1) p.69 “Visceral design is all about immediate emotional impact… This is a major role of “point of presence” displays in stores… These may be a store’s only chance of getting the customer, for many a product is purchased on looks alone.”
To me this paragraph sums up the very important (sometimes too important) detail of visceral design. It amazes me how easily people can be sold on a poor product. Often, due to visceral design, a poorly made product becomes a better seller than a great product. Despite my astonishment at people’s inability to make informed decisions, this just goes to show the importance of good visual design. Earlier in the chapter Norman talks about neatly designed water bottles that were purchased more for their design than the contents inside. No matter the reasoning behind it, a good selling product just has to look good (maybe do something as an added bonus). Often, I think this can be an overlooked detail in design of many high-tech products, one that could greatly benefit consumer appeal. Sure the iPod was a great product when it first came out, but thanks to improved visceral design it is now a first-class product that not only attracts the tech-savvy but the absentminded as well.
2) All three of these categories seem very useful. As Norman mentioned, visceral and reflective design often act at a subconscious level, which can be a great marketing tool, often the reason for impulse purchases. Behavioral design is usually a necessity in all good products, but with the help of visceral and reflective design it isn’t quite as important. The names reflective and behavioral seem to be appropriate for their definitions; reflective design is a reflection of what it means to own a product and behavioral design is how a product behaves. One would think that there is a better, more self-explanatory name for visceral design. Though true to its name, visceral design seems much more complex than the other two, while in reality it is the least complicated. A more appropriate title could be aesthetic or visual design.
3) First of all, a good product encompasses values from each of the three types of designs, but certain products do require more of one than the other. For example, a bed requires more behavioral design than the others for obvious reasons; the main objective of a bed is to create a comfortable sleeping place for people, it’s looks and reputation come second. An example of a product that requires good visceral design is a child’s toy. These toys are often quite simple and require the thinking of a toddler to operate. They don’t have to work particularly well; they probably won’t be used for that reason anyway. Clothing seems to be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of reflective design. Whether it is a shirt, purse, shoes, or sunglasses, the brand name says a lot about the person wearing it. Take the same two shirts, put an Abercrombie logo on one and a Lacoste logo on the other. Both of the logos represent high cost, but each gives out its own set of emotions and stereotypes about the person wearing it.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Emotional Design Review
1) In this chapter Norman focuses on three main topics of design: visceral design, behavioral design, and reflective design. He begins with visceral design, stating that this is the “pretty” part of a design. A good visceral design may lack intellect and detail, but visually, it is a pleasing product. Behavioral design is an engineer’s kind of design, it is simple and does what it is supposed to. This type of design is not concerned with aesthetics, rather functionality. When a product functions the way it is meant to work, works efficiently, and is easy to use, it is a behavioral success. Lastly, reflective design is all about emotion, how a product makes its users and people its users interact with feel. This idea is best displayed through the perception of name brands. A product may be equal, or even lesser, to another product, but because of its name it brings in greater revenue. If a product makes its users feel good about themselves and earn the respect of others, it has succeeded in a reflective perspective.
2) When reading this chapter I felt it was merely an expansion of the previous chapter from The Design of Everyday Things. Many of the basic ideas were the same (i.e. functionality, feedback, mapping), but ideas such as visceral, behavioral, and reflective design serve to further elaborate on the previous topics and to discuss the emotions conveyed by them. Behavioral design is the basis behind functionality. A good product is one that does what it is supposed to as easily as possible while providing adequate feedback. Visceral design can be tied to mapping in the way that a good looking product is often an easy to understand one. Finally, a product’s good reflective perception is often a result of strong, previous designs that were able to efficiently use all the aspects discussed by Norman in The Design of Everyday Things.
3) Visceral Success- Children’s puzzles: they are simple, colorful, and pleasant to look at, but all in all are not very complex and probably cheaply made.
Behavioral Success- Bagel cutter: not aesthetically pleasing, but serves it purpose to make a routine task much easier.
Reflective Success- Clothing company’s (Lacoste, J. Crew, Armani, Oakley)- These companies often make products that aren’t much different in quality from the likes of GAP and Old Navy, but by putting their logo on the clothing the company gives its consumers a sense of pride and higher social standing.
2) When reading this chapter I felt it was merely an expansion of the previous chapter from The Design of Everyday Things. Many of the basic ideas were the same (i.e. functionality, feedback, mapping), but ideas such as visceral, behavioral, and reflective design serve to further elaborate on the previous topics and to discuss the emotions conveyed by them. Behavioral design is the basis behind functionality. A good product is one that does what it is supposed to as easily as possible while providing adequate feedback. Visceral design can be tied to mapping in the way that a good looking product is often an easy to understand one. Finally, a product’s good reflective perception is often a result of strong, previous designs that were able to efficiently use all the aspects discussed by Norman in The Design of Everyday Things.
