Design

The Design Experience Dilemma

February 18, 2018 Design

I read an excerpt from Don Norman’s revised classic book on UX ‘The Design of Everyday Things’ that pointed at the cognitive functions of the human brain in the context of good vs bad design experience.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible, serving us without drawing attention to itself. Bad design, on the other hand, screams out its inadequacies, making itself very noticeable.   [/perfectpullquote]

When you think about software and “bad” user-interfaces for instance, consistent periods of exposure to a clunky task flow in a working environment per se forces the human brain to adjust to the flawed experience, and the pressure to meet those goals increases the cognitive efforts towards learning those relevant skills quickly despite the experience being unwieldy in gaining familiarity with the UI for accomplishing those recurring tasks. It might be termed as “efficient” but leaves the user in a quagmire. Such onerous yet persisting functionality naturally forms a so-called ‘blind spot’ preventing its users from judging the experience as ‘good’, ‘bad’ or ‘poor’ since they have now settled into a comfort zone in this burdensome journey. In my experience, I have seen its effect leaving a huge mark on their individual productivity, moreover in some cases, it even compels the users to thwart attempts to bring any positive change to the system. This is one reason why design thinking and user-centred frameworks fundamentally emphasize on ‘observing’ the users in their natural surroundings rather than ‘interviewing’ them to test their inherent judgement in relation to the tasks which they undertake. It could be, that in this context, Dr Norman is mentioning the human experience from the point of view of ordinary systems which are unrelated to the hurdles of technology, because the “inadequacies” which stem from a bad UI may not be necessarily perceived by the end-users for the reasons that I mentioned above, and also because they are committed to achieving those goals regardless of the quality of the UI or experience.

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Market Research and User Research

Market Research Vs. User Research

January 10, 2018 Design

I have often had conversations with clients and designers who have a difference of opinion on the virtues of ‘market research’ and ‘user research’, sometimes even using the terms interchangeably. In one such recent interaction with a marketing executive from a large Canadian company with whom I was associating for a consulting project, I was told that ‘user research’ was not necessary for the current circumstances since his company was perfectly cognizant of its customer base. He was referring to the marketing research his team was involved with, and rightly so. In all this, I believed, his goal was to expedite product development by paring down the number of hours and the expenditure required for the user research phase. It should come as no surprise for designers and managers, that a large chunk of their product design commitment relies on a comprehensive overview of the customer base gained from research studies at different times, and any form of research which could serve various purposes during a product’s development journey.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]An ardent proponent of the UCD methodology, I firmly believe in the potential of research data in gathering an informed opinion about the motivations of the actual users which would enable me in developing a product’s design strategy, this includes presiding over focus group sessions, moderating personal interviews, or conducting a contextual inquiry study.[/perfectpullquote]

The user research exercise is not just relevant to the current state of the product analysis, but as the audience evolves and the product begins to feel redundant, the overlapping data from the market research and user research becomes that much more critical in the product’s design goals. Incidentally, some experts believe in the difference between market research and marketing research though I would like to set aside that debate for now. Instead, the question which I aim to examine in my article deals directly with the significance of market research and user research from the context of a product’s development lifecycle.

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Books

Books On Design Which I Enjoyed In 2017

December 29, 2017 Design
My zest for ‘change’ led me to read books in 2017. here’s my short review of the publications I enjoyed on design and design-thinking.

As 2017 draws to an end, I had resolved from the beginning to make this a productive year, and more than anything, it turned to be a remarkable one as far as my reading goes! At the onset, there was sufficient appetite to read academic books on design and venture on a learning spree with the sole aim to pick new stuff and refresh my knowledge, challenge some preconceived notions, and change some of my perspectives and help me to go beyond the typical ‘design’ paradigm. In my search of knowledge, I also didn’t realize that I was unknowingly being influenced by the experience and writings from IDEO’s brilliant books and I was lucky to have found some lying on my shelves (that I would refer once in a while) but never got myself around to reading them completely. Now was a good opportunity then!

