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Bridging the Physical-Digital Divide
Jason Mesut
Head of User Experience, Plan

@jasonmesut
slideshare.net/jasonmesut
slideshare.net/planstrategic
enquiries@plan.bz
Uh-oh!

Different tribes
coming together

Dancing to
one beat

In the
same room

For a
common purpose
I believe in a future where physical
products and digital services work in
harmony
Where Industrial Design and
User Experience practitioners
dance to the same beat...
...in the same room
...for the common purpose of improving
the products and services of the future
A hypothesis

The UX community needs to start
connecting, calibrating and collaborating
with Industrial Design
Why is it important?
What are the things you

?
People
Activities
Apps
Technics 1200

Tenori-On

SH-101

I love
objects

OP-1
Q-Bert

Technics
1200
Q-Bert
Roland

Technics
SH-101
1200
Milo Mesut
Q-Bert

Yamaha
Technics
Tenori-On
1200
Teenage Engineering
OP-1
Technics 1200

Tenori-On

SH-101

I love
objects

OP-1
Trained in Industrial Design
Career in digital User Experience

Five years of education
Industrial Design
96

97 98

99

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03

Digital User Experience
Fifteen years of commercial experience

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05

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07

08

09

10

11

12

13

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I knew I needed to speak to
some experts in this space
I spoke to people who
have deep experience
Primarily physical design
1. Jeremy Offer
2. Mark Delaney
3. Nick Foster
4. Jim Blyth
5. Duncan Fitzsimmons
6. Marcus Hoggarth
7. Paul De’Ath
8. Alex Bradley
9. Richard Green
10. Jeanne Marrell
11. Kevin McCullagh
12. Chris Liu

Primarily digital
1. Matt Webb
2. Kim Lenox
3. Scott Jenson
4. Oznur Ozkurt
5. Nick Myers
6. Dave Malouf
7. Heather Martin
8. David Sherwin
9. Steve Taylor
10. Ian Bach
11. Mike Walker
12. Pete Hamblin
Jeremy Offer

Jeanne Marell

Jim Blyth

Industrial
Designers
Marcus Hoggarth

Duncan Fitzsimons

Nick Foster

Kevin McCullagh

Mark Delaney

Alex Bradley
Pete Hamblin

Matt Webb

Dave Malouf

Digital designers
and technologists
Heather Martin

Kim Lenox

Scott Jenson

David Sherwin

Nick Myers

Ian Bach
Experiences across some big names
Consultancies

Manufacturers

Education
Why do we need to be involved?
Screens seem to be
dominating our future
Screens on everything
Screens replacing
tactile controls
Screens in
front of babies

http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/fisher-price-ipad-apptivity-seat.jpg
Is this really the future?
I’ve felt like i’m swimming against the tide
of waving hands, and screens everywhere
A hardware revival
is emerging
The internet of things
is hitting the
mainstream

Niche

Mass
Unfortunately in a
rather odd ways
Unfortunately in a
rather odd ways
http://www.beamtoothbrush.com/toothbrush/
http://www.beamtoothbrush.com/toothbrush/
Tech companies
buying hardware
companies

http://techguygadgets.com/google-buying-nest-labs-at-3200-million/
Service companies
selling hardware to sell
services
Wearable excitement

People are getting excited by
wearables because it’s something else,
other than a smartphone
Even if they make us
look ridiculous
Maybe the tide is turning?
People are realising that
physicality can be good
There is a lack of harmony
between physical and digital
A recipe for integrated products?

Integrated
product

=

Physical
product

Digital
+ interface

Digital
+ services
Levels of harmony
Components of integrated experience

Key levels
of harmony

Aesthetic
Interactive
Experience

Physical
product

Digital
interface

Digital
services
Clunky car interfaces
Screen clash

— Aesthetic mismatch
— Interface not tactile
— Doesn’t create a better experience
Little printer
All about the platform

— Web-based software

interfaces and services
— Hardware interface
— Quirky design
Nest
Rare harmony

Beautiful integration
— Beautiful hardware
— Based on dial of thermostats
of previous eras
— Slick UI
— Intelligent services
iPod
The original integrated
product?

