Interaction Critique

Link to my EDI Interaction Critique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma_nWr-igiA

Designing for Ambidexterity

Recently I've been looking into purchasing a tablet to be able to learn Sketchbook Pro and draw on my computer. One of the tablets I've been looking into is the Wacom Intuos4. I found this design to be quite innovative because it can accommodate both right handed and left handed people. As you can see from the picture, the Intuos4 has 8 programmable hot keys and a touch-wheel. Next to the hotkeys are OLEDs which can be programed to remind the user what each key represents.

Due to the symmetrical nature of the design, the Intuos4 can be rotated 180 degrees to accommodate both right and left handed people. The OLED labels likewise become flipped. Also there is a USB port for each orientation. Notice the rotated Wacom logo on the top of the tablet, a nice touch for the left handed users.

Overall I thought this use of symmetry and OLED labeling to be an innovative example of design for ambidexterity.

BMW Heads Up Display

I think BMW is one of the most innovative companies out there. One of my favorite interface designs that BMW has come up with is the heads up display. Basically its a display that is reflected off the windshield so the driver can view the road and at the same time view different display data from the car such as travel speed, speed limits, navigation signals, etc. I can just imagine the inspiration for this design, I've always been annoyed by the reflections of papers when I throw them on the dash. But instead of being annoyed, an engineer or designer at BMW saw an incredibly applicable opportunity. My favorite feature of the HUD interface is the performance display, where the HUD shows a digital tachometer, shows the gear number, and speed. This allows the driver to shift at the most optimal points while paying close attention to the road during full acceleration. I LOVE this design; I think its really inspired. Check out some of the videos.

Full Acceleration

HUD Normal Driving

Ketchup Packets

Heinz ketchup recently released the new design for their ketchup packets. This design hasn't been changed for the past 40 years, but consumers all around the glove interact with the product millions of times daily! I thought this was a good example of how design could be applied to the simplest products and improved. The new packet design replaces the ketchup pouches that were always hard to tear and squirt. The ketchup would always squirt out awkwardly and sometimes onto your white shirt. With the old design, if you wanted to dunk your fries in ketchup, you'd have to squirt a bunch of packets onto a napkin, a messy process. With the new design the user has two options, you can simply peel back the surface, affording dunking into the ketchup. Or the user can tear off the end and squirt the ketchup. I also admire how the name "dip and squeeze" and the ketchup bottle design inform the user how to use the new packets. Overall a cool design that shows that even the most arbitrary things can be improved.

iPad... initial dissappointment and realization

So when the iPad was originally released I was pretty disappointed, I was expecting a revolutionary device that would change the way we interacted with computers and we seemed to get nothing but an oversized iPhone. The internet was quite alive with funny posts and images trashing the iPad. A lot of the gripes with the device have been due to the lack of multitasking, a complete OS, camera, usb ports, etc. Then I read an article on TechCrunch about the iPad that put a lot of things in perspective.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/31/ipad-moms-next-computer/

Perhaps the iPad wasn't designed for tech savvy people, but for the vast majority of computer users that just want to be able to perform simple tasks. The author of the article brought up his mom as the ultimate end user of the iPad. I believe he made a strong point as I could definitely see my mom loving this device. Most of the computer users out there don't want to figure out network connections or have to watch out malware, they just want to perform simple tasks. I think the iPad is the ultimate product for that segment of the market.

And who knows, Apple just might release another tablet with full OS capabilities for the rest of us. Rumors are already flying around on the tech blogs.

Network Effect within Design

I'd like to talk a bit about network effect and it's place within design. Technology has made the world closer and more connected than ever before, and as designers we need to be well aware of network effect and how it can make or break a product. Network effect is the value adding properties a user can add to a good or service. For example one of the most basic examples of network effect are telephones; a telephone is only useful if you can call someone who also has a telephone. Facebook's attractiveness to a prospective user is it's extensive network of people he or she may know. Some of my favorite websites take advantage of this network effect.

One of my favorite sites for news is reddit.com, it's a user generated news site in which users post links to news articles or funny tidbits from the internet. Users then vote these posts up or down and they are placed on the website in accordance to their popularity. Its amazing how much content is posted, as well as how fast breaking news finds itself on the front page. All of this is done without paying a single reporter or cameraman, its a prime example of taking advantage of network effect. Another website that I love to visit is hypem.com. Hype Machine is an aggregation website that scours through popular music blogs. Users can listen to mp3's through an embedded player and likewise to reddit, can upvote or downvote the songs. Through this website I've been able to find great new artists and remixes without any real effort on my part.

The difficulty in taking advantage of this network effect is getting the network started in the first place. How can we design products and services to reach this critical mass or tipping point where network effect can be realized? This is were early adopters are incredibly important. One can achieve this externally through promotions, advertisement, and early adoption incentives. However the most effective way to gain critical mass is to produce something of value even without the network effect. Perhaps the service or product is not as powerful without the network, but keep in mind to design aspects of the product that are valuable while in solidarity to entice early adopters. If you can design these solitary features exceptionally well, then early adopters will follow and generate the needed buzz towards critical mass.

Biomimicry

I believe that some of the best designs are directly inspired by nature. Whether you believe these natural phenomenon were perfected through evolution or by a higher intelligence, we can agree that the innovations found in nature are often incredibly elegant as well as aesthetically pleasing. There are many examples of biomimicry, here are some of my favorites:

Velcro
Invented by a Swiss Engineer after becoming inspired by the seeds of the Burdock plant that kept sticking to his clothing and his dog's fur during a hunting trip. He took this natural design for fertilization and made the fastener that we all use daily.

Lotusan Paint
This paint is incredibly hydrophobic, which allows rain water to instantly bead off and wipe away dirt and grime that has accumulated on the surface, saving cleaning costs. This paint was inspired by the lotus plant which has a surface texture that causes water to bead and flow to the roots of the plant.

Mirasol Displays
As mentioned in class, these energy efficient displays mimic the reflective qualities of butterflies and their beautiful multi-colored wings.

Bucket Brigades
The natural assembly line of ants and bees. How do they achieve such high work efficiency and balance without an actual plan or blueprint? Their natural assembly line can be described like the bucket bridges used to fight fires. The workers line up from slowest to fastest, in which each worker works on their task until completion or they are relieved by the next worker, in which they move back and relieve the previous worker. This natural phenomenon has been implemented in many distribution centers such as CVS which saw a 34% increase in productivity after utilizing the system. In my opinion, Chipotle also uses a simplified version of the assembly line, which is how I get my tasty burritos so fast!

Post some other good examples of biomimicry!