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Thoughts on Interaction design Ch. 3 4 & 5

Ethnographic tool are research tools like observation, interview, survey and analysis that help you to learn more about certain cultures.  By using these tools you can get information to and for your customers or users in a way that they understand and that is relevant to their cultural ways.  This is a good way to satisfy your customer and get them to return to you or your business.

Designs can be finished at different point depending on the designer and his or her point of view on the design.  Some people think that as soon as someone has tested the ensign and it works for what it is said to then the design is finished.  Others think that its just as soon as the design is able to meet the goals and objectives set forth for it then it is done.  some designers believe that a design is never really done.  They think that it can always be improved upon.  In my opinion, a design is a success if it meets the criteria set forth for it and does so in a way that is easy for the user and is user friendly.  The purpose of a design can come in many forms, but it is simply put as what the intended objective of the product is supposed to be.

I think that Apple products have influenced my life in many ways just since coming to college.  I didn’t get my first smart phone until the end of me senior year of high school.  Also, I didn’t really do much of anything besides basic phone things for the first six months or so.  When I was looking at laptops for college I learned that I needed a mac with as much RAM and memory as I could afford.  Since I got my computer, I started using my phone a lot more as well because the programs and applications as all so similar and run the same from machine to machine.  I love the easy usability of Apple products and how easily you can catch on to them.  Now as I am looking to get a new phone,  I don’t even want to look at anything else.  I don’t want to have to learn to use a new phone and since IPhones are all so similar, I don’t have to worry about that with a newer IPhone.  This is why Apple is my new technology of choice.

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Thoughts on Interaction Design: Chapters 3, 4, & 5

Ethnographic tools can provide you info by observation, interviewing, and analysis of people, their social groups and populations. This provides a social and psychological take on people’s activities. These tools can be used to improve the interactivity of an online banking website by checking the user statistics and analytics. This would give you the ability to check what the average user clicks on and morph the page to be more user friendly.

Knowing when a design is finished is within the designer’s mental state. If the designer believes that they can walk away from it and leave it be; then it met their purpose. The design must meet the designer’s criteria, strategy, and goal. Overall a design is never finished because there will always be something to adjust, develop, or change over time.

A product family I use regularly is Dove, and it’s branding has influenced my future purchases with them to try their new products. Their branding shows empowered women wanting to smell, feel good, and feel refreshed. They commercialize real women trying the product and show what harsher products do. This has strengthened the relationship I’ve had with the brand because I can relate to the women and their wants and needs.

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Ch 3,4,5 reading response.

By studying the type of people are using your site it is much easier to predict their behaviors. In the case of a banking website ethnography is important because almost everyone uses a bank and many use the banks website to do different tasks. Using a persona and a made up story about that person may help lead to a problem in the site that you would have never thought even was a problem. Knowing that a 65 year old woman who has never used online banking will need more explanation than a 25 year old who is trying to save for retirement. designing for the state of mind that the user is in when using a site is just as important as the features on the site.

A design can not truly be finished in my opinion, there is always a problem that will arise, even if it doesn’t appear for years after the design is in effect. The reading talks about it being finished not when you meet your own goals, or when you like at all, instead the author considers the user the final call in a products completion. Does it work, is there more to do, am I satisfied. These are some of the questions the user will ask themselves, and after those questions they will decide the completion of the project.

I only buy levi’s pants. This sounds crazy considering they are just one of dozens of clothing companies available to me, but there’s a lot going into me wearing their pants. They are cheap in comparison to some brands but definitely expensive in my mind, so really I could just buy lee’s or arizona jeans, but I only buy levi’s. Branding is a very important factor in my buying, and I am somewhat aware of this, but I go along with it anyway. The commercials for the product are typically young people living life free of problems, throwing on a pair of jeans and going out on the town. Then the name and badges on the jeans are pure Americana, and pushes the authenticity of the pants. That’s the whole idea, the authenticity of your clothes, your actions, and your life. Plus they are comfortable and have a great minimalist logo.

 

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Objectified Response

Objectified explores a plethora of mindsets and definitions of design. It features real people from the world of design. Each brings their own experiences and ideas to the table. This makes for a very interesting viewing.