3) Visceral Success- Children’s puzzles: they are simple, colorful, and pleasant to look at, but all in all are not very complex and probably cheaply made.
Behavioral Success- Bagel cutter: not aesthetically pleasing, but serves it purpose to make a routine task much easier.
Reflective Success- Clothing company’s (Lacoste, J. Crew, Armani, Oakley)- These companies often make products that aren’t much different in quality from the likes of GAP and Old Navy, but by putting their logo on the clothing the company gives its consumers a sense of pride and higher social standing.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Relating Norman's Ideas to Products
1) Page 25- “A good principle, that. Controls are where they ought to be. One function, one control. Harder to do, of course, than to say, but essentially this is the principle of natural mappings: the relationship between controls and actions should be apparent to the user. I return to this topic later in the book, for the problem of determining the “naturalness” of mappings is difficult, but crucial.”
This passage comes after talking about the German tour bus and just before talking about the fade control on the car stereo. In the tour bus situation the controls made sense; each button did what was natural. The car situation, on the other hand was a failure in design; the fade button, which controls music front to back, in fact turned left to right, thus making the action unnatural and unpredictable.
I felt the idea of “naturalness” was a very important topic in this chapter as well as in all design. When the users action naturally corresponds with the devices action it just makes sense. A door with a handle is meant to be pulled and turning a steering wheel to the right turns the wheels right. In the end, it is my opinion that making a design natural is the most crucial part of the design process. If a design is natural it is naturally easy to use and understand.
2) This book continues to be influential because it focuses on the basics of design. Sure Norman did not have today’s technology but the basis behind all design is the same. Visually obvious and natural are the key to the success of any product. Norman’s thoughts on the design of the floppy disc directly compare to the design of a camera’s memory card, maybe the credit card companies should consider this too. Overall, Norman’s book focuses on the most basic, fundamental elements of design, those that any product must contain in order to be successful.
3) Factors to include on design checklist:
Naturalness
Visual Cues
Feedback
Easily and obviously mapped
Controls relate to user’s expected knowledge
Limited improper affordances
Good conceptual model
Doesn’t fall victim to Paradox of Technology (or at least as little as possible)
This passage comes after talking about the German tour bus and just before talking about the fade control on the car stereo. In the tour bus situation the controls made sense; each button did what was natural. The car situation, on the other hand was a failure in design; the fade button, which controls music front to back, in fact turned left to right, thus making the action unnatural and unpredictable.
I felt the idea of “naturalness” was a very important topic in this chapter as well as in all design. When the users action naturally corresponds with the devices action it just makes sense. A door with a handle is meant to be pulled and turning a steering wheel to the right turns the wheels right. In the end, it is my opinion that making a design natural is the most crucial part of the design process. If a design is natural it is naturally easy to use and understand.
2) This book continues to be influential because it focuses on the basics of design. Sure Norman did not have today’s technology but the basis behind all design is the same. Visually obvious and natural are the key to the success of any product. Norman’s thoughts on the design of the floppy disc directly compare to the design of a camera’s memory card, maybe the credit card companies should consider this too. Overall, Norman’s book focuses on the most basic, fundamental elements of design, those that any product must contain in order to be successful.
3) Factors to include on design checklist:
Naturalness
Visual Cues
Feedback
Easily and obviously mapped
Controls relate to user’s expected knowledge
Limited improper affordances
Good conceptual model
Doesn’t fall victim to Paradox of Technology (or at least as little as possible)
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Design of Everyday Intelligence- Chpt. 1 Review
1) In Norman’s The Design of Everyday Things he touches on six crucial points of the design process. In my reading I identified the following factors of design: visibility, affordance, mapping, constraints, feedback, and the paradox of technology. Each of these component play a large role in the user’s ability to effectively, efficiently, and easily use a product.
Visibility seemed to be Norman’s top point in this chapter. He talks about the psychology of looking at a design. A good design is easily understood by its user; cues within the design lead its users to assume specific affordances (talked about later). “Natural signals” are an important piece in visibility, they are taken in subconsciously by the brain and naturally understood, making the product easy to use.
Next Norman comes to affordances, or what the user perceives as uses for a product. A good product has specific, limited, and easily identifiable affordances. When a product’s affordances are vague or varied it becomes more difficult to use.
