Finally, its the end of a challenging but yet fulfilling course. I have always loved designing modules. From NM2208, 3208,2217 and to this. But it seem that NM4210 is one which I can learn to see the expectations and difficulties involved in designing a good product.
Before this module,designing UX, is something I have always thought to be easy and 'common sense' . But through the various exercises and especially the final project, I finally understand that all the while, I have been taking the notion of UX in my own context and perception. To understand the opinions and quality of the experience of others is definitely not easy because I am not them. Even with the various research conducted to try to understand my user, it is a challenge for me not to misinterpret their opinions and the data collated. The strange phenomenon which I discovered is that sometimes even users themselves do not know what they want. This is because experience is something so complicated that it comprises on not only a single factor. It is a mixture of emotions, looks, learnability, desirability, accessibility, credibility, usability, usefulness .....and the list goes on. It all depends on what the users are looking out for in his/her interaction with the product. And here comes the biggest challenge of all because sometimes what we as users exactly what from a product is also very elusive and inexplainable. Hence, to find out and capture these hidden intuitive factors accurately also requires skill, such as the way we structure our interview questions, research methods etc. But even with the perceptions of users aptyly captured, there still inlies numerous unknown factors in balancing context, content and users.
Throughout this module, I have indeed learnt many refreshing theories, principles and approaches to designing UX. Some of these even contradict one another and it is a learning process for beginners like us to decide what approaches to use because it depends on the context of our design as well. On another note, I guess an important point which I have gotten from this module is to learn how to look at the bigger picture by simplifying and intergrating all the small details to create good UX. This is of course easier said than done as experienced in my final project. More often than not, we tend to fall into the 'functional trap' by trying too hard to be creative and add on strange functions to our product design. But feedback from Mr Reddy and the class each week never fail spur me to review my design ideas from other more wholesome perspectives. So I can say that after this module, I do sense a change in my perceptions and approach towards designing a product.
But with the end of this module, I honestly still find designing UX to be something difficult to grasp. I do appreciate all the assignments and final project in this module because they let me develop basic insights into the realm of UX. But what I believe what I have learnt about UX is just the tip of an iceberg. I guess ultimately, as what Christopher Fahey mentioned, grapsing UX design which is something so subjective involves experience as well.
Monday, 28 April 2008
Friday, 25 April 2008
Overview of Final Project
Overview of final project
My team mates and I started out this project with a wrong approach because we were so keen on specifying the functional aspects of our product design right from the start. At that point of time, we thought that this is an easier approach for us to develop our product design later on. However, we later on realize that UX is not about good specifications or even good functions. It is about how users feel when they interact with our product. To do so, we have to go through numerous steps of user testing, interviews and analysis. With that, although very tempting, we resisted from churning out specifications before we even conducted any user research. We find that in many moments, AFTER conducting user interviews, our assumption of what users what is very much different from what we thought to be. However, a challenge here is to balance out the opinions given by different users because every user gave out various subjective comments which could vary quite vastly from one another.
From the start, we focused on the elder age group because we see an impending need to focus on the age-related problems which comes with the phenomenon of graying population. After recognizing the need to focus on the elderly target group, we began with user profiling, persona building which allows us to have a better understanding of the values, problems, needs, wants and expectations of the elderly population. With these, we find it much easier to detail out the functional and user requirement of our product.
During the different phases in our project, we made effort in revising and referring back to the requirement analysis as different stage of interviews often reveal a change in needs and wants. Thus, these requirements acts as a check list for us to make sure our product design improve in terms of UX.
A challenge for our projects comes at phase 3 because throughout the 4 stages in phase 3, we see rejections in our product ideas frequently. Mr Reddy often reminded us that it is about the design process and not the product design. But somehow, it is very difficult to translate our user research to UX in our product interaction process because our respondents at times do give contradicting and vague answers. For instance, in phase 3C, we see a change in the needs of users from security to usability. This came as a surprise for us too because users right from the start kept emphasizing on security as their number one priority in a lock design. But after we developed our prototype, we observe through interviews that they are more concern about ease of use and convenience. This shows that users many times subconsciously might want other needs. Hence, as designers, we have to constant look out for hints in the responses respondents give. Additionally, we also find difficulty looking at the whole picture because we tend to develop specific features based on the requirements. It is quite a challenge to step away from these small details and reinvent them into the whole picture of UX. What we have done in later stages were to analyze the users’ interaction with our product and from there adjust the various areas to create UX as a whole.
In phase 3c, we developed a ‘high’ fidelity prototype. But due to limited resources, we did not manage to build up a prototype which resembles our real product in detail. Therefore, we do see disappointment in our users when we showed them our prototypes because they were unable to visualize our final product properly. Hence, we decided to develop a better albeit still not good enough high fidelity prototype. This time, users gave more positive and assured comments to rate our product specifications.
In the final stage, our product specification draws down to :
- tapping key control
- central locking system
- stainless steel foldable gate
- automatic unlocking and locking mechanism based on sensor tapping detection
- automatic lock mechanim based on infrared body move sensor detection
- sensor alarm to detect cut through of lock
- conventional key as back up plan
At each stage, we held back ourselves from falling into the functional trap by reviewing if each of these features do add on to the overall UX. After this project, I finally understanding that simplification is the key to enhancing UX.
My team mates and I started out this project with a wrong approach because we were so keen on specifying the functional aspects of our product design right from the start. At that point of time, we thought that this is an easier approach for us to develop our product design later on. However, we later on realize that UX is not about good specifications or even good functions. It is about how users feel when they interact with our product. To do so, we have to go through numerous steps of user testing, interviews and analysis. With that, although very tempting, we resisted from churning out specifications before we even conducted any user research. We find that in many moments, AFTER conducting user interviews, our assumption of what users what is very much different from what we thought to be. However, a challenge here is to balance out the opinions given by different users because every user gave out various subjective comments which could vary quite vastly from one another.
From the start, we focused on the elder age group because we see an impending need to focus on the age-related problems which comes with the phenomenon of graying population. After recognizing the need to focus on the elderly target group, we began with user profiling, persona building which allows us to have a better understanding of the values, problems, needs, wants and expectations of the elderly population. With these, we find it much easier to detail out the functional and user requirement of our product.
