Week 8 – Reading Response

Attractive Design

I found the example of the three teapots particularly interesting because it shows how different designs serve different purposes. The author describes one of the teapots as being deliberately unusable, the other more aesthetically pleasing, and the last one being practical and well thought out. Yet, he uses all of them at different times, proving that design is situational. This made me reflect on my own experiences, there are times when I am most liekly to prioritize efficiency, but other times I would like to appreciate beauty or novelty in design. Essentially, it’s not about a single “best” design but rather the right design for the right moment.

Her Code Got Humans on the Moon

Reading about Margaret Hamilton’s contributions really gave me a new perspective on software design and reliability. I had never thought about how early software engineering had to account for human error in such high-stakes environments. This made me think about how much of today’s UI/UX design is centered around the same kind of principles and ideas Hamilton had. In interactive systems, we rely on clear, intuitive design to prevent mistakes, just like the Apollo software had to ensure astronauts couldn’t accidentally erase critical data. Her work really highlighted the idea that good software isn’t just about writing code but also about anticipating how users will interact with it and designing systems that are both strong and intuitive to use.

Week 8 Reading Responses

Norman, “Emotion & Design: Attractive things work better”

In this reading, Norman’s idea of “attractive things work better” really struck me because I didn’t realize how forgiving I was of things that were more aesthetically pleasing. This plays a huge role when it comes to marketing because brands that are marketed as much more luxury and aesthetic have a positive affect on people compared to cheaper, less aesthetic brands. This made me reflect on my own experiences, like how I’m more patient with my prettier jewelry pieces even if the clasp is annoying, whereas I quickly become irritated with an cheaper and less aesthetic jewelry, even if it technically functions well. Norman also discusses how anxiety can interfere with usability by causing stress, which narrows a person’s ability to think flexibly and adapt. I found it fascinating that aesthetics can influence not just perception but also actual performance, as users who feel calm and engaged are much better equipped to navigate challenges that come with items.

Her Code Got Humans on the Moon:

I found the dedication that Margaret Hamilton had to her work incredible. As a working mother during a time when women would often stay at home, finding time to balance work and home is truly applause worthy and showcases her dedication and passion for her work. Her meticulous approach to programming, combined with her insistence on rigorous testing and error prevention, was absolutely crucial in ensuring the success of the moon landing. I was particularly struck by her emphasis on anticipating potential errors, a mindset that transformed how mission-critical software was developed which is something we could use in our coding as well. Her work demonstrates how careful planning and foresight can mitigate human errors, which, in high-stakes environments like space travel, could really mean the difference between life and death.

Creative Switch Assignment

For this week’s assignment, I wanted to create something that utilized my handy octo-buddy, especially when it came to detecting its emotions. I decided to use two lights: one red and one green. When the octopus was flipped to happy and placed on the sensor, the green light would light up. When it was angry, the red light would light up. To do this, I utilized copper tape and aluminum foil, flattened into a coin like shape. I took the copper tape and attached the wires for the switches in the tape that I then attached to the legs of the octopus – one on each side for each emotion. I also inserted a wire in the aluminum foil.

The result can be seen here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nE8djbPHpdQABXpe-pDiYClpSpO_8Dnd/view?usp=drive_link

All in all, it was a bit hard to get the octopus’ legs to align with the sensor when filming the video, but in the end, it wasn’t too hard of an assignment to complete. I do wish we had more discreet and longer wires, so the octopus didn’t have to be so close to the Arduino board.

Response

Reading 1

Norman’s idea that “attractive things work better” really resonated with me, especially as someone who loves design. I’ve always felt drawn to beautifully designed objects, but I hadn’t fully realized how much their aesthetics affect the way I use them. Norman’s explanation made me reflect on how, when something looks good, I’m more patient with it, more curious, and even more forgiving when it doesn’t work perfectly. It’s like beauty creates a kind of emotional buffer that makes me feel more connected to the object. That connection isn’t just superficial—it actually helps me think more clearly and solve problems better, just like he describes. It reminded me why I care so much about thoughtful design: it’s not just about how something looks, but how it makes people feel, and ultimately, how well it works because of that feeling.

Reading 2

Reading Margaret Hamilton’s story made me reflect on how often history overlooks the people who work behind the scenes, especially women. Hamilton’s brilliance lay not just in her technical knowledge but in the way she foresaw failures and built resilience into the software itself. It is amazing to think that her code saved the Apollo 11 mission at a time of crisis, yet for a long time, she was not a household name. What impressed me most was how she fought to get software recognized as real engineering: it reminded me of how many fields that we now take seriously had to be legitimized by people who were initially dismissed. I find her story inspiring because it combines human intuition, systems thinking, and a deep belief in the importance of “invisible” work. It makes me think of how many other anonymous innovators shaped the world we live in today.

week 8- reading response

Emotion and Design, by Don Norman:

This reading made me think about how emotions affect how we interact with objects. Norman explains that people don’t just want things to work, they want them to look and feel good too. I never realized how much my own emotions influence my experience with products. Even if something is not perfectly functional, I might still like it because it looks nice or makes me feel good. It shows that good design is about balance, not just usability but also beauty.

Her Code Got Humans on the Moon, by Robert McMillan:

Her story is inspiring because it highlights how crucial software is, even in something as big as landing on the moon. It’s interesting to see how her careful programming helped avoid disaster during Apollo 11. What stood out to me most was how she had to prove herself in a male-dominated field, yet her work shaped modern software engineering. It made me appreciate how much behind-the-scenes effort goes into technological breakthroughs

week 8- unusual switch

Concept:

I created this project because I often find myself unsure whether the fridge is fully closed. Sometimes, the door looks shut, but it’s actually slightly open. Other times, I forget if I closed it at all. To solve this, I designed a simple circuit using two pieces of foil as a switch. When the fridge door is completely closed, the foil pieces touch, completing the circuit and lighting up a bulb. If the door is open, the circuit breaks, and the bulb stays off. This way, I can quickly tell if the fridge is properly closed, preventing food from spoiling.

