Web Directions Day 2
FEB 9th 2007 • 2 Comments
Kelly Goto started today's events speaking about the process of designing technology to work with everyday life. Companies such as Google and Apple really serve as examples of how to make the user experience the best that it can be.
Designing for Lifestyle
As an example, she compared two coffee machines, one was very simple, clean and straightforward, the other was very bright, colorful and full of nobs, dials, and buttons. The first is practical the second is emotional. The first has a good user interface, the second had a horrible user interface. Although, to be fair, the first was a simple drip coffee maker and the second was an espresso machine.
Even though the example was weak in my opinion, a better example would be Apple's remote compared to the Windows Media center remote as demonstrated by Steve Jobs at one of his keynotes. Her concept is right on. I'm tired of devices and services that are just so poorly designed that they're just loaded down with bells and whistles that people don't need. My cellphone is the perfect example of a very bloated device that's horrible to use.
The Design Process
Dave Shea and Veerle Pieters presented their thoughts on the process. This was definitely my favorite event of today, and the most inspirational. Dave said he's most productive in a coffee house type environment that has no wifi access. I totally feel the same way in that there are some times when I just have to quit all of my internet applications to just remove the distractions that are constantly popping up. Macbreak had an interesting episode about the distracted mac that has some useful tips for those with this problem.
Both of them had many interesting on every aspect of the design process. I found it very inspirational!posted in: Design |
Sheri Bigelow • Feb 18th 2007 • 5:24 pm
Thanks for the link to the distracted mac MacBreak episode. I watched it and found it quite interesting. Expanding the conversation, what about audio distractions? Working in a cubicle, I sometimes find that I need to plug in and turn up a bit of classical music in order to block out everyday noises. I suspect work-at-home freelancers find this to be less of a problem. Personally, I am quite distracted at cafes, so many interesting people and conversations! However, I must admit that it probably depends on the cafe and your particular vantage point within it.
Dave Joyce • Feb 20th 2007 • 6:39 pm
I'll just put on rock or jazz or whatever can drown out the noise. Classical can get too quiet sometimes. The music actually helps keeps me awake when I'm tired too.
Coffee houses aren't really distracting to me, I find them incredibly inspirational. It makes a very creative atmosphere that I can't duplicate anywhere else. But yah, if you get into a conversation with someone, that can be a problem =/