Project

=Public Spaces: Work, Play, Learn, Live=

//To research and conceptualize an interactive system or service of which the centre of concern are the human behaviours and activities in Toronto’s public spaces.//

“Public space is at the heart of democracy. It’s where people interact, teach, learn, participate, and protest.” ([|spacing./about.htm])

[|Spacing] is an online and print magazine that reports on urban issues affecting the city of Toronto and it’s inhabitants. This publication is indicative of a heightened interest and awareness of Torontonians in regard to public spaces; environments where people co-exist through the building and sharing of culture.

Democratization of civic knowledge made available through networked technologies, particularly social media, plays a huge part in disseminating and producing new ideas in regard to public spaces. “Openness” or externalizing previously held private knowledge is the mantra of many grassroots communities, fostering dialogue at a citizen level. Greater access to information produces a higher level of engagement in matters that affect people and their communities.

Approach
As designers, individuals will investigate a self-chosen issue in regards to public space and take a critical position supported by the recording and analysis of field data. In this way, each student will stake out an area of investigation based on their own interests and access to primary sources. These sources will include people, places and objects that will require direct interaction and observation by the individual. In other words, limiting yourself to internet and other published secondary sources might a good place to start, but you will need to hit the streets to directly engage in Toronto's public spaces.

Deliverables
1. Research and resource contributions to class 2. Web documentation of project work 3. Interactive storyboard and presentation of final concept

Grading Breakdown
The total weight for this project is 75% to be divided into the following components:

Understanding→ (25% of project grade as an individual) - Breadth, depth, exploration and relevancy of research area - Development and presentation of graphic material to highlight significant matters; demonstrate understanding and the ability to articulate ideas in visual form (eg. concept maps, visual essay, information grahics) - In class research presentation

Structure→ (30% of project grade as a group) - User study to further gather useful data to inform design process- planning, execution and analysis - Conduct a PACT analysis to generate requirements - Flow chart to map sequences of activities - System map that represents a cohesive and integrated view of the system concept with wireframes

Representation→(35% project grade as group) - Mood boards to explore visual style, form, metaphors - Full scale visual comps to generate refined representation of screen designs - Interactive storyboard of refined visual form presented as a scenario narrative - In class research presentation

Presentation package (10% of project grade as a group). - Documentation website with organized, relevant and findable process work

Note: at the end of the Structure and Representation phases, a peer evaluation will be conducted as a reference for part of project grade.