Code:

void setup() {
  pinMode(11, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(A2, INPUT);
}

void loop() {

  int switchPosition = digitalRead(A2);

  if (switchPosition == HIGH) {
    digitalWrite(11, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
  } else  {
    digitalWrite(11, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
  }
}

video:

(I used my foot I promise)

video

Reflection and improvements:

Looking back at my project, I realize that while it works, it’s quite simple and could be improved. The basic foil switch effectively indicates whether the fridge is closed, but it doesn’t provide additional details, like how long the door has been open. I could have added more features, such as a timer that sounds an alarm if the fridge stays open too long or a small screen displaying a warning message. Adding these functions will make it more interactive.

Reading Reflection – Week#8

The first reading, “Attractive things work better” has changed one of the most important beliefs for me in the importance of beauty, as well as emphasized the importance of design for me. I don’t think I was fully convinced by previous readings that beauty was as important as utility. However, it is through this reading that I had the thought that beauty could improve mood, and therefore, help people to be more relaxed and be in positive affect, which could be the type of affect needed at the time as it increases “the tolerance for minor difficulties and blockages.” I also felt an emphasis on the importance of design, through a very possible example whereby a person in anxiety, in flight mode, running away from danger as urgently as possible, could respond to a door that wouldn’t open after pushing. People could react by kicking harder and pushing harder, but this doesn’t solve the problem. However, if people were more relaxed, they may have slightly different though to pull the door instead. This example shows how design could be important to help save lives. Thus, a key takeaway for me is that the principles of human-centered design are especially important in stressful situations. The implication is that designs intended for stressful situations must pay attention to matching the needs of the users, to make actions salient and easy to apply.

What stood out to me from second reading, “Her Code Got Humans to the Moon” are: first, the valuableness of code in allowing humans to go to the moon, or save lives, and much more; second, significance of not ignoring a danger as a possibility; third, the importance of an error detection and handling process. In particular, it was striking that when the Apollo software realized it didn’t have enough room to do all that it was doing, it went through its error detection process and simply focused on the highest priority. This was something I wanted to apply to my work as well.

Week 8 – Reading Response

The key aspects I noticed in Norman’s Emotion & Design: Attractive Things Work Better were the negative and positive valences, where affects have great implications towards how humans interact with and therefore achieve productivity in the use of everyday things (or better described as any tool). I want to expand this concept and interpret this very affect and behavior to not only items such as teapots or any tool alike, but for the lived environment. I tend to agree with this framework, to the extent that I am fully confident that you will produce different work and express different levels of creativity through a lived metaphysical conversation in realtime. To highlight this with an example, I prefer sitting in a natural setting (garden, desert, beach) with no seating or furniture when I try to solve an issue or I want to focus on my creative aspects. After all, nature inspired half of the things we know today.

After Reading McMillan’s Her Code Got Humans on The Moon – And Invented Software itself I connected the storyline and experience of Margaret to that of Ada Lovelace. After all, they are both pioneers in their own respect. Lovelace developed the first known and documented computer program and directly worked with and gave more influence to Charles Babbage. Margaret reflects this pioneering and ingenious creativity by working on highly-technical work on software engineering through punch-cards and simulation. During the 1960s, this development process required a great deal of manual human intervention. I am inspired by her motives and ambition, and I wonder how many people she inspires today. Margaret’s work and achievements resonate within me today, and I believe she deserves even more credit, just like how Lovelace has a GPU architecture named after her.

Week 8 Reading

“The hidden danger is to neglect areas not so easily addressed in science and engineering.” This outlines the principles in which Norman laid out that designers must consider more htna functionality. The things we use should look good too. One important thing to consider is that we as humans are naturally drawn to what is beautiful. When we consider that we must design around the human mind as Norman says, it is important that we consider aesthetics to a great extent as well as functionality. Furthermore, the aesthetics of the product should in some way fit the function of the device.

In terms of what she did for software: I think that this story shows us that code has to work more than just once. In a system such as a spacecraft, it becomes important to realize that these systems should be designed to be consistent. Another thing she made apparent was the importance of contingencies. Because of how when her daughter broke an important device, she learned to plan around it, it made it apparent that we must plan around unpredictable events and make sure that softwares will work even then,

Newton’s Cradle Switch

Concept

This circuit demonstrates a simple, hands-free switch mechanism built using copper tape and Arduino Uno. The switch is activated by proximity without requiring mechanical pressure, enabling interaction with a system without physically pressing a button. The copper tape acts as a capacitive touch sensor, using a Newton’s Cradle as part of the physical interface.

Video

Materials

Arduino Uno
Breadboard
Copper Tape
Jumper Wires
Newton’s Cradle (for physical interaction mechanism)
LED
Resistors (330Ω)
USB Cable

Setup

The circuit is composed of a basic LED switching system. Instead of using a traditional push button, the switch is implemented with two strips of copper tape placed strategically on the Newton’s Cradle to detect contact.

One wire connects the copper tape to a digital input pin on the Arduino.
The other strip connects to ground (GND).
When a person touches or closes the circuit by interacting with the Newton’s Cradle, the circuit registers a state change.

Based on this input, the LED turns on or off, simulating a touch-activated switch.

I am happy with the result; Newton’s Cradle never fails to make something engaging.