Visual design is more than styling. It is function. And not only because it communicates, but also because it makes us feel. And between feeling and communication, people find things easier to use.
Visual design is more than styling. It is function. And not only because it communicates, but also because it makes us feel. And between feeling and communication, people find things easier to use.
And that, of course, illustrates the problem. They still can’t understand that the design is the functionality from the user’s viewpoint (which is the only viewpoint that matters). Find out what functionality the user needs, design the interface to make that functionality accessible - and code to the interface. That’s the only way to do it. If you can’t afford to research what functionality the user needs and how they should interact with it, then you shouldn’t be in business in the first place.1 year ago
This is a post related to finding a design company/agency as opposed to finding a 'designer'. The designer is only one part of the solution, depending on what you wish to accomplish. Although design can tend to be what stands out the most, there are several people involved (not just the designer). Hope this helps shed a bit of light:
shtninja'I haven't met a designer yet who doesn't believe that they are great - and most of the work I see is terrible - at least in my opinion. ' i'm a designer, and Im not great - but how can a designer ever say that to a client, or potential client - we need to act confidant. Most of the time, the client does not want a good design (you can ask designers about this) - the client wants to feel safe, and good, and confidant. They want to feel right - working with clients can be a lot like working with children - you need to please them, not make good design.
Actually, i completely went of topic. Somehow my point is: clients do not trust the designers enough to allow them to be branding agents - there is some sort of prejudice that says -'oh, if you're a designer, that means you can only do pretty things but not important things' something like that - but in truth - design is problem solving - a designer is trained to find solutions. I guess in the end, spend more money on the designer and they will work harder. Or something like that.3 years ago
Are you sure you want to
Guest000111Excellent slides but I think you're missing the point. It's not that people don't value design - it's that we don't understand how to buy it and know that we are getting value for money. As a purchaser of design services (I'm a CEO of a small software company) I completely understand and believe that design is important. The problem is how to get a good designer. The fact is that there are very few *great* designers. Most are mediocre. Is mediocre better than none? I know I need functionality - so when does the form become more important than the functionality and how can I specify it and budget for it? In other words how can I tell (as an aesthetically challenged tech guy) without having to spend serious money on customer response research (which I can't afford) if the quality of the design I'm getting is any good? In my experience if I ask a random sample of say 10 people I get 11 opinions none of which agree. If I ask another designer they'll tell me why it is technically poor. I haven't met a designer yet who doesn't believe that they are great - and most of the work I see is terrible - at least in my opinion. If you can provide a means to allow people like me to identify and price good design - I'll buy it by the truck load.3 years ago
“Do users want applications that work, or
applications that can wrap themselves into
funny shapes? I'm sure it looks really whizzy in
demos, but come on, we're just trying to give
user applications to help them do their jobs.”
“...it doesn't matter how pretty your site is or
how many quot;bells and whistlesquot; you have.
While a high-quality site is important, the
majority of people today value usability more
than good looks or fanciness.”
“...it doesn't matter how pretty your site is or
X
how many quot;bells and whistlesquot; you have.
While a high-quality site is important, the
majority of people today value usability more
than good looks or fanciness.”
an’t
ou c
Y
rate
Sepa
from
ility
Usab ign.
Des
sual
Vi
“Eye Candy is a Critical
Business Requirement”
hetics
Aest
“Eye Candy is a Critical
Business Requirement”
Aesthetics:
Aesthetics:
quot;the science of how things are
known via the senses.quot;
Aesthetics:
quot;the science of how things are
known via the senses.quot;
More than just visual design,
1. anything that appeals to the senses.
Aesthetics:
quot;the science of how things are
known via the senses.quot;
More than just visual design,
1. anything that appeals to the senses.
More about the psychological
2. response to sensory stimulus,
than the actual trigger.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/104/moto.html
“...consciously or unconsciously,
the iPod materials reference a
convention of ‘cleanliness’ that
everybody interacts with every
day – a bathroom.”
http://www.frogdesign.com/?p=13
Aesthetics and...
Cognition
“the process of knowing”
Aesthetics and...
Cognition
“the process of knowing”
Aesthetics and...
Cognition
“the process of knowing”
Affordance says an ‘objects sensory characteristics
intuitively imply its functionality and use’
Guess what this screen is communicating...
