Prototype Hackery

Abstract
The goal of this workshop is to bring people from academic design and corporate organisations together to enlighten each other on their respective preferred working methods regarding quick prototype generation and physical communication of ideas. We plan to distill some of the “hacker” ethos – the idea of putting together existing resources in a clever fashion to suit other purposes – into a half-day workshop which presents concrete methodological advice on doing quick and effective prototyping, a discussion amongst the participants and facilitators about their experiences with physical communication methodologies, and a hands-on idea communication prototyping activity.

Schedule
The structure for this half day workshop includes the following components:
• An introduction presentation to the subject area and background on hacking as well as an overview of toolsets and resources for quick prototype creation.
• A general discussion from the participants about the type of ideas they all have, how they currently communicate them, and the types of tools they have at their disposal to make them a reality.
• Hands-on exercise where participants can learn new tools and techniques to hack together a small project from a table of re-purposable devices and materials.

Aims
This workshop aims to bring representatives from industry and academia together to discuss the communication of ideas through rough prototyping, trial new prototyping tools and techniques, and pose answers to:
How are ideas communicated most effectively, for different purposes and to different people?
What are novel and creative methods to make prototypes which are  communicative experiences?
Where can you go for advice and inspiration?
Through this we hope to empower engineers, designers, and management alike to use inexpensive tools and found materials to quickly and cheaply create prototypes which are highly effective at communicating the physical experience of an idea.

Bios
David Cranor is a hacker, inventor, and adventurer. He is a recent graduate of the MIT Media Lab researching human/computer interaction, and is also deeply involved with developing the tools and pedagogy of the Fab Lab movement.

Philippa Mothersill is a designer, engineer and maker.  Currently designing new consumer products for Procter & Gamble, she is a believer in the value of collaborations between academia and industry as well as a keen advocate of integrating the inspiring hacking philosophy in corporate organisations.

Call for participants
Do you hack?

Creating and sharing prototypes of ideas is a common place part of the design process. It is used from design research in academic institutions to consumer testing in large organisations. Why we share prototypes, with whom we share prototypes, and how we share them may all differ in these varied environments, but the tools and techniques we use are similar and relevant to everyone.

Come and join a hands-on round table session where designers, engineers, business people and academics will exchange ideas for “hacking” tools and techniques which empower them all to communicate the physical experience of an idea using inexpensive tools and found materials to quickly and cheaply create effective prototypes.