ProjectProposal-Bryce Lee

From CS160 User Interfaces Fa06

1 Collaborative Mutable Greeting Cards

Collaborative Mutable Greeting Cards

Background

The greeting card is one of the few business-feasible ideas with a personal basis. It can be mass produced with absolutely no customizations like any other printed material. At the same time, greeting cards attain a highly sentimental meaning with the presence of any handwriting, even just a mere signature. This elevated status is not rooted in any monetary value connected to the card or ink. Instead it is the time taken by the sender to transcribe his or her feelings, representative in the physical attributes of the handwriting.

[edit]

Problem Description

Traditional greetings cards are plagued by two key issues: penmanship and collaboration. A misspelled word or grammatical error is a costly mistake, leading to either embarrassment or wasted money on a replacement card. For cards from groups, such as a family, obtaining everyone’s signature is another challenge. This problem is further worsened by geographical distances.

Technology has done little to resolve these problems; in fact, it has actually reduced the consumer value. Greeting cards are sold over the internet as web media templates with customizable text fields. From a manufacturer’s standpoint, this new sales channel reduces production costs. However, this digital incarnation lacks any sentimental value. Computer fonts simply cannot project the same personalized nature as handwritten letters do.

Digital pen and paper can address these issues by providing a cheap, disposable medium which can be transmitted electronically. Writers would be able to decide on a final version, instead of being tied to a single iteration. With a digital version, the internet could be used to collect messages from all members, while bringing back a personal touch to the card. The digital version could even be enhanced by allowing the cards to be printed and physically sent, opening up markets with technologically-connected senders and recipients who do not use the internet.

[edit]

Target User Group

While anyone could potentially benefit from this system, an ideal user group would be tech-savvy families with multiple children at home and elderly relatives. The children present a coordination challenge, as conflicting schedules rule out getting activities done at a single sitting. Additionally, the family’s level of comfort with using technology would make an internet option more attractive.

Needs

Changeable message on a card
Message collection from individuals at different times
Wide recipients

Wants

Quick/Easy card purchasing (internet)
Personalized feel to card

[edit]

Problem Context and Forces

A key issue in this problem is the effect of the card on the message. The separation of these two items must be considered, bringing up the question of printing draft iterations of the card. Also, acquiring messages from multiple sources presents a synchronization challenge. Due to the tangible nature of cards, the location of sales (in a store, rather than online) is also important.

There are many existing online card services, such as BlueMountain. However, these sites do not provide collaboration tools or use of handwritten messages.

[edit]