Campus Analysis

I observed the Kalamazoo College Quad. Its purpose is to act as a social area where students can go and relax under the shade of a tree and read a book or do various outdoor activities. I made my observations on 11/16/08 at about 4:00PM.

The Quad is a large open area in the middle of the campus with seating arrangements from anywhere on the grass to under a tree to ledges, benches, tables, and stairs. The area is very inviting and friendly and you can almost always find someone out on the Quad when the weather is nice. Floors concrete or brick pavers with concrete sidewalks and stairs and ground cover is grass and landscaping. The sound level is moderate--ranging anywhere from quiet to loud. The materials used to construct the place are brick pavers, concrete, plant materials, steel, and other various materials.

This area projects a natural, relaxing image where students can take a break from everything and hang out with friends. There is very little concrete--only the sidewalk and steps--and there is a lot of landscaping and open grass with large trees. It is a very relaxing setting and it can be reflexive to the person who feels connected with nature when they are there. I think this is the image that the school wants to project.

People socialize all over the quad, whether they are standing in the middle of the grass or off to the side on the stairs, ledges, or benches. Students use the trees to provide shade and often relax in the chairs and benches all over the Quad.

I liked how the Quad was centrally located on campus so all of the students and even faculty and visitors interact with it on a daily basis.

Principles oof Marketing

Marketing is affected greatly by design. The company must design a marketing plan which relates to a specific target demographic of consumers. The design of products, their packaging, and their brands are key to marketing. These designs help the company better market their product by creating an easy way to remember it. In my opinion, the most important elements of marketing are the brand names and package designs because they are what most influence the consumer when making a purchase.

Branding and marketing is closely related to the design of experiences. Many companies market their product as an experience. Brands are carefully thought about and marketing is targeted to attract the largest possible amount of customers. The better experience a customer has with a certain brand the more established the brand name is.

Kalamazoo College's brand is one of prestige. The important elements of K's brand position are its mascot, logo, and academic standing. Kalamazoo is very well known for its academics and its logo can be easily recognized. Design reinforces K's brand because of the way K's experience is designed. It is a rigorous academic experience at a small private institution.

The Experience Architect

I feel that the writer stresses that the design of an experience is as important as, if not more important than, the design of products. This is often a somewhat cheap way to provide customers with an experience that will keep them coming back for repeat purchases. Certain "trigger points" such as comfortable beds in hotels are used to attract customers and keep them coming back. If the experience is good the customer is going to want to enjoy it again.

The design of experiences and the design of products are very similar yet at the same time quite different. Experiences are designed to instill a certain memory in the customer to keep them coming back for that same kind of experience. Products are a one-time buy and only have to attract the user at the time of the purchase. Design of experiences and products go hand in hand--if a customer has a good experience, they are more likely to buy that product.

If I were to plan a social, community-building activity for our class with a $100.00 budget I would plan a flag football tournament. The $100.00 would go to providing flags and footballs for the games.

The Third Place

Ray Oldenburg defines a third place as "an informal public gathering place where the main activity is conversation." He is typically talking about pubs, libraries, health spa's, coffee shops, etc. It is a place where people can relax and not have to worry about their problems and socialize with their friends.

Successful third places are designed to welcome everyone. They should be very comfortable and inviting. These third places should be very reflexive, reminding those there of home and bringing everyone closer.

I believe that the Game Room in the Kalamazoo Campus has potential to be a successful third place because it is very friendly and inviting. It has a lot of activities to do and a lot of students go there to meet with their friends. This is a great place to get the stress of school off your mind. This could be improved by making the Game Room more comfortable because there are some things that shouldn't be where they are and it makes for an uncomfortable situtation.

City

Whyte's key points in this chapter are that sitting space, functionality, and location are the determining factors of whether are plaza will succeed or fail. Furthermore, the type, height, and depth of seating are all considered in designing a successful plaza because there are certain ranges where people feel most comfortable. Also, location is important, but the plaza must also be visible to the passerbyer. If a plaza does not serve its function, it is doomed for failure.