Design is made up of a lot of things. Everybody has an answer for “what is design?” The truth is, no answer is wrong. A lot was said in Objectified. “Design is art.” “Design is simple.” “Design is the search for form.” All of these can be true, but a question that hovers around throughout the film is “what makes a design good?” Plenty of answers can be found. A couple of things that stood out to me early on were the Japanese toothpick and the shot of two plates containing the same food. The toothpick had multiple uses. These uses depend on the culture, there was a feature that was used very commonly in Japanese culture that would have no use in other cultures such as American. I believe the two food dishes were shown to showcase the different eating habits of the two people enjoying their meals. One was very neat and organized, the other absolutely destroyed his meal. These two examples show just how different people can be. This leads me to believe that a good design should be able to satisfy the needs of different people. It shouldn’t cater to a specific type of person. Now, it’s impossible to satisfy EVERY person, but your audience is going to shrink if you don’t expand your target. Another attempt at answering this question was when one designer brought up the fact that there are objects that were made decades ago that are still used today. Examples would be cars or furniture. It can be inferred that “good design” should stand the test of time.

The range of ideas that Objectified considers is interesting. It’s a lot to digest. Every designer had his/her own definition of design and what he/she though made for a good design. The most interesting part: I didn’t hear a single thing I disagreed with.

 

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Objectified Response

Listen to what they say about what good design is:

Good design is simple, understandable, clear, and pleasing. It makes people think, “of course it is that way.” It’s making something that becomes of deeper meaning. There was a speaker in the video that used the example of, “the chair dad sat in.” This is the job of designers.

What is a designer’s purpose today? What is their job?

Designers need to make sure the things they make are clear and understandable. Designing is the search for form nowadays. It is about making stuff that people want to buy. In addition, things aren’t forever and companies want lots of new ideas. Designers need to ask themselves, “Am I making something that is a change?”

What should designers do?

Designers should make one thing do multiple things. They need to create an environment where others feel comfortable. Designers should think about what is going to happen, not what has happened already. Design with this in mind: would you buy this?

Do you agree/disagree with any of their statements?

I agree with making things simple and efficient. I believe this goes hand and hand with a really good user experience. I agree that things should feel better with use, as the product is being worn in.

Did they say anything that changes your view on design?

It really got me thinking when the man said about things being extremely hard to design that get better with use. Also, early in the movie a speaker said about worrying about extremities of whatever you are designing, and the middle ground will be taken care of automatically. This was honestly the exact opposite of what I thought designers would do. Additionally, the comment of good design being as little design as possible was a new thought to me.

What is design?

My definition of design is having ideas to improve daily life without users thinking about it.

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Objectified

We recently watched a movie titled, Objectified, in it there were many designers from across the globe and we saw how each handled design differently and creatively. I really agree with Dieter Rams and his definition of Design, design must be innovative, aesthetic, understandable, long lived, consistent, eco friendly, and have as little design as possible. This actually made a lot of sense and I agreed with a lot of what he said and what he thinks design means. I feel that my original ideas of design were in his ideas as well as changing my ideas in to those more sophisticated ideas. I never would have thought of less as more for design, I always wanted my designs to be complex and sophisticated but watching Objectified made me realize that less can and is more when it comes to design. It must be simple for the average user and easily understood across the grid. Simple design is in much of what I see and use today. Everything is made to be as user friendly as possible and will be successful with out all the fancy extras. My Idea of design hasn’t so much changed but evolved, my ideas were validated and some evolved into a deeper understanding of what is a good design and what is not. But also what it takes to brainstorm a good design idea before actually putting it into action.

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Objectified

How do they define design?

The designers in the movie defined design in many different ways some as form, mass production, and others as how we interact with a product.

What makes good design?

Things that make a good design are products that improve things without the user knowing. Also little design/less is more or innovative with pleasing aesthetics. Lastly  sustainability of the product/design is necessary.

What should designers do?

They should make a change in the world or market they are in. They should tell people what to do without them knowing. Also they must look into the future and find better with use for things.

Do you agree or disagree?

I agree with what these designers have said about design and what makes it good. I have always believed the least amount of design the better.

change how you see design?

This movie did not change how I saw design because I agreed with most of what they said already.

What is design? has your idea changed.

Design, good design at least, is the things we don’t think of as design at all. Something should make so much sense as how it is that it wouldn’t make sense looking or acting in any other way.

