I’m backkkkkkkk!!! – YAYYYYY (enter sarcastic voice).
Ben Evans James – creates his own work but curates others work.
More prototyping, testing and experimentation. More emphasis on building.
An eye towards the future – thinking about the MA project
What would I like to do after the course
CHRISTMAS BREAKKKKK
We have deadlines after Christmas so I feel like it will be a rush. I am quite far behind on work but I believe the quality of work is good, I’m just worried about the quantity.
I feel very insecure about whether I am doing this course right or wrong. I mainly use this journal for my work as I like to write it all done to get it in my head and refer back to, which doing this throughout my 3 years of my digital media degree it is engraved in my brain.
I get stressed easily which is annoying but I also work productively under stress so I should be alright. I always get things done so all my work will be done and done at high standard/quality.
| PROCESS | – Design Artefact is completed – Design Boards are nearly done |
| INTERSECTIONS | – Need to finalise and neaten up my design artefact – I am feeling bit insecure with my final product as I don’t know whether its the best I could of come up with |
| BOUNDARIES | – Need to do way more research and get my shit together with this module, I spent way too much time on intersections as I changed my design artefact so I have screwed this project time management up bit. |
I struggled a lot with procrastination and my ADHD which really effects my concentration and the production of work so I am stressed how I will manage this over Christmas as I won’t have a lot of time as I will be driving a lot.
I usually result to organisers to stay on track but that never works – I always never look at it or never use it so I noted down the deadline dates on my planner so I knew specifically when the dates are which in panic I can refer to if needs be.
Design, Art and Theory
Nudge design makes it easier for people to make the right choice (manipulate/persuade/influence peoples choices). It can be described as a gentle push in the right direction.
When providing people with options that they have to make a decision on people will usually take the option that is easier, quickly, more attractive or more socially more acceptable (Dewar, 2021).
The design of a voting ashtray makes you get involved by voting instead of throwing your butts on the floor which is proven to cut cigarette litter.
Nudge theory is used to explore, understand, and explain existing influences on how people behave. It allows us to understand how people think, behave and make decisions as well as help people improve their thinking and decisions.
The urinal fly originated in the early 1990s when the cleaning manager at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport wanted to try reduce ‘spillage’ around urinals.
He resolved this problem by engraving small photorealistic images of flies on the urinals (right near the drain) to try get people to aim at the fly when they urinate, preventing splash.
The reason for using a fly was due to how small they are and they are less scary/intimidating than a spider which when presented with a spider it would discourage people from using the urinal which is not the wanted outcome.
The Schiphol Airport manager called Aad Kieboom reported that there was a 80 percent reduction in urinal spillage.
Which related to the 8 percent reduction in bathroom cleaning costs.
Observations of human behavior.
Behavioural economics means the combination of the elements; economics and psychology to understand how and why people behave the way they do within the real world (Witynski).
During class I filled in the sheets below to get me thinking about my project.
Ingraham, C. (2021, November 24). Analysis | what’s a urinal fly, and what does it have to with winning A nobel prize?The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/09/whats-a-urinal-fly-and-what-does-it-have-to-with-winning-a-nobel-prize/
Ghayoomieh, S. (2023, February 21). The power of nudging: How user-centered design can influence behavior and drive business results. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-nudging-how-user-centered-design-can-influence-drive-saeed/
Witynski, M. (n.d.). Behavioral Economics, explained. University of Chicago News. https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/what-is-behavioral-economics#:~:text=Behavioral%20economics%20combines%20elements%20of,decisions%20based%20on%20those%20preferences.
Dewar, S. (2021, July 25). Nudge theory and learning. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nudge-theory-learning-simon-dewar/
Hubbub. (n.d.). Want to see more good in the world? US too. hubbub is an environmental charity that’s all about inspiring action that’s good for the environment and for everyone. we bring businesses, organisations, local authorities and community groups together to create campaigns that make it easier and more possible for all of us to make choices that are good for the environment. https://www.hubbub.org.uk/ballot-bin
Pow, M. (2021, October 28). The art of designing for behavior change. Design Museum Everywhere. https://designmuseumfoundation.org/art-of-designing-for-behavior-change/
Approaching the second brief: Intersections I wanted to improve my knowledge of User-centred design which I can use throughout the second brief.
User-centered design puts users’ needs front and center. The design process relates to focusing on the user’s needs throughout the entire process.
Wicked problems are without an immediate solution, so they are ongoing problems. They are a continual and curated effort to address (Team, 2023).
There is no definitive formula or stopping rule (not knowing your solution is final) for wicked problems.