Constraints are barriers within a product that limit certain actions by its users. By limiting unwanted actions a product is more easily used- its possible uses are cut down. Norman portrays the concept of constraint through the examples of scissors and a floppy disc. Scissors have holes which are affordances to place fingers in, but by constraining the size of the holes the scissors are more likely to be used properly- one finger in the small hole, multiple fingers in the large hole. With the floppy disc there are eight possible ways to insert the disc into the drive, but by using a special design that only allows one side to enter the drive the designers ensured that the disc would be used properly.
The overall concept created through affordances and constraints is mapping. Mapping is the way the user looks at a product and realize how it should be used. Based on the affordances and constraints of a product the user develops a mental image of how the product should work, or if it shouldn’t work for that matter. If a product is well mapped out then the consumer should be able to easily identify its intended purpose.
Lastly for the concepts of the actual design process is feedback. This idea is important in that in order for a consumer to use a product they must be aware of the their actions and the proceeding results. Feedback ties in directly with visuals in the sense that users want to have a visual cue for their actions. Without feedback users have no idea if their actions are creating the desired effects.
The paradox of technology is important in summing up the consequences of effectively mastering the previous five points of design. As a product becomes more advanced and has more functions it naturally becomes more difficult to use. This is a major problem that designers must overcome; they must be able to add features to a product while increasing the difficulty of use as little as possible. As mentioned by Norman, the paradox of technology often follows a “U shaped curve,” meaning that when a product is first developed it is usually finicky and difficult to use, but as the designers get a hold of things the product becomes more efficient. Still as the product becomes more efficient users demand more out of it. As users demand more designers must give them more; more means more to learn, organize, and describe. Each concept of design must be taken into consideration by the designer when further developing a product.
When creating a product, it is the goal of the design team to achieve harmony among all of these factors. Constraints must be set so that users can find desired affordance for a product. These affordances then lead to the proper mapping of the product. In the end, it all comes down to visual cues. Clear-cut visual cues are the users top aid when shaping an idea of how a product works. A well-made product is one that’s uses are easily visualized and understood.
2) One product that I struggle with is my graphing calculator. I feel that the visual design of the product makes it difficult to use. The fact that it is difficult to use goes along with the paradox of technology; there is just so much going on with the calculator that it seems nearly impossible to fully understand it. I would say that the main hold-up is the visual setup. Plain and simple, there are too many keys with too many functions. Even the simplest of actions can be made difficult by all the surrounding symbols, letters, and numbers. Still, the design is understandable; the calculator was designed to perform almost all possible mathematical functions, to fit in one’s pocket, and to compute problems much more easily than by hand, which it does exactly that.
3) The designers of the iPod did a very impressive job with using Norman’s concepts. They kept it simple and by doing so created a user-friendly, specific product. When a user first picks up an iPod there are a limited number of affordances, meaning it shouldn’t take long to figure out. The constraints were able to be kept to a minimum as the visual aids should be obvious to the user. These visual aids also make mapping the iPod very simple. The small number of affordances and clear visual aids make learning to use the iPod quite easy. Feedback is neatly given in the form of a clicking sound and highlighted words on the screen, ensuring that the user knows exactly what he is doing. Overall the iPod neatly works in the many points made by Norman, making it into the great product that it has become.
Despite these positive factors the iPod has also fallen victim to the paradox of technology. As Apple’s technology develops the iPod receives frequent upgrades and new gadgets. With these additions comes a larger learning curve when first using the product. As the paradox says, each advancement in technology leads to newer benefits, but along with those benefits comes an increase in the product’s complexity.
Visibility seemed to be Norman’s top point in this chapter. He talks about the psychology of looking at a design. A good design is easily understood by its user; cues within the design lead its users to assume specific affordances (talked about later). “Natural signals” are an important piece in visibility, they are taken in subconsciously by the brain and naturally understood, making the product easy to use.
Next Norman comes to affordances, or what the user perceives as uses for a product. A good product has specific, limited, and easily identifiable affordances. When a product’s affordances are vague or varied it becomes more difficult to use.
Constraints are barriers within a product that limit certain actions by its users. By limiting unwanted actions a product is more easily used- its possible uses are cut down. Norman portrays the concept of constraint through the examples of scissors and a floppy disc. Scissors have holes which are affordances to place fingers in, but by constraining the size of the holes the scissors are more likely to be used properly- one finger in the small hole, multiple fingers in the large hole. With the floppy disc there are eight possible ways to insert the disc into the drive, but by using a special design that only allows one side to enter the drive the designers ensured that the disc would be used properly.
