What I wanted to learn, and why it interested me:  I want to learn about alternative physical interfaces and how it allows us to use computers differently. I've always been more into physical interfaces than digital UIUX, as you get that touch-based feedback. Exploring this will also inform my design studies and allow me to prototype my ideas in the future. 

Process and reflection: 

[Your text goes here; at least 150 words. Address what your process was, e.g. what did you make/do first; how did it go; what did you make/do next; etc.

The process for this was fairly straightforward, being one of those projects where I just needed to add a library and learn a few key commands. I started by wiring up the Arduino mini; I didn't want to solder just yet, so I plugged the pins straight in and held it to a breadboard. Surprisingly, this worked for the time being, though they had a tendency to fall out after a while. Later on, I found out that the technique was to find some male headers and solder them all in. The code worked first try, and everything went pretty well. I did a little bit of reading to understand how exactly the bailout pin worked when connected to ground. The only issue that arose was the text either not displaying or repeating multiple times on a single press of the button, which I found to be the result of not having debouncing. In the future, I'll probably add a slight delay per press in the software side to fix this. All in all, I could've done a bit more, but I had a final design project that I pulled two almost all-nighters in a row for and did not have too much energy remaining. I'll make sure to do my best on project two.

/*

  Keyboard Message test

  For the Arduino Leonardo and Micro.

  Sends a text string when a button is pressed.

  The circuit:

  - pushbutton attached from pin 4 to +5V

  - 10 kilohm resistor attached from pin 4 to ground

  created 24 Oct 2011

  modified 27 Mar 2012

  by Tom Igoe

  modified 11 Nov 2013

  by Scott Fitzgerald

  This example code is in the public domain.Y button 1

  times.

You pressed the button 3 times.

You pressed the button 4 times.

You pressed the button 5 times.

You pressed the button 6 times.

You pressed the button 7 times.

You pressed the button 8 times.

  https://docs.arduino.cc/built-in-examples/usb/KeyboardMessage/

*/

#include <Keyboard.h>

const int buttonPin = 4;         // input pin for pushbutton

const int KEYBOARD_BAILOUT_PIN = 3;

int previousButtonState = HIGH;  // for checking the state of a pushButton

int counter = 0;                 // button push counter

void setup() {

  // make the pushButton pin an input:

  pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);

  pinMode(KEYBOARD_BAILOUT_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP);

  // initialize control over the keyboard:

  Keyboard.begin();

}

void loop() {

  int bailoutState = digitalRead(KEYBOARD_BAILOUT_PIN);

  // read the pushbutton:

  int buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);

  // if the button state has changed,

  if ((buttonState != previousButtonState)

      // and it's currently pressed:

      && (buttonState == HIGH) && bailoutState == LOW) {

    // increment the button counter

    counter++;

    // type out a message

    Keyboard.print("You pressed the button ");

    Keyboard.print(counter);

    Keyboard.println(" times.");

  }

  // save the current button state for comparison next time:

  previousButtonState = buttonState;

}