1.     1.  For my job and my career after college, design tactics will constantly be used.  In my daily life when I decide how to arrange my room and in my car how I decide to arrange my stuff will all be affected by design.  How I arrange my locker at the pool will even be affected by design.  There are unlimited ways in which design will affect my life.

2.     2.  First Year student sat K should have an open mind when coming into K.  They should try new things, but at the same time manage their time well.  First Years should also remember that summer is over and, although it may seem harsh, get to work.

3.     3.  First Year K students taking Design Intelligence should always make it to class first and foremost.  Secondly, students should complete the blog post for each class and be ready to discuss the topic in class that day.  Thirdly, during discussion don’t be timid and express your thoughts.  Finally, for papers give yourself plenty of time to work on them and utilize the writing center.

1.      1.  By building a new natatorium, three areas could be greatly improved upon: the outward appearance of the facility including a lobby, the pool itself and the seating area.  These changes would produce recreational fun, home swim meet prestige, higher swim meet attendance and greater interest from prospective students.

2.     2.  My trigger points are: outward appearance of the facility, a new lobby, the pool and the seating area.  Little constraints exist because the plans to build a new pool are already in the making.

3.     3.  5 writings from class I could apply to my paper are: Emotional Design, Emotional Desgin Pt. 2, The Experience Architect, Third Place and The Design of Everyday Things.

4.     4.  "Third Places" often have groups of regulars and people that show up to meet in a neutral setting.  I view a "Third Place" as the type of establishment where everyone knows your name and someone might have their usual order that they buy everyday.  In today's world some examples of third places are "pubs, computer cafes, coffeehouses, libraries and health spas" (Santasiero 1).   

1.  I observed the natatorium at Kalamazoo College.  I observe the natatorium all week at practice.

2a) The outward appearance of the natatorium is extremely dull and simple from the front: plan colors of brown with windows only by the door at the far right which are hidden by bushes.  

2b) The seating in the pool area is very small for a college's natatorium and entry ways are extremely difficult.  On top of that the seating is only to one side and during meets it gets very crowded.

2c) During are first home swim meet the stands were overflowing with people to the point where people were standing off to the side and couldn't even walk the stairs to get up to the stands.  

2d) The tile floors in the pool and on the side look old and worn.  Certain spots on the floor have rust and look very unattractive.  The floors in the stands are dark cement. The sidewalk leading up to the pool is plain gray cement. 

2e) During meets the sound level gets extremely because the pool is in such a small area.  the gutters are also really loud.  

2f) The natatorium is made of brick on the outside.  The benches in the stands are made of wood.  The pool deck is tile.

3.  The pool's image is old and used because of its plain outward appearance and its fatigued tile deck.  The pool's small area also make it seem stuffy and loud.  This is not the image Kalamazoo wishes to project.

4.  At the swim meet people tried to find a place to sit.  During warm up the pool was crowded with tons of swimmers and it was difficult to warm up.  There really wasn't anywhere for people to sit other then the stands; therefore, there really wasn't a reception area for people to talk when their child wasn't swimming.  

5.  I did like the big window to one side of the pool.  I liked being able to see outside and it made me feel like I was a part of the outdoors even though I was in a pool.        

1.     1.  Companies are designed to give off a positive image and in turn market their company based on their positive image.  Important ways to do this are through the service-profit chain: internal service quality, satisfied and productive service employees, greater service value, satisfied and loyal customers and healthy service profits and growth. 

2.   2.  When a person goes through the experience of deciding which product to buy, brand names are extremely influential in a person’s decision making.  Brand names give people a positive or negative perception of a companies products or services.  When a person has a positive experience with a brand, in the future they may select a product by that brand name again.  The consumer begins to associate their good experience with that brand name. 

3.    3.  K’s brand position is the K Plan.  Our school reinforces this through a top-notch study abroad program, externships and a highly ranked liberal arts education.  Kalamazoo College also likes to give off the message of a “green” campus and does this through a well organized recycle program.  Thirdly, K likes to give off the image of a school with smart and well-prepared students.  The K Plan and great teachers help K students exemplify this image.        