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Website Review #2

For my second review, I chose one of my favorite websites Letterboxd. This is basically the “Facebook” for film critics and film lovers (like myself). And at the end of last year, they published a year-end wrap-up for the films released in 2015 with an enormous one page website. At first glance, I could already tell that it was going to be an awesome experience, especially with the big “2015” in bright vibrant colors and having film stills in each number. The main color scheme is a very dark blue, with accents of light orange, green, and blue. I believe that this color scheme works well because the bright colors complement the dark blue to create a really stylish look. I liked how they tell the user to navigate the one page site by using the arrow keys. They also give a little illustration to accompany the directions. The one thing that bugs me is that I feel that it is too small. They should make it one or two points bigger. I feel that the navigation and layout is spot on. According to Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think, a website should have these attributes: usefulness, learnability, memorability, effectiveness, efficiency, desirability, and delightfulness. All of these attributes were executed in Letterboxd’s 2015 Wrap-Up one page site. When one navigates down the page, he or she is delivered with a small clip, title, poster, and short summary of the film in a smooth and clean look. Then, if one continues, they are given a quote and small movie poster from the film above. This format continues throughout the website and also gives interesting facts, lists top film posters as well as top directors, actors and actresses. The finale of this wonderful splendor is the “25 Best of 2015 Video Countdown” that summarizes the “Top 25 Films of 2015” in an incredible video montage that really showcases each film. This one page site truly delivers an amazing experience for anyone who loves film or is even interested in a specific title. Letterboxd did a great job with showcasing a huge amount of content in an organized, clean, sleek, as well as interactive manner.

 

Take a look for yourself and experience the awesomeness!

Link: http://letterboxd.com/2015/

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Objectified

Last week in class we watched the film Objectified in which designers discussed the industry of product design. The film was very interesting with a diverse cast of interviewees all across the world, it also did a good job of covering many different topics relating to the industry.

As far as my opinion on the topic is concerned, I am by no means an expert in how to design a product for use in the real world, having made very little in the way of consumer products. Even so I could still understand where some of the designers were coming from. Some of my favorite discussion came from the idea that everything that we use and take for granted each day was designed, and probably had a story to it. Some of the designers agree that if a design goes unnoticed it is doing it’s job, but I think if anything that’s just too broad a statement. In my own life I try to make decisions on things on a case by case basis, and I think this should go for design as well. Not everything should just fade into our lives and be taken for granted, something can preform well and still make the user think, “this product is astounding.” at least every once in a while. As I was saying though I do agree with many other ideas mentioned, specifically the thought that you have to strip away the unimportant aspects of a design in order to get the best product. Minimalism is the key in my opinion, to creating a long lasting design. This is because trends in style come and go but a useful product can be used until something takes it’s place, not because it becomes ugly.

Some things discussed did ring very clear to me and made me start thinking about a topic I never have considered in this way before, the idea of product life cycle. Prior to watching the film I never thought about the flip side of the extreme pace of innovation in modern technology. If I put my tube television out on the curb it disappears, then I never think of it again except to curse it for having such a terrible picture. It goes somewhere though, and in most cases it seems like that place isn’t very economically friendly. The problem of a short life cycle is probably the thing that will stick with me from this film, and constantly make me question what the unintended consequences of innovation are.

Overall my definition of design has not really changed, everyone has a different way of saying it, or their own ideas about what goes into good design. I truly believe that design is much too large to throw under one sentence, but in the spirit of hypocrisy; design is the way we shape our world to fit ourselves, to make life easier, and to make things more beautiful.

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site review 2

After looking through the many single page websites found on the site you provided for us, I found a site that was one large animation saying Happy New Year. When I first launched the website, all that appeared was a loading screen that said “Are you ready?” and then a match that kept jumping up and down. I then discovered that when I put my mouse over the match it was a button to click on. Clicking on the match then made the match catch on fire and four colorful rockets showed up. Clicking on the match again I could drag the match to each rocket string. After dragging the match to the first rocket a sign popped up that said “Nicely done! 3 to go!” which then led me to believe I needed to light the last three rockets to find out what happens next. The rockets then shot up and the screen changed to a city skyline and the words Happy New Year 2016 on it with lots of little blinking dots in the background. Referring back to the reading, the color of the single page site went perfectly with it’s theme. The never burning out match was fun because it gave you as much time as you wanted to light the rockets. Taking a deeper look at the rockets colors (green, orange, blue, and red); green symbolizing growth or hope, orange being a very active and energetic color, blue symbolizing openness, and red having a reputation for stimulating adrenaline and blood pressure.

