/kaywerlyn – Page 3 – Bite-sized work all in one page

Calibrating Your Cultural Compass (Chapter 5): Response

Calibrating Your Cultural Compass by Jan Chipchase has proved to be an interesting sight for me personally as he talks about the importance of primary research mainly people-watching, observing the environment and connecting with your target consumers personally. With the rise of technology, it is much easier to get hold of information that we do not normally come across with just at the tip of our fingers. However, as Chipchase has pointed it out, I realised and agree that to understand other cultures, or even sometimes our own culture, the connection between our own perception and the people we want to observe is indeed very important. Although second hand information can sometimes be useful, nothing beats having to understand how a person go about their daily lives from the moment he wakes up in the morning to the moment he sleeps at night.

Not only that, people-watching from even before the sun rises can also reveal many things as Chipchase as mentioned like what people who start their day before the sun rises do before they go to work or rather for some people, coming home from work. Even though the information we get from research like these may be useful and plenty, I feel that this might not be the most exemplary as some events may not be happening on the same day as when we go out to observe. Thus, we could miss out some important information as well.

Another method that Chipchase mentioned that caught my attention was observing the signs in an environment. I realized that it is true that signs can communicate many non-verbal details about a country, their authority, their culture and environment that we may not typically see.

Lastly, connecting with the target consumers by interviewing and surveying has also made me discover the importance of knowing them personally rather can just assuming what they do or feel through research that may not provide you with smaller details about their habits or routines.

In conclusion, I feel that even though these three methods that spoke to me through this chapter were insightful and eye-opening, they may not reveal some secrets about a culture or their way of life entirely. With sometimes a chance of missing some information that might be useful or can change our perspective of things, I would like to ask then can we ever be designers that are able to design for every single one of our target consumers?

Also, another question would be how much research is considered as ‘overcollecting data’?

The Design of Everyday Things (Chapter 1): Response

In response to The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman, chapter 1: The Psychopathology of Everyday Things, I believe that good design has to be a human-centered design. I feel that a human-centered design has to be clear and precise about the functions and ability of the product, and the target consumers have to find the product easy to use.

Although I feel that a good product has to be unique, having certain functions that other products do not have, however too many unnecessary functions may not be good. A few years ago, when the washing machine in my house broke down, we had to find a new one to replace it. When we went into the store, my parents realized that all the washing machines were now so advanced that it could wash and dry clothes using just one machine. We had our previous machine for almost 8 years and it could only wash the clothes. My parents had no choice but to buy the advanced washing machine and they had quite a hard time trying to figure out what the many buttons do. There were many functions like a temperature selection and saving a favourite setting. However, in the end, they realised that they only needed a few buttons to get the job done. As for me, having grown up tech-savy, I did understand what the buttons were for, but there were many functions I felt that wasn’t necessary. As an ‘Asian family’ we felt that some money was wasted as we did not utilise the full potential of the machine. A good quote from this chapter is ‘We accept this if the device is indeed complex, but it should be unnecessary for simple things.’

It is said that ‘One discipline argues that it must be usable and understandable, another that it must be attractive, yet another that it has to be affordable. Moreover, the device has to be reliable, be able to be manufactured and serviced.’ In my opinion, yes, this is true, if products were to be used by humans and the designers are humans, then we should be the one to adapt to our products, not the other way round. However, I would like to end this response with two questions: How can designs be made easy and simple when new innovation/function comes in? How can we ensure that for example, household products, are understandable for consumers of all ages?

Field Trip to Harvey Norman

The trip to Harvey Norman exposed me to many different designs and made me aware of the current trends in product designs. In this post, I’d like to discuss and share about what I got from the field trip. 🙂

Two products with emotion factor:

The first product that caught my eye when we walked in was the bread toaster from SMEG. It was then that I realised that the different household products from SMEG had the same characteristics, although they were products of different function. For example, the toaster and the mixer came in colours that were pastel and lighthearted. There is a curvilinear flow to the form, and it makes the products look playful and fun. The knobs and buttons on the products make them similar to products from the 50s, and in other words, retro.