The design factors (reflexive, visceral, and functional) all play key roles in the design of both urban spaces and consumer products. Both urban spaces and consumer products must give the user/consumer a good feel of the space/product whether it be reflexive, visceral, or functional. In some ways, functionality is more important in urban spaces because if it does not serve its function it will fail. This can also be true of a consumer product; however, this is only true for those that fall under the functional catagory.

My checklist, based on Whyte's ideas, that I would use to analyze an urban space would be as follows:

• Seating -- is there enough, what kinds of seating are there (moveable, benches, ledges, stairs), height of seating (is it comfortable), depth of seating (deep enough for two, deep enough for one, comfortable depth), and size (keep enough distance between strangers).
• Functionality -- does this plaza do what it is supposed to do (attract people to sit, eat, and socialize)
• Location -- is this plaza located near the downtown area (how close is it).
• Visibility -- can it be seen by passerbyers easily, not sunken or raised

Downtown Kalamazoo

I thought that, overall, the downtown Kalamazoo area was pretty attractive. It had very nice sidewalks and some nice generators--the bars, the park, restaurants, and some of the stores. However, the area was somewhat dirty, and this could be unattractive. The beggars that were heckling the shoppers was another turn off. There are a lot of benches and trees which, according to Gibbs, distracts shoppers.

One recommendation for the downtown would be to clean up the streets, sidewalks, and back alleys. They were all pretty dirty and unappealing. The next thing I would do would be to get the beggars off the sidewalks by adding more security, this would make this a safer place for shoppers and would take away the discomfort of beggars. Finally, I would add some more appealing stores to the downtown area, maybe some more high end stores with big names that would attract a more sophisticated crowd of shoppers.

"The shade trees and planter boxes? Lovely, he says, but they block shoppers' view of shop windows and signs. Those handsome groupings of benches and tables? They seem inviting until Gibbs points out that they often attract teenagers and other loiterers, who scare off shoppers. The elegant Victorian streetlamps, the expensive trash cans, and the distinctive granite paving stones--"so beautiful that people will stare at them as they walk by the storefronts," Gibbs says--are little more than money down the drain. Their costs must be amortized over many years, but long before they have been paid off (and before the town can afford to replace them) they will be old-fashioned, marking the entire street as out of date and out of step."

This had great relevance to downtown Kalamazoo. It had a lot of, according to Gibbs, unnecessary benches, tables, and trees that ultimately distract shoppers and attract other kinds of people such as teenagers which scares shoppers away. The sidewalks are very interesting, and Gibbs will point out that people will stare at them as they pass a store. The downtown area looks very appealing and expensive, which means that the entire street will soon be out of date and Kalamazoo will not be able to afford to renovate it.

What Main Street Can Learn From The Mall

Robert Gibbs closely compares Main Street with large shopping and strip center malls. He believes that the downtown areas should take into consideration the entire appearance of the downtown, not just the stores themselves. Gibbs main criteria is as follows:

1. Stores should be on the righthand side whereas coffee shops and cafes should be on the left. This matches with the flow of traffic.
2. Downtown should be comfortable--sidewalks and roadways should be maintained, rest areas should not invite loitering, and police/security should be present to provide reassurance.
3. Storefronts need to appeal to both the walking shopper as well as those driving through the downtown.
4. Should have around 20,000sf of retail space to make the trip worthwhile to shoppers. Also, should contain well known stores as well as one-of-a-kind stores; shoppers like a good mix.
5. Traffic should be slowed down in a downtown area so drivers cannot fly through, this gives drivers more time to look at store displays.
6. Main Street should not be too fancy, attractive sidewalks and other features distract shoppers from what is important, the stores.
7. Display name brands that are sold at stores; this makes the downtown more attractive.
   

I do not think that "Main Street" should be a mall; however, I do believe that it should resemble one. Downtown areas need to have slower traffic and similar displays to that of a mall to attract shoppers and invite them into the stores. Also, downtown areas need to have a lot of retail space along with well known and rare stores.

If I were to judge a Main Street, my checklist would be similar to that of Gibbs. Some things that would be important to me are:

1. Good variety of stores, both name brand and one-of-a-kind.
2. Clean walking area and inviting storefronts.
3. High traffic area with slow automobile traffic.
4. Comfortable shopping area as described above.
   

