Christopher Nguyen

UW Minecraft Replica

Over the course of 5 weeks, my team and I built a scale replica of the University of Washington campus(Fountain, Red Square, Quad) in minecraft.

The goal was to learn Agile-Scrum based techniques in constructing some interesting digital project.

Here are the files if anyone wants to continue where we left off. Minecraft Files

Overview

Creating a scale replica of the University of Washington in Minecraft is a time consuming project. It is something best done in a team setting.

Using Agile based project managment technqiues, I along with several others set out to build the UW in minecraft. Daily scrum meetings aided the project towards completion.

The goal of this project was to create a deliverable that could be then handed off to another build team. All deadlines were met.

Lessons Learned

• Agile based management technique and theory.
• Project mangagment tools such as Microsoft Project.
• Hierarchical team layout.

The Fresh America Logo Project

"Fresh America". Logo for WA State Lt. Gov, Brad Owen upcoming 2012 campaign.

The request to make a new logo from Brad Owen was presented to a Seattle startup Social Freedom Inc.

The design requirements involved were the terms "Fresh, America, Young"

Overview

I designed this logo over the course of several weeks. Going through dozens of iterations and color choices. Preforming user research on votes ranged 18-25.

I choose to create a logo that had a summer set of colors.

I based the shape on representing an eye.

Lessons Learned

• Political candidates are harder to contact when it is just about business.
• User feedback was to varied to use in determining the final design.
• Compensated by using competitive analysis
• Get a better scanner for scanning pen/pencil sketches

University of Washington registration system concept

The UW Schedule Planner gives the University of Washington a competitive advantage over other schools because it presents a simple solution to a common problem experienced by many accredited universities.

Our solution also benefits the University of Washington's administrative staff and faculty as well because it reduces time and energy spent solving problems with registration.

The UW Schedule Planner is an investment that will require less maintenance, more functionality, and ensure a better user experience for students and staff alike.

Overview

Redesign is much needed as the current system is un-intuitive, difficult to use, and is information dense.

Through a five week process of interviews and testing, this final design best represented what would be an effective user system for registration at the UW

Lessons Learned

• Balsamiq wireframing tool.
• Using fireworks for higher quality mockups in place of Photoshop/illustrator.
• Eye tracking software tools
• More practice with user interviews

Travel application "Local Guide" iPhone app prototype

LocalGuide travel iPhone application. A graphical wireframe mockup of an iphone application built for travel around the world.

Similar to the concept of yelp, except it provides a richer experience while traveling.

Team project with colleagues in both the US and Netherlands.

Overview

Collaborative design process for creating an iPhone application prototype.
In ten weeks our team worked to collect information necessary to build this application

70 pages worth of interview transcript, all of which is coded up to create personas and brought to stakeholders for review.

Many design iterations that encompass sketches to interactive HTML prototypes

Lessons Learned

• Interview process and coding system.
• Team oreitented design creation.
• Keeping a long presentation active an engaing through skits
• More practice with user interviews

PHP image gallery for use in academic research

Php image gallery from scratch. Created for Prof. Zachry in the HCDE dept. at the University of Washington.
The group is concerned with developing knowledge about novel applications and integration of such technologies in the work of organizationsطhether they are formal or ad-hoc social networks.
Created in a team of three.

Overview

Adopting and extending ideas from technical communication, human-computer interaction, and related fields, we use varied methods to explore communicative practices in virtual workspace.
The project is then used to test the interaction of students across different schools.
Tested on professors of students who would use the tool.
Once finished the tool will be used to aid the teaching of Genre Ecology Models

Lessons Learned

• Academic research.
• PHP
• Organizing interviews
• Seeing my work used in the wild