The overall concept created through affordances and constraints is mapping. Mapping is the way the user looks at a product and realize how it should be used. Based on the affordances and constraints of a product the user develops a mental image of how the product should work, or if it shouldn’t work for that matter. If a product is well mapped out then the consumer should be able to easily identify its intended purpose.
Lastly for the concepts of the actual design process is feedback. This idea is important in that in order for a consumer to use a product they must be aware of the their actions and the proceeding results. Feedback ties in directly with visuals in the sense that users want to have a visual cue for their actions. Without feedback users have no idea if their actions are creating the desired effects.
The paradox of technology is important in summing up the consequences of effectively mastering the previous five points of design. As a product becomes more advanced and has more functions it naturally becomes more difficult to use. This is a major problem that designers must overcome; they must be able to add features to a product while increasing the difficulty of use as little as possible. As mentioned by Norman, the paradox of technology often follows a “U shaped curve,” meaning that when a product is first developed it is usually finicky and difficult to use, but as the designers get a hold of things the product becomes more efficient. Still as the product becomes more efficient users demand more out of it. As users demand more designers must give them more; more means more to learn, organize, and describe. Each concept of design must be taken into consideration by the designer when further developing a product.
When creating a product, it is the goal of the design team to achieve harmony among all of these factors. Constraints must be set so that users can find desired affordance for a product. These affordances then lead to the proper mapping of the product. In the end, it all comes down to visual cues. Clear-cut visual cues are the users top aid when shaping an idea of how a product works. A well-made product is one that’s uses are easily visualized and understood.
2) One product that I struggle with is my graphing calculator. I feel that the visual design of the product makes it difficult to use. The fact that it is difficult to use goes along with the paradox of technology; there is just so much going on with the calculator that it seems nearly impossible to fully understand it. I would say that the main hold-up is the visual setup. Plain and simple, there are too many keys with too many functions. Even the simplest of actions can be made difficult by all the surrounding symbols, letters, and numbers. Still, the design is understandable; the calculator was designed to perform almost all possible mathematical functions, to fit in one’s pocket, and to compute problems much more easily than by hand, which it does exactly that.
3) The designers of the iPod did a very impressive job with using Norman’s concepts. They kept it simple and by doing so created a user-friendly, specific product. When a user first picks up an iPod there are a limited number of affordances, meaning it shouldn’t take long to figure out. The constraints were able to be kept to a minimum as the visual aids should be obvious to the user. These visual aids also make mapping the iPod very simple. The small number of affordances and clear visual aids make learning to use the iPod quite easy. Feedback is neatly given in the form of a clicking sound and highlighted words on the screen, ensuring that the user knows exactly what he is doing. Overall the iPod neatly works in the many points made by Norman, making it into the great product that it has become.
Despite these positive factors the iPod has also fallen victim to the paradox of technology. As Apple’s technology develops the iPod receives frequent upgrades and new gadgets. With these additions comes a larger learning curve when first using the product. As the paradox says, each advancement in technology leads to newer benefits, but along with those benefits comes an increase in the product’s complexity.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Review of "The Perfect Product"
1) From start to finish, this article follows the design process of one of the most successful products on the planet. Each careful step taken by apple is illustrated and it is clear why each of those steps had to be just right to make the iPod into the product it is today.
The first step taken by Apple was to research their competition and see what worked and what failed. At the end of this process they concluded that other MP3 players “generally held too little music, had impenetrable interfaces, and looked like the cheap plastic toys given to losers at carnival games.” They had found the changes, but needed to find positive attributes as well, for that they turned to Fadell. Fadell was the head developer for the PDA, a successful product that could be mirrored by Apple. These positive and negative factors then had to be turned into the product they wanted, an efficient, aesthetically pleasing machine that fits in your pocket.
After getting a rough idea in their heads, it was time for Ng and Fadell to make their ideas tangible. This next step consisted of creating models and finding out which features fit and which don’t. In the end they came up with three visuals.
One of the biggest parts of the design process was then touched on, presentation. Two of the visuals were used as “sacrificial lambs” to boost the reception of the top idea. This idea of presentation is very important, a poor product can seem like a good one through superb presentation and a great product can be turned into a waste.
Design of the iPod included work from many people in many departments, another key to the design process. In order to make a sufficient product different people from different areas must work together, each bringing their expertise to the table.
Lastly is the idea of being revolutionary and the willingness to take a risk. For example, Jobs’ decision to exclude a power button may have seemed crazy, but it was risks like that that made the iPod what it is.
