Design-Design - Design and Designing For The Client

Project Introduction

Students at Loughborough University’s Department of Design and Technology have been given the task of completing an interaction design exercise. The first part of the brief was to demonstrate two or three examples of applications that could be created to assist users of the Joggler. Marks are awarded for innovation, design and value to the customer. I have been asked to assist the students during the second part of the project where students must create a simulation of one of their designs using Adobe Flash.

The Brief

The Adobe Flash interaction design brief is outlined below:

Here you will be required to create a Flash application (.swf) that interactively demonstrates the one application you have developed. You will not be expected to show the entire functionality of the application, but one or two features in some detail. The Flash application should conform to your individual screen layouts & flows handed in for assignment 1. The application should be shown on the appropriate Joggler layout (this does not have to be a photo realistic joggler, just the same screen and button dimensions). This will require good design and construction of graphics and navigation options.

The Flash application is to be used to show the client how the specific new application or feature works so must include clear instructions. It must however allow the client to be able to interact and navigate in a non-linear fashion (this is not a linear power point project!). This is an exercise in a variety of design disciplines, user-centric analysis, planning, graphic, interface, information, usability. The principles of interaction must be applied to the Flash file. Accompanying the .swf file you must fill out a ‘Flash element summary’.

Product Familiarity

Often, a client will be able to refer to other products, websites they like, print examples they have seen or other media that has some features or elements that they like. In this case, the product is now in the shops and the brief is open in that the end application can fulfill any task or function – but the designer must be able to convince the client that there is a need or desire by the target market to justify further financial investment.

I need to become familiar with the product we are developing an application for. There are several methods I have chosen in this instance and they are ranked in the chronological order they occurred though in reality there is flexibility in this.

• Look for promotional material from the manufacturer to get a feel for the intended functionality, target market and typical use of the product in addition to a technical specification outlining the integrated technological features. For example, the O2 Joggler is WiFi capable, can receive SMS messages and will play many audio and video file formats. Below is a YouTube video showing the original Joggler advert designed to outline its use and functionality in simple terms.
• When searching for further YouTube material from O2 I discovered an demonstration video that both shows the product in use and shows some of the interesting interactive features of YouTube that could be exploited in my own work. In this case the O2 video seems to be slightly ‘clunky’ as there are many options to choose from but none of them are covered in alot of detail.
• The product can easily be investigated by visiting an 02 store in most cities and towns, providing a hands-on demonstration. By trying out the O2 Joggler I can gain a feel for the way users may interact with the product in terms of ease of use, speed, tactile features, heat output, pleasure in use and assistance to a daily routine. Using the product should be a source of inspiration and food for thought for the designer – knowledge and experience of current phone and web technologies is very important to this process as they provide multiple lines of questioning related to what is possible and what will be possible in the near future.
• Read customer comments from the website, tech review sites and other sources. This should compliment the initial research and help highlight any areas of investigation or analysis that have been missed or need to be revisited. A poor designer uses tech reviews as the basis for the research whereas a good designer looks for experience of the product, knowledge of its capability and seeks others opinion. Joggler examples include: MiniReviews, PC Advisor and PC Pro. It may seem a little odd that I am not refering to phone related websites but the O2 Joggler performs more in line with a simple PDA system and the interviews indicated are only design to provoke design questions thought.
• View competitors products to see what functionality has been added. The most obvious examples to my mind would be the iPhone with its large fanatical fanbase of users, constant evolution and support for ground breaking, design led applications. Try out the competitors products and ask yourself what sort of features really appeal.
• Monitor technology sites such as Electronista.com where there are constant updates related to technological innovation, roll out of new systems such as 4G phone networks, improved 3G data speeds and predictions as to what technology will be like in the near future.

Detailed Questions

There should immediately be a variety of questions regarding the style, technology and programming of the device as well as some test statements related to expectations. When a brief is presented to me I will often ‘test the water’ by explaining my perception of the design brief, how I will conduct myself during the process by estimating how long each phase would take based upon previous experience and where I would need assistance from the client or other skills. I would also test the client by suggesting that “the project will have concluded when we are….” [finished testing the website? taking delivery of the final printed product? preparing for print?]. A designer is able to make a full assessment of the task and its potential pitfalls [and account for these in planning] if they effectively complete this stage.

In this instance, having tried out the 02 Joggler I would want to ask the client some questions and check some of my assumptions – so in this situation, if I was a student working on the project, I would ask the project tutor the following:

• It is presumed that the style of the new application should follow the style and colour scheme of existing Joggler applications.

Not strictly true, O2 are looking for good ideas in terms of graphics and application ideas. I want designers to feel free to experiment with layout, iconography and style. O2 products do have a style and scheme but we can address this where necessary in further development phases. Don t worry about it for the moment.

• Are there any limitations to the inclusion of new technologies and ideas related to new phone technologies such as Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, GPS and other hardware / software developments? The current Joggler hardware would not allow some of these features to be integrated without redevelopment

Again, lets see what you come up with – sky’s the limit in the first instance. O2 can look at requirements for a new product if they take any of these further.

• Is it important to maintain the image of the Joggler being primarily a product for the kitchen? With the target market aimed at housewives or house husbands who need to keep track of their kids and generally weekly activities?

O2 have spent some time marketing the product as such, so let’s stick to that unless you have any inspiration that creates some strong reasoning to market the product in a different way.

• What sort of deadline and time limit are set for the project?

You have 10 hours studio time with support and other personal development time to create an idea, develop this and present a non-linear flash presentation. Put as much additional time of you own in but remember to balance graphics with a reasonable representation of functionality – the brief demands a reasonable level of both.

• What do you expect the final presentation to be like? What media types do you expect to see?

I’m expecting a Flash design that plays from a browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, along with your sketches to see how ideas have developed.