The navigation is provided by the different objects you have to click on and where you move them to get to the next page. The user does not need to scroll at any time. I don’t necessarily understand why there is a website just for an animation regarding a happy new year note. The site’s design elements make it extremely easy to move throughout the site. The texture of the illustrations could be better. There could be shadows or more detail in the illustrations but it all still works for the simplicity of the site itself. The point I got from the website was just to make a fun animation for New Years. I like the process of getting to the New Years message with the city skyline. It is a very basic site. On the last screen on animations you can click to get more information about the artist. I don’t feel there is a strong purpose for the site. It’s not selling anything or persuading anyone to do something. It’s just a way to say happy new year and show off the artist’s coding skills. Although this site is a bit childish because of the process, every once in a while it is fun to come around these types of sites. The site is supposed to be promoting the artist’s GreenSock Workshop but I would not have known that if I didn’t read about it beforehand. For what the site provides I think it would be a fun thing to send to relatives on New Year’s.

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Website Review #2

I did my review on http://shoutouts.space/. This website collects user-submitted compliments and praises online. The user scrolls up and down to see all the content on the website. This website it really simple to navigate. The designer used big rectangles with different colors and white font color. When you land on a box the color of the words turns black. In each box there is the user’s name, what they wrote, and the date of the compliment. This shout out page reminds me of a horoscope page because it seems like it would be a page you check right when you get up. To improve this page the designer should organize the posts in chronological order. Also the designer can make it easier for a person to make an account in order to post compliments. The creator can also connect with Twitter and Instagram to expand the website. The most recent post was from February 10, 2016. If it is connected to Twitter, a lot of people would like to read compliments and praises to start off their day. Me personally would like to see the more recent posts at the top than rather all over the page. If you click on a box, it will just appear larger and a viewer can “Give a Shoutout” and/or share on Facebook. I like how the designer kept the font sanserif and white in order to keep it simple. Overall the website might be a little too simple. Maybe the viewers might like it simple but to attract more people the creator should add a better design and more posts. I’ll give credit because this website was created this year, so it does look decent for two months.

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“Objectified” Response

In “Objectified”, one of the beliefs that many of the designers held is that the purpose of design is to create something that will stand the test of time. I whole-heartedly agree with this statement. What is the purpose of creating anything if it will cease to exist shortly after? To put your heart in to your work, is to leave your own mark on the world, so why would you want that to fade away? I would want my work to survive movements and be looked upon even after I am gone. This goes hand-in-hand with creating something that makes a person feel. Emotion is the best seller of any product, including art. If you are to put all of your emotions in to your work, you would want others to feel it, too.

Something that made me rethink design is that to be a designer you must create for others, especially if you work for corporations and businesses that might go against your own beliefs and values. I design because I love art and enjoy creating it for myself, but there will be a day when I may want to take my own artistic direction that the person paying me does not agree with. It is something that will stick with me in the back of my head. It made me realize that I will have to pick and choose my values which could result in difficult decisions in the future.

The ultimate question is “what is design?” To me, design is a statement and a life style. To be able to successfully design means that you have a sharp and detailed eye, an ability to know if your creation works, and to know how to evoke feeling from your viewer. Design is a mix of art, marketing, psychology and so many other fields that can help you delve deep below the surface of simply putting images and typography on to a page.  You create a message with your work and it is something that must constantly be developed and changed, so that is relevant over the years and ages.

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Review#2

I chose the to review this site https://brand.uber.com. This site is a single page. It scrolls from top to bottom with wonderful design and cleanliness. In the beginning, they have put the company logo in the middle with light phrases in black and turquoise and the in the left side there are the social media connection as Facebook, Twitter, etc. To make it easier for the researcher to see. On the right, there is a short video that explains the company’s work, the shape is beautiful and smooth and appropriate for the page. There beside the simple video texture and light to the eye, colors and comfortable to the eye also. The page white and turquoise, good use of white space there are some lines in the back.

When you go to the bottom of a rapid move, it shows you a beautiful illustration with perfect color choice. There is some writing for the definition of the company when you press the button, “find out why” page is smooth appear not to cause inconvenience.

Go down again, a blank page and a light show. With some designer lines and used some of the shapes in the background to give a kind of dimension and three-dimensional shape of the bottom. There is a circle within a quick video about cars to show the speed of service using the technology to give a quick overview of the company and its service there is also a button “Watch the film” to show exactly about the company and what they are.