Retail Analysis

1. I observed the Abercrombie & Fitch store. They market to upper-middle class teens from the ages 13-18.
2. a. From the outside, the store looks very inviting. There are numerous manikins on display in the windows displaying all the latest fashions and designs. The entrance is very large and allows users to go right or left upon entering; right being male and left being female.
   b. The store plays very loud music, mostly techno and some electropop.
   c. The are various displays of merchandise, from clothing racks to tables with assorted clothes. They have a large amount of clothes on display and for sale, giving the customer a lot of choices.
   d. The floor is carpet.
   e. There are signs all over the store informing shoppers about current sales and directing them to the cashier area. These signs are blue with a white outline and white text, the stores colors.
   f. The cashier area is located at the back of the store, forcing potential buyers to make their way through the entire store.
3. The business tries to reflect a very trendy, cool image. Their loud techno music and overpowering smell of perfume and cologne along with their vintage clothing style show this. Also, they have pictures of half naked men and women plastered all over their walls, displaying their clothing.
   
4. Many customers enjoyed the design of the store; however, some were overtaken by the smell and loud music. The customers were typically young teens, some with their parents, most with their friends.
5. I found it interesting that they have sectioned off the store, one side for male, the other for female. However, in the middle of the store, they have mixed in male and female items so that the customer must explore more of the store. I was also intrested to see that they put the cashier area in the back of the store, along with the dressing rooms, so that the customer must travel to the very back of the store to make a purchase or try on some clothes.
   

The Science of Shopping

The most important points in this article were the Invariant Right, the Decompression Zone, typing, and "point of view." The Invariant Right says that shoppers almost always turn right when entering a store; therefore, the retailer should put its most attractive products to the right of the entrance. Also, this goes with Underhill's idea that stores should always be on the right-hand side because shoppers tend to walk on the right-hand side. The Decompression Zone is the area outside of the store where the shopper must "decompress" or notice a product that they like, slow down from walking speed to shopping speed, and enter the store. Typing is what retailers use to describe their potential shoppers by putting them into categories and subcategories. They use typing to describe what the people in these areas like to do. The "point of view" of a store is how the shopper feels when they enter. The store should not feel like a store; instead, it should be an experience. For example, the Kelvin Klien store's display is simmilar to that of an art gallery, giving the shopper a more personal experience.

Personally, when I enter a store for the first time, the design and the items on display in the windows usually attract me to the store. If I like the atmosphere of the store, I am more likely to buy a product from that store because I feel comfortable there. Also, the products themselves play a big role in what I buy. If I like the products and the design of the store, I am way more likely to buy a product than if I only liked the product.

My checklist to analyze a retail store is as follows:
1. Is the store on the right?
2. Is there good products in the store?
3. Are the most attractive products in the front?
4. Are the necessary products in the back?
5. How does the store make you feel?

Isn't It Iconic / The Power Of The Box

Packaging is very important in marketing a product; however, the product itself is also important. Consumers will a buy a product because its package is viscerally appealing but if the product inside the package doesn't serve its purpose, they will not buy that product again. Packaging is a very important aspect of "impulse purchases" because people buy a product because of the way it is packaged. Furthermore, packaging is important for prestigious name brands such as Coca-Cola because people can easily identify with the package.

Other products that have iconic packaging are Pepsi, Pringles, and Downy.

Usability can be an issue when it comes to packaging. Some packages only serve a visceral purpose and other packages are not durable enough. Also, some packages are awkward in shape or size, making them difficult to transport and store. An example of a usable package would be anything that is resealable so you can store the product in there even after the package has been opened.

Biggest Mistakes in Web Design 1995-2015

This reading states, numerous times, that the design of websites should always be user-focused. This is because you are making your website for the user, not for yourself. The author goes on to discuss that everything should be very easy to read and navigate, and that the designer should consider the user in every aspect of their design.

I feel that the point about navigation was very important because when a website is hard to navigate, I often get flustered at how confusing it is to get from one web page to another. I also thought that the author's point on color schemes was important because many websites are very hard to read when they use two colors that do not contrast well, one for text and the other as the background.

