Author: jmbst235

Interaction designers have contributed the the shift in cultural norms. The first norm that changed was the thought that technology was fragile. Through developments with technology and interaction design, everyday users have the ability to be a bit more lax with their skills and still end up getting done what they need to with minimal error. The second norm was that only engineers could use computers and softwares alike. Computers and technology have become apart of mundane life. Anyone can have access to a computer or a smart device with infinite possibilities and activities.

 

A designer must make decisions about the technology they are working on so that it makes things feel like common sense to the user. This was something that really stuck out to me from this chapter. At first mention of this, I thought that it was obvious: it’s common sense but it can’t be that hard. However, common sense is not all that common, especially when there are so many options and pathways to take in technology and design. The book mentions a designers thinking of adding a “Mention This Person in a Tweet” button when a user would click on someone in their contact list. To me, that sounds ridiculous. Why would I go to my Phone’s contacts to tweet someone? Yet, from a designer’s perspective, this is a possibility so why not explore it?

 

Another thing that this chapter points out is how design could negatively affect society/behavior. They ask, “Consider a day without digital technology. Can you make it through one day–still completing your major goals for the day–without utilizing digital technology?” (p. 93). This really struck me because I think (I know) my answer would be a strong and resounding “NO”. Everything I do revolves around technology. If I don’t have wifi, I can forget about any assignments for my classes or talking to any of my friends or family. Stay updated with the news? Nope, no chance. It’s kind of terrifying, but when the technology is there and working properly, it’s amazing and makes my day run so smoothly.

 

This chapter was interesting because it really made me think about the possible positive and negative effects of design and technology. The ways that technology have already changed the way that people learn and think and interact with other people and things around the is incredible. The way that my grandmother learned is completely different from how I learn now. Technology does not scare the newer generations. It will be interesting to see how technology and design will continue to change and shape society and our norms.

What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website? (pp. 48-54)

• Ethnography can teach designers about what users will want and need. Ethnography will help predict how users will interact with a design. Study groups/user testing could show us that a user is concerned with the security of their online banking website/app. They could express that they would be comfortable if it looked a certain way or had extra checkpoints (like security questions or verification of their password).

At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose? (pp. 54-62)

• A design is finished when the function of the design doesn’t seem like it was designed at all. The way a design functions and the way someone interacts with the design should feel intuitive and instinctual as if it has to be designed that way. The design should serve its purpose completely and leave the user without questions of how to use the technology.
• A design should be balanced between aesthetics and user engagement/useage.
• A design should serve its purpose easily and with little to no question/complication.

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? (pp. 78-84)

• Apple: I have an iPhone, which I stay up to date on all of the new gadgets and updates. I have a Macbook Pro that I use everyday and connect it to my iPhone. I have an iPad to stay connected in more portable situations, but when I don’t need my phone or my laptop. Everything that I purchase, as far as technology goes, is Apple friendly. I will not buy a product that is not compatible with all of my devices or if the product will harm any of my devices (like some charging cables from outside sources).
• Apple’s brand is all about being innovative, but completely intuitive and user friendly. Apple’s tagline is “Think Different”, which speaks a lot about the brand and how they want to be viewed.
• Apple is not just a product, it’s a lifestyle. Everything that I do revolved around how I use one of my Apple products. All of my assignments are done on a Mac. All of my communication-other than in person- is done on an iPhone or Mac. Everything is connected to each other in iCloud. Everything I do (sadly, probably) revolves around Apple technology.

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

• There are Six Core Components in the process of design that Kolko defines (Page 22) as follows:
  • Define- team building; technical assessment; hypothesizing
  • Discover- contexts; benchmarking; user needs
  • Synthesize- process maps; opportunity map; frameworks; personas; scenarios
  • Construct- features and functions; behavior; design language; interactions and flow models; collaborative design
  • Refine- evaluation; scoping; interaction; specification
  • Reflect – post mortem; opportunity map; benchmarking; market acceptance
• Some Challenges in the Industry:
  • Discovering the needs and wants of potential users. Needs and wants of users is not always made completely obvious. These “hidden wants, needs, and desires” are things that designers need to dig for and design for in advance. The potential user is not always like the designer, therefore, the designer needs to design for the audience and not themselves. Designers cannot be selfish. Going to the Users is often the best way to figure out how they will move within an app/design.
  • Staying focused within the context of the project sometimes proves to be a challenge. Designers want to be able to have everything, but the book makes it a point to stay focused to find more detailed information.
  • I don’t know if this is a challenge, but the book mentions divergent thinking. Kolko says that is can sometimes be tricky because it can get very complicated very fast, but it can often lead to extremely innovative ideas.
  • Benchmarks for success for prototypes and user testing is muddy. There is always a lot of self-criticizing and this makes it harder for designs/projects to get off of the ground and into further production.

 

What is interaction design, how it’s evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from?

