Thoughts

User-experience is a specialized topic which i feel that is unique and different from the other design topics that i studied in the past few years in NUS.

why did i say that? Design has always been with the product – how good is it, how practical is it, what feelings does it give out, among other things. Rarely does the design process includes the user himself – where the user comes from, what he does for a living, how does he live out his life, and his life experiences before being shown and able to interact with the product. such prior experiences help to shape the overall experience that the user feels when finally shown the product, and should be taken into account.

I feel that design is too large to encompass into a single topic – much like science, where there are simply too many things to explore. however, science always concentrates on the numbers and data – design like art is always subjective and hard to document, if at all. Hence, science can be taught in textbooks because the numbers never change, but design has to be taught in form of experiences – one which is not easy to note nor pass down to apprentices. Its all feelings – and for that we can only provide general guidelines so that one recreates the environment that can only give a general sense of happiness, and even when we do its a large amount of effort used, whether in marketing, design, or simply society conforms, where everything a person experiences contributes to his or her “being” which affects his or her attitude towards a product. no wonder companies have to pay big for such developments.

all in all, i feel that i have learnt a lot about human behavior in the module, and the many things that encompasses a person’s emotion, and some of the factors that eventually boil down to whether the user would like a product or not. the information that i gathered throughout the course cannot be taught from a textbook and thus are invaluable.

Smoke and Mirrors

i agree with Christopher Fahey that experience design is a intuitive process and not one which can be “engineered” and the essence discovered and reproduced in a lab. User experience is first and foremost different for each user and each user experience a different kind of feeling or goodness that simply varies largely to have calculations and heuristics accomplish more than a general direction. As we learnt in the previous months, user experience cannot be made, only simulated. We cannot generate happiness in a person, as that is not possible. However, we try to create the environment that will somehow induce happiness in the person. This environment varies per culture and in situations which are, for now, too complex to compartment into a theory.

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Christopher Fahey claims in the second page where eyetools “seeks to give the impression that without the eyetracking studies we (and the site’s owners) would have no idea how or if each design was working.” User experience is largely unknown although there are a lot of research being done in it. EyeTools is simply another tool that shows the results of the designer’s hard work out to people who do not know the theories behind each item’s placement, and to allow a qualitative measure as to how successful each design is compared to another for instance. Christopher Fahey is not wrong is saying that intuitively the designers and the site’s owners would know if a design is “working” or not, but like i said, EyeTools should be used among other tools to determine the effectiveness of a design, and even then, the costs of using the tools might not warrant using them at all.

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EyeTools is a product that, when used in the correct way, would give a qualitative measure to the qualities of a design, which “a good UI designer (…) would come up with without the aid of any tools, just going by their design instincts.” Eyetools is simply yet another tool that one may choose to use or not. A very good UI designer, which Christopher would say, would not need any of these tools at all. However, someone who pays the money, or those who lack the good design instincts, or simply for documentation reasons, would need hard facts like what actually happens and how does this particular design work. Like the third part of the article, the tools inform the more uninitiated of the effects of any one design, which a knowledgeable designer would already know in his mind.

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User experience is costly to research and implement, as we can see from the large amounts of money that companies invest. Innovations like the persona rooms as indicated are simply an early version of the prototype that they have come up with, and things might change in the future, which need not include physical rooms themselves. The idea of needing to have something “physical” and tangible, like a room or numbers that add-up, is kind of in-built into people from science and mathematics, – something subjective like design is like art – one cannot quite put a finger to why a picture is good or not, but just is. People want to see tangible results and not “it feels better” in a report, which i think is what the tools that are implemented are trying to use. this is a problem with the mindset of society if any.

Presentation

Phrase 1 (powerpoint)

Need Analysis Report

Assignment 2

Four pleasure analysis

• Expand RMA profile you worked on in the seminar room into a story (target user profile)
• Analyse user profile using four-pleasure framework
• Identify user need pleasures and pleasure of appreciation
• Prepare “product benefit specifications”* for a hand phone for your target user profile.
• Upload it to your blog by next Monday morning.

*Product benefits specification: List of criteria to which a product should be designed. Specification list should cover both need pleasure and pleasure of appreciation (practical and affective) of target user.

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Dave is a 29 year old sales executive living in Singapore. He works for a multinational company that owns offices around the world. He likes doing what he is doing now and is thinking of owning a multinational company of his own some day. For now, he wants to get onto the higher rungs of the corporate ladder, and to do that he must impress his boss and clients with capability and confidence ..