If I were to create a list of important design factors for a web page, it would look similar to the following:

1. Color Scheme
2. Simple Navigation
3. User-friendly
4. Flash/Non-Flash
5. Style
6. Layout
7. Content
   

Know It All

The author stresses the accuracy of Wikipedia compared to that of Encyclopedia Britannica. It is very important for an encyclopedia to be accurate since it is very commonly used for research and other practices that rely on accuracy. Schiff also explains that Wikipedia is constantly being edited and many topics are subject to point of view and vandalism. The author also questions the credibility of various topics as they can be edited numerous times before the day is over by anyone from a Ph.D professor to a fifteen year old.

"Part of the problem is provenance. The bulk of Wikipedia’s content originates not in the stacks but on the Web, which offers up everything from breaking news, spin, and gossip to proof that the moon landings never took place. Glaring errors jostle quiet omissions. Wales, in his public speeches, cites the Google test: “If it isn’t on Google, it doesn’t exist.” This position poses another difficulty: on Wikipedia, the present takes precedent over the past. The (generally good) entry on St. Augustine is shorter than the one on Britney Spears."

I believe that this passage illustrates the effectiveness of supporting detail because it complains about the numerous sources on the internet that are based on the authors opinion and not on factual evidence. Therefore, as it points out, the article on Britney Spears is longer than that of the one on St. Augustine.

The design of Wikipedia is very nice and easy to use. The user can simply input the topic they are looking for into the search bar and it will provide the user with information pertaining to their topic and related searches if nothing is found. It is very easy to understand and use, and it has no limit to its size. Encyclopedia Britannica can be very confusing to use and very hard to find information on something without having to look up something else that is related. I prefer the layout of Wikipedia to that of Encyclopedia Britannica because it is easy to use and it can be easily updated.

Simple or Complex?

When it comes to Visceral Design, I believe that simplicity is very important. When a product is simple, it is usually more attractive to the eye because the designer focused more on the actual design of the product than all of the features that it has. For behavioral design, I believe that a product can be either complex or simple, depending on what type of product it is. For example, someone might buy a product because it can do a lot of things making it complex, or they might buy a product because it does a specific thing very well. Reflexive design, in my opinion, tends to be simple, but it can also be complex as well. Most items that are reflexive are so because they carry a level of prestige; however, an item can also be reflexive because the consumer has mastered this complex product.

"I bought a digital camera with much more options than I needed or would ever use. Some of them I don’t even really know what they mean. However it is fairly simple to just take a ‘normal’ picture. I wanted to be able to do all sorts of fancy photography, just in case." -Liz

"Sometimes complex things can be more more desirable. One thing that comes to my mind is my friend's microwave. It is a really cool microwave that can do all of these different options. It has a toaster on it plus all of these really fancy buttons. The first time I tried to use the machine I could not even get it started. Once i figured it out i learned how to use the basic toaster and the microwave features but not much else. I still would like to get that microwave but not anytime soon." -Andy

I chose the above excerpts from Liz and Andy's blogs because I found them very interesting and although they describe two completely different products, the ideas are still the same. Liz purchased a digital camera because it was very complex and she wanted to do "all sorts of fancy photography." Andy, however, discusses his friend's microwave toaster with numerous functions that when he first tried to operate it he failed to even get it started. Both of these posts describe the desirability of complexity with added function.

Wikipedia Proposal

Edit: I have changed my Wikipedia topic from Computer Science at Kalamazoo College to Alice (software).

My Wikipedia topic is going to be Alice (software). This software is used to make computer programming more visual and hands on. I have decided to do this because there will be a good number of sources I can pull information from and because we are currently using it in our computer science class (COMP105).

The current Wikipedia stub can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_(software).

Simplicity is Highly Overrated

When I bought my phone, complexity made it much more desirable for me. I chose the phone that I have now because of all the features that it has. Even though I do not use all of the features, I bought the phone because I have the option to use them.

Complexity is justified when extra features are included. Many products include extra feature which make the product more complex but also more desirable by many consumers because of the idea that it does "more." Simplicity is most important when it makes a product easy to use and when the product doesn't have the need for complexity and extra features.

The designers of the iPod revolutionized natural mapping by the use of the wheel to scroll through the menu; turning the wheel clockwise scrolls down and turning the wheel counterclockwise scrolls up . In addition, the iPod also has properly labeled buttons to play, pause and switch songs. The iPod also features a simple hold switch at the top of the system.

