Thoughtful Interaction Design: Response

This reading was quite insightful for me. As time passes and technology develops, we can all agree that we will continue to develop products that uses technology for a very long time. In this chapter, Lowgren discusses what good and bad design is, and what designers should go through to develop a good thinking process and design.

In a way, this chapter reminds me of the project I’m currently doing in Product Design 3, which is an IoT (Internet of Things) product. Though the process of designing something that requires technology, I realise that many products do require new technology for it to be a better user experience for the consumers, and that the design process and situations that the users will encounter is indeed very important.

To me, a good design is not only something that is aesthetically pleasing, but also a design that is able to serve its consumers with convenience. I agree with Lowgren too that to a certain extent, we do need to adapt to the product but something has to attract the users to buy and try out the product in the first place. A good design attracts its potential users, thinks about the situation in all ways, gives the user a good experience and good feelings of using it.


One good design that I’ve come across is of course, smart phones. Every year, we are able to update the software of the phone and this shows that they are constantly reviewing the user experience of their product. The portability and countless apps that we have in our phones makes us feel that we can be connected to people all the time and that gives us, as consumers, a sense of security. Not only that, it entertains us and keeps us in the loop of everything. It considers every situation that we might be in, for example in the iPhone there is a ‘Find my phone’ app to track our phones in case we lose it, which is why the smart phone is a thoughtful design. The fact that almost everyone is using it already proves its worth.

Another good design that I feel is the Taihi bin, which is a kitchen compost bin that converts food waste to liquid that is able to fertilise plants. This bin counters the continuous problem of food waste and turns it into something that can be useful for users. It might seem as a new technology, but in fact it is inspired by the century old Japanese method of composting, which I find is interesting as a method that has been there for a long time can also be developed into a current product. This product does not require new sets of habits for the user, as they can just dispose their food normally, which is quite thoughtful as people would be hesitant of a product that disrupts their normal routine. It also makes the users feel fulfilled, as they turn the act of wasting into conserving, which is why I feel that it is a thoughtful design.

Author: Kaywerlyn

A product design year 3 student from the School of Art, Design and Media, NTU.

Leave a Reply