1.   1.  The main points of “The Experience Architect” are: trigger points are small changes in designed experiences that have a big impact, it is important to mix in original and memorable ideas, a companies experience is only as dull as their imagination, journeys always have more steps then what people first think, mobility works with journeys and reward loyal customers.

2.   2.  The design of experiences differs from the design of products in that a person goes through an experience with a company after they’ve committed to their service.  A product is a one-time buy and before a customer makes the purchase they’ve haven’t committed to any company.

3.   3.  I would set up a daily basketball game in the gym where anyone can come in and gets a chance to play.  The changes I would make is that the teams are constantly mixed up and records for each team aren’t kept; therefore, the games are simply played for fun.  I would also have an e-mail list in order to inform people if the gym isn’t open that day or to plan other fun activities.     

1.  A "Third Place" is a public gathering place where people go for conversation and community.  "Third Places" often have groups of regulars and people that show up to meet in a neutral setting.  I view a "Third Place" as the type of establishment where everyone knows your name and someone might have their usual order that they buy everyday.  In today's world some examples of third places are "pubs, computer cafes, coffeehouses, libraries and health spas" (Santasiero 1).

2.  "Third Places" should give off a homey feeling and plainness.  Independently owned, mom and pop, places tend to work better.  Centralized location is important for "Third Places" so people can get there easily.  Most importantly "Third Places" must welcome everyone and offer an informal place for people to meet without pressure.

3.  A "Third Place" at K is the reading room at the library.  The reading room as two fire places, large tinted windows at one end and is located, for the most part, centrally on campus.  Many people congregate at the reading room to do homework and to get away from simply sitting in their dorm room.  Another "Third Place" at K is the Hoben lounge.  The Hooben loung has a fire place with dim lights and plenty of windows.  People not only living in Hoben, but in other halls congregate here to do homework in groups and to hang out and talk with fellow students.

1.  The article highlighted different sitting arrangements, technics and types: integral seating, sitting heights, benches, chairs, the amount of seating and relationship to the street.  The article expressed other main points too: plaza's should be located near the flow of walkers, the positioning of seating to accommodate for large groups, the power of chairs and about one linear foot of seating per thirty square feet of plaza.

2.  Both the design of urban spaces and the design of products keep the user in mind through visceral, behavioral and reflective.  The difference between the two is when someone buys a product they own it from that point; however, people do not own urban spaces, they simply decide whether or not they like the environment and decide whether or not they want to come back.  An urban space as to attract users more than once while a product needs only to attract a user one time.

3.  My checklist for analyzing a public space would be:

1.  many different options in seating including integral seating

2.  the amount of seating is based on the areas peek hours of people

3.  proximity to the street in order to attract people and give off the feeling of something always going on.

Downtown Kalamazoo

1.  My first reactions to the Downtown Kalamazoo business area were the wide sidewalks and the one way street.  The wide sidewalks make it very easy to walk around the area plus the one way street makes traffic far less, creating a safer environment for people to walk.  To further the safety of walking in the downtown area I also noticed the order of shops and restaurants throughout the street; it seemed that the order was retail type store followed by a restaurant or a small walk-in food place.  I thought this was a good order because too much of the same store type might lead shoppers to skip over shops.  The downtown area also had plenty of benches for sitting which was nice and trees to make the area look nicer.  As far as safety is concerned, the police station is located right in downtown.

 

2.  The downtown of Kalamazoo should: add more shops, there didn't feel like very many small shops with little gifts and things of that sort; try to add a larger store like a Dillard's as a primary vocal point of the area; and finally add more sit down and dine restaurants to attract people at dinner time.

 

3. "Towns, Gibbs insists, must follow the malls' example in dealing with the public's fears. That means ensuring a visible police presence, removing or rearranging benches and other features that encourage loitering, and keeping the streets and sidewalks clean."  

Downtown Kalamazoo takes a firm stand with public safety by locating a police station right in the vicinity; therefore, even thought downtown contains benches that encourage loitering, the police presence more than makes up for it.