Tuesday, 15 September

Week 4: Assessing User-Interaction 2/2

Quick Question: Are Constraints good or bad?

Haodan will be inviting each of you, via email, to participate in a 5 minute survey as part of her doctoral research.

I encourage you to participate but your participation will not affect your grade in any way.

If you want to get your quizzes or in-class writings back you can check with your Mentor -- they will have them for 1 week after they've been graded.

Review of Potential Quiz Questions

What are the three “levels” of Emotional Design outlines by Donald A. Norman? What is the importance of each? Please give an example.

The three levels are the visceral, behavioral, and/or reflective aspects of emotional design.

Visceral level is the most basic emotional level. The process at this level is automatic and subconscious. It provides us the first impression of a product and rapid responses to an experience. 

Behavioral level initiates and controls much of our behavior. It relates to function. Good design at this level makes things easy to use, while bad design leads to frustrating or confusing. 

Reflective level is the conscious, self-aware part of the brain, the home of the self and one’s self-image. It influence our enduring memories associated with the design as well as our future use of the product.

How, according to the authors, does one “design” a fun experience? Cite an example from your own experience.

According to the authors, balancing what is familiar with what is uncertain is important for designing “fun”. Fun is an integral part of an experience that relies on understanding the expectations, motivations and abilities of the user.

What is usability a “measure of,” according to the authors?

Usability is a measure of how easily a user can achieve a goal related to the use of the design.

What is the value of simplicity in UXD? Cite an example from your own experience where it is present and where it is not; what are the consequences of each?

Simplicity in UXD is the intelligent management of complexity in an interactive system. It makes the product more sensitive to users’ goals and needs. It eases the load on the user’s memory and attention. 

What, according to the authors, is the importance of feedback in a design and what happens if appropriate feedback is not present? Please give an example from your own experience.

Feedback is important to create the potential for flow. By constantly receiving feedback, users can assess their progress, adjust their actions and make their goal clear. If appropriate feedback is not present, the flow may be interrupted and could result failure in user’s actions, eventually it may let users abandon the action out of frustration.

What is your favorite of Dieter Rams' design principles? Why? Please give an example.

https://www.vitsoe.com/gb/about/good-design

 
How are your Projects going?

Due tomorrow night at 11:59 pm

View resources on Canvas

Review Project 1 Brief and Submission Requirements, emphasizing the Project's: 

1. Focus
2. Elements
3. Case Study (presentation)
4. Success Criteria 
5. Formatting
6. Submission Criteria

Re: Brief, Designerly Formatting Guide, Example

Interim Work Presentations:

Danny: Group F: Tanner Ottinger, Matt Ritter, Teshia Sopher 

Haodan: Group F: Corey Wong, Kevin Webster, Levi Weiss
Yi: Group E: Samuel Klage, Sara Klingseisen, Wade Knotts
Karthik: Group D: Aleiah McCrakin, Joel Mason, Jordan Logan
Karthik: Group F: Ivy Murphy, Luke Meyer, Keana Mowery

Group Meeting Time

Homework for Wednesday, 16 September at 11:59 pm through Canvas Assignments:

Each student to submit:

1. PDF of Project
2. Individual Reflection
3. Analysis of each Group Member (including oneself) 

Bring an object -- or a photo of it -- of something meaningful to you (but not too personal or valuable) for an in-class exercise on Thursday.