Final Cmap- Assignment 2

Here is my final Cmap that does not look very pretty as I struggled to add all the maps together. For me the last of the Cmaps was the hardest as it was confusing to connect all 7 maps due to the amount of information on each map which made me think that I should have maybe made less complicated maps as I started. On the other hand I had fun mixing them and to remind myself everything I learned in the course.

Book review on Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman

When reading through Donald Norman’s Design of Everyday Things there were one conclusion that I made to myself and that was that the book is a good starting manual for a good designer and that the book is aimed for everyone not only designers because it touches our everyday lives and objects around us but also because it is written so clearly and enjoyably that it is not hard to understand. I guess Donald Norman is pursuing to turn every reader of this book into great observer as poor design gives rise to many of the problems in current society, especially in new technology. On the other hand after reading the book it will also turn us into observers of good design where considerate designers have worked to make our lives easier and it is actually interesting that good design is a lot harder to notice than poor design. Norman explains that notion that good design is harder to notice because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible and ‘serving us without drawing attention’ [1]. Bad design on the other hand screams its shortcomings and therefore making itself very noticeable. Further on it could be argued that what Norman is trying to give away is that we all would need good observation skills along with good design principles because everyone is a designer, meaning that in different ways all of us design our lives, our living space and the way we do things. Therefore for example we can also design our surroundings and overcome the flaws of existing devices which makes one purpose of this book to give us back control over the products in our lives so we could select usable and understandable ones or to have the know-how how to fix those that are not that usable and understandable.

Norman introduces seven chapters in his book; Psychopathology of Everyday Things, The Psychology of Everyday Actions, Knowledge in the Head and in the World, Knowing What to Do, To Err Is Human, The Design Challenge, User-Centered Design.  Chapter by chapter Norman is explaining with illustrative examples most important principles, goals, interpretations and aims of design and especially in design of our everyday things. Through these examples Norman introduces the basics of HCI terminology and the main concepts such as affordances, visibility, mapping, constraints and more. Norman concentrates on a person’s perception of an object and on how people approach tasks that designed objects are meant to help with and thus poses as a supporter of a user-centered design approach.

Norman starts of by focusing on an importance on affordances and arguing that affordances are important when dealing with physical objects and defining what actions are possible. In other words affordances refer to the perceived and actual properties of the object, providing strong clues meaning that when affordances are being used correctly the user of an object knows just by looking the object and without needing  labels, pictures or instructions how to use it and what’s it for. The classic notion of a bad failed design is when simple things need pictures, instructions or labels. What Norman has argued when I researched for reviews about the book that on the recent edition he feels that what was missing is the concept of signifiers as affordances can be confusing when dealing with virtual ones and as a result Norman argues affordances have created much confusion in the world of design. Signifiers however specify how people discover those possibilities as they are signs and predictable signals of what can be done. By that Norman implies that signifiers are far more important to designers than affordances.   Further on Norman introduces and explains the seven-stage model of action and explaining how people do things; what are our goals, execution and evaluation. These seven stages are the following: forming the goal, forming the intention, specifying an action, executing the action, perceiving the state of the world, interpreting the state of the world and evaluating the outcome [1]. Norman also reflects to the importance of seven stages of action as a valuable design aid as each stage of action requires its own special design strategies and on a crucial notion of constraints and visibility. Visibility being one of the most important principles of design as Norman argues; the correct parts must be visible and thus convey the correct message [1]. This notion could be seen also as one of the main elements of the book that keeps repeating throughout is the fact that these so called human errors are caused by bad design. I could even argue that the simple notion of visibility made me think about things that surround me the most and the way the message about using them is conveyed to me.

To conclude we can argue that even though the book is written in 1988 the psychology of people stays the same but what changes are the tools and objects in the world, also cultures change. This is why at times it seemed that the book needs more recent examples of different devices that are popular today as technologies change. The principles of design still hold but the way they get applied needs to be modified. However as already stated in the beginning of the book, it is a great starting manual for everyone and an interesting read. It was useful to remind all the important aspects about design principles learned in HCI class. The book got me interested and I Googled for a review and it seems that the book has been assigned in different courses and handed out as required readings in many companies and many readers have admitted that the read changed their lives, making them more sensitive to the problems of life and to the needs of people. And interestingly enough some people changed their careers and became designers because of the book. In the end part of the book it is nice that Norman gives concrete list of tips to make design of everyday things better such as get mappings right, exploit the power of constraints, design for errors and when all else fails, standardize [1].

