Tabuchi, H., “Japanese Playing a New Video Game: Catch-Up.” New York Times Online. Visited on October 4, 2010: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/technology/20game.html?_r=1 This article discuss how Japan is partnering with Westerns in the gaming industry. In the mid 1980s’ through 1990s most game franchises were developed from Japan. Some of Nintendo’s Mario, Pokemon, Sonic the Hedgehog from Sean and Gran Turismo from Sony. Japan is now at least five years behind in the industry. The best selling game was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 which was developed in the United States. Concept Design: Japan use to define the gaming industry. Part of it’s problem is that they need to appeal to players that are located overseas. Interaction Design: Developers want to try and reach out to the West and collaborate. Collaboration in trying to make games have a more global appeal can possibly generate a bigger target audience. Capcom for example developed Take Shadow of Rome. This 2005 action game was made for European and American markets. Instead of designing over sized samurai swordsmen they designed over sized gladiators. Interface Design: The interface design are collaborating with people from overseas and learn their culture in order to appeal in the market. They…
Users
Background Knowledge, Background Knowledge Errors, Contributor, Errors, Interaction Design, Interface Design, Mental Model Traps, Product Design Strategy, Scaffolding, Users
More is always better – Or so most think!
by Mallika •
Tugend, A., (2010). “For the Dishwasher’s Sake, Go Easy on the Detergent.” NY Times Online. Visited on November 04, 2010: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/your-money/13shortcuts.html If dishwashers do not seem to be doing their job or if your clothes are not coming out as soft as you’d like them to, or if these machines break down easily, it is most likely due to “user error.” We throw in multiple fabric softener sheets because more is better. More isn’t better in this case! The excess sheets liquefy when the dryer gets hot and gum up the dryer. Most people use ten to fifteen times the amount of soap they need. This excess soap is detrimental to the life of the machines. This article has some clear implications for interaction and interface design. User errors are likely to happen. Even if you have a manual with detailed instructions, the chances of somebody reading that manual are very slim. Even if they read it, they are still likely to err. How can design inculcate the right usage in the user? In this case, what can design do to prevent errors resulting from the ‘More is better’ p-prim? Possible Interaction Design Solutions: Solutions could be…
Cognitive Blindness, Conceptual Design, Cultural Bias, Ethnographic & User Data, Featured, Flow, Interaction Design, Interface Design, Mental Model Traps, Mirroring Errors, Pipsqueak Articles, Product Design Strategy, Scaffolding, Users
Thinking About the Future of Reading
by Olga Werby •
The Taxonomy of Usefulness We are a family with two Kindles, three iPads, two iPods, and an iPhone. We also have a few thousand old-fashioned paper books stored on bookshelves in every nook and cranny of our home: bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, stairs, garage, closets, family room, and any other space and surface that might hold a book or two or ten. We are into reading! And we use our Kindles, iPads/Pods/Phone, and computers to read as well. And while statistically speaking, we make just four data points for four family members, I feel we have something interesting to say about using technology to read. To help me understand my own relationship with reading and technology, I’ve come up with a little Taxonomy of Usefulness. If you’ve been reading this blog (or my books and papers), you’d have noticed that I like to slice up the world into groups sorted by a set of variables that I find useful at the time. Forming categories helps me think—the Cognitive Wheel is a prime example. Taxonomy of Usefulness These variables help derive the value of the electronic reading devices. Ergonomics There are many attributes to consider when describing the ergonomics of a device,…
Conceptual Design, Cultural Bias, Cultural Differences, Ethnographic & User Data, Flow, Personality, Pipsqueak Articles, Product Design Strategy, Users
Branding & Emotional Design: The Culture of Sneakers
by Olga Werby •
