CD2 - The Helicopter View of UX & Design

Written by David Charney
Posted: October 5, 2008 (1 year, 5 months ago) | 0 comments

I gave a short presentation titled “The Helicopter View of UX & Design” at the latest (October 1st) CD2 (Chicago Designers & Developers) user group meeting in Chicago. Using my finely toned brain-tato, I took the 101 approach to UX and here… wait for it… is the break-down:

The Definition of User Experience
Charts and graphs aside, the User Experience (UX) is simply the user’s experience (ignore my use of term in definition) when interacting with a product, service, or idea. It relates to how user’s interactions are perceived, how they are used, and how information is communicated. It is a component of and quite the bed fellow of user-centered design which has a strong focus on the audience, their needs, and limitations.

The Many UX Factors and Elements
UX breaks down into a billion factors and elements including design, brand, interaction, usability, navigation, functionality, behavior, layout, sight, sound, touch, taste?, information architecture, animation, input/output, human factors, limitations, content information, work-flow, technology, and environment, to name a few in no specific order. All these elements factor back to the definition and each could have a blog post (and eventually will).

Where We are Seeing UX

• Entertainment - So much UX I can barely breath
• Marketing - If UX was deep in the woods at night, marketing would be the sleeping bag
• Products - Utilizing marketing, budgets are being pushed all they can!
• Services - Similar to products, UX is telling the story and adding the energy
• Training & Education -The flame is lit. I hope the fire spreads quickly. There is a lot of good UX can bring to furthering knowledge.

What is SO Great About UX?

• Allow the information to better relate to the user
• Develop emotional responses between user and information
• Information retention advantage due to developing state of mind and experience (cause of all that great stuff above)
• Can provide an environment that strengthens usability and drives exploration

Peripheral Experiences
Remember that the user experience isn’t focused on just the use of the solution but also what happens before and after the solution. An example that comes to mind is the iPhone. After it was announced, everyone talked about it, waited for it, quit their jobs to wait in line for, happily bought it, savored the box and unwrapping of it, and did all this before even using the phone. This is all part of the experience! What about when someone is done using your solution? Does it just end? Do you never hear from this person again? What continues the experience for them?

Where Do We Begin?
Define and understand the goals, objectives, and mannerisms of the Client and their audience [as well as their limitations]. How do you do this? Talk to your client, brainstorm, survey, meet the audience, walk in their shoes, take field trips, develop personas, test and validate. Remember, it is better to work with the client then for the client.

Examples Anyone?

• iPhone - The iPhone has a simple UI that utilizes animation and simplicity to flow the user through the information. By understanding the hardware limitations, the UI is fine tuned to focus the user on finding and using the information, not feeling the hardware.

• Google Earth - Before Google Earth people looked at roads and satellite imagery as a type of map. After Google Earth people saw a world they could explore. Quite the powerful experience.

• Facebook - Powerful UI and 3D aside, Facebook is a means to communicate.  You can experience all the aspects of your friends lives and often many people’s lives you don’t know.

• UIC Dental Education - Using a haptic device (think pen connected to an arm connected to a motor connected to a computer), the user can move the cursor, mapped with a dental tool, around a set of simulated teeth. When the user’s dental tool touches the 3D teeth, the motor stops the pen from moving. This forced feedback let’s the user “feel” the teeth, gums, and even cavities. Experiences can utilize all sorts of input devices.

• Further Examples - The FWA (the fwa.com) - Check out this site’s growing catalog of fantastic UX. Creativity is hard not to step on as you wander through the many unique solutions that are out there on the web.

That’s a high level my fellow designians. Remember, the experience is more than throwing someone in a 3D world. It is about perception, use, and understanding of information. With a little thought and flash of creativity, you will be developing UX before you know it… or at least before I know it. Now go outside!