Bibliography

        1.  Norman, D. A. (1988) The Design of Everyday Things. Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, United States of America

History & Vision Cmap 7

HCI module 7, Cmap 7: History and Vision

Reflection on Documentary Objectified by Gary Hustwit

HCI Assignment 5: Documentary Objectified

By Kadri-Liis Piirsalu & Nansy Mass

 Every one of us spend our life surrounded by the work of industrial designers but very few of us understand the process by which our furniture, TV, or smartphone came to look and feel the way they did and most importantly how the elements of design interact with our own ideas and assumptions about value and functionality. The design of everyday objects has more than a little to do with mass psychology and the way it intersects with commerce.  Objectified takes us on a journey to the world of industrial design and the interaction of people with the objects they have brought into their lives. Objectified brings us closer about the understanding of design and the many assumptions an object makes us think about, beginning with what is it for and ending with how much does it cost. An object speaks to us; who but it there and what was the goal. The documentary makes us think how we take the objects surrounding us in everyday life for granted but we are affected by them every day as we use them constantly. Nice examples of that were given in the documentary about the toothpicks for instance.

Everything around us is design in itself, everything we use and work with. Nothing really has been there before and has been sculpted and planned by a designer to give us a maximum experience and interaction as possible. Design needs to solve problems we face every day, but designers also work to simulate people’s minds and souls. Objectified explains how good design has to be honest, aesthetical, long-living, consistent and environment friendly. This is actually quite hard job to cover all of these requirements if we think about it as all these requirements are very important and do not always go hand in hand but waste is a product of bad design.  This notion further touches the topic of cradle to cradle or cradle to grave as words such as reduce, reuse, recycle urge environmentalists and our everyday society makes us as responsible citizens of the world to think about it, the meaning stands for the notion that do more with less in order to minimize the damage. These notions urge us to think of the nature and the fact that why not to take nature itself as our model and skip the toxic materials used in design or in any other industry as it will end up as waste. Therefore if we elaborate these principles as designers already do think about it when designing to us, re-designing could be one version of it therefore we make an exciting and viable case for change. These notions refer to the responsibility a company or a designer takes for the entire cycle of a product or an object to disposal or termination. Many argue that human progress since the industrial revolution has been one big design error because it did not think about the concept of reusing or making objects out of materials that last forever and therefore leave mountains of waste behind.

 Further on during the process of designing the designer needs to understand its target audience, to whom the designed object is made for, but also pay attention to details that are useful for humans and in general and also stand out in the market with its uniqueness. But the main goal is to make a change!

Product development merges through self-experience. During the design development designers pay attention to the usability and performance of the designed object and try to provide the user with a better experience through mapping and ergonomics. The design should have a clear and understandable logic so that the user knows what to do with the object thanks to its design. The more natural the object is in its design, the easier its usability is. Designers are looking design products we would want to keep and that will stand the test of time.

However this is not all that is needed since the attributes of the product play an important role such as materials used and therefore ask- how do we connect with the product?

The look of the object, in other words the way we perceive the object represents the designs intention. What can be done with the object? For instance if a person comes from one culture to another and sees an object that does not exist in its own culture, but can assume or knows what it is used for or what can be done with it, then it can be said to be good design.
Another example of a good design is, if a person does not know that their using an object for certain task, so that using it has becomes an automated interaction. This is where the user is subconsciously interacting with the designed object. Therefore good design needs to be dissolved with natural human behaviour.

 

When it comes to human and computer interaction (HCI) then, it is very little to do with the design of the object, but a lot with the software that it is carrying, as the software is what we are initially interacting with, the things that happen on our screens. When it comes to software and their usability, they pretty much have the same principals as designed objects; they need to be designed on logic so that we can operate on them.

Apple has a great design. It has a unique appearance as an object and has been designed with the principals of “less is more,” which initially makes us concentrate on the software it contains. Though the things we operate with; mouse and keyboard are necessary objects for our interaction and therefore it is very important for them not only to complete its functions and enhance our interaction, but also want us to engage with the software itself. This is where the aesthetics and material play an important role, but also the form itself. Therefore these objects should give out emotions and a need for interaction with the software itself. In further perspective it would be ideal if the design itself creates relationship and memories with its user and therefore the usability of the object lasts longer. Therefore it is very important in iteration design, human and software interaction, how we think about the object and how we feel about it.  We tend to want new things or in other words the new now it is something that the society brings with. Having new things or some special object you make a statement to yourself and this object is reflecting yourself. This could be also seen in people who are very brand loyal and brand specific when it comes to their purchases. Through the objects we own or that have been owned by someone special to us we share, hold and create memories and relationships, there are stories the objects carry with them.

Overall documentary Objectified gives a vital overview about everyday design and objects and makes us think for example on questions like; what was the designer thinking when designing this product? How do we connect with a certain object? And what is the story it carries? Today as we consume us as buyers have become more aware of what are we buying as we are now also thinking about the ecological footprint we leave behind, therefore designers have the pressure to design something that is sustainable in a way but also something that would not end up as a waste once used.

State Transition Diagrams, Petri Nets

HCI module 6 Cmap: State Transition Diagrams, Petri Nets

Interface Efficiency, KLM, GMOS

HCI module 5 Cmap: Interface efficiency, KLM, GOMS

The Human Processor Model, Fitts Law

HCI module 4 Cmap: The Human Processor Moder, Fitts Law

Compared to the other modules and Cmaps this was the hardest to understand and to carry out due to the uncommon information and less logical thinking than with other modules.