During the different phases in our project, we made effort in revising and referring back to the requirement analysis as different stage of interviews often reveal a change in needs and wants. Thus, these requirements acts as a check list for us to make sure our product design improve in terms of UX.
A challenge for our projects comes at phase 3 because throughout the 4 stages in phase 3, we see rejections in our product ideas frequently. Mr Reddy often reminded us that it is about the design process and not the product design. But somehow, it is very difficult to translate our user research to UX in our product interaction process because our respondents at times do give contradicting and vague answers. For instance, in phase 3C, we see a change in the needs of users from security to usability. This came as a surprise for us too because users right from the start kept emphasizing on security as their number one priority in a lock design. But after we developed our prototype, we observe through interviews that they are more concern about ease of use and convenience. This shows that users many times subconsciously might want other needs. Hence, as designers, we have to constant look out for hints in the responses respondents give. Additionally, we also find difficulty looking at the whole picture because we tend to develop specific features based on the requirements. It is quite a challenge to step away from these small details and reinvent them into the whole picture of UX. What we have done in later stages were to analyze the users’ interaction with our product and from there adjust the various areas to create UX as a whole.
In phase 3c, we developed a ‘high’ fidelity prototype. But due to limited resources, we did not manage to build up a prototype which resembles our real product in detail. Therefore, we do see disappointment in our users when we showed them our prototypes because they were unable to visualize our final product properly. Hence, we decided to develop a better albeit still not good enough high fidelity prototype. This time, users gave more positive and assured comments to rate our product specifications.
In the final stage, our product specification draws down to :
- tapping key control
- central locking system
- stainless steel foldable gate
- automatic unlocking and locking mechanism based on sensor tapping detection
- automatic lock mechanim based on infrared body move sensor detection
- sensor alarm to detect cut through of lock
- conventional key as back up plan
At each stage, we held back ourselves from falling into the functional trap by reviewing if each of these features do add on to the overall UX. After this project, I finally understanding that simplification is the key to enhancing UX.
Review : User Research Smoke & Mirror
After reading Christopher Fahley’s article, I do very much agree that user experience is a subjective matter. Ultimately, every different person has their own perspective and opinions towards experiences. Hence, as a designer, it is not feasible to entirely use scientific quantification as the basis of our design process because that will be an over-generalized cum shallow approach towards making sense of experience.
Yes, quantitative research does make it easier for designer to make a head start to understanding the general target market. However, I believe that to design successful UX, it is not enough to understand what users are thinking. Rather, designers should listen to subjective views in order to investigate HOW users process their thoughts. Moreover, as iterated throughout my course of NM4210, it is impossible for a design to satisfy everyone, hence it will make more sense for designers to focus on the valuable opinions of a selected few and build up our innovations from there.
On a further elaboration, Fahey pointed out a very important but often neglected point that research is NOT everything. User experience, in my take constitutes a spiraling relationship between designer and user. This means that there must be a constant negotiation between what user wants and the designer’s designing process. For instance, sms (short messaging service)first started out as a notification service. But overtime because the way people use it, it went back to the designer to build on users’ needs and wants to develop a more advanced sms system or even mms. What I am trying to illustrate is that user’s subjective opinion is more effective than general scientific research to enhance UX.
This notion of subjectivity is very relevant throughout the design process to designers. But when it comes to selling our design product, it will be another matter. The reality of today’s society relies and trust statistical proof. We can always see advertisements bringing out humongous numbers to proof that their product is good. But does these quantitative research data really translates to good user experience? I doubt so. In my opinion, these statistical research are just a form of packaging to sell our product as being reliable. As Farhey mentioned, user research is more of a kind of gimmick to convince non-design minded people that our design is good.
I also find Fahey’s take on pseudo-science interesting because more often than not, many poorly designed scientific research try to fake professionalism. In my own experience with NM4210, I believe that this is true because many designers possess some kind of ‘designer ego’ whereby they are not willing to deviate from their original designing path. Being subjective towards their own design, they will think that their own design is the best. Hence designers tend to interpret the scientific results to suit their own design. In this way, this is not UX anymore. It is what designers want and not what users want.
Yes, quantitative research does make it easier for designer to make a head start to understanding the general target market. However, I believe that to design successful UX, it is not enough to understand what users are thinking. Rather, designers should listen to subjective views in order to investigate HOW users process their thoughts. Moreover, as iterated throughout my course of NM4210, it is impossible for a design to satisfy everyone, hence it will make more sense for designers to focus on the valuable opinions of a selected few and build up our innovations from there.
On a further elaboration, Fahey pointed out a very important but often neglected point that research is NOT everything. User experience, in my take constitutes a spiraling relationship between designer and user. This means that there must be a constant negotiation between what user wants and the designer’s designing process. For instance, sms (short messaging service)first started out as a notification service. But overtime because the way people use it, it went back to the designer to build on users’ needs and wants to develop a more advanced sms system or even mms. What I am trying to illustrate is that user’s subjective opinion is more effective than general scientific research to enhance UX.
This notion of subjectivity is very relevant throughout the design process to designers. But when it comes to selling our design product, it will be another matter. The reality of today’s society relies and trust statistical proof. We can always see advertisements bringing out humongous numbers to proof that their product is good. But does these quantitative research data really translates to good user experience? I doubt so. In my opinion, these statistical research are just a form of packaging to sell our product as being reliable. As Farhey mentioned, user research is more of a kind of gimmick to convince non-design minded people that our design is good.
I also find Fahey’s take on pseudo-science interesting because more often than not, many poorly designed scientific research try to fake professionalism. In my own experience with NM4210, I believe that this is true because many designers possess some kind of ‘designer ego’ whereby they are not willing to deviate from their original designing path. Being subjective towards their own design, they will think that their own design is the best. Hence designers tend to interpret the scientific results to suit their own design. In this way, this is not UX anymore. It is what designers want and not what users want.
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Assignment 3 - Emotion Probe Design
Here are our slides :
In this assignment, in order to improve on the current lecture experience, we did ethonography, cultural probe and laddering to find out the various problems as well as needs of the students. The areas contributing to user experience in a lecture hall can be quite vast, ranging from the architural design, to the ergonomics of layout or even cultural aspects such as teaching methods. Therefore, there is a need for us to use various method to find out the needs, wants and expectations of students.