Beautiful integration
— Hardware and software
interface working together
— iTunes store
— Aesthetic mismatch
Teenage Engineering
OP-1
All-in-one music
workstation

Beautiful integration
— Resilient hardware
— Slick UI
— 3D printed accessories
Disharmony manifested
1. A disparity in quality
2. Disconnected design language
3. Inappropriate interactions
4. Lack of focus on the overall experience
We need greater harmony
We’ve got to get involved
Why the lack of harmony exists
1/2/3/4
Hardware is being
commoditised
Industrial Design given
away

In China, they are giving away the ID
for free as part of their
manufacturing services... Their skills
in CAD and product design are being
undervalued. 
Kim Lenox
Ex-User Experience Director Lunar

Kim Lenox
Objects becoming
transient

Objects, like apps, are becoming more
transient — like kettles that don’t last
or phones we replace regularly
Jeremy Offer
Design Director, Great Fridays
Focused on the
touchscreen

Clients are more focused on
what’s on the touchscreen
rather than how good the
case quality is
Jim Blyth
Managing Director, TheAlloy
Digital natives seem to be driving the future
Digital designers
User Experience for web,
GUI expertise

Software technologists
Understand infrastructure
and web services

Makers
Prototype, and play with
combining technologies

Human behaviour & experience

Infrastructure

Connection with the arts

Systems thinking

Data

Human behaviour

Graphical User Interfaces

Web technology

Prototyping

Mike Kuniavsky, author of Smart Things

Matt Webb, Berg

Kate Hartman, artist, technologist, educator OCAD
Digital designers

Software technologists

Makers

Human behaviour & experience

Infrastructure

Connection with the arts

Systems thinking

Data

Human behaviour

Graphical User Interfaces

Web technology

Prototyping
Industrial Designers
Physical form
Materials and manufacture
Thinking beyond screens

Lacking
some
important
skills

Products that last
Consumer culture

Digital designers

Software technologists

Makers

Human behaviour & experience

Infrastructure

Connection with the arts

Systems thinking

Data

Human behaviour

Graphical User Interfaces

Web technology

Prototyping
They don’t
seem engaged

Industrial Designers
have had their head in
the ground
Ian Bach
Senior Interaction Designer
Method
They can’t justify
their importance

Industrial Designers are
struggling to articulate the
value of their work
Jim Blyth
Managing Director, TheAlloy
1/2/3/4
Production methods and timelines are
completely different
Software added in later

Software design often begins later
in the product cycle or can be
heavily iterated later. You’re given a
spec of controls and it’s very hard to
adjust the hardware in the midst of
development without long delays.
Nick Myers
Director User Experience Design, Fitbit
UX focuses on
the short term

It will take 12-18 months to get
something to market. It used to be
2-3 years, but component selection
can still take that long. UX is very
much focused on the near term
— it’s less reliant on supply chains
Mark Delaney
Head of Design Forward, Nokia
Firmware lockdown

We still need to finalize firmware a
couple of months before launch.
And then it’s locked into the device
and harder to update.
Nick Myers
Director User Experience Design, Fitbit
Different paces
Hardware
18 months+
Problem
framing

Ideation

2-6W

Design
development

4-8W

R

C

Software
3 months+

Manufacturing
development
26W

4-8W

D

C

D

C

Tooling
12W

D

C

D

C

D

C

D

Tuning
production
3W

C

D

C

Production
4-8W

D

C

D

Research
Concept
Design
1/2/3/4
We don’t understand
each other
Title confusion

Noone knows what to call anything
any more.
One title can mean one thing in one
organisation and something
completely different somewhere
else.
Nick Foster
Advanced Design, Nokia
UX is confusing

UX has done a pretty good job of
making itself complicated in a short
period of time. All the different subdisciplines: IA, IxD, etc.
The more compartmentalised, the
worse the result.
Marcus Hoggarth
Industrial Design Director, Native
1/2/3/4
Teams are separated
Hardware and
software teams
are often
separated
In-house
SW