Guess what this screen is communicating...
Guess what this screen is communicating...
A Visual Language is a set of practices by which
images can be used to communicate concepts
Guess what this screen is communicating...
A Visual Language is a set of practices by which
images can be used to communicate concepts
better:
Brilliant!
What does the ‘genie effect’ communicate?
Which of these windows of closer to you? Why?
Which of these windows of closer to you? Why?
Can you spot the problem?
Can you spot the problem?
OR
Can you spot the problem?
OR
One of the Four Laws of Perception states
‘elements that are close to each other are related.’
“Dismissing visual design as just a
matter of making things pretty or ugly
cuts off your ability to communicate
with your customers...
Design is a means to communicate,
not mere styling.”
-Luke Wroblewski
Aesthetics and...
Affect
quot;the experience of feeling or emotionquot;
Aesthetics and...
Affect
quot;the experience of feeling or emotionquot;
“Emotion is one of the strongest differentiators
in user experience namely because it triggers
unconscious responses to a product, website,
environment or interface. Our feelings strongly
influence our perceptions and often frame
how we think about or refer to our experiences
at a later date.”
-Frank Spillers
http://experiencedynamics.blogs.com/site_search_usability/2004/08/design_and_emot.html
Efficient
Easy to Use
Enjoyable
Efficient
+
Easy to Use
=
Enjoyable
?
Efficient
Easy to Use
Enjoyable
Efficient
Easy to Use
Enjoyable
Perception.
Load time is five seconds.
Which of these pre-loaders makes this
‘seem’ like a faster load time?
Load time is five seconds.
Which of these pre-loaders makes this
‘seem’ like a faster load time?
is in
peed
S
e of
e Ey
th er.
hold
e Be
th
Which will seem to take longer?
(a) Waiting in a 20 minute line
-or-
(b) Waiting in 5 different lines,
each lasting about 5 minutes
Which will seem to take longer?
(a) Waiting in a 20 minute line
-or-
(b) Waiting in 5 different lines,
each lasting about 5 minutes
es longer but that is
“...something that tak
superior to something
perceived to be efficient is
ut perceived differently.”
that is shorter b
-Don Norman
Why should we care about personality?
People identify with (or avoid) certain personalities
Trust is related to personality
Perception and expectations are linked with personality
Consumers ‘choose’ products that are an extension of
themselves
We treat sufficiently advanced technology as people
...and so on
Why did Sony make their robot a puppy?
Trust.
What’s the most frequently cited factor for
evaluating the credibility of a Web site?
What’s the most frequently cited factor for
evaluating the credibility of a Web site?
Trust?
Trust?
Can you spot the differences?
Trust + Personality + Perception. . .
presented at CHI 2007,
“According to research
ancy of identical search
users judge the relev
arch engines based on
results from different se
d Google coming out
e brand, with Yahoo an
th
the study indicated
on top… Participants in
Google and Yahoo were
that the results from
ical results found through
superior to ident
eneric search engine.”
Windows Live or a g
Why did the more attractive (but otherwise
identical) ATM Machine perform better?
“Attractive
things work
better.”
“Product design that provides aesthetic appeal, pleasure and
satisfaction can greatly influence the success of a product.
Traditional cognitive approaches to product usability have tended to
underestimate or fragment emotion from an understanding of the
user experience. Affect, which is inexplicable linked to attitudes,
expectations and motivations, plays a significant role in the
cognition of product interaction, and therefore can be usefully
treated as a design aid. Emotion influences and mediates specific
aspects of interaction before, during and after the use of a product.
These affective states regularly impact how a user manipulates and
explores a user interface in order to support a desired cognitive
state.”
Products That
from “Emotion as a Cognitive Artifact and the Design Implications for
are Perceived As Pleasurable”
to Davidson (2003), the perception that affect and
cognition are independent, separate information
processing systems is flawed. New breakthroughs
in neuroscience using functional Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (fMRI) have validated the
assertions that cognition and emotion are a unified
process. Gray et. al (2002) found that emotion and
cognition ‘conjointly and equally contribute to the
control of thought and behavior’.
Affect
How I ‘think’
cannot be
separated from
how I ‘feel’
Cognition
Myth reality
If you care about function,
then you care about
cognition and affect.
