What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website?
Ethnographic tools are used to construct visualizations between individual components to help understand relationships. These tools, such as reading ecosystem diagrams, journey maps, and concept maps. These tools can help map out exactly how a user will interact with the product. In online banking, using these diagrams can create an overall better understanding of the system in place. If you have multiple ways to reach something, how are those connected? Is that relationship immediately apparent? These tools help the designers focus on what works, what doesn’t, and can identify problems that were not apparent.
At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose?
A design is finished when the user has had all of their needs met from the design, or when the designer decides the work is done. This is definitely subjective though, so it’s up to who is making and using the design.
Some people may believe the amount of money they make is what allows them to call it successful, while someone effectively making a solution to a problem could be a successful design to someone else.
The purpose of the design depends on the designer/user and how they individually create and use the product. If a designer creates something for a specific purpose, the user has the freedom to use the product for another purpose, even though that is not what it was intended for.
Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding effected your use, relationship and experience with the product?
I used to be a Nikon lover and after several camera fails, I decided to switch to Canon. When I first came here I was disappointed that it was a Canon school, but after talking to many of my peers my preference changed. I see the brand as being “better than Nikon,” even though I have nothing except my personal preference to back up that statement. From my failures with the quality and lifetime of Nikon’s products, Canon just seemed the better and more reliable company. I see them as more high-end in branding now because of my experiences.