HW

In-house

Agency

SW

HW

Agency 1

Agency 2

SW

HW

Agency
SW

HW
Silos in design
are making
collaboration hard

ID

UX

VD

SD

Architecture
Should we focus on
breaking down design
silos rather than wider
organisation ones?
Causes of disharmony
1. Hardware is being commoditised
2. Timelines and production methods differ
3. We don’t understand each other
4. Teams are separated
How can we bridge the
physical-digital divide
to improve the experience of
integrated products?
How can we bridge the
physical-digital divide?
We need to
Connect / Calibrate / Collaborate
Connect / Calibrate / Collaborate
Find the common ground
Connect on a personal level
Respect differences
Connect / Calibrate / Collaborate
Adapt ourselves
Change our team organisations
Translate our language
Connect / Calibrate / Collaborate
Unite under a common purpose
Share between teams
Sketch and prototype together
Connect / Calibrate / Collaborate
ID
UX

Offer

Product Design
Mechanical Engineering
Ergonomics
CMF
Product visualisation

Physical
Industrial Design
Mindset

Digital
User Experience

Language

Tools

Interaction Design
Information Architecture
Content Strategy
User Research
Visual Design
Experience strategy

Time
ID
Offer

UX

Product Design
Mechanical Engineering
Ergonomics
CMF
Product visualisation

Physical
Industrial Design
Mindset

Digital
User Experience

Language

Tools

Interaction Design
Information Architecture
Content Strategy
User Research
Visual Design
Experience strategy

Time
Offer

Mindset

What value do
What is their
Industrial Design and motivation?
User Experience bring
to the table?
What are their values?

Language

Tools

What language is used What tools and
to communicate what techniques do each
we do with others.
use?

Time

What speeds do they
work out through the
design process?
How far into the future
do they look?
1/2/3/4
Find the common ground
Offer

Mindset

Language

Hardware
Understanding
people

ID
Manufacture

Conceiving and
detailing solutions

Tools

Software

UX
Flexibility

Time
Offer

Mindset

Language

Modelling

Making
Instinctive

ID

Making things
people love
Solving
problems

Mechanical

Decoding

UX
Theoretical

Making
solutions
Aesthetic

Tools

Functional

Time
Dieter Rams rules of
good design

Industrial designers obsess about
physical form

- Aesthetic
- Makes a product understandable
- Unobtrusive
- As little design as possible
1/2/3/4
Connect on a personal level
Connect on a personal
level

I setup a monthly lunch with the director
of research and development. It helps
that we both care about the same thing.
That helped to bring down any barriers.
I worked to understand his and
his team’s goals, so that we could
better support them and work closer
together.
Nick Myers
Director User Experience Design, Fitbit
Bond over shared motivations
Learn from different perspectives
Connect on a personal level
1/2/3/4
Break down the language barriers
Offer

Mindset

Language

Tools

Lean UX

Lean engineering

Agile

People
Materials and finish
CMF

Brand

Responsive design

CMD

Interaction

Tolerance

Information Architect

Stage gate process
Class A, B, C surfaces

Experience

ID

Package
(internal component architecture)
Product language
Bill of materials (BOM)

Similar terms
for very
different things

Time

Design

UX

Interaction Designer

UI/UX

User
Interface

Service
UX

QA / QC

Material bill

Persona

Product

Product
Supply chain

Ecosystem

Well established
terms, but still a
lack of clarity
Language

IDers often say they don’t understand
[UX], but shifting perspective and
language helps them realise when
they are doing it. As a way to bridge
the gap, I'd often look at their past
work, point to the solutions that
worked well and relate it to [UX].
Kim Lenox
Former User Experience Director, Lunar
Define a common language
Provide meaning for different terms
1/2/3/4
Respect the differences
Offer

Mindset

Language

CAD modelling

Appearance
modelling

ID
Manufacturing
Rendering
Sampling
Manufacturing
techniques

Tools

Time

Wireframing
Observational
research
Brainstorming
Sketching
Prototyping

Flow
diagrams

UX
Designing in
the browser
Experience
mapping
Modelling tools to
decode, clarify
Hardware is hard

Hardware is appropriately named
because it’s hard...
...It’s a long, hard, painful, expensive
process
... It requires a long term commitment to a
design
Robert Brunner
Partner, Ammunition
(the guy who hired Jony Ive)
Here’s Jony
Come together

Understand Materials and
Manufacturing

Understand how to build
Product designers need to
understand how their
designs will be realised