New streamlined design from Clarion

Clarion – global leaders in mobile entertainment and navigation – has introduced the VZ509E; a stylish, streamlined, feature-rich solution to in-car audio-visual entertainment, that boasts a host of connectivity options to suit the user.

The new multimedia showcase is DVD-Video/DVD±R/DVD±RW/CD/CD-R/RW ready and is MP3/WMA/AAC compatible with ID3-TAG display, whilst playing DivX video (including DivX 6).

Direct iPod control is via the rear USB connector – offering easy operation either via the VZ509E’s touch-screen or through the iPod itself – whilst iPod video playback is also possible via the optional CCA723 cable.

With the majority of the VZ509E’s features accessed via the fully motorised, 7-inch TFT colour LCD touch-screen, operation is simplified, streamlined and beautifully enhanced, thanks to a high-resolution on-screen display and a new graphic IC, which allows images to switch more quickly and smoothly, whether in full screen or picture-in-picture mode.

The VZ509E also offers direct connection – including touch control – to the stand-alone NP509E hide-away navigation system at a later date, to deliver state-of-the-art voice and high definition map guidance.

Bluetooth connectivity is also an optional addition, via the BLT373 interface, allowing safe access to a number of mobile phone functions.

Clarion continues to close the gap between home and in-car audio quality, utilising a 24-bit D/A converter (usually found in expensive home audio systems) to cancel unwanted background noise, and create a clearer, more realistic audio reproduction.

Meanwhile, Magna Bass EX provides extra low-frequency impact (boosting bass by 10dB at 60 Hz), for a well-balanced sound reproduction, whilst the addition of BBE MP (Minimised Polynomial Non-Linear Saturation) enhances compressed music formats.

Built-in high pass and low pass filters and Beat EQ presets (BASS BOOST, IMPACT and EXCITE) allow greater customisation and with separate subwoofer volume control, the impressive 4 x 50 Watt internal amplifier is put to good use.

Empathic design

Empathic design is commonly existing as a user-centered design advance that puts special emphasis on inspection of the emotional aspects of user-product relationships (McDonagh and Lebbon, 2000; Fulton-Suri, 2003; Crossley 2003). The empathic design process is sometimes mistakenly referred to as Empathetic design.

The seminal publication on empathic design is “Spark Innovation Through Empathic Design” by Leonard and Rayport. The foundation of empathic design is observation, and the goal is to identify latent customer needs. Latent needs are product requirements that customers don’t even know they desire, or in some cases are solutions that customers have difficulty envisioning due to lack of exposure to new technologies or being locked in the mindset of working with existing products and services. In the empathic design process, researchers observe people in their normal home or work environment in order to see how they use and interact with the products under study.

Empathic design relies heavily on observation of consumers as opposed to traditional market research which relies more on consumer inquiry. By avoiding user-created inquiry mechanisms, empathic design avoids possible biases in surveys and questions, and minimizes the chance that consumers will provide false information (as some customers are reluctant to criticize and complain about product features directly). Traditional inquiry based market research often fails to capture latent customer needs that can be identified by observation.

Often the customer observation is performed by a small team of specialists, such as an engineer, a human-factors expert, and a designer. The specialists each observe from a different perspective and then document their observations (sometimes via photograph and video tape) to capture subtle interactions such as body language and facial expressions, and also to allow exposure of the observational data to a larger group. The design group then meets after performing the observations to evaluate and interpret their observations and identify latent needs, desirable product attributes and also weed out any undesirable features.

User-centered design

In broad terms, user-centered design (UCD) is a design philosophy and a process in which the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of an interface or document are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process. User-centered design can be characterized as a multi-stage problem solving process that not only requires designers to analyze and foresee how users are likely to use an interface, but also to test the validity of their assumptions with regards to user behaviour in real world tests with actual users. Such testing is necessary as it is often very difficult for the designers of an interface to understand intuitively what a first-time user of their design experiences, and what each user's learning curve may look like.

The chief difference from other interface design philosophies is that user-centered design tries to optimize the user interface around how people can, want, or need to work, rather than forcing the users to change how they work to accommodate the software developers approach.

Models of a user centered design process help software designers to fulfill the goal of a product engineered for their users. In these models, user requirements are considered right from the beginning and included into the whole product cycle. Their major characteristics are the active participation of real users, as well as an iteration of design solutions.

Graphic Organizers

A graphic organizer is an instructional tool used to illustrate a student or class's prior knowledge about a topic or section of text; specific examples include the K-W-L-H Technique and the Anticipation/Reaction Guide. Other organizers include the:

Spider Map

Used to describe a central idea: a thing (a geographic region), process (meiosis), concept (altruism), or proposition with support (experimental drugs should be available to AIDS victims). Key frame questions: What is the central idea? What are its attributes? What are its functions?

