WEEK 6 | USER CENTRED DESIGN

Simplicity  

• designing simplicity is the process of elimination. Means that to remove unnecessary complexity, make it simple and can easily understand by the audience and simplicity is not simple. 

Chunking

• According to about.com, chunking is a term to the process of taking individual units of information (chunks) and grouping them into larger units. Probably the most common example of chunking occurs in phone numbers. For example, a phone number sequence of 4-7-1-1-3-2-4 would be chunk into 471-1324. Chunking is often a useful tool when memorizing large amounts of information. By separating disparate individual elements into larger blocks, information becomes easier to retain and recall. 

Contrast

• Contrast can be defined by the difference in color and brightness of some object. It depends on how people see the object whether it is contrast to them or not. Contrast in object can makes the object more stands out than the plain ones. Usually people are tends to look forward to objects that  is interesting and attractive. The pictures below show the contrast in color. 

Visual Variables

• Visual variables can be classified as cartographic symbolization. It has images, icon, symbols that used for translating an information. It don't use word to send the message but only used symbolization to give the message to people when they look at it. For example, symbol on the public toilet. Some of the public toilet does not have a text written as 'male' or 'female' but only have an icon but still people know the meaning of the symbol. Same as the signage on the road. It doesn't have words but it gives a strength message and people understand it well. 

 

User Centred Design

• Usability.gov said that user centred design (USD) is an approach for employing usability. It is a structured product development methodology that involves users throughout all stages of web site development, in order to create a web site that meets users needs. This approach considers an organization's business objectives and the user's needs, limitations, and preferences. 

The goal of UCD is to produce products that have a high degree of usability. A good design is based on the customer because only customer knows what they want the design looks like. A design is a work among the designer and the customer. A designer should listen to customer's idea and tries to understand what they want. Communication is the important part because if the designer misunderstood the information gave by the customer, the outcome might be worse. To avoid that, the designer should do some research regarding to the information that be given from the customer so that the final outcome will be much better and might be a good design. 

AISYAH ALWANI
1102702359

Week 6 | How To Create User-Centred Design

My friends have posted some of the definition of User-Centred Design, the characteristics of it and the example.


So I would like to discuss about how to create User-Centred Design?

These are some of the crucial aspects that need some concentration :
-Communication

Designer should have do some survey, observation and analysis of how the particular design should be. They should ask people's opinion, put them at the real situation and ask them and take necessary information that will contributes in making a good design. 


-Process

Follow the process!


-Discussion

Discuss among researches and designers, make a conclusion.

Conclusions-

Now you got the answer. Your design might be the User-Centred Design after you follow these process. You are few steps from SUCCESS!


Anis Afiqah Mohd Farid
1102701839

Week 6 | User-centred Design

User is many people. Every person has their own preferences, personal reason of how they define beauty and how they see things aesthetically.


So as the designer, who designs for people, target market and for the people who need it, has to create designs that are user-centred.



Above is the user-centred design life cycle


So what is user-centred design? why user-centred design?
User-centred design means design that meets major peoples need. People can accept it, like it, adore it, and go crazy about it just like what Steve Jobs did for an iPhone. The reason is everybody will like it and use it and can stand to look at it for hours and days. It is a pleasure to them. Why? because iPhone suits users need. iPhone is the best example of user-centred design!





Muhammad Syafiq Bin Ridzuan
1102701969

Week 6 | User Centered Design

User-centered design (UCD) or pervasive usability is a design philosophy and a process in which the needs, wants, and limitations of end users of a product are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process. User-centered design can be characterized as a multi-stage problem solving process that not only requires designers to analyze and foresee how users are likely to use a product, but also to test the validity of their assumptions with regards to user interaction in real world tests with actual users. Such testing is necessary as it is often very difficult for the designers of a product to understand intuitively what a first-time user of their design experiences, and what each user's learning curve may look like.

UCD seeks to answer questions about users and their tasks and goals, then use the findings to drive development and design.

UCD seeks to answer questions such as:

Who are the users of this 'thing'?

What are the users’ tasks and goals?

What are the users’ experience levels with this thing, and things like it?

