Card metaphors are used to physically and easily demonstrate how complex design ideas can be re-purposed and organised.
Card Metaphors used to demonstrate The Loupe prototype
Many of the meSch prototypes are very complex and it can be difficult for beginners in the design process (like the cultural heritage professionals involved in our workshops) to visualise exactly how prototypes and design concepts can be created, modified and re-purposed for their museums. By using card metaphors with the Loupe prototype, previously developed by the project, we were able to show to the cultural heritage professionals what kind of media, gestures, and designs the prototype supported to get them started.
We started by analysing the Loupe prototype in terms of its functionality and capabilities. We wrote down the kinds of content and interaction that the Loupe is offering. Common headings were then used to describe these: content, presentation, target, and gesture. We created the cards before the exploratory lab described in Case 3 commenced, to use when repurposing the Loupe prototype.
There were two Loupe prototypes at the exploratory lab. We used the cards to demonstrate to the cultural heritage professionals what could be modified before re-purposing the smart object (prototype) to fit the scenario. However, we emphasised that they were not limited to those kinds of content, presentations, targets and gestures. The cards helped guide the formulation of the scenarios.
Download the how-to sheet here.