Series of Events Chain

Used to describe the stages of something (the life cycle of a primate); the steps in a linear procedure (how to neutralize an acid); a sequence of events (how feudalism led to the formation of nation states); or the goals, actions, and outcomes of a historical figure or character in a novel (the rise and fall of Napoleon). Key frame questions: What is the object, procedure, or initiating event? What are the stages or steps? How do they lead to one another? What is the final outcome?

Continuum Scale

Used for time lines showing historical events or ages (grade levels in school), degrees of something (weight), shades of meaning (Likert scales), or ratings scales (achievement in school). Key frame questions: What is being scaled? What are the end points?

Compare/Contrast Matrix

Used to show similarities and differences between two things (people, places, events, ideas, etc.). Key frame question: What things are being compared? How are they similar? How are they different?

Problem/Solution Outline

Used to represent a problem, attempted solutions, and results (the national debt). Key frame questions: What was the problem? Who had the problem? Why was it a problem? What attempts were made to solve the problem? Did those attempts succeed?

Network Tree

Used to show causal information (causes of poverty), a hierarchy (types of insects), or branching procedures (the circulatory system). Key frame questions: What is the superordinate category? What are the subordinate categories? How are they related? How many levels are there?

Human Interaction Outline

Used to show the nature of an interaction between persons or groups (Europeans settlers and American Indians). Key frame questions: Who are the persons or groups? What were their goals? Did they conflict or cooperate? What was the outcome for each person or group?

Fish bone Map

Used to show the causal interaction of a complex event (an election, a nuclear explosion) or complex phenomenon (juvenile delinquency, learning disabilities). Key frame questions: What are the factors that cause X ? How do they interrelate? Are the factors that cause X the same as those that cause X to persist?

Cycle

Used to show how a series of events interact to produce a set of results again and again (weather phenomena, cycles of achievement and failure, the life cycle). Key frame questions: What are the critical events in the cycle? How are they related? In what ways are they self-reinforcing?

Graphic designer

A graphic designer (artist) is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and advertising. They are also sometimes responsible for typesetting, illustration and web design, or take a teaching position, although these specialties may be assigned to specialists in various graphic design occupations. A core responsibility of the designer's job is to present information in a way that is both accessible and aestheticA number of occupations are commonly classified under the broad term of graphic designer. Graphic design career paths cover all ends of the creative spectrum. Many of these job descriptions overlap heavily.

Qualifications for graphic designer:

One can obtain an AAS, BA, BFA, MFA or an MPhil / PhD in graphic design. Degree programs available vary depending upon the institution, although typical U.S. graphic design jobs require at least some form of Bachelor's degree.
Current graphic designer jobs demand proficiency in one or more graphic design software programs, relevant to the job function, such as proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite. If a web designer, he or she should understand HTML and other programming languages to design websites. If a print designer, he or she should understand the processes involved in printing to be able to produce press-ready artwork.

Art studio

A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, photography, graphic design, cinematography, animation, radio or television broadcasting or the making of music.

The word studio is derived from the Italian: studio, from Latin: studium, from studere, meaning to study or zeal.

The French term for studio, atelier, in addition to designating an artist's studio is used to characterize the studio of a fashion designer. Atelier also has the connotation of being the home of an alchemist or wizard.

Artist Jane Frank in her studio, 1960s or 1970s. The studio of a contemporary mixed media artist can be quite a messy affair.

The studio of a successful artist, especially from the 15th to the 19th centuries, characterized all the assistants, thus the designation of paintings as "from the workshop of..." or "studio of..." An art studio is sometimes called an atelier, especially in earlier eras. In contemporary, English language use, "atelier" can also refer to the Atelier Method, a training method for artists that usually takes place in a professional artist's studio.

The modern day implication of a studio artist is the concept that the artwork is successful enough to have a studio to work in. This also implies that the artwork is individually produced and not massed produced by machines. The artwork of a studio artist tells the world that the work is hand painted, or hand produced and not massed produced.

Studio pottery is made by an individual potter working on his own in his studio, rather than in a ceramics factory (although there may be a design studio within a larger manufacturing site).

The term atelier also refers to a printmaking studio, where master printmakers, work collaboratively with painters & sculpters who want to make limited editions of their art using printing presses, such as lithography, gravure and screen printing.

Piracy

Piracy is a war-like act committed by a nonstate actor, especially robbery or criminal violence committed at sea, on a river, or sometimes on shore, either from a vessel flying no national flag, or one flying a national flag but without authorization from a national authority. It does not normally include crimes on board a vessel among passengers or crew. The term has been used to refer to raids across land borders by nonstate actors. Piracy should be distinguished from privateering, which was a legitimate form of war-like activity by nonstate actors, authorized by their national authorities, until this form of commerce raiding was outlawed in the 19th century.