FOr ethnography, we focus our observations on the ergonomics of LT design, students' behaviors and habits as well as lecturer's performance. However, we feel this this form of field observation can be overly subjective from our own pespective. Hence, we decided to gather opinions from our friends as well.
But there is a tendency that people usually do not mean what they say due to peer pressure, fear or some other reasons. Hence, to get a more realistic out look on user's view, we tried cultural probe on them. By doing cultural probe, it will enhance user's own privacy space , inducing them to express their thoughts more freely. The cultural probe which I asked users to
do is diary studies where by each of them jot down the bits an pieces of their lecture experience. Subsequently, I conducted Laddering on the same respondents to get an in-depths understanding of the view points written in diary.
SOME Problems observed/faced (others pls refer to slides):
1) Narrow spaces between seating rows is one of the main cause of empty seats left in the middle of the row.
2) Students refusing to sit at the front which prohibits interaction between lecturer and student.
Large lecture hall lead to sparsely sitted lecture hall. This lead to lack of a conducive interactive environment as the emptiness of the lecture hall also affects the mood of the students.
3) visibility is unclear from the back as well as from the first 2 rows.
4) Table
- Too small - Flipping table might be troublesome for people who are careless -> things fumbling to the ground
5) Noise created by unattentive students, latecomers (through the squeaking sound of the door), poor microphone
6) FEAR of asking questions by students.
7) Boring presentation style by lecturers lead to sleeping students or even students skipping lessons.
8)Notes which are general in details might attract students to pay attention in class and take down notes at first. However, if the notes are too brief, students who are slow might not understand and lead to disinterest in the lesson.
9) concepts of all topics not linked up -> materials taught in bits and pieces
10) Certain lecture hall are too secluded - not accessible - a vicious cycle of punctuality problem
11) We know Singapore is warm. But certain LT are really too cold which lead to loss of concentration during lesson
12)Not enough electric plugs, which are VERY important for a laptop based education system
Some Solutions to the problems :
Some Solutions to the problems :
SOME SOLUTIONS :
Our solutions are segregated into technological and cultural solutions. We believe that it is a mixture of both element which will create a wholesome lecture experience
- Seats and Capacity problem
A table bench sitting format with chairs on track rollers can possible help to solve problem of empty seats in the middle of the row
Prototype of IDEAL seat design
Prototype of table
2) We believe that building entrance at the centre-sides of the hall will help in diverting student flow to the front of the LT. From our observation and laddering, we discovered that a reason students do not go to the front is because they are eitherlazy to walk all the way to the front, or they cant see from the back if there are seats available at the front. Hence, these prohibit them from walking down further front.
3) To solve problem of interactivity -
A wireless/bluetooth system which allow students to log in via handphone/laptop & send real-time questions to the lecturer at the front is good for those who are afraid to speak out their queries during lesson
Some cultural solutions :
- Play more audio or videos to liven up the lessons. Especially when played at the start of the lesson, it can act as a buffer time for late comers -> reduce likelihood of disruption of lessons
-present lecture as a solution to a meaningful problem to invite contemplation
- Lastly, we believe that the presentation style of the lecturer is VERY important in building on to the lesson experience. Lecturers should try to speak clearly in a lively manner and not monotonously mumblingto himself. Solution : Send lecturers for public speaking lessons!!
Ultimately, most of the design ideas we came up with are ideas we WISH to have. But in reality, thereare many limiting factores such as cost, budget and personality of the lecturer.Hence, our ideas cannot be applied to all lecture experience design.
Lastly, we believe that the main attraction in creating a positive lecture experience is still the student himself/herself. If the student is not interested in learning,we believe that the experience of learning will not be pleasant no mattar what. This is because the mindset of the students is the ultimate controlling factor for his/her emotions, expectations andattitudes towards the lesson and hence quality of experience. If the student is not keen to learn at all, no mattar how interestingthe lecturer is or how comfortable the chairs are will not attract him/her into enjoying the learning process.
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Assignment 2 - Four Pleasure Analysis
Chosen product: leopard printed short sleeved dress with a boat neckline
Name: Lily
Age: 32
citizenship: Singaporean
Race: Chinese
Job: A full-time 'tai tai'
Lily is a well-groomed woman who spots sexy long reddish-brown curls and always fully-clad in distinguised designer clothings. She loves the flaunt off her wealth and aims to attain a style of sophistication. To her, having taste/style is to don the most luxurious products which various Hollywood celebrities are wearing. Her usual shopping outfit consists of the latest large-rimmed sunglasses (think nicole-richie)sitting neatly on top of her head, a pair of diamond studded Jimmy Choo high heels which Jennifer Lopes donned during the MTV awards and cladded with loud accessories such as diamond necklaces, diamond watch, golden bangles and large dangling earrings. Of course, this is topped off with a 5-figure Hermes bag dangling on her wrists as she sashayed down the branded boutiques along orchard road.
Being a full time 'tai tai' , Lily enjoys an idling life without having to work. She lives in a semi-detached terrace at Novena with her husband, Paul, who is the director of an MNC firm in Singapore. She loves to decorate her house with imported edgy art work or statues which display her refined taste. Lily does 'work' hard to maintain her rich 'tai tai' statues. She wakes up everyday around 10 am to work out with her personal trainer. Lily firmly believe that to be respected as a 'well-disciplined' tai tai, she must maintain her beauty and figure at all costs. After two hours of sweating out, Lily will go for high-tea in hotels, usually with her girlfriends. Her girlfriends are also mostly rich 'tai-tais' whose main concerns are keeping up with the lastest trends in high society. Lily makes sure she keep in frequently contact with her girlfriends and being a status climber, she aims to network with more people of the high society. She loves mixing around with them as it gives her a sense of social status and pride. She also enjoys comparing herself with them as she love the feeling of being on par with them. However, as Lily was not born with a silverspoon in the mouth, she hates to display insecurities in front of her socialite friends. Hence, when speaking with her friends, she will choose her words carefully so as to appear as a classy and smart woman worthy of her rich husband. She may not be as exorbitantly wealthy or famous as her friends but Lily is definitely a woman who want others to know that she has the capabilities to afford a luxurious lifestyle. To her friends, Lily seemed like a dominating person who sets high expectation for herself.