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Brought up in a well-to-do family, Dave seldom has to consider about the financial state of the family. He has two older sisters, one of which is a stock broker while the other is a wealth management consultant. His parents are both doctors. His family is of the traditional asian type, which has the mentality that the responsibilities of the family would be passed onto the male of the family. As the only son Dave feels the pressure of competition – to do better than his sisters and to earn more money than them. However, this is a pressure that Dave is happy to handle.

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Dave likes challenges – his schedule is often packed to the brim, yet stops short of overwhelming. He likes to juggle work and social life together, often inviting his co-workers to a drink at a posh pub in town, and usually turns some friends into potential clients. He has the gift, says his boss and friends around him. Dave likes this kind of life – challenging and fulfiling. Plus, he’s realising his dream of being the owner of his own multinational company.

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Other than working hard, Dave also finds time to party hard, hitting the dance floors regularly. He likes to party and occasionally throws parties that invites both friends and clients alike – so getting together with friends and to establish a more personal relationship with clients can be done together. Through this way he makes more friends and clients.

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Dave emphasis a lot on first impression, his job being the deal maker, and hence he works out at the gym routinely. He also drives out in his Mercedes with his girlfriend Joey to nearby Malaysia in the weekends to hit the beaches and to get a tan. He does these to tone his body to look healthy so that his image of confidence is not diminished. He also likes the attention he receives from the the ladies and envy from colleagues.

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Dave is not looking at marriage. He frequently sprinkles presents and affection on his girlfriend Joey whom he knows from his university days. As his family seldom get together because of their own social lives and busy schedules, Dave spends alot of time with Joey. Dave is secretly afraid that marriage will hamper his plans of going abroad to further his prospects, but he does not want Joey to wait too long either. Joey has been hinting about it for years, and Dave wants the stability of a family of his own. However, everything would have to wait until Dave has decided that he has enough of the coporate lifestyle, and for now, it is a long way off. For him, his career comes first.

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The four appreciation points of Dave:.
Physio-pleasure:
Dave has to move around a lot to meet clients. Because of this, he does not have time for normal sports, choosing instead to keep fit in the gym so that he can maintain a well-build body for his image. Need PleasureOccasionally, his boss will invite him to golf sessions. Dave is interested to network with the high-profile clients and top management, but enjoys the golf sessions for its challenges. Want pleasure.
Socio-pleasure:
Dave maintains an image of success and confidence for his clients to believe in him. Need PleasureDave enjoys the looks that he gets from the ladies because of his well-kept body. Appreciation PleasurePsycho-Pleasure:
Joey is Dave’s pillar of support for him to recharge and to handle the stress of his busy business life. Need PleasureHe also enjoys the closing of a sale and being in the limelight of his colleagues. – Appreciation Pleasure

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Ideo-Pleasure:
Dave wants to be recognised as successful by his peers. He also wants to be seen as the man of the family – to be better than his sisters. Need PleasureHe wants to be seen as a man with style, confidence, capability, dependablity – everything ideal for a deal, and promotion.
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Product benefits specification:.
Dave wants a phone that can impress. The phone should look good from the business arena to the beach to the dance floor..
While not being a fan of bleeding-edge technology, Dave would still appreciate some nice features that the mobile phone would contain, like an embedded camera, or internet connection capability so that he can access his emails. Its a nice want that Dave can live without, however, as he already has his laptop for mobile connection and style is above all for his search for a mobile phone.

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The phone should be able to connect him to his clients and to Joey – an intimate touch – such as to be able to log onto the internet to purchase gifts and to deliver them to Joey when he is overwhelmed with work. He would also want web-conference ability to be able to partake in business conferences while he is on the move.

Assignment One

Products and emotion

Find 3 examples of visceral, behavioral and reflective design. (don’t mix products. E.g. If you choose PDA try to find 3 examples of PDAs which roughly falls under 3 attributes of emotion). Document your reflection on the emotional impact of these product.

For this assignment i turn to planners – books where we write our appointments and refer to for our schedules. It is portable and easy to reference, or even take down a quick note. For this reason there are many variety of planners today, varying from the inexpensive to the creative to the expensive, classy ones.

Visceral Design

Design Doma’s Soulmate ($40)

Behavioural	Not one to bring around on a professional trip, or the classroom – might be distracting
Reflective	not very professional, maybe just creative
Visceral	visually appealing, full of pictures, cover catches the eye, contents are rich and full of pictures, tastefully done

 

 

I chanced upon this notebook when i was walking around a neighbourhood shopping mall. It caught my attention immediately, and I like the style the images portray of the planner. I’m tempted to buy it and to use the planner. I have a feeling that i am going to enjoy using the planner as it is so visually appealing to me.

