Richardson_Alpha

Chris Richardson Proposal

Chris_7_I

I thought the sections on flow and adaptation were useful. Saffer mentioned that it is important to keep in mind that there is a back and forth between the user and the product. He used an example of how a user learns a drawing application. At first, the design is simple. As the user becomes more familiar, the product seems to be able to do all kinds of advanced things. Saffer explains that the two entities react and respond with each other. An application that is too challenging produces anxiety, an application that is not creates boredom.

Chris_6_I

Saffer states that typography is one of the most important aspects of design. It creates personality as well as clear labels for guiding a user through a site. It is wise to keep a consistent typeface to keep that personality in tact. I guess I found it interesting because I don't usually pay attention (or do not think I do) to different fonts and the personalities they convey.

Chris_5_I

I liked the section on personas. I think it is quite important to have some sort of idea who may be using your product. If you are designing for a large number of people, it is important to know their interests or preferences for a better understanding of how one will design a product. The author mentions that recording these behavior patterns may help in directing a product design. Saffer also mentions that personas are useless unless you have scenarios. These scenarios provide a sense of how the design will be used.

Chris_4_I

I thought the brainstorming section was useful. The author stated that great ideas can come out of terrible ones. I liked how he suggested many ways of recording all ideas - even unrelated ones. I think that it is important to keep any record you may have when brainstorming a project. Usually when you come up with a bad idea the complete opposite comes to mind shortly after. One may not even use an idea during brainstorming, but it is a helpful practice to get into. It is key to give the brain exercise when planning a project. It may take more than a couple brainstorming sessions to even come close to what you want to begin to work on.

Chris_3_I

I thought the section on appearance was interesting. Saffer discussed how just looking at an object gives us some idea of how it should be used. He discusses affordances; how we know to push buttons because we've done it before. Appearance gives us cues on how to operate something based on shape, weight, or even color. For example, he talks on how if something is sleek and shiny we believe it to be expensive. Another example he mentions is that the shape of a chair gives us an inclination that it is meant to be sat in. I think this is useful information, but I also think when designing something not much conscious thought is put into its appearance.

Chris_2_I

I liked the 'Problems with Problems' section of this chapter. The author discusses that designers usually overly complicate their flawed products and rethink the whole thing. He states that 'sometimes a button problem is just a button problem.' I like that he points out that sometimes its alright to just let some things be, not to break the entire project down. I think this is how we learn to become better designers. I'm sure an employer may not totally agree with this. I usually learn the most from things that don't work as well as they should. The author stresses to find simple solutions because they can indicate much larger ones.

Chris_1_I

I liked how the chapter discussed that the main focus of practicing interaction design was to rid products and services of the small annoyances. The book cited a quote about how 'its the small stuff in life that drives you crazy'; and its quite true. Interaction design helps to make sense of the products we are using and in some cases makes them enjoyable. The author also mentions how humans have an incredible tolerance to inconvenience and how we don't really notice this until something better is created. The example of phones and having an operator route the calls is used to convey this concept. We now take for granted how convenient and even fun (depending on your phone) it can be to communicate with anyone at any time.