Everyday after high tea, Lily will spend 2 hours on either of the following:
1) Shopping around Takashimaya/Paragon designer boutiques
2) Enjoying spa/facial packages
3) Pedicures/Medicure sessions
4) Enjoying Jacuzzi at Raffles Town Club
She have no qualms about spending thousands of dollars everyday to pamper herself with lavish goods or services. Needless to say, this glam life is fully sponsored by her husband's supplmentary titanium card. By the time Lily finished pampering herself, it will be the late afternoon. Occasionally, She does get VIP invitations to charity events and high society fashion parties. She uses such functions as a means to see and be seen among the upper crust of society. She loves attending such functions as a form of social ladder and would mingle actively with the crowd to self-promote herself. Lily loves the commanding attention she gained in these events.
During the weekends, Lily will reserve the time to accompany her husband, Paul. They share the same hobby of going out to the sea in their own yatch. Both of them enjoy listening to bar grooves on their yatch while sipping red wine but they hate listening to classical music as they thought that it was too dull. Sometimes, Lily also does accompany Paul to go for golf sessions at the Sentosa Golf Club. Both of them adore the finer things in life such as fine dining at a posh retaurant and watching musical performances at the Esplanade. To them , this form of posh lifestyle is an accessory to flaunt their status. They are very mindful of how others look uopn them and will usually only engage in activities that 'fit their status'.
Before being married to Paul, Lily belongs to modelling world. And she never likes to work.
Back then in her youth days, Lily came from a mid-range income family. She was the elder daughter of her family and lives in a 4 room HDB flat. Since young, her mother had always remind her of the importance of marrying a wealthy husband to secure herself a good future. Therefore, she had been 'brain-washed' with the importance of wealth and social statues.
Lily studied at Anglo-chinese Junior College. Her results were mediocre in her schooling days and she was very playful cum rebellious when she was young. She was constantly surrounded by rich friends who drives branded cars to school and wear considerably branded clothings such as Armani Exchange or Guess. She was secretly jealous of them and felt mediocre in front of her friends. Being envious of her wealthy friends, Lily was determined to climb up the social level. She makes it a point to go partying at clubs with her friends and that was a start for her to expand her social life. At the age of 18, she took up run-way modelling as a part-time job as it was considered to be a glamourous job back in her schooling days. Bacause of her job, she managed to work in exclusive events that were meant for celebrities or socialities. During these events, she got to further expand her network and socialized with men & women from the high society such as CEOs, celebrities and directors. Being able to be acquainted with various successful rich people helped her strived as a popular figure in school and this brought upon her an immense sense of satisfaction and empowerment. She feared that one day, all these glamour will disappear from her life and therefore continued to work as a model after she graduated. During her few years in the modelling circle, she pushed herself hard to know more rich men and this was how she got to know Paul, who was 10 years older than her.
Four Pleasure Analysis
PHYSIO-PLEASURE:
- Enjoys maintaining her figure, fitness and youthful appearance. She loves the feeling of sweating it out and it makes her illusionize the probability of losing weight. (need pleasure)
- Relaxing in spas and medicure/pedicure houses is a must in her itenary. The aromatic smell of spa houses and the feel of people massaging her takes her to 'another world' (appreciation pleasure)
- Loves the ambience of high-tea in hotels and fine dining restaurant as it makes her feel posh and sophisticated. She also appreciate the decorum of the well-trained waiters. (appreciation pleasure)
- Likes products with quality texture such as genuine leather goods. Touching them makes her feel contented with her own taste. (Appreciation pleasure)
- Spend her weekends relaxing with husband, listening to the soothing but yet energizing sounds of bar grooves on a yatch as they sip their red wine. Loves to drown herself into a bliss of relaxation and surrealism. (appreciation pleasure)
SOCIO-PLEASURE:
- The donning of expensive designer products all over herself act as a form of socialising tools. They help to boost her self-esteem and made her felt on par with her socialite friends. Without these products, Lily might be more reserved when mingling with her group of friends. As mentioned, she is not as exorbitantly rich as her friends and sometimes feels insecure due to this. (need pleasure)
- Makes sure she carries the latest and most desirable designer products which are the favourites of Hollywood celebrities. In this way, she will be able to be the centre of attraction amonsgt her high society friends and flaunt her taste to them. Also, she made sure that her dressing style is Loud enough to attract the attention of others so that will discuss about her. For instance, her pair of Jimmy Choo shoes which Jennifer Lopes had worn before became the focal point of one of her high-tea sessions with her friends and she felt secretly pleased.(appreciation pleasure)
- The exquisite art pieces which Lily displayed around her house wowed many of her friends. They were impressed with Lily's refined taste and Lily was excited to discuss the art pieces with her friends. (appreciation pleasure)
- Lily attends charity events and fashion parties to net work around. These events are platforms for her to gain popularity and socialise with the rich. Also, by attending these events, she will be able to brag about them to her friends during high-tea sessions. (appreciation pleasure)
PSYCHO-PLEASURE:
- Splurging and laying her hands on expensive designer products help Lily fulfil her dreams of a materialistic and wealthy lifestyle. She felt pleasurable looking at her molehill of bling bling goods as she feels competent and empowered to be able to improve her own life with her own abilities. (appreciation pleasure)
- Her husband is always working during the weekdays. With a significant lack of attention from her husband, the only form of consolation for her is to chit-chat with her girlfriends everyday or attend functions to widen her social life (need pleasure)
- By working out everyday without fail, Lily felt secretly pleased that she is a disciplined person. (need pleasure)
- Lily loves introducing the numerous art work in her house to her friends as she felt like a connoissuer when she explains them. (appreciation pleasure)
IDEO PLEASURE :
- She is a person who dares and wants to be different. She does not like conventional items which blends her into the crowd. She hopes to make a statement with her loud dress sense. (appreciation pleasure)
- She loves artistic displays around the house as they embodies the values of art appreciation. (appreciation pleasure).