I found this post by Kenny very interesting because I also thought that the wheel make the iPod truly innovative. Also, the layout is very simple and makes even a product as complex as the iPod easy to use.

Emotional Design, Part II

Engineers and designers explain that, being people themselves, they understand people, but this argument is flawed. Engineers and designers simultaneously know too much and too little. They know too much about the technology and too little about how other people live their lives and do their activities. In addition, anyone involved with a product is so close to the technical details, to the design difficulties, and to the project issues that they are unable to view the product the way an unattached person can.

I found this passage very interesting because it explains that it is very difficult for engineers and designers to experience the same problems as the consumer. This is because the engineers and designers know a wide range of problems that can occur accompanied by a wide range of solutions. However, the consumer may not know what to do when a certain problem arises. Also, the engineers and designers include many unnecessary features that they think may be useful to the consumer but in reality they only complicate the product. As Norman said, the engineers and designers know too much about the product itself and not enough about the people who use the product.

The categories defined by Norman - visceral design, behavioral design, and reflective design - seem very useful to me. During the design process, it helps a substantial amount to know what type of product you want to make and how you want to design it. These categories help the engineers and designers make these decisions. I believe that these categories are well named and in a way they all define themselves in the name.

A designer can decide which level of design he would like to use by choosing what type of impact he would like to make on the market. If the designer is looking to make a quality product that satisfies the needs of the people who use the product, he would use behavioral design. If the designer wants to make a product that can be sold for a high price and used as a display of prestige, he would use reflective design. Finally, if the designer wanted to make a product that attracts the general public by the look and/or feel of the product, he would use visceral design. Many types of products are more of one design than the other. This all depends on what the main focus of the product is, and what the designer is going for.

Emotional Design

The key points highlighted in the third chapter of Emotional Design were the three levels of design and how they can be used individually or collaboratively. The author emphasized the role of emotion in all three levels of design: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. He goes on to describe that visceral design focuses on the natural aspect of design and that the physical features dominate. The author states that behavioral design is all about the use and appearance doesn't matter too much. The four components of good behavioral design are function, understandability, usability, and physical feel. He points out that most designers don't pay attention to the products currently in the market but instead they continue to make new features and test them among other designers. The author says that to be effective, feedback must enhance the conceptual model. He also describes the two kinds of product development: enhancement (to make a product better) and innovation (to create a revolutionary product). Reflective design is about the message, culture, and meaning or use of a product. The essence of reflective design is that it is all in the mind of the beholder. The author also explains certain strategies that companies use to sell their product(s) and how they take advantage of the consumers. At the end of the reading, the author states that if you want a successful product, you should test and revise that product through a committee; however, if you wish to create a great product, you should leave the design up to someone with a clear vision.

The earlier writing can relate to the majority of the points established in this chapter. Many of the points made in both readings are related and can be used to explain each other. However, at the end of this chapter, the author describes a different approach to design, one that involves a single designer and little or no testing. The author condones the use of both strategies but he stresses that each approach is better for a specific level of design. In this chapter, he recalls a lot of points that were made in his earlier writing; therefore relating them as much as possible to show that his earlier work is still very relevant.

I believe something that succeeds as visceral design would be Ed Hardy, a high end clothing company that focuses heavily on the appearance of their product along with comfort which comes with the material used. A product that succeeds as behavioral design would be the Playstation 3 because it has a very simple interface and it is very easy to use. It can also perform a wide ranger of functions, all of which are very useable and understandable. A reflective design that has had success is a very expensive bottle of liquor, which is often very prestigeous and the bottle is usually kept as a display typically because it is made out of very expensive material such as crystal. All of these items are successful because they follow the guidelines mentioned in this chapter to succeed in their specific market.

