Principles and practices, project management

This week I worked on defining my idea for the final project and started to getting used to the documentation process.

Week 01’s assignment

• Worked through a Git tutorial to understand version control basics

• Created student website

• Developed initial ideas and sketches for final project

Final project ideation phase

1. Yarn Manager

The Yarn Manager is a product designed for crocheters to accurately measure and record yarn usage during a project. It calculates the weight of yarn used and logs the data project-wise, allowing the user to track the total yarn consumption throughout the entire project.

The recorded data can be transferred to a mobile phone, helping crocheters monitor yarn usage across different colors and projects, manage leftovers efficiently, and maintain a clear record of material consumption.

2. Soul sync

The product is synced to the time zone of a friend or loved one living in another part of the world. Within the frame, a band of light moves gradually to reflect their current time of day, rising and falling in response to the sun cycle of that location.

This slow and continuous movement acts as a subtle indicator of presence, allowing the user to remain quietly aware of the other person’s time and routine. Rather than functioning as a conventional clock, the product creates an ambient sense of being with them or thinking of them occasionally throughout the day.

3. Paw Link

This product is a phone-controlled robotic arm designed to help people interact with their pets while being away from home. The arm holds a flexible stick and twine attachment, similar to a cat play rod, allowing users to move and engage their pets remotely in a familiar way.

A camera mounted on the device enables live viewing of the pet’s activity, helping users observe movement, behaviour, and responses during play. Intended for people living away from home or abroad, the product offers a simple way to maintain interaction with pets and reduce the sense of distance caused by physical separation.

4. Caretion

This product is a remote-controlled petting device designed to allow people to comfort their pets from a distance. A robotic arm performs a gentle to-and-fro petting motion, simulating the familiar act of stroking an animal. The movement can be controlled and adjusted through a mobile interface, allowing users to interact with their pets in real time.

Intended for people living away from home, the product offers a simple and reassuring way to maintain physical-like interaction with pets, helping reduce feelings of separation for both the user and the animal.

Getting started with GIT

I had no prior knowledge about version control, GIT, or creating software; now, with the instructions from instructors, I am able to create a website and document the process of it. I learnt the basics of HTML from w3schools.com.

I received the login details from Fablabs. I used them to log into GitLab, downloaded the files from the repository, and then made basic changes to customise it with my name. A basic website format was given. The code was edited to add contents.

To start working with Git, I first installed Git on my system from the official Git website. After installation, I opened the terminal (Git Bash on Windows) and checked whether Git was installed correctly. I generated an SSH key using the terminal. I chose the default file location.

Once the key was generated, I started the SSH agent and added the newly created SSH key to it. I then copied the public SSH key and added it to my Git account under the SSH Keys section in the settings. To make sure everything was set up correctly, I tested the SSH connection. I cloned the repository to my local system using the SSH link provided in the repository.

          git --version
          git config --global user.name "my name"
          git config --global user.email "my@email.com"
          ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "my@email.com"
          eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
          ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
          cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
          git clone git@gitlab.com:username/repository-name.git
        

To make sure everything was set up correctly, I tested the SSH connection. Once it was successful, I cloned the repository to my local system using the SSH link provided. From there, I continued working locally using Visual Studio Code. I made the required changes to my files, checked the repository status, staged the files, committed the changes with a message, and finally pushed the updates back to the remote repository.

The instructions were followed using the VS Code terminal to add, commit, and push changes to the Git repository.

          git add .
          git commit -m"added student agreement"
          git push
        

In the student agreement file, I added my name to using VS Code. The next step was to showcase this file on my webpage. Below is the code I used to include it to my 'about me' page.

          <footer>
            <a href="students.md" title="Go to Ardradevi K's Student Agreement">Student Agreement</a>
            <p>Copyright © 2026 < Ardradevi K > – Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial</p>
            <p>
              Source code hosted at
              <a href="https://gitlab.fabcloud.org/academany/fabacademy/2026/labs/kochi/students/ardradevi-k" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">
                gitlab.fabcloud.org
              </a>
            </p>
          </footer>
        

Further into the website design process, I chose a colour palette from the Color Hunt website.

I wanted to change the font colours of the headings and subheadings. For this, I used CSS styles. To apply the changes effectively, I created id's and classes with names that were easy for me to understand. This approach made the styling process clearer and will help me update or modify the website more easily in the future. Below are the style changes I used.

          #weektitles{
            color: #9B177E;
          }
          #weekh2 {
            color: hsl(313, 74%, 35%,.75);
          }
          #weekh3{
            color: hsl(313, 74%, 35%,.60);
          }
        

Initial outlook of the "About me" page