Compared to products that are more rectangular, with sharper edges, products from SMEG make working in the kitchen look ‘fun’ and ‘enjoyable’, which is clearly an emotion-dominant factor.

Two products with similar trends:

If you compare the Tefal handheld vacuum cleaner (left) and the Novita SleekLite Handstick vacuum cleaner (right), you would have realised that both vacuum cleaner have moved away from the old trend and they are now being kept and used vertically upright. This makes cleaning much easier as the user no longer need to bend down when cleaning. This also saves space for storage as the form of these vacuum cleaners are slim and are no longer bulky.

However there are a few differences between the two. The Tefal handheld vacuum cleaner has a triangular base, with makes cleaning the corners and areas that are hard to clean, much easier. A new technology of separating air and dust makes the vacuum cleaner long lasting. The form and aesthetics of the vacuum cleaner is focused on the parts and technology that are inside the vacuum, which means that the form follows the shape of the parts in the vacuum cleaner.

However, the Novita SleekLite Handstick vacuum cleaner focuses more on its aesthetics as it looks more ‘sleek’ and ‘friendly’, similar to products from SMEG. It also comes in colours that are bright and casual, as compared to the Tefal handheld vacuum cleaner which comes in darker shades of blue and purple, and black. The form of the Novita vacuum cleaner is also more simplified as it only consists of a long handle, cylindrical shaped body and a rectangular base. Although the nozzle is able to rotate 180 degrees, it does not allow the user to reach hard to assess areas as well as the Tefal handheld vacuum which has a triangular base.

Even though both the Tefal handheld vacuum cleaner and the Novita SleekLite Handstick vacuum cleaner have jumped on the bandwagon of vertical vacuum cleaners, they clearly are made with different aesthetics and form factors in mind. The Tefal handheld vacuum cleaner is function dominant, whereas the Novita SleekLite Handstick vacuum cleaner is emotion-dominant.

Giving ‘Form’ to a Product

In Lecture 2 we learned that there are 3 nodes that influence the aesthetics or forms of product designs- function, human factors and emotion.

To help illustrate this, I have found 3 product designs that have a dominance of each of the factors.

The Sweeper & Dustpan by Jan Kochanski is an example of a function-dominant product. It is a simple and easy to use product, as it is more convenient for users to empty the dustpan by using the dustpan handle as a funnel. The handle of the sweeper also fits perfectly into the handle of the dustpan, which allows the product to be kept neatly and at the same time minimise the space used to keep it.

A ‘smart’ spoon has been designed by LiftLabs, a San Francisco based company and this is one example of a human factor-dominant product. It was made solely for patients with Parkinson’s disease, and it has a function in the spoon to counter the vibrating motion of the patient’s hands when they are eating.

Lastly, Cacti Coasters by Clive Roddy is an example of an emotion-dominant product. Although one creative way to store the coasters is by interlocking and stacking them up, its purpose is only for cups to rest on it, and prevent your tables from getting dirty. However this fun and interactive way of keeping them brings out curiosity in the user, therefore it is an emotion-dominant product.

Naoto Fukasawa: An Industrial Designer

Naoto Fukasawa

A Japanese industrial designer, his designs are simple, easy to use and minimalistic, much like how I believe that good products should be. Some of his many notable designs include kitchen appliances (specifically toaster, kettle, rice cooker and CD player) for Muji, a Japanese retail company.

One of his Muji designs that I like is the kettle.

The shape of his kettle is simple and rounded, and it is both easy to use and convenient. It is designed to be able to coil and keep the electrical wire under the base of the kettle and you’re able to use the plug by just simply pulling the wire without the trouble of uncoiling the wire.

POV (Final)

Here are the final shots for POV!

Imaginary Lines (Final)

Here are the final shots I took of Imaginary Lines:

POV (Process II)

These are the digital version of my intended zine. I decided to add an introduction about my POV adaption along with an abstract of The Little Prince where he was explaining about the story of the boa constrictor. Also, before every POV piece I added the title and the meaning of the illness.