The Design of Everyday Things, Part II

"A simple example of good design is the 3 1/2-inch magnetic diskette for computers, a small circle of 'floppy' magnetic material encased in hard plastic. Earlier types of floppy disks did not have this plastic case, which protects the magnetic material from abuse and damage. A sliding metal cover protects the delicate magnetic surface when the diskette is not in use and automatically opens when the diskette is inserted into the computer. The diskette has a square shape: there are apparently eight possible ways to insert it into the machine, only one of which is correct. What happens if I do it wrong? I try inserting the disk sideways. Ah, the designer thought of that. A little study shows that the case really isn't square: it's rectangular, so you can't insert a longer side. I try backwards. The diskette goes in only part of the way. Small protrusions, indentations, and cutouts prevent the diskette from being inserted backward or upside down: of the eight ways one might try to insert the diskette, only one is correct, and only that one will fit. an excellent design."

I thought that this passage was interesting because it describes the excellent design of the floppy disk, a very simple item. The passage describes that only two sides can fit, and that of those two sides, the indentations and grooves along the surface of the floppy disk only allow it to go in one way. It shows that even when designs are simple and may seem confusing, after simple trial and error some objects can easily be figured out as long as they have the right constraints and affordances.

I think that Norman's book continues to be influential to designers even today because it is very well written and the concepts of the book are very concrete. Many of the points made in his book are still valid today, and many of the ideas that he presents will always hold some relevance to the world of design.

If I were to evaluate the design of a product based on this chapter my checklist would include visibility, constraints, simplicity, ease of use, affordances, and mapping (preferably natural mapping).

The Design of Everyday Things

The author, Donald Norman, highlighted a few key points in this introductory chapter to his book, The Design of Everyday Things. The first point he made was that well designed objects are easy to use and contain visible clues to their operation. Throughout the first chapter, the author emphasizes visibility which includes affordances, constraints, and mappings. He also states that the fundamental principles of designing for people are providing a good conceptual model and making things visible. The author stresses the principle of natural mappings: the relationship between controls and actions should be apparent to the user. Norman sugguests that feedback is a very important concept to consider when designing so that the user knows whether or not they have completed the correct operation. I believe that the most stressed point in this chapter was that added functionality comes along with the price of added complexity. This is because as items become more sophisticated and can do more they also become more complicated and therefore harder to use.

One object that I have had dificulty using is my graphing calculator. There are so many functions that it can perform and many of them are very hard to use and require mulitple steps. Almost every button has multiple functions making it very confusing and sometimes hard to perform the correction function. Also, there are many functions that I don't even know how to use or what they do. The majority of these problems arise from Norman's principle of visibility and complexity. There instructions are hard to follow and it almost seems like the calculator does too much.

When the iPod was designed, many of the principles addressed by Norman were taken into consideration. The iPod can perform many tasks; however, the interface is very simple and easy to use. The buttons are labeled so the user can easily idenfity them with their function. Also, the iPod is a very visual product and you can see everything that is going on in the LCD display screen. This also allows for a large amount feedback as the user of the iPod knows exactly what they are doing and exactly what will happen if they perform a certain task. The iPod is a very well designed product.

The Perfect Thing

In order to design, you must conceptualize. This is the first and most important step in the design process. Without a general concept you have nothing. In this article, Steve Jobs conceptualizes a new, easy to use MP3 player that can hold up to a thousand songs and fit in your pocket. Only after the concept of the iPod was established was it ready to be designed. Jobs then brought in Anthony Fadell to create a prototype which would bring this concept to life. After extensive research and experimentation, Fadell developed three prototype designs which were presented to Apple early April. Combining the ideas of Fadell and others, the iPod was on its way to the actual design process. During this process they put the ideas from the prototype together along with innovations to the original idea to create the ideal model.

If I were to evaluate a "perfect thing" a few things that I would take into consideration would be the ease of use, the design, and the functionality. Ease of use is very important because if something is very hard to use it will tend to scare away a large customer base, people like simplicity. The design is also important because no one is going to want to own a product that is not stylish or trendy. However, the functionality is probably the most important aspect of the product because it's all about what the product does and how well it does it. If a product is lacking functionality it can not be "perfect."

I feel that the iPod is a very powerful and useful device. It is a very popular product because it is very easy to use, stylish and trendy, and it does what it is supposed to and it does it well. The iPod has many strengths; however, it does have a few weeknesses as well. The iPod is not very durable and there can be problems with certain iPods.

First Blog

Hey,

This is Ronnie and this is my first blog for the Design Intelligence class. I hope that this will be a fun class and that I will learn a lot about the design of a little bit of everything.