- To Lily, wealth and status is everything. She is a person who is concerned about making others aware of her posh lifestyle. Hence, she will only indulge in the right activities or buy the right products which fit her social status. Eg. Fine dining, yatching, golfing, spa. (need pleasure)
Product Benefit Specifications
REFLECTIONS
It is certainly not easy to see our products as an living object which maps on to the emotional, hedonic and practical needs of users. To do so, we have to really play the role of the user to understand what are his/her deepest fears, hopes and mottos in life. While many people may appear to be a certain typical category of persons, their inner-self may not show physically. Hence, a good designer as I have learnt in this assignment, is to probe further than what is seen on the surface into a person's background. A pleasurable product should tell the user that it is the one for them at a glance :). But of course, this is not as easy as it seems because I believe there are many people who do not even know themselves fully. Therefore, I guess to analyse a person, it takes more than analysing his/her background. Different perspectives from his friends, families are also very crucial in understanding this person.
Expanded RMA Profile
Imaginary Subject:-Name: Lily
Age: 32
citizenship: Singaporean
Race: Chinese
Job: A full-time 'tai tai'
Lily is a well-groomed woman who spots sexy long reddish-brown curls and always fully-clad in distinguised designer clothings. She loves the flaunt off her wealth and aims to attain a style of sophistication. To her, having taste/style is to don the most luxurious products which various Hollywood celebrities are wearing. Her usual shopping outfit consists of the latest large-rimmed sunglasses (think nicole-richie)sitting neatly on top of her head, a pair of diamond studded Jimmy Choo high heels which Jennifer Lopes donned during the MTV awards and cladded with loud accessories such as diamond necklaces, diamond watch, golden bangles and large dangling earrings. Of course, this is topped off with a 5-figure Hermes bag dangling on her wrists as she sashayed down the branded boutiques along orchard road.
Being a full time 'tai tai' , Lily enjoys an idling life without having to work. She lives in a semi-detached terrace at Novena with her husband, Paul, who is the director of an MNC firm in Singapore. She loves to decorate her house with imported edgy art work or statues which display her refined taste. Lily does 'work' hard to maintain her rich 'tai tai' statues. She wakes up everyday around 10 am to work out with her personal trainer. Lily firmly believe that to be respected as a 'well-disciplined' tai tai, she must maintain her beauty and figure at all costs. After two hours of sweating out, Lily will go for high-tea in hotels, usually with her girlfriends. Her girlfriends are also mostly rich 'tai-tais' whose main concerns are keeping up with the lastest trends in high society. Lily makes sure she keep in frequently contact with her girlfriends and being a status climber, she aims to network with more people of the high society. She loves mixing around with them as it gives her a sense of social status and pride. She also enjoys comparing herself with them as she love the feeling of being on par with them. However, as Lily was not born with a silverspoon in the mouth, she hates to display insecurities in front of her socialite friends. Hence, when speaking with her friends, she will choose her words carefully so as to appear as a classy and smart woman worthy of her rich husband. She may not be as exorbitantly wealthy or famous as her friends but Lily is definitely a woman who want others to know that she has the capabilities to afford a luxurious lifestyle. To her friends, Lily seemed like a dominating person who sets high expectation for herself.
Everyday after high tea, Lily will spend 2 hours on either of the following:
1) Shopping around Takashimaya/Paragon designer boutiques
2) Enjoying spa/facial packages
3) Pedicures/Medicure sessions
4) Enjoying Jacuzzi at Raffles Town Club
She have no qualms about spending thousands of dollars everyday to pamper herself with lavish goods or services. Needless to say, this glam life is fully sponsored by her husband's supplmentary titanium card. By the time Lily finished pampering herself, it will be the late afternoon. Occasionally, She does get VIP invitations to charity events and high society fashion parties. She uses such functions as a means to see and be seen among the upper crust of society. She loves attending such functions as a form of social ladder and would mingle actively with the crowd to self-promote herself. Lily loves the commanding attention she gained in these events.
During the weekends, Lily will reserve the time to accompany her husband, Paul. They share the same hobby of going out to the sea in their own yatch. Both of them enjoy listening to bar grooves on their yatch while sipping red wine but they hate listening to classical music as they thought that it was too dull. Sometimes, Lily also does accompany Paul to go for golf sessions at the Sentosa Golf Club. Both of them adore the finer things in life such as fine dining at a posh retaurant and watching musical performances at the Esplanade. To them , this form of posh lifestyle is an accessory to flaunt their status. They are very mindful of how others look uopn them and will usually only engage in activities that 'fit their status'.
Before being married to Paul, Lily belongs to modelling world. And she never likes to work.
Back then in her youth days, Lily came from a mid-range income family. She was the elder daughter of her family and lives in a 4 room HDB flat. Since young, her mother had always remind her of the importance of marrying a wealthy husband to secure herself a good future. Therefore, she had been 'brain-washed' with the importance of wealth and social statues.
Lily studied at Anglo-chinese Junior College. Her results were mediocre in her schooling days and she was very playful cum rebellious when she was young. She was constantly surrounded by rich friends who drives branded cars to school and wear considerably branded clothings such as Armani Exchange or Guess. She was secretly jealous of them and felt mediocre in front of her friends. Being envious of her wealthy friends, Lily was determined to climb up the social level. She makes it a point to go partying at clubs with her friends and that was a start for her to expand her social life. At the age of 18, she took up run-way modelling as a part-time job as it was considered to be a glamourous job back in her schooling days. Bacause of her job, she managed to work in exclusive events that were meant for celebrities or socialities. During these events, she got to further expand her network and socialized with men & women from the high society such as CEOs, celebrities and directors. Being able to be acquainted with various successful rich people helped her strived as a popular figure in school and this brought upon her an immense sense of satisfaction and empowerment. She feared that one day, all these glamour will disappear from her life and therefore continued to work as a model after she graduated. During her few years in the modelling circle, she pushed herself hard to know more rich men and this was how she got to know Paul, who was 10 years older than her.