2) When looking for the “perfect thing” there are too many factors to name them all. To me though, I think a perfect product is firstly a product that efficiently and consistently does what it is supposed to. These two areas are probably the most important as easy-to-use products seem to please their users for obvious reasons. Next would be cost efficiency; people are willing to pay the price for top-of-the-line products, but there is a fine line between a deal and a rip-off. A third aspect is the uniqueness of a product. Sure a copied product can be a good one, but when looking to really create some buzz, a product must be revolutionary, head-turning, and simply special. In my opinion, if a product can be efficient, consistent, cost friendly, and unique it can be perfect.
3) The iPod is clearly above the rest when it comes to MP3 players. Its ease of use and storage capacity make it a product that can be used by any and all types of people. Design on the surface makes it a cool, hip looking product; the sleek, compact design fits in with today’s style and people’s lifestyles. Overall it is pretty difficult to find flaws with the iPod, it may nearly be a perfect product. Still, there are some bugs that could be worked out. I will admit that these bugs are often an infestation of my own doing, but part of creating a perfect product is making it as user friendly as possible (sometimes that means keeping the user from messing things up). Anyway, I often come across times when my iPod freezes, or just stops working, or songs take forever to upload. These are all factors of the efficiency and consistency realm. Again, I will admit that these problem are often of my own doing, but one improvement that could be made to the iPod is keeping me from myself.
The first step taken by Apple was to research their competition and see what worked and what failed. At the end of this process they concluded that other MP3 players “generally held too little music, had impenetrable interfaces, and looked like the cheap plastic toys given to losers at carnival games.” They had found the changes, but needed to find positive attributes as well, for that they turned to Fadell. Fadell was the head developer for the PDA, a successful product that could be mirrored by Apple. These positive and negative factors then had to be turned into the product they wanted, an efficient, aesthetically pleasing machine that fits in your pocket.
After getting a rough idea in their heads, it was time for Ng and Fadell to make their ideas tangible. This next step consisted of creating models and finding out which features fit and which don’t. In the end they came up with three visuals.
One of the biggest parts of the design process was then touched on, presentation. Two of the visuals were used as “sacrificial lambs” to boost the reception of the top idea. This idea of presentation is very important, a poor product can seem like a good one through superb presentation and a great product can be turned into a waste.
Design of the iPod included work from many people in many departments, another key to the design process. In order to make a sufficient product different people from different areas must work together, each bringing their expertise to the table.
Lastly is the idea of being revolutionary and the willingness to take a risk. For example, Jobs’ decision to exclude a power button may have seemed crazy, but it was risks like that that made the iPod what it is.
2) When looking for the “perfect thing” there are too many factors to name them all. To me though, I think a perfect product is firstly a product that efficiently and consistently does what it is supposed to. These two areas are probably the most important as easy-to-use products seem to please their users for obvious reasons. Next would be cost efficiency; people are willing to pay the price for top-of-the-line products, but there is a fine line between a deal and a rip-off. A third aspect is the uniqueness of a product. Sure a copied product can be a good one, but when looking to really create some buzz, a product must be revolutionary, head-turning, and simply special. In my opinion, if a product can be efficient, consistent, cost friendly, and unique it can be perfect.
3) The iPod is clearly above the rest when it comes to MP3 players. Its ease of use and storage capacity make it a product that can be used by any and all types of people. Design on the surface makes it a cool, hip looking product; the sleek, compact design fits in with today’s style and people’s lifestyles. Overall it is pretty difficult to find flaws with the iPod, it may nearly be a perfect product. Still, there are some bugs that could be worked out. I will admit that these bugs are often an infestation of my own doing, but part of creating a perfect product is making it as user friendly as possible (sometimes that means keeping the user from messing things up). Anyway, I often come across times when my iPod freezes, or just stops working, or songs take forever to upload. These are all factors of the efficiency and consistency realm. Again, I will admit that these problem are often of my own doing, but one improvement that could be made to the iPod is keeping me from myself.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Introduction
Hello, my name is Dane Macdonell, I am from Traverse City, MI. I am hoping to be either a business or psychology major, or maybe both. I am a goalie on the soccer team; I have been playing soccer my entire life, as well as hockey. The design intelligence class really caught my attention because of the aspects of design in both business and psychology. Businesses rely on design to make a product as profitable as possible while psychologists must create a new design for their treatement based on each individual patient. Overall I am looking forward to strengthening my writing and discussion skills in this class; it shouldn't be too hard as I am very interested in what is to be learned this fall.
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