Author: Ricky

Graphic Design & Marketing
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Objectified Response

Ricky Petticord

Designing for New Media

2/27/16

Objectified Response

 

I found Hustwit’s film to be very compelling, as many of the statements and stories from designers across the globe resonated with my thoughts on design and how designers think. Dieter Rams’ points that “good design is innovative design, good design should make a product useful, good design is aesthetic design, good design is unobtrusive, good design is consistent, and good design is as little design as possible” echo my own thoughts on design in how I observe and purchase products, and how I conceive my own ideas.

The points towards the end of the film about designing sustainably piqued my interest because that is not something I typically think about when I think about design. This film brought a lot of things full circle in regards to assessing product the life cycle and sustainable practices in the business world, and how impeccable design can impact the consumer’s longevity assessment of a product.

I would define design as the art of assessing what people want to see, want to use, and the process of creating it. To me, design is materializing something that does not exist by harnessing creative energy and turning it into something functional that serves a purpose. I feel as though these thoughts fall in line with those of Marc Newson’s in the film; designers should always be designing for the future. I do not think that my definition of design has changed since watching the film; I feel that Objectified solidified my ideas and gave me a perspective of how to grow and implement them into my work as I move forward in my career.

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Thoughts on Interaction Design Chapters 3, 4 & 5

What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website?

Ethnographic tools can be used to improve the interactivity of an online banking website by providing the designer with information on things such as frequency of use, communication, and usability. If transaction history is buried deep within the site, but is the most used tool, ethnographic analysis could result in an updated layout featuring transaction history on the home page. These tools can also be used to determine if a new mobile deposit function is not communicating clearly to the customer, confusing them and minimizing the effectiveness of the product.

At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose?

A design is finished when it creates a functional dialogue between a product, system, or service and a person. A successful design enhances the human experience, solves complicated problems, and resonates with an audience to create the highest value of a product for the user. A design’s purpose is to be interactive, desirable, and ultimately, user centered.

Identify a product family you use regularly. How has its branding effected your use, relationship, and experience with the product?

A product family I use regularly is EarthQuaker Devices, a guitar effect pedal company. I was first attracted to their pedals by visual aesthetic, and upon hearing an aural sample they perfectly matched with the functional features of device. EQD’s website is clean and easy to navigate, and unlike many other pedal companies, they create demo videos in house for each of their products upon release. Rather than sift through youtube watching self-indulgent guitar players “demo” a pedal, I know that I can rely on Earthquaker to create a visually pleasing, un-narrated video showcasing all of the pedal’s features the way I would if I was in a store. An EQD pedal’s knobs, jacks, and switches are laid out in an intuitive manner, creating modularity between their products and strengthening brand relationship. The company also stocks their pedals with small independent dealers, echoing their in-house demo philosophy and catering to users who avoid big-box stores such as Guitar Center.

 

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Thoughts on Interaction Design Chapters 1 & 2

What makes up interaction design and what are some of the industry’s challenges?

Interaction Design is made up of constructing a compelling argument and inviting the audience to experience the work; the creation of a dialogue between a person and a product, service, or system. Interaction Designers can be Usability Engineers, Visual Interface Designers, and Information Engineers. However, developing systems and interfaces does not make one an Interaction Designer. Interaction Designers need to be shapers of behavior who’s greatest challenge is to change the way that people behave through elegant and compelling design. While Interaction Designers were previously looked at as the “final step” in the surface level design of an engineering project, the field has taken on a new role in shaping the what, how, and why of industry.

What is Interaction Design, how is it evolving? What fields does it draw knowledge from?

Interaction design is defined in the text as “the creation of a meaningful relationship between a product and a person, identified and created through ethnographic and other user centered design methods.” Interaction Designers differentiate product offerings by working to make them physically beautiful and emotionally compelling. Interaction Design draws from and builds upon several disciplines; Industrial Design and Usability Engineering primarily influence the field, but an understanding  of cognitive psychology, web design, art, business and more all play a heavy role. As more and more Industrial Design and Usability Engineering jobs are being outsourced, the role of the Interaction Designer is becoming exceedingly important. Successful Interaction Design has become a strategic differentiator for businesses looking to elevate their products to a new level, and these designers will be best equipped to take on project management based on skills in culture, creativity, and relationships.

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Week 1 Questions

Ricky Petticord

Week 1 Questions

 

  1. The goals of Apple’s website are to communicate the value of their products to potential buyers through sleek, concise layout and navigation and to provide support for existing customers using the same principals. Apple uses user segmentation to break their site into chunks related to specific products and support sections. Apple addresses the needs of a user who just purchased a new macbook by offering a support tab and a search tab alongside tabs for their products on the home page. A user seeking support for their new device has likely been to the site before, and having these sections in a familiar and easy to access section is helpful to the user. From there, a welcoming and understandable page provides several options, with basic information up front and a well designed layout for more experienced users to find the information they need.

 

  1. Facebook’s wall is loaded with content and user functions. These include a search feature, scrolling newsfeed with status updates from friends and subscribed pages, a post widget allowing users to share text status updates, photos, videos and pages, a notification panel, messenger, event reminders, trending news stories, event reminders, page manager and an explore feature. These all allow the user to connect with every feature that Facebook offers. Facebook’s signup page is much more basic. If offering new users a sign up field directly from the home page in order to create an account and access content within Facebook.

 

  1. The four architectural approaches to information structure are hierarchical, matrix, organic, and sequential. Fonts.com laregly followers a hierarchal structure with a navigation bar holding the site features containing further navigations options when a user selects one. Ebay uses a matrix structure, giving shoppers the ability to filter through different different options to customize their browsing experience. Google uses an organic approach, with a search feature in the center of the page. A user can search, then click through options such as images, and videos or access the account section to move to Maps, the Play Store, Gmail, Drive, and more. Sequential architecture organized information in a step by step approach, and is often used for checkout sequences such as on Amazon, where a user clicks through each page to the next.

 

  1. The Huffington Post home page is about 10% navigation and 90% content. The navigation bar rests at the top of the page, and as the user scrolls they are flooded with an endless stream of new stories and opinion pieces. Google is all navigation. A search bar rests neatly on the center of the home page, with some small navigation icons in the upper righthand corner. Wikipedia is similar, offering the user a language choice and a search bar. However, if a user goes directly to the home language page (such as en.wikipedia.org), it is about 10% navigation on the left hand side and all content from there. Wikipedia uses embedded contextual navigation through hyperlinks in the copy of the wiki articles themselves. Etsy’s home page primarily offers all navigation, giving users a selection tools and a hierarchal navigation system to select which category they want to search through.

 

  1. Landor.com uses a one page design with bright images, colors, and clean typography to draw the reader in and throughout the page. This approach reduces the possibility that the user will be distracted by some other clutter on the page.