Four Pleasure Analysis
PHYSIO-PLEASURE:
- Enjoys maintaining her figure, fitness and youthful appearance. She loves the feeling of sweating it out and it makes her illusionize the probability of losing weight. (need pleasure)
- Relaxing in spas and medicure/pedicure houses is a must in her itenary. The aromatic smell of spa houses and the feel of people massaging her takes her to 'another world' (appreciation pleasure)
- Loves the ambience of high-tea in hotels and fine dining restaurant as it makes her feel posh and sophisticated. She also appreciate the decorum of the well-trained waiters. (appreciation pleasure)
- Likes products with quality texture such as genuine leather goods. Touching them makes her feel contented with her own taste. (Appreciation pleasure)
- Spend her weekends relaxing with husband, listening to the soothing but yet energizing sounds of bar grooves on a yatch as they sip their red wine. Loves to drown herself into a bliss of relaxation and surrealism. (appreciation pleasure)
SOCIO-PLEASURE:
- The donning of expensive designer products all over herself act as a form of socialising tools. They help to boost her self-esteem and made her felt on par with her socialite friends. Without these products, Lily might be more reserved when mingling with her group of friends. As mentioned, she is not as exorbitantly rich as her friends and sometimes feels insecure due to this. (need pleasure)
- Makes sure she carries the latest and most desirable designer products which are the favourites of Hollywood celebrities. In this way, she will be able to be the centre of attraction amonsgt her high society friends and flaunt her taste to them. Also, she made sure that her dressing style is Loud enough to attract the attention of others so that will discuss about her. For instance, her pair of Jimmy Choo shoes which Jennifer Lopes had worn before became the focal point of one of her high-tea sessions with her friends and she felt secretly pleased.(appreciation pleasure)
- The exquisite art pieces which Lily displayed around her house wowed many of her friends. They were impressed with Lily's refined taste and Lily was excited to discuss the art pieces with her friends. (appreciation pleasure)
- Lily attends charity events and fashion parties to net work around. These events are platforms for her to gain popularity and socialise with the rich. Also, by attending these events, she will be able to brag about them to her friends during high-tea sessions. (appreciation pleasure)
PSYCHO-PLEASURE:
- Splurging and laying her hands on expensive designer products help Lily fulfil her dreams of a materialistic and wealthy lifestyle. She felt pleasurable looking at her molehill of bling bling goods as she feels competent and empowered to be able to improve her own life with her own abilities. (appreciation pleasure)
- Her husband is always working during the weekdays. With a significant lack of attention from her husband, the only form of consolation for her is to chit-chat with her girlfriends everyday or attend functions to widen her social life (need pleasure)
- By working out everyday without fail, Lily felt secretly pleased that she is a disciplined person. (need pleasure)
- Lily loves introducing the numerous art work in her house to her friends as she felt like a connoissuer when she explains them. (appreciation pleasure)
IDEO PLEASURE :
- She is a person who dares and wants to be different. She does not like conventional items which blends her into the crowd. She hopes to make a statement with her loud dress sense. (appreciation pleasure)
- She loves artistic displays around the house as they embodies the values of art appreciation. (appreciation pleasure).
- To Lily, wealth and status is everything. She is a person who is concerned about making others aware of her posh lifestyle. Hence, she will only indulge in the right activities or buy the right products which fit her social status. Eg. Fine dining, yatching, golfing, spa. (need pleasure)
Product Benefit Specifications
*Credits to www.atlant.ru/cp/new_801.htm
The phone which resembles the one which suits Lily is a combination of the goldvish phones displayed above.
In terms of visceral, the touch and look of the phone must fulfil the physio-pleasure elements as it is more than just a tool. The phone can show some curves (as in the first picture) such that it will fit snudgly in Lily's hand and exude a sexy aura when she holds it. Preferbly, it will be made of gold colour, studded with some diamonds on a sleek reflective texture. The addtion of bling factor to her phone is a 'make-up factor' to compensate her insecurities of being mediocre as compared to her borned-rich socialites friends. This combination of design reflects excusivity and empowerment. Also, the ringtone volume should be very loud so that she will feel pleased with the attention attracted and make use of the garnered attention to show off or discuss her bling bling phone. In terms of behavioral, the phone can contain a planner(which acts like a pda), for Lily to plan her daily iternary to remind her of the numerous functions events she have to attend. Hence, it will score better in terms of usability if the phone consist of touch screen.
Furthermore, a phone with good reflective design is probably one of the most important factors in pleasing a user like Lily. It has to be reflective in the sense that firstly, it must have a magnet factor into attracting celebrities or socialites into using this phone. It should not be a mass market phone where every one can afford it, hence it must be an exclusive designer hand phone which is marketed for its glam exclusive factor.
Lily has alot of free time on her hand, so the phone should contain some entertainment functions for her to use during her medi-pedi or spa sessions etc. For instance, it can contain a 8 mega pixel camera for her to self-take high resolution pictures or internet abilities for her to watch fashion variety shows. Of course, the camera serves as a tool to capture her beautiful moments during the events.
Overall, this phone screams empowerment and glam.
REFLECTIONS
It is certainly not easy to see our products as an living object which maps on to the emotional, hedonic and practical needs of users. To do so, we have to really play the role of the user to understand what are his/her deepest fears, hopes and mottos in life. While many people may appear to be a certain typical category of persons, their inner-self may not show physically. Hence, a good designer as I have learnt in this assignment, is to probe further than what is seen on the surface into a person's background. A pleasurable product should tell the user that it is the one for them at a glance :). But of course, this is not as easy as it seems because I believe there are many people who do not even know themselves fully. Therefore, I guess to analyse a person, it takes more than analysing his/her background. Different perspectives from his friends, families are also very crucial in understanding this person.
Saturday, 26 January 2008
Assignment 1 - Products and emotion
In this assignment I am supposed to look out for three products of the same category which roughly falls within the 3 emotional attributes, namely - visceral (attractiveness), behavioral (usability/functionality) and reflective (prestigiousness) design.