• Interaction Design:
  • Design that is honed in on the way something or someone (the user) will interact with the technology and functions of the technology. The function is paid attention to just as much as the physical appearance of the system. Interaction design uses function and design elements to make a system work efficiently and effectively for the desired user.
• How Interaction Design is Evolving:
  • Other fields have to be involved. Outside sources need to be considered and consulted. As answered in the next question, interaction designers draw knowledge from other fields to help improve the function and reception of their work. By outside sources, I mean other companies. With the app that we have been working on in class, like many other apps that already exist, we would need to consult with gas companies and convenient stores to come up with a points system that they would all agree upon. Then we would have to get them all using the same type of technology to make out app function at its full capacity and properly. There is more than just the design that goes into the success of an interaction designer’s project.
• Fields that Interaction Design Draws Knowledge from:
  • There is a lot of mention in the book about pulling information and knowledge from graphic designers, industrial designers, and user interface developers. These fields all bring forth knowledge about design, technology, and user experience to help strengthen interaction designers’ work.

 

Source: Kolko, J. (2011). Thoughts on interaction design: A collection of reflections. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Morgan Kaufmann.

What are the goals of Apple’s website? How does Apple’s website address the needs of a user who has just purchased their first MacBook? (Chapter 3)

• The goals of Apple’s website is to showcase their products and explain to users everything that an Apple product can help them do. Apple likes to show their consumers that it isn’t that hard and they are user friendly, especially if they want to create/interact with content.
• Once the user clicks on the Macbook that they have purchased, they have access to every detail they could need or want to know about their new device. Apple provides written and visual information about the technology itself as well as the interactability of the device. If the user has any questions, there is also a section of the website where they can find answers or contact Apple Support.

What are the functional specifications of Facebook’s wall? If you are not on Facebook what are the specs for the signup page? (Chapter 4: Functional Specifications, Content Requirements and Prioritizing Requirements)

• I have a Facebook account but I never use it. From the interactions I have had with the website and app I feel that Facebook has a major drive for user generated content. By this, I mean that Facebook’s main function is to give every user the same tools to create, share, and show interest in different organizations or subjects. Facebook provides users with a “status” and a “wall” to provide information to their “friends” and interact with each other. Facebook even further developed their “Like” button to a “reaction” button so that they could show more emotion and exactly what they were feeling regarding a post. From my experience (or lack there of), Facebook is more of a platform with everything set up to be used. It also has ads which are meant to engage users and potentially interact with them. The ads are also geared towards each individual user’s account based on their likes and interests and searches. This function makes it possible for Facebook to learn about each user. All of these details are functional specifications that the makers of Facebook knew were critical to the success of their website/app.

 

What are four architectural approaches to information structure? Find one example of each. (Chapter 5: Information Architecture)

• Hierarchal
  • www.bjsrestaurants.com, or other restaurant pages alike, have a navigation bar with links that drop down from the menu to offer more options and paths. The links in the drop downs are related to the parent link but offer more information.
• Matrix
  • When shopping online, I may narrow my search for dresses by color, size, cut, brand, and fabric. This allows me to search for several different things at once to help narrow my search because I have more that one need asking to be met all at once.
• Organic
  • This one is confusing me a little bit because I am having a hard time finding examples. I think that a good example of an organic structure would be buzzfeed.com. Any link you click on leads to a completely new page with information only related to the link you just clicked but nothing relating to your previous searches/clicks. Everything seems a bit random and without much structure, but I think some more examples would be a big help in clearing this up for me.
• Sequential
  • Book or article–meant to be read in a specific order so it is given in a specific order. I’m not completely positive about this example, but something like an online test could qualify as sequential. There is a specific order that the user is directed to take and you cannot move on until you have completely the first section provided.

 

What percentage of The Huffington Post index page is navigation, and what percentage is content? What about Google, Wikipedia, and Etsy? (Chapter 6)

• The Huffington Post
  • Going off of the index page, about 98% of the page is navigation. The only content that I see is from the headlines within the links.
• Google
  • For this index page- which I’m assuming is just the search bar and logo along with the links to gmail accounts/spin offs- it is all navigation. The only thing that I can think of that would be considered content is the Google symbol itself. This is because they sometimes have art featured or special links within the logo that would be considered content more than navigation (or maybe an alternate/creative way of navigating).
• Wikipedia
  • This index page is probably 99% navigation besides the small blurb that says who Wikipedia is hosted by towards the bottom of the page.
• Etsy
  • Etsy seems to have a lot more content because the links are all within their ads/stock photos. This is tricky though, for me at least, because I’m not sure of it should be considered content or navigation since the goal of the content is to be clicked to navigate to something else. Since there is more content visible on this page, I want to say it’s close to 60% content, 40% navigation (even though I feel like those numbers could flip flop).

 

How does http://landor.com guide the reader’s’ eyes and focus their attention on what is important? (Chapter 7: Follow the eye )

• This website makes it so that the user can only see one visual and relating text at once. This makes it easy for the user to stay focused on what Landor wants them to be focused on. Everyone reads from left to right, so when the text is on the left, it allows the reader to receive an explanation first and then move on to the visual. Sometimes there is only text or only a visual, which only intensifies the users focus on that one piece of information.