a rapid prototyping tool used to quickly create animations, interactions and touch events. This prototype allows users to understand what is the purpose of the project and how the experience is structured. Although the application was developed in its web version, the project is supposed to be developed as a native application for different operating systems.
The report describes in detail the process that led to the creation of Liquid Space, starting with an anthropological exploration of the world of students and research into the psychology of perception and learning; these allowed me to understand the real needs of students in order to find innovative solutions to help them study effectively. Analysis of the state of the art with respect to existing applications addressed not only the activity of reading and study, but also the current level of use by students of these types of applications, and how they communicate with their users graphically and interactively. Decisive were the interviews that gave me a number of indications for the development of Liquid Space, putting me on the right path to an innovative project.
Further info Interaction Venice