Week 02

Enhancement of an existing design: Ear wax spoon

Criteria


Keep existing functionality

Modify object for screen, environment, or portability

Emphasize either visceral, behavioral, or reflectie level

User


Multi-national, world traveler, business person, 45 years old

Design accommodations for the user


More detailed look in his life:

The user is a multi-national, well-travelled, 45-years-old business man. From knowing what he does, money is not an issue for him, and over the years, he has learned to appreciate finer things in life. His experiences from traveling has gained him insights to different cultures, and is familiar with foreign customs. From other countires, he buys gifts and souvenirs for friends and family. Therefore, any belongings of his are small and portable.


What we learn from his life:

Portability is a must.

Importance of design: visceral, behavioral, and reflective, all must be considered in designing for the specific user. Like BlackBerry.

Visceral - He is a multi-cultural traveler, and his experiences has shown him many beautiful things in life. He has high standards when it comes to beauty / design.

Behavioral - His job requires him to multi-task, and quickly move him to one place to another. Ease of use and portability is a must.

Reflective - He thinks his belonging must reflect his lifestyle. His sophisticated lifestyle helps him carefully choose his possessions.

Design enhancements of the existing product


More detailed look at the existing design:

Ear wax spoon.


Pros: Simple, intuitive design from Asia. It digs out ear wax from your ear. The physical attributes are simply designed: one end for digging, and the other for cleaning. Material is bamboo -- which is cost efficient and known for ease of cleaning. Cost efficient for manufacturers and for users. Encourages human interaction, and the ritural not only relaxes the user, but also creates a special bond between the two.


Cons: It may cause injury. It is fragile, since the material is thinly carved out bamboo tree. You can't do it alone. It is unsanitary, if not handled with care.

Design Specifics


Problems:

plain color, fragile, un-ergonomic, dangerous, unsanitary, difficult to use


Accomodations:

1. Sleek, attractive portable casing

2. Universal Instruction


Solutions:

1. Ergonomically friendly design of the frame

2. Softer surface / texture for reduce injuries, new material, possibly rubber

3. Sturdier structure of the form

4. Use eye catching color palettes

5. For manufacturers, easy to mass produce

6. Find an easier method?




Remaining question:

1. Enhancement in structure, design
1. Innovative method to provide the same functionality, for one person? or for two?

2. Innovation: divide and conquer? Specify the functionality into sections, and develop the appropriate feature for the specific demographic? Will it be another innovation?

ear massager for relaxations, for tired, stressed business man on plane

Rough sketches, examples




rough sketches for ear wax spoon




rough sketches for casing of ear wax spoon

Week 01 - Reflection on Reading: Emotional Design by Donald A. Norman

Three Levels of Design: Visceral, Behavioral, and Reflective

"Packaging is one answer [of distinguishing itself from another.]"

"The design becomes the product."

"[The packaging of the product] appeals to the powerful visceral level of emotion."

"[The package] can serve as reminder of the occasion when [the product] was ordered."

"[The package serveas mementos of those occasions, taking on a specal emotional value, becoming meaningful objects,...because of the memories they produce,...memories can trigger the powerful, long-lasting emotions."

Visceral Design

"We are exquisitely tuned to receive poerful emotional signals from the enironment that get interpreted automaticaly at the visceral level."

"The human preference for faces and bodies that are symmetrical presumably refects selection of he fittest."

"Visceral principles: bright, highly saturated primary colors."

"Adult humans like to explore experiences far beyond the basic, biologicaly wired-in preferences."

"All things that are viscerally negative but that can be reflectively positive."

"[Visceral design] is sensitive to cultural differences, trends in fashion, nd continual fluctuation. Today's sophistication rus the risk of becoming tomorrow's discard. Great designs, like great art and literature, can break the ruls and survive forever, but only a few are gifed enough to be great."

"At the visceral level, physical features -- look feel, and sound -- dominate."

"We love sensuous curves, sleek surfaces, and solid, studay objects. Because visceral design is about initial reactions."

"Effective visceral design requires theskills of the visual andgraphic artist and the industrial engieer. Shape andfom matter. The physical feel and texture of the materials matter. Heft matters. Visceral design is all bout immediate emotional impact. It has to feel good, look good. Sensualiy and sexuality play roles."

Behavioral Design

"Behavioral design is all about use. Performance matters. This is the aspect of design that practitioners in the usability communit focus upon."

"Four componenets of good behavioral design: function, undersandability, usability, and physical feel."

"The first step in good behavioral design is to understand jut how people will use a product."

"There are two kind of product development: enhancmentand innovation. Enhancement means to take some existing product or service and make it better. Innovation provides a completely new wayof doing soething, or a completely new thing to do, something that was not possible before."

"One cannot evaluate an innovation y asking poential customers fo their views."

Enhancements to a product: watching how people use, discover difficulties, then overcome them."

"Engineers and designers who believe they do not need to wtch the people who use their product are a major source of the many poor designs that cnfront us."

"The realhallenge to product design is "understanding end-user unmet and unarticulated needs." That's the design challenge -- to discover real needsthat even the people who need them cannot yet articulate."

"It is only after such enhancements are made that everyone blieves them to be obvious and necesary. Becuse most people are unaware of their true needs, discovering them requires careful observations in their natural environment."

""Learn once, remeber forever," ought to be the design mantra."

Three different mental images of any object: designer's model, user's model, and system image.

Designer's model: the image in the head of the designer

User's model: the image that the user hhas of it ad the way it works

System image: the image conveyed by the product and written material

"In an ideal world, the designer's model and the user's model should be idential and, as a result, the user understands and uses the item properly."

"Designers can communicate with eventual users only through the system image of a product."

"An important component of understanding comes from feedback."

"Negative emotionskick in when tere is a lack of understanding, when people feel frustrated and out of control -- first uneasness, then irritation, and, if the lack of control and understanding persists, even anger."

"Usage is the critical test of a product."

"Physical touch and feel can make a huge difference in you appreciation of their creations."

""Virtual worlds,"...although they hve many benefits, they eliminate one of the great delihts of real interactions: the delight that comes from touching, feeling, and moving real physical objects."

"Good behavioral design should be human-centered, focusing uponunderstanding and satisfying the nees of the people."

"[Engineers and desigers] know too much aboutthe technology and too litte about how other people live their lives anddo their activities."

"Most behavior is subconscious and what people actually do can be quite different from what they think they do."

Reflective Design

"[Refelctive design] is all about message, about culture, and about the meaning of a product of its use."

"Ugly art can be beautiful."

"Reflective-level operations often determine a person's overall impression of a product."

"Once the reflective system fails, then the appeal is apt to collapse as well."

Case Study: The National Football League Headset

The Devious Side of Design

difficult to buy the most desired items, and extremely easy for the impulse items.

Design by Committee Versus by an Individual

"Although reflective thoughtis the essence of great art,...appealing to the intellect is no guarantee of success."

Business versus Art or Literature