This is my short review of the magnificent and insightful books on design thinking and innovation this year!

Creativity Inc. - Books I Read In 2017

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (by Ed Catmull with Amy Wallace / Publisher: Random House) [Book Website]

In this fascinating essay, Ed Catmull charts his career graph alongside the founding and management of Pixar. From his childhood dream of working for Disney to becoming the current President of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, Catmull recounts his love for animation, leadership, and creativity. In all that, he became instrumental in developing the technology which enabled a newly co-founded animation studio ‘Pixar’ in the 90s to create award-winning movies and disrupt the animation industry forever. In general, this book explores various perspectives in successfully leading initiatives that range from collaboration to communication, and in trying out new ideas fearlessly even if they’re destined to fail. I particularly cherished the chapter, ‘Afterword: The Steve We Knew’ that is dedicated to Steve Jobs – he bought the niche Graphics Group from Lucas Films and spun it into Pixar. My impression about Pixar from reading the book was reinforced, not just as a path-breaking studio but for spearheading the use of technology and collaborative efforts in bringing the finer details of the movie characters on the big screen. And that’s not all, it was most humbling to read about Catmull’s humane qualities as an inspiring leader and an entrepreneur in leading Pixar/Disney’s teams on the large movie projects. It’s an exceptional book and a must read for innovators.

Why Should You Pick This Book?

Having read extensively about Pixar and Steve Jobs’ contribution I was already convinced on getting an ‘insider’s look’ into the processes of the studio. So, just like me, if you are curious about Pixar’s legendary mechanism of making their animation movies that create box-office history over and over again then this book is for you. It’s also inspiring to discover Ed Catmull and his humble beginnings as a computer scientist and leading up to his current standing at Disney. There are some valuable insights to have here. Besides, if you have read the several books on Steve Jobs, you will enjoy reading more about the legendary entrepreneur from a newer perspective.

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Kalo Healthcare Solutions - Final Identity

Kalo Healthcare Solutions – Brand & Identity Design

December 17, 2017 Design
Building a futuristic brand identity for A forward-Thinking Canadian healthcare consulting company.

This holiday interval provided an enriching creative opportunity, and one, which has resulted in an excellent culmination to my 2017. I met with the Founder-CEO of Kalo Healthcare Solutions, a Toronto-based company and involved in digital healthcare consulting for enterprise solutions, and over a coffee, it was decided that I would create a brand identity system for them. After following up with some conversations, I decided to build a branding concept that conveys the message of Kalo’s assiduous focus on its stakeholders, large and small, to transform into digital healthcare by offering both strategic consultation and delivery services. This is a story of the how the brand identity design came into being.

Developing A Narrative

From the beginning, I felt I was dealing with ambiguous data with challenges in forming a right approach for developing the brand identity. So I resorted to a strategy similar to some of the other identities I have designed in which I had to conceive a series of ideas through storytelling in order to get to a metaphorical context for the brand. On the other hand, since the brand of ‘Kalo’ was fairly new I saw ample opportunity to envision a unique brand styling not influenced by its past. I was aiming to connect with a brand value in not just building a mark/symbol with type and colour schema but also depict Kalo’s mission and vision through a story. Since Kalo was a new company, the limited knowledge about its organizational structure and its lack of vision/mission proved to be a blessing, in that I wasn’t constrained in my visualization of what the company could or could not bring to this world. I had a brief which was limited in its information yet brimming with critical touch-points which I could develop into tangible concepts. I was told that ’Kalo’ is a Greek term for ‘good’, and I parked that thought for now. Instead of taking the simple route I deliberately avoided expanding that keyword into concepts and challenged myself to think further and into Greek mythology and culture. I also consciously avoided conceptualizing around the typography, although the alphabet ‘K’ did latch onto my visualization. But in terms of exploring the virtues further, what else could a company named ‘Kalo’ signify?

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