And consequently, you
care about aesthetics.
“Look & Feel”
f u n c t io n
“Look & Feel”
X f u n c t io n
Not
ty is
Pret
ion!
rat
deco ion.
unct
is F
etty
Pr
“Attractive things work better.”
Aesthetics and...
Business Value
ROI. Easier Sales. Higher Margins.
Brand Equity. Market Differentiation.
“Is it worth the investment?”
“Good [enough] is the enemy of great.”
-Jim Collins
“Is it worth the investment?”
It’s not an option.
“Why not?”
Product Maturity.
“When technology delivers basic needs,
user experience dominates.”
-Don Norman
“When technology delivers basic needs,
user experience dominates.”
-Don Norman
SUBJECTIVE / QUALITATIVE
Focused on
Experiences
(People, Activities, Context)
Meaningful
Has personal significance
Pleasurable
Memorable experience worth sharing
Convenient THIS IS THE “CHASM” THAT IS REALLY, REALLY
HARD FOR ORGANIZATIONS TO CROSS
Super easy to use, works like I think
Usable
Can be used without difficulty
Reliable
Is available and accurate
Functional (Useful)
Works as programmed
Focused on
Tasks
(Products, Features)
OBJECTIVE / QUANTIFIABLE
http://www.poetpainter.com/thoughts/article/presentation-notes-slides-for-creating-pleasurable-interfaces
gets
0% of the project
You know, 8
20% of the time. ...the remaining 20% takes
completed in
80 / 20
80% of the time.
This is commodity
This is where you
differentiate.
“Cars have been around for ages - since Ford’s little black number.
They all pretty much do the same thing and look similar. Four
wheels, seats, they go from point A to B. Why do people buy one
over the other? One word. Design.
Aesthetics and Car Design have been fused for many years. It’s what
defines a car, it’s what gives a car it’s personality and importantly for
the manufacturers, it’s what gives the car it’s competitive edge in the
market place.”
from “Aesthetic-Usability Effect”, Mark Boulton
http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/aesthetic_usability_effect/
“Eye Candy is a Critical
Business Requirement”
hetics
Aest
“Eye Candy is a Critical
Business Requirement”
LamaGhoul
Thanks for sharing.
http://www.clickandsendparcel.com 1 year ago
And that, of course, illustrates the problem. They still can’t understand that the design is the functionality from the user’s viewpoint (which is the only viewpoint that matters). Find out what functionality the user needs, design the interface to make that functionality accessible - and code to the interface. That’s the only way to do it. If you can’t afford to research what functionality the user needs and how they should interact with it, then you shouldn’t be in business in the first place. 1 year ago
Regards
Teisha
http://winkhealth.com
http://financewink.com
http://www.fakhriramley.com 3 years ago
This is a post related to finding a design company/agency as opposed to finding a 'designer'. The designer is only one part of the solution, depending on what you wish to accomplish. Although design can tend to be what stands out the most, there are several people involved (not just the designer). Hope this helps shed a bit of light:
http://www.rivalschools.tv/2009/06/buying-the-toaster/
Great slide btw! 3 years ago
Actually, i completely went of topic. Somehow my point is: clients do not trust the designers enough to allow them to be branding agents - there is some sort of prejudice that says -'oh, if you're a designer, that means you can only do pretty things but not important things' something like that - but in truth - design is problem solving - a designer is trained to find solutions. I guess in the end, spend more money on the designer and they will work harder. Or something like that. 3 years ago
As a purchaser of design services (I'm a CEO of a small software company) I completely understand and believe that design is important. The problem is how to get a good designer. The fact is that there are very few *great* designers. Most are mediocre. Is mediocre better than none?
I know I need functionality - so when does the form become more important than the functionality and how can I specify it and budget for it?
In other words how can I tell (as an aesthetically challenged tech guy) without having to spend serious money on customer response research (which I can't afford) if the quality of the design I'm getting is any good?
In my experience if I ask a random sample of say 10 people I get 11 opinions none of which agree. If I ask another designer they'll tell me why it is technically poor.
I haven't met a designer yet who doesn't believe that they are great - and most of the work I see is terrible - at least in my opinion.
If you can provide a means to allow people like me to identify and price good design - I'll buy it by the truck load. 3 years ago