The part that after that, the background and the beautiful light displays some pictures, press the button “View the work” to introduce the company’s business profile and What is its vision and where you derive their impact through logo etc.

The last part of the page, the white page appears with some forms of weaving back and there is a nice, well done illustration. There footer beneath the company’s website, design and shows jobs to help faster when searching.

In general, clean the site and designed concatenate it easier for everyone to see. A good choice for that bright color, you do not feel upset when the page scans. There is useful information for the company and what you want quickly. Good use of the line is clear. Simple and beautiful page.

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Chelsea Hepfl – Site Review #2

Describe and analyze the site’s use of color and texture.

I chose Flying Piñata (flyingpinata.co) as the single page website of my choice. Flying Piñata is a minimalistic site that relies on festive colors of yellow-orange, cyan, red, and green.  The Flying Piñata logo is made up of all of these colors while the “flying piñata” is a yellow-orange and red striped donkey with a green drone carrying it. I feel these colors fit the personality of this site. Flying Piñata sells literal flying piñatas. When you download the application, you can deliver a piñata via drone to a location of your choosing, typically to a child’s party or other fun event. Otherwise, the site is made of a muted sky blue as the piñata is carried across the sky that is their header. This blue appears again at the bottom of the sight where there is multicolored confetti pieces.

 

Further, as this is a single page site how does the user navigate from one section of content to another? Does the user have to scroll left to right, top to bottom, all over or is navigation provided that takes the user to the content? What design elements make the site easy to scan, read and understand content.

On this site, the user navigates by scrolling from top to bottom where links to the app are seen along the way down as well as cute, animations that explain the purpose of the company. The site is a little confusing at first glance. While I adore the animations, I was confused by the extremely large video beneath the header. As I scrolled by it, I discovered the simple bit of information provided by the company and another link to the application similar to the one in the header. If the video were smaller, it would be much easier to understand and would not have a giant break in the middle of the page.

 

Lastly, make an argument for whether this site’s design is well or poorly done.

While I enjoy the theme and idea of this site, I do not believe it is the easiest to read or understand. The header is charming and cute, but the large video clip takes up too much space and takes away from the rest of the website by dividing it and creating a large, black hole on an otherwise light feeling site. After the video, we return to the bright, fun website, though it had a bit of white space that I feel made the animations look like they were floating.

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Review 2

For the second review, I chose the single page website Letterboxd from onepagelove.com. Letterboxd is the social network for film lovers and the page that I had visited was a yea-rend wrap-up for 2015.

As discussed in the textbook, the usual setup for a website is that the logo will be in the top left corner as Letterboxd had. To the right, there was a three line icon which usually means there is a list that can help navigate the site. Although Letterboxd was a single page website that scrolls up and down, the drop down list took me down to whatever movie was discussed further down on the website instead of leaving the page altogether or scrolling through everything. The fact that the website had a list made it easier to use. To the left of the list icon was the year 2015 with a tiny arrow icon next to it. If clicked, the arrow allowed you to choose the year you wanted to look at all the way back to 2012.

As I started to scroll down the website, it began with the highest rated movies. Instead of just showing a picture from the movie, the website seemed to have blocked section off where first there was a clip of the movie being shown, but as I hit the down arrow, a quote and picture of the poster from the movie were shown with a solid non conflicting colored background. If the website was just composed of the movie clip, it would be harder to read and figure out the information or what the actual movie poster looked like.

The next section is comprised of Highest Rated films in several different categories. The problem with these sections is that the image in the background that seems to be from the film, is a bit distracting, it makes the movie seem more interesting than having just the title listed, but if the image was a little smaller or off to the side, it may be easier to read the information listed.

When it comes to the text on the website, there are several different sizes and fonts included, but the majority of the fonts are white in color and very similar to each other.  The simple color of the font makes it easier to read against the solid color backgrounds and the movie images. If the titles behind the movies were back, they would not be readable or noticeable to any viewer. The paragraphs are small and not overwhelming with information like some websites include, with many of the blocks only containing a one sentence quote.

The website is altogether designed well. It combines the idea of having simplistic aspects when it comes to the solid color blocks and almost all white text, but also keeps it interesting with the images and clips from the movies. The navigation is simple enough to get through without a hassle or difficulty in finding certain categories on the website and the layout is easily understood.