Consumer and Products
CONTOUR VS. GESTURE
Contour:
Line is used to denote edges
Use line weight to convey more
meaning
Gesture:
Less emphasis on the shape,more emphasis on the action
Line does not follow edges only
Often used by artists to hone skills
Shape + Mass/Volume= three dimensional
PATTERN VS. TEXTURE
PATTERN
Can HELP add texture, but is really the actual repetitive motif on some part of the design
Illustrative perception
TEXTURE
Surface quality of an element
Evoke our sense of touch (physical
quality)
May also have a repeated element but variations are not perfect or regular
Illusion of Space
How do we convey a feeling of space or depth in two dimensions?
1. Size
2. Vertical Location
3. Overlapping
4. Aerial Perspective
5. Plan, Elevation, Perspective
Three Main Parts of Color
1. Hue
2. Value
3. Saturation
Principles
Emphasis:
draws attention to particular
content, draws more attention to an element
than it would have on its own
Focal Point:
a specific place of visual
emphasis, get our gaze to the most important
part of the design
The element emphasized in a picture can
attract attention and encourage the viewer to
look further.
A design may have more than one point of
emphasis and several focal points
UNITY + Emphasis/Focal Point
Can use the CRAP factors to emphasize something in a design
Continuity: Our minds connect parts of a design when a line or other element
links them together. A flow of vision can point us toward a focal point.
Repetition: Repeating an image or a word can establish its importance.
Alignment: The eye is naturally drawn to a point near the center of a page,
giving elements in that area perceived importance.
Proximity: A part of the design that is isolated from other parts can become a
focal point.
What’s the difference?
Scale = Size
Scale refers to how an item relates to the size
of the room or to something else.
Whole to whole
Proportion = Relative size- looking at the
size of something in relation to other
elements or standards
Proportion refers to the shape of an item and
how it relates to other things in the room.
How do we achieve balance?
● Have to consider the VISUAL weight of objects in your design or parts of
your design and figure out a way to achieve equal distribution
● Usually consider vertical and/or horizontal axes
○ Note: gravity!
Symmetrical Balance
● Easiest to identify and implement
● Bilateral: shapes repeated on either side of a vertical axis
○ Mirror image idea
○ Rooted in our awareness of the human body
● Formal balance
Asymmetrical Balance ● We achieve balance through dissimilar objects with equal visual weight ● Can be called informal balance ● Most things we see are asymmetrical ● Seems less planned, but still requires planning ● Dynamic, Modern, Movement
Visual Rhythm ● Based on repetition of different elements ● Can be found in any kind of object ● Can create different feelings ● Often creates movement
Creativity and the Design Process
GREAT design
1. Less, but better
2. Blow people’s minds
3. Don’t cause unnecessary harm
4. Let function inform design
5. Design local, think global
Can be invisible
Review: Design Thinking ● Designing with intent/designing for meaning ● A repeatable, human centered method for creative problem solving
Emphasize: Learn about your customer
Define: Construct a point of view based on customer needs and insights
Ideate: Brainstorm many possible solutions
Protype: Build a representation of your solutions
Test: Put prototype in of front of users for feedback
Where to find design inspiration?
1. Look broader...take a step
back.
1. Look closer...
1. Think younger...like a child.
CONVENTIONAL METHOD: DRAWING
● Most conventional design method
● Main aid used by designers
CREATIVE METHODS VS RATIONAL METHODS
Creative:
● Brainstorming
○ GOAL: Many
ideas
● Synectics
○ GOAL: A
specific solution
Rational:
● Checklist
○ GOAL: get what
you HAVE TO DO
out of your head.
WHY METHODS MATTER
● Something you dislike can still be good design-If we start from
our own biases about a problem and fail to consider all possible
factors, we may fail to solve the problem.
○ Considering human factors-so many perspectives of users
that we don’t have!
● Various methods allow us to consider strengths and weaknesses
by putting all ideas through some universal steps, forcing us to
ask questions, consider other opinions, etc.
● Create consistency to our design processes, give us places to
evolve
• What is a concept?
• describes the imagery you are trying to achieve
• idea or visual image from which ALL design decisions can be
made
• overall idea that unifies the parts of the project
• provides direction for the design
• organizes the principles and elements of design for a project
What about GREAT design?
● While learning about Volvo Trucks as a company answer the following
questions.
1. Name the one most important standard that Volvo has for their trucks.
2. Can their product deliver MEANING? How?
○ Sense of self
○ Company image
○ Emotions
3. How does this appeal to how consumers purchase?
○ Cultural, social, personal, psychological
5 Criteria for Evaluating Products
1. Less, but better
2. Blow people’s minds
3. Don’t cause unnecessary harm
4. Let function inform design
5. Design local, think global
What is Consumer Behavior?
Is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society
Consumer products:
Bought by final consumers for personal consumption
Differ in they way consumers buy them
Industrial Products:
Bought for further processing or for use in conducting a business
Bought by other businesses, not consumers
Department store influence:
trend vs. bargain
Create products that aligned with home design world
Design for All: motivated by Humble Masterpieces at MOMA
Consider the consumer
Design Thinking benefits designer and consumer
Design as collaborative
Consumers like the shared story
Best designs come from being connected to your consumer
What is human centered design?
● a school of thought, a methodology, that when implemented correctly can get us to a
viewpoint where we include as many people as possible in consumer design
● Puts human needs,capabilities and behaviors first, then we design to accommodate
those things
● Increased need due to increased complexity of the things that we interact with…
○ How do we use design to aid in the fight against confusion, errors, frustration and
a continual cycle of updating and maintaining our belongings?
Keys to human centered design
● Solve the right problem, but do so in a way that meets human needs and capabilities
● The people that face the problems are the ones with the key to the answer
Anthropometrics/Designing for People
Anthropometrics: the measurement of the size and proportions of the human body
Universal Design “Universal design is the design of all products and environments to be usable by people of all ages and abilities, to the greatest extent possible.”
Without Universal Design...
● We create assistive devices to fill in the gaps for people with disabilities.
○ Assistive devices are rarely appealing to or useful for other users
○ For limited populations
With Universal Design…
● Features are functionally and visually designed into the product
● Thought about from the beginning of the design process
● Integrated into the product
● For diverse populations
7 Universal Design Principles
1. Equitable: largest pool of users without segmenting/stigmatizing
2. Flexibility: choices in methods of use
3. Simple: user expectations matter! Unconscious!!
4. Perceptible: multiple modes for conveying essential information
5. Tolerance for error: provide warnings of hazards/errors
6. Low effort: can user maintain a neutral body position?
7. Size and space: accommodate variations in size/bodies/hands/grips, etc.
Universal Design Benefits
● Goes beyond minimum accessibility standards
● Attracts good publicity
● Increases size of target markets
● Society benefits when all diverse citizens can participate fully
● Maximum access is a moral benefit to designer and consumers
● With better products, individuals with disabilities can manage independently and better contribute to the society in which they live
What do we mean by CULTURE?
● anything outside of an individual’s genetic control that serves to adjust the individual within their ecological communities
● whatever it is one has to know in order to operate in an acceptable manner with the culture’s other members
● systems of shared symbols and meanings
Why is this important for design?
All aspects of human life are influenced by culture
Design is an aspect of human life
Design cannot be culture-free
Culture and Design
Designing FOR culture
Cross-cultural design
Human factors
Understanding use of elements
Who are you designing for?
Who is the client?
Designing FROM culture
Using your background to determine what and how you design
Increases diversity of products on market
Increases diversity of voices in industry
Globalization and Design/