Examples of wicked problems
| Problem/issue | Is it a wicked problem |
|---|---|
| Global heating | Yes |
| Homelessness | No |
Design thinking is usually a direct, step-by-step approach to addressing a problem.
| UX | UI |
|---|---|
| How users interact with the system – users entire journey to solve a problem | Focused on how the product looks and feels |
| Creating a positive experience | Focuses on visual |
| Conducting research | How interactive it is |
| Focus on the purpose and functionality of the end product | Typography, colour schemes, icons and buttons |
The images above (Bruton , 2023) show the good vs bad UX. The first image of the Garnier body lotion pump bottle is a failed UX design as it isn’t convenient for when you have reached the end of the bottle and can’t get the last pumps of cream out when you know there is more lotion remaining at the bottom of the bottle.
The next image (with the squeezy lotion bottle) is a good example of UX. The packaging design makes it a way better, more efficient design, due to the narrow opening at the top which allows you to easily squeeze out every last drop of lotion. The smaller opening also prevents you from getting too much out and wasting lotion.
| Human centred design | User centred design |
|---|---|
| Basic accessibility and and usability of the design interface | Only focuses it on the user experience |
| Solving context based design problems by coming up with appropriate strategies | User friendliness of the overall design |
| Empathy of people | User engagement Expanding product outcome |
| Relationship between the person and the digital product | Navigate the user journey to remove roadblocks |
| ‘Why‘ create a product for people? | Focuses on the ‘How‘ aspect of design |
| The general purpose of the digital product | Considers psychological principles relating to particular user issues for the digital product |
Team, N. E. (2023, February 14). Wicked problem and design thinking. Network for Nonprofit and Social Impact. https://nnsi.northwestern.edu/wicked-problem-and-design-thinking/
Paduraru, A. (2021, July 15). UI/UX Design Guide: What are Ui Designers, and how are they different than UX designers?. freeCodeCamp.org. https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/ui-ux-design-guide/
Bruton , L. (2023, November 13). 6 everyday ux examples (that aren’t websites or apps). UX Design Institute. https://www.uxdesigninstitute.com/blog/6-everyday-ux-examples/
Haladker, S. (2022, January 6). Human-centered design vs. user-centered design: What are the key differences?. Rippledesign. https://www.rippledesign.co/post/human-centered-design-vs-user-centered-design-what-are-the-key-differences#:~:text=The%20human%2Dcentered%20design%20principle,the%20desirability%20of%20digital%20products.
Following on from Bryan’s lecture on the 27th October I came across a news article on BBC News (shown below) which reminded me of what Bryan had mentioned in the lecture which was Hostile Design.
The article talks about how Suella Braverman wants to introduce new penalties in England and Wales for homeless people that have rejected offers of help from authorities.
She stated that the plan was to stop: “Those who cause nuisance… by pitching tents in public spaces“(Leigh, 2023) – referring to homeless people as nusiances is disgusting behaviour.
I personally believe we should be designing solutions to help homelessness, not making homeless people feel even more less inferior to us. They are people not objects!
I do understand both arguments as Suella states that;
We cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice. British cities will go the way of places in the US like San Francisco and Los Angeles, where weak policies have led to an explosion of crime, drug taking and squalor”
(Leigh, 2023)
I do understand the above statement as of course it is a scenario that can arise which would be a stressful situation to be in. I personally always feel on edge when passing someone who approaches me asking for money as I don’t know how they are going to react but her use of words is disrespectful and disgraceful.
Leigh, S. (2023, November 4). Home secretary Suella Braverman wants to restrict use of tents by homeless. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-67321319
Reflecting on Jazzy Olive’s workshop it made me understand the importance of listening to your client and constantly when designing and creating thinking about the client and the solution they need/require. Not something you want to design that is cool or ‘new’ its about the client.
On the first day of the workshop (after interviewing our client called Rue Irvine) I struggled with communicating with my team about what the client wanted, as my team wanted to think about designing and focusing on coloured skin patches for our client’s diabetes pump (to make the pump less noticeable). This wasn’t what Rue wanted. I listened to Rue and her needs throughout the interview and I understood that she was very confident in her invisible disability (having diabetes), which on that topic she commented that people ask her a lot about her pump in public and she wished that she wouldn’t have to explain it and there was something that explained it for her.
After hearing her say that it was a lightbulb moment for me and I knew that was the problem we had to solve.
As said previously my team kept forgetting what the client wanted and just wanted to come up with new, cool ideas but they were irrelevant to what Rue truly wanted and needed. I verbally said that what she wants is a tool that starts conversation and I really pushed to voice that they were thinking more about them and what they could create instead of thinking of Rue.
To conclude I have learnt when working with a client I have to really listen and pay attention to what the client needs, requires and constantly put myself in their shoes instead of assuming.
“Good design is all about making other designers feel like idiots because that idea wasn’t theirs.”
Frank Chimero
Fiona Neil Design Research Journal 