What functions do the users need from this thing?

What information might the users need, and in what form do they need it?

How do users think this 'thing' should work?

How can the design of this ‘thing’ facilitate users' cognitive processes?

UCD can improve the usability and usefulness of everything from "everyday things" (D. Norman) to software to information systems to processes. . . anything with which people interact. As such, User-Centered Design concerns itself with both usefulness and usability.

*User-Centered Design has cuts costs and increases user satisfaction and productivity.

ABDUL HADI BIN ABDUL HARIS

1102702580

Week 6 | USER-CENTERED DESIGN

The 3 main principle of human perception were Chunking, Visual variables and Gestalt

Graphic Design Guidelines are balance, simplicity, contrast, alignment and white space.

So what is simplicity?

Simplicity is not simple as you were lazy. To design something simplicity needs a process of elimination and delete whatever that is unnecessary. Everything that we eliminated should have a good reason and all the remain things also should have reasons. 'Foreshadowing' is what they called it in film.

What is chunking?

Chunking ia bite size of easy storage. The elements of PERCEPTION plus MEMORY equal to CHUNKS. Forming chunks in working memory depends on how information is presented.

What is contrast?

Make information stands out and shows the differences along a visual dimension.

What is visual variables?

Encoding DATA plus DRAWING. It was used for communication. There are two types of visual variables which is :

1. Selectivity

+ degree of a single value selected from the entire visual field

+ most variables are selectivity

+ it's hard to pick out triangles

+ shape are not selective

+ locate objects at a glance

2. Associativity

+ opposite of selectivity

+ something that blends into one another

What is white space (negative space)? 

A space between 2 or more elements like text, graphics or other elements which helps separate them from one another.

What is balance?

It acts as a gravity of the whole design making the design visually balance by putting certain form of elements in the correct position.

Three types of balance in design :

+ Symmetrical balance

+ Asymmetrical balance

+ Radial balance

What is alignment?

Positioning of the images and text so that they are in line with each other to group items, to create visual connections or to organize page elements and to create order.

What are Gestalt Principles?

+ Proximity

+ Similarity

+ Continuity

+ Closure

+ Area

+ Symmetry

UCD 

System-Centered Design - User-Centered Design (UCD)

It shifts focus from the designer of the application to the user of the application.

In Wikipedia, UCD is a design philosophy and a process in which the needs, wants, and limitations of end users of a product are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process. User-centered design can be characterized as a multi-stage problem solving process that not only requires designers to analyze and foresee how users are likely to use a product, but also to test the validity of their assumptions with regards to user behaviour in real world tests with actual users. For example, the user-centered design process can help software designers to fulfill the goal of a product engineered for their users. User requirements are considered right from the beginning and included into the whole product cycle. These requirements are noted and refined through investigative methods including: ethnographic study, contextual inquiry, prototype testing, usability testing and other methods. Generative methods may also be used including: card sorting, affinity diagramming and participatory design sessions. In addition, user requirements can be inferred by careful analysis of usable products similar to the product being designed.

AZANISA 

1102702292

Week 5 | The importance of graphic design

Graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas. The designer works with a variety of communication tools in order to convey a message from a client to a particular audience. The main tools are image and typography.

Graphics are required in our everyday’s life. The strong meaning of graphic stimulates a person to reach at the same moment. All over the world, graphic are being designed by the millions of graphic designers to attract people and increase the sales of a business activity.

To make a graphic really attractive and adorable, proper arrangement of graphics needs to be done. A graphic becomes meaningful when it defines the text given below properly and images to produce a coherent and interesting piece of work, according to the end goal. The purpose of graphic designing is not limited to that only but it plays a special role in improving sales of a company.

Also, the web graphic designs help in improving the look of the layout of a website, attract the viewers, convey the message of the company and stimulate their senses effectively.

As a conclusion, graphic design plays an important role in art and design worlds nowadays.

ABDUL HADI BIN ABDUL HARIS

11027002580

Week 5 | Graphic Design

Based on arga.org, graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas. As my personal opinion, graphic design is a medium which deliver information to an audience. It is to make things simply beautiful. Graphic design uses color, type and composition as well. They are very vital component. It is to create effective visual communication. They also use a wide variety of communication tools. The main tools are image and typography.