Well, I have chosen lip Gloss for my product review :). In the cosmetics market today, there all kinds of packaging of lip glosses to appeal to the various people. In the past, many people would believe that cosmetics is all about quality BUT in today's society where almost every cosmetics brand purport their products to be of the best quality, packaging is definitely very important to appeal to the ladies ! We, ladies , do seem to adore cosmetics with pretty packaging as well ;)
Well, I have chosen lip Gloss for my product review :). In the cosmetics market today, there all kinds of packaging of lip glosses to appeal to the various people. In the past, many people would believe that cosmetics is all about quality BUT in today's society where almost every cosmetics brand purport their products to be of the best quality, packaging is definitely very important to appeal to the ladies ! We, ladies , do seem to adore cosmetics with pretty packaging as well ;)
1) Behavioral Design - Shiseido Integrate glamourous Lip rough & gloss
* credits to www.shiseido.co.jp
Behavioral (10 /10) : My vote for behavioral design goes for this Japan lipgloss because it excels in terms of usability and functionality. The packaging itself is not fanciful. It is just a normal pen-like tube without any special designs on it and covered with a black cap. But being slim in size, this lipgloss does not occupies alot of space which makes it easy to carry around. This is very important because usually women will have to touch up their lipglosses once every while, therefore they will need to carry their lipglosses conveniently around them eg. in their jeans/small purses.
For lipglosses, the type of applicator is important as it affects the texture of the lipgloss once applied on our lips. Shiseido integrate wins hands down with their unique technology and material of applicator. Firstly, many conventional applicators in the market are usually made of fibre or sponge material. They not only wear off easily, the absorbing material of their applicator also smudges the lipgloss and makes an uneven applicator. Shiseido integrate's plastic applicator spreads like a butter-knife on the lips, ensuring that the lipgloss does not smudge. As such, the texture of our glossed-lips will look more shiny, smooth and plump - which is the purpose of applying lipgloss! The anti-smudging applicator makes the whole process of applying very convenient as users need to apply only one layer to acheive the desired lips, without needing to reapply a few times.
Another plus point is that when users twist the bottom of the gloss pen, an appropriate amount of gloss will ooze out in the middle part of the applicator. This clever innovation ensures that users will have control in deciding the amount of gloss they want without having to make a mess of dripping lipgloss. Furthermore, after finished using, ladies can twist the tube in the other direction again and the remaining lipgloss on the applicator will miraculously suck back into the tube! A clever design which ensures a mess-free lip-glossing process! you can click on the flash item at the bottom of this website to view how to use this product : http://www.shiseido.co.jp/ie/product/lip/01.htm . I believe women who choose this lipstick is mainly appealed by its functional qualities.
In summary : -
- practical & portable packaging
- ease of use design with plastic spatula-like applicator
- mess-free application process with clever innovative technology
Reflective (5/10) : Shiseido Integrate glamourous lip rouge is considered to be of a lower pricing in the shiseido line of products. Yes, the brandname has a certain reputation in the industry. But this particular item is well-known for its cheap pricing. It is not a luxury/stylish cosmetic product which girls will bring to flaunt about as there is nothing glamourous about its packaging. This lipstick is suitable for practical daily usage such as work or school but not an accessory to 'show-off '. It is only reflective of the owner's need for practical & quality products.
Visceral (3/10) : With the hug galore of fancy lipgloss designs in the market, this lipgloss appearance will not catch any ladies' eyes unless the company advertise it. Looking plain and nothing unique, there are tons of lipgloss which look like this.
2) Visceral - Kanebo Lavshuca Color Conc Rouge
Love-shaped Applicator !!
*Credits to www.kanebo-cosmetics.jp/lavshuca
Visceral (10/10) : Lavshuca lip gloss wows women with their cute and pretty packaging. Women who choose to buy this lipgloss are mainly drawn to their unique packaging as it makes them feel happy just by looking at the design. While many of the lipglosses in the market are packaged in plain tubes, Lavshuca distinguishes themselves with an exquisite glamour outlook - Ruby red tube topped on with a ruby red gem-like cap makes this lipgloss look lavish. Furthermore, even the applicator of this lipgloss is designed to enhance the visual appeal with an unconventional love-shaped opening. I personally have known friends who display their cosmetics products on their dressing table as a form of decorative art and Lavshuca is a one of the favorites amongst them.
In summary :
- attention catching packaging which exudes exquisite glamour
- Whimsical and attractive designs for females
- Even the applicator is designed to enhance visual appeal
Behavioral (5/10) : The applicator of this lipgloss is not as easy to use as it seems because of its small opening, thus users might not be able to glide on their lipgloss smoothly at one shot and they would take a long time to successfully apply the gloss. And because of its uneven output of gloss, we need to use abit of force to force out the gloss onto our lips, hence smudge the gloss, making it look dull on our lips. It could be due to the stiff tube and heavy texture of the gloss which prevent users from having control in squeezing out the desired amount of gloss. The white-colored applicator can look quite messy with the squeezed out gloss whenever we use it. thus need to clean it more often. As for the quality of gloss, users have complained that its quality is just very normal, with low pigmentation and watery texture: http://atouchofblusher.blogspot.com/search/label/-Lavshuca . Hence, in terms of behavioral deisng, it fails users' expectations.
Reflective (7/10) : Lavshuca lipsticks represent the user's taste for attractive packaging. At the same time, it also reflect women's feminity. This unconventional outlook of the gloss makes it a good discussion topics amongst girlfriends. However, it is not a exorbitantly glamorous or poshed designer brand such as Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent, therefore not considered reflective. While the packaging exudes taste and style, I feel that it is not a brand which screams prestigious wealth or exorbitant luxury.
3) Reflective - Guerlain Kisskiss gloss
*Credits to www.beautifulperfumes.com
Reflective (10/10) : Guerlain is a high-end lipgloss brand which has been in the market for years. They are popular for their quality products and glamourous looking golden packaging. Hence, women who own this lipgloss reflects their taste , class and wealth. The sleek packaging with a flashy golden cap exudes a posh aura which seems to remind others of its costly pricing - can be a flaunting product. Its luxurious outlook also distinguishes the owner's taste for the finer and more sophisticated things in life. It is a lipstick that is suitable to 'show-off' during a posh or prestigious event. Overall, a designer product which enhances self-image.