How do we spend our money? Well, the first cut goes to survival: essential goods and services that are absolutely necessary to our survival. Food, housing, medical care are all part of the basic necessities of life. Some, of course, are more necessary than others (we might postpone going to a dentist…but not for long), but there’s a core of stuff that we need to live. The next tier up from survival is comfort. This is a very large tier—what’s comfort to some is a necessity to others and visa versa. People use their income to increase their general comfort level. This might mean a large house, more comfortable beds, larger selection of clothing. But generally, when we talk of comfort, we don’t include jet setting to Paris for a nice date out on the town. Comfort is about everyday life needs, but more comfortable. The top tier of our income is the disposable income and it is spent on luxury—the money we have left over from dealing with our needs and comforts; the money we can chose to spend in an extravagant and even wasteful manner. When economists make predictions about the average size of the available disposable income,…
Conceptual Design, Contributor, Interaction Design, Interface Design, Product Design Strategy, Users
On “3-D Printing Spurs a Manufacturing Revolution” by Vance
by Ketil E. Jensen •
Vance, A., (2010). “3-D Printing Spurs a Manufacturing Revolution.“ New York Times Online. Retrieved on October 6, 2010: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/technology/14print.html Summary: Vance highlights the remarkable impact and wide application 3-D printing has on a wide range of traditional and non-traditional manufacturing industries. While traditional printers print on one dimensional paper, 3-D printers create a 3-dimensional physical object, usually from plastic or metal, by stacking layers one on top of another. The application of 3-D printers spans a wide variety of applications: from custom made prosthetic casings to building houses, and literally anything in-between. It may very well hold the promise of a game-changing technology for the US manufacturing industry in that the cheap labor may no longer be the “be-all” important factor it is today. User Groups While the application of technology in design and manufacturing hardly is a new phenomenon, the scale, ease of use and its wide application do provide something of a paradigm shift in a cross-section of manufacturing industries. In tomorrow’s 3-D printing world, yesteryears chasm between conceptual design and manufacturing is a non-existing obstacle. In this new 3-D printing world the virtual product concept conceived by the product creator and the material manifestation of her/his creation…
Conceptual Design, Contributor, Interface Design, Language, Product Design Strategy, Users
Using Menu Psychology to Entice Diners
by Mallika •
Kershaw, S., (2009). “Using Menu Psychology to Entice Diners.” New York Times Online. Visited on October 02, 2010: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/dining/23menus.html. This article discusses how an understanding of human psychology is being applied to sculpt a restaurant menu into a lucrative tool for the restaurateur. Restaurateurs play down the importance of the cost figure by eliminating the dollar sign and decimals. Adding a personal touch to an item (‘Grandma Mary’s cake’) or a descriptive menu label (‘buttery pasta’) draws more attention to the dish. Other decoys include using a description that glorifies a more profitable dish compared to others. During the tough economic times in the last year, some restaurants were reinventing their restaurants through such menu design techniques, and were hoping that would make the difference they needed. Conceptual design: When you go to a restaurant, good food is not the only thing you seek; you are looking for a good experience. Of course sometimes, great food can make us turn a blind eye to any other inadequacy and draw us back into the restaurant. Nevertheless, a good experience overall manifests itself as a stronger loyalty. If your overall experience has made a lasting positive impression, you may recommend the restaurant…
Errors, Ethnographic & User Data, Interface Design, Perception, Pipsqueak Articles, Product Design Strategy, Scaffolding, Users
Accidentally Supergluing an Eye Shut
by Olga Werby •
I hope the mere reading of the title made you queasy—it makes me shudder every time. On October 6th, CNN posted a story about a woman from Phoenix, Arizona, who accidentally put drops of super glue into her eye instead of the eye medication. She called 911, and in the emergency room the doctors had to cut open her eye and peel the hardened layer of super glue from her eye ball. If this doesn’t make you sick, then… One may ask: how stupid does one have to be to glue their eye shut? But, as with many other product-use errors, the woman made a very common mistake. The hospital wasn’t surprised—apparently these accidents happen all the time. Because of poor vision, she couldn’t distinguish between the bottles of her eye medicine and the package of super glue. Take a look at this: If you are relying purely on feel, the woman’s error no longer feels so outlandish. Here’s what she probably could see with her poor vision: And here is what we, the well-sighted, could see: So upon a close examination, the woman’s error is a natural mistake. (Yeah, I know, I know: Why would she keep the bottle…