Designers nowadays are capable on creating something that people would understand even it is complicated at the first look. They are the examples of good designers. We apply graphic design usually for logos and branding (corporate identity), publication (magazines), advertisement, and product packaging.

Logo

Miscellaneous

Publication

Nike's

Packaging

These are some good examples of graphic design. They are simple and I am sure that everyone knows what those designers are trying to deliver and present. They play the biggest role on inventing something new to the world to see. Graphic design is important so as the designers.

Anis Afiqah Mohd Farid

1102701839

Week 5 | Graphic Design

Week 5 lecture was given by Mr Radzi Bedu emphasized about Graphic Design.

Above is the example of Graphic Design. Okay, what can you see?

• colors
• shapes
• forms
• words
• etc

Above is what happens in globalization era. Do you know back in the day there was no proper language like now? Maybe there was sign language and very basic verbal language.


As time flies by, language and communication exist.


So what language and communication has to do with graphic design? 
What is graphic design actually?
It is a visual communication. It use images, symbols and words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. Graphic design can be found in corporate identity(logo & branding), web sites, publications such as magazines, newspaper, advertisement and product packaging.


What graphic design work with?

images

 

text 

drawing 

painting

illustration 

The roles of graphic design :

• informs
• persuades
• organizes
• stimulates 
• locates
• identifies
• attracts attention
• provides pleasure

Graphic Design has now be a part of our lives.

Muhammad Syafiq Bin Ridzuan

1102701969

WEEK 5 | GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graphic design is a creative process of thinking. It is how me manipulate and visualising our ideas in the form of designing print or electronic forms of visual information, as for an advertisement, publication, or a website.

For examples, a decoration on a wall

 An advertisement poster -coca cola-

Graphics on a CD

As for Quentin Newark, Graphic design is the most universal of all the arts. It is all around us, explaining, decorating, identifying; imposing meaning on the world... Without graphic design's process and ingredients - structure and organisation, word and image, differentiation - we would have to receive all our information by the spoken word. We would enter another Dark Ages, a thousand years of ignorance, prejudice, superstition and very short lifespans.

So, in the nutshell, graphic design is an important role in nowadays design process.

AZANISA  

1102702292

WEEK 5 | GRAPHIC DESIGN

According to about.com, the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletter, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication. Today's graphic designers often use desktop publishing software and techniques to achieve their goals. 

A good graphic design is when people can understand, feel, and get the message that the designer wanted to show. It must create something that can catch and pleasing people's eye, and grab attention of the viewer. Good design is like connection. It can connect and communicate with the audience through an interesting design. A good design combines creative, technical, and research skill together. 

ads poster

 product packaging

 printed media(book)

typography poster

However, to achieved an outstanding design, it's necessary to know whether the audience will understands the message that the designer wanted to share is delivered or not. A designer that trying to design without it is like trying to communicate without knowing the language of the audience. It's easy to create a design but it's hard to create a good design. Something that we must think outside the box. 

AISYAH ALWANI

1102702359

Week 4 | Affordance

 Affordance is the quality of an object, or an environment, which allows an individual to perform an action.
It also can be explain as a situation where an object’s sensory characteristics intuitively imply its functionality and use.
For example,
A button, by being slightly raised above an otherwise flat surface, suggests the idea of pushing it. A lever, by being an appropriate size for grasping, suggests pulling it. A blinking red light and buzzer suggests a problem and demands attention. A chair, by its size, its curvature, its balance, and its position, tells people to sit on it.

As a designer, affordance is a thing that need to be applied because sometimes we need to make user know how to operating the product without telling them in details, which is to make user feels comfortable and it is easy to use  without reading the instructions first.

The common psychological term for this is stimulus-response compatibility.

ABDUL HADI BIN ABDUL HARIS
1102702580

Week 4 | Affordance

What is affordance?

An affordance is the design aspect of an object that suggests how the object should be used when the time we see it. Basically, affordance is the perspective view and the combination of experience of the users on seeing and using the object based on its design without a description on how to use it. For example a stapler. When we see it, we know how to use it immediately because of the good affordance aspects. Even though there were lots of stapler's designs but yet the experience of using it make it affordance and people still know how to use it to combining papers together even the shapes are not like staplers anymore.

staplers

We know that chair is made for us to sit, toothbrush is made for us to brushes our teeth and many more things in the world that actually relate to affordances. In technology, affordance is important on how people will be interacting with the technology. For example, a computer or a laptop keyboard. Yes laptops do have a lot different brand like Dell, HP and Acer but they still have the way to use it and we know how to use it because the keyboard have the same letter arrangements all the time and we have already knew that based on our experinceand we are familiar to it and we knew we can use the letter button to make words and that is called an affordance. Some other technologies that need affordance is hand-phone and calculator.

Why we need affordances in design?

This is because it helps the users on how to use the product and to not make the users frustrated when they were confused on how to use the product. "When the product can explain itself, it has a good affordance." 

AZANISA
1102702292

Week 4 | What is Affordance?

According to Norman (1988) an affordance is the design aspect of an object which suggest how the object should be used. On the other hand, from my understanding, affordance is an ability of an object to tell the user how it functions. For instance, a scissor. When you see it, you know how to hold it, just place your two fingers through each hole and pull it up and down by using your effort. 

Affordance is a very crucial aspect when it comes to design a product so that every user knows how to use it. It is very convenient for us to use it without reading an instruction. Our mind will automatically tell us how to use it when we're looking at it. Another example -

Box tissue. It's very high affordance because our eyes will immediately drawn to the exposed tissue then pull it up, easy as that. Plus, the texture of the tissue is smooth when it comes out of the box so it proves that box tissue is high affordance. In our everyday life, an affordance is the key aspect of a good design. No matter how outstanding your product is, if it's low in affordance, it isn't a success.

Anis Afiqah Mohd Farid

1102701839

Week 4 | An Affordance

Affordance is the quality of an object or atmosphere which makes an individual perform an action.


My basic understanding of affordance reflects this in my mind.

With affordance, we know we have to press the holder in order to make the fire extinguisher to function. Affordance is what we learn from past, from experience and what makes our mind think of the thing in the way it works.

Even animals learn from observation. That's how some monkeys can ride a bicycle or do anything which they learn from human being and each other. We just need to take up space and need some times to realize what is the thing for and how will it works.

More example

Ask yourself, how do you turn on the shower. Without any instruction, your mind tells you nothing can do with it, you can't push it, you can't pull it but you can twist it. 

Affordance in Design

Why have affordance in design?

Designer has to design with intent and designing specific affordances to guide users.

Look at the photo above, it is a sound controller for windows. Just from looking at it, you know that you have to scroll it up to increase the volume and scroll it down to decrease it. More, just one shape of box for turn it into mute mood. 

You know it by an Affordance.

Muhammad Syafiq Bin Ridzuan

1102701969

WEEK 4 | AFFORDANCE

What is affordance ? wikipedia said that an affordance is the quality of an object, or an environment, which allows an individual to perform an action. For example, twisting a door knobs, ball is for throwing or bouncing, chair is for sitting and so on. These example are good affordance because we don't need a manual instructions for what to do with the object. 

Even the kids know how to switch on and off. The point is, our brain react what to do once we see an object that clearly we know exactly how to play with it. Like a robot dog, AIBO or Artificial Intelligent Robot is a very brilliant robot dog. It can walk, see, plays with human, also can recognize a commands in English and Spanish. Its like a real dog. Do everything like a real dog except for eating and pooping. Its all programmed to this robot dog so that the robot can do almost everything. Like when it see the ball, it know that it must catch the ball when the owner throw it. It is very easy to handle this robot dog because it act like a real dog! 

The most important thing is design. Design in affordance is important and its a must because it will make the user comfortable and easy to use it without reading the instructions first. A good affordance is when it can tell you how to use it by itself. But when the design is good but it not come to satisfaction to the user, its not a good affordance. It need to be balance, so that the user will satisfied and enjoy using it. 

AISYAH ALWANI

1102702359