In summary:
- Reflection of wealth & taste
- Designer brand name & luxury outlook = glamour & sophistication
- Enhance self-image
Visceral (8/10) : The appearance of this casing is sleek and sophisticated which screams luxury. It appeals to women who love glamourous things (gold!) and want to be seen as a wealthy person. The minimalist design of the tube with a sleek bodyline also makes the packaging looks very classy. It makes women want to touch & hold it. Definitely a great design that helps to define Guerlain as a high-end cosmetic brand. However, the outlook might not appeal to the modern trendy women as it seems to be more suitable for matured women.
Behavioral (8/10) : As mentioned above, Guerlain is famous for their good quality lipstick and has won several accolades in female magazines. The brush applicator of the lipgloss ensure precision and control when applying the gloss. However, the brush might fray after a long time of usage. Also the tube is a little builky as it is not slim enough, hence might occupies quite abit of space.
4) Reflections
Norman wrote that the emotional side of design may be more critical to a product's success than its practical elements. After reviewing the 3 products above, I believe that this is true. For a lipgloss, I feel that there is limitations to how good its quality can be as there are numerous lipglosses which promise to deliver results. Hence, amongst this clutter, what helps a lipstick brand to standout will be its visceral design. It is an inherent human trait that first impression counts. People usually tend to think that the quality aspect of a product will be better if its design is attractive and stylish. With good visceral designs, it also shows that the commpany put effort in making the product. Therefore people will have higher confidence in pretty packaging products and will be tempted to purchase it. A product with good branding and good packaging will also affect the reflective aspect of the product, which many people values alot in order to portray their individualistic idententity & self image.
However, I believe that ultimately what determines a product's lifespan in the market will be a combination of the 3 aspects. Pretty packaging with low usability will cause frustrations among users and hence lost faith in the brand. Vice versa, unattractive products will not catch the attention of users or they will not easily accept the product for fear of damaging self image. Hence, involvement of the 3 elements are important.
Monday, 21 January 2008
Assignment 0 - A BAD DESIGN
Bad designs are all around us, but usually we don't bother to notice/remember them, which explains why I took quite some time to figure out this assignment , until I saw ....
YES ! The NUS COMPUTERS!
Bad Design Problem
See what I mean? users can have difficulty detecting the slots if they were in a sitting position. And being a lazy person, I hate to bend down/squat down to plug in my thumbdrive. In my 3 years in NUS, I have always seen students struggling with their thumbdrives.
Feelings towards the product :-
Lesson my friends learnt from the interaction:-
Impression on brand:-
My reflection on the product and user reaction:-
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YES ! The NUS COMPUTERS!
That was when I remembered how these Dell comps used to give me problems. What I really thought is bad about their design lies in their CPU specifically, which I believe many of you might have encountered problems with the incovenient positioning of their thumbdrive slots :
Bad Design Problem
For some reasons, the positioning of the slot, which is placed at the lower portion of the CPU, is designed to be tilted downwards. And by common sense, users usually place their CPU either on their desk (eg. NUS) or on the ground. As such, the thumbdrive slot will be away from user's point of view, unless they bend downwards to peek.
So, the frustrating part comes when users attempt to insert their thumbdrive into the slots which are underneath the covers , all these while without being able to see where they are stuffing their thumbdrive into. This is particularly agonizing as the thumbdrive slots are usually quite small. So the usual experience is to try a couple of times , after flipping the thumbdrive up & down or shifting left or right *ARGHHH* before users can finally insert their thumbdrive correctly.
ALTERNATIVELY, users also can try this :
See what I mean? users can have difficulty detecting the slots if they were in a sitting position. And being a lazy person, I hate to bend down/squat down to plug in my thumbdrive. In my 3 years in NUS, I have always seen students struggling with their thumbdrives.
User Reaction
Feelings towards the product :-
"This design is totally not user friendly because it defies the basic principals of common sense!"
Lydia
Some of my friends were frustrated about the time wasted to do something so simple , especially when they are rushing to print out their assignments before deadline. In terms of aesthetic aspect, Lydia thought that Dell tried to be different from the other brands and felt that it was quite unique upon initial impression. However, she felt negative towards the product once she started using it.
My friends gave feedbacks that Dell had unnecessarily complexified a design that was meant to facilitate efficiency. In fact, Lydia would rather not use a thumbdrive & save her work online beforehand because like me, she consider it a hassle to squat/bend down to detect the thumbdrive slot. Overall, my friends do feel impatient towards the product after a few unsuccessful tries of inserting the thumbdrive.
Users' Conclusion: A troublesome, unfriendly and inconvenient product
Lesson my friends learnt from the interaction:-
1) Lydia : She mentioned that after her 3 years of using comps in NUS, she is still not able to insert the thumbdrive accurately at her first try. She learnt that she would need bend down to visually detect the thumbdrive slots else be prepared for the 'trial & error' time taken to plug in the thumbdrives.
2) Wen Jie: Due to the expected hassle in inserting the thumbdrive, Wen Jie would rather plug it to the thumbdrive extensions, which some computers in NUS have. Or, to the slots at the back of the CPU.
3) Benny: Think twice before using a thumbdrive
Impression on brand:-
Amazingly, most of my friends mentioned that they will remember this 'trademark design' of Dell's desktop. While they told me that this small design fallacy will not affect their overall impression of the brand, sometimes I do noticed that they curse & swear Dell when they encountered problems with their thumbdrive insertion ;)
My reflection on the product and user reaction:-
This product is not user centric (at least to some nus undergrads) because it does not consider the general behaviors and habits of people when they design this product. As what my friends mentioned, it complexifies a supposedly simple design which does not meet users' needs and capabilities. Unless Dell assumes that users usually place their CPUs high above, I don't see how this "unique" thumbdrive slot design maximises efficiency as it causes user to use more effort than what it should have been. This in turn affects their mood, causing them frustrations and thus overall experience of a product.
While I believe Dell tried to distinguish themselves from others brands with a different aesthetic appeal, user reactions shows clearly that functionality is more important when it comes to computers. If the design does not meet user's expected level of ease in using the product, they will have a negative impression of the brand no mattar how pleasing it looks. This is also lesson learnt for me as I now realise the importance of understanding user's environment such as the manner in which a product is usually placed/used by users.
A possible solution to improve this design is to place the thumbdrive slots horizontally facing users, instead of downwards. With a clear view of the slot, it will definitely make the job of plugging in thumbdrive much easier ! :D
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