One of the interesting features of the planners that are of visceral design is that they can sell at a higher price than planners that designs behaviourally as consumers usually go for differentiated goods so as not to look ‘generic’ and kind of mass-produced. The consumer would be more willing to fork out more for a planner that is different than the rest to stand out. This planner is not very professional however – it would be a nice planner for an around-the-world-trip, but not one for the business conference annual.

 

Behavioural Design

U-Grade Management Planner (S$9)

Behavioural	Cheap, Simple and Practical, Disposable. White pages do not cluster the agenda of the week.
Reflective	Nothing impressive – one might not even bring this planner out as it looks mass-produced, “generic”
Visceral	black is black as can be

 

 

This is a planner that i found in a local bookstore. It is basic and simple, yet practical. It would be handy for the next semester’s rush of schedule I thought. However this would not be my first choice when i am looking for a planner – i would be looking for one that is more stylish and non-common, for similar value.

In behavioural products, quality for value usually over-rides all. The consumer would want a planner that does just what it is to do, and not be ripped off doing it. this planner is practical and visually uncluttered. It is the kind of planner for a busy person who can see at a glance her schedule without being distracted by the planner itself. This planner however might not be “class” enough for the average office worker or professional who might want something more ‘corporate’, as well as the average student who wants something else than generic products.

 

Reflective Design

LOUIS VUITTON Planner Agenda Notebook ($425)

Behavioural	Expensive, excellent workmanship, leather bound, durable
Reflective	Exclusive, Fashion statement, icon of fashion / success / class / wealth / character etc
Visceral	monogram canvas, not very exciting, emotional

 

 

While I was doing research on this assignment I overheard that my female friends are talking about this planner by Louis Vuitton. The name Louis Vuitton caught my ear and i was intrigued. A little search online found these images. While not very interesting (except for the monogram canvas) and special (except for the monogram canvas again) , I wonder what image I would portray if I possess this little item.

Products in this category are usually given the status by their brand or manufacturers. The possession of the planner simply grants a sense of class to the person who bought this planner. The purchaser (usually) does not buy the planner for its practical use, but for the brand itself. It is no wonder such products are able to command a high price despite being a simple planner.

 

 

Thoughts

I learnt that not everyone experiences the same experience – one can only recreate the environment that they think will re-enact the experience they hope the audience to have and hope for the best. A home-cooked meal might invoke homeyness and family values to one person who has had a happy home, and yet with a person who has never had a happy family might invoke a sense of jealousy and hatred. That is my interpretation anyway.-Jjack

 

Assignment Zero

Assignment 0: Bad design

• Find a bad design
• Capture user reaction
  • Their feelings towards the product
  • Lesson they learnt from the interaction
  • Their impression on brand
• Your reflection on the product and user reaction

So this is my submission for this assignment:

Introducing Nokia 5300

Nokia 5300 is a mobile phone that is designed for the music lover. For this reason, there are music buttons located at convenient places on the mobile phone, particularly on the right where there are three extra buttons to control music playback. There is the also speaker output that can beat out reasonably good music – perfect for irritating other commuters on the train system. Overall the phone looks good (really):

Initially i thought this would be a good design, but notice the earphone plug-in that is located close to the “previous” button on the mobile phone. The earphone plug-in is useful for private listening (and the radio), but when the earphone is plugged into the phone, a problem arises:

the ear-phone increases the width of the mobile phone and makes it difficult to put the mobile phone in the trouser’s pocket, especially if the pair of trousers are jeans material. the earphone also disconnects easily when pulled out of the pocket because it will catch onto the pocket.

Holding the phone is another problem. the “previous” button on the phone is also difficult to access with the ear phones plugged in:

as you can see, i am unable to press the “previous” button naturally with the index finger which should be the logical finger to press the button on the mobile phone. This is bad if i want to listen to a song again, because the design of the phone hinders me from doing so (conveniently anyway).

a second flaw in the design is the mobile phone’s speaker, which is located on the back of the mobile phone.

By putting the speaker on the back of the mobile phone, while listening to the music, one either has the choice of listening to muffled music (as the surface / hand holding the phone blocks out some sound), or turning the mobile phone on its back so one has clear music but no screen – hardly the intended idea of the phone.

Conclusion

The Nokia 5300 is a nice phone in general, but the well-meaning of the designers fall short when seemingly good design gets in the way of other features. Only by repeated use of products can users spot problems and improvements that often got overlooked.

Reference:
Nokia 5300 Official Website
http://www.nokia.com.sg/A4502093