One Day In
Today was the first day of J-Term class. In less than 24 hours, I transitioned from eating and sleeping all day to putting in about a 9 or 10 hour day reading, planning, learning, and brainstorming. Today in class we were introduced to three patients; my group will be working with a visually impaired patient. We had an opportunity to hear about how the patient goes about life without being able to see and to learn about problems the patient encounters that are unique to the visually impaired. Right now, our group is in the inspiration phase of the human-centered design process, so this week we plan to spend as much time as possible getting to know the patient, building empathy for the patient, and learning what it is like to go through life without being able to see, something we will never be truly able to experience. My favorite activity we did in class today was a sketching activity, in which each class member sketched his/her hand on a piece of paper. I enjoyed seeing the different takes certain students had taken on the open-ended assignment. In addition to re-accustoming me to drawing, this assignment gave me confidence with regard to my sketching skills, for although I am a poor artist and had to my hand, I learned that most of the class had done exactly the same. Looking at the different sketches produced, I became aware that there are different ways to approach even the simplest problem.
-Thomas F
BME Design 