What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website?
Ethnographic tools can provide some insights on the ways in which people live and what they value. If an online banking website can use these tools to better understand the lifestyles of their customers, they can improve the interactions between the user and the interface. Studying people can reveal how they respond to particular prompts and situations, and understanding this is part of the design process, for an effective design will be built upon the research in order to best serve the user/customer.
At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose?
One could certainly argue that a design is never truly finished. However, when someone feels confident enough that the design does its job in an efficient manner, it can be considered finished for the purpose of the job. If the designer can see that something should be tweaked, he or she should tweak it before considering it done. One way of measuring both whether a design is finished and whether or not it was a success is by seeing that an outsider can understand and use the design in the way it was intended by the designer to be understood and used. Ultimately, the design’s purpose is to solve a problem and make life easier. If it can do both, it has fulfilled its purpose.
Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding affected your use, relationship and experience with the product?
One product family I use regularly is Apple products. Its branding has affected my use with their products in that they all work in much the same way and are easily connected with one another, so the uniformity that is part of their brand has simplified how they are used. I feel almost connected to the brand because of Apple’s presence in my life; I am even using an Apple product to complete this assignment. They are involved in many aspects of my life, which has resulted in a positive relationship with Apple. As a result, my positive associations with the products help to promote generally positive experiences with the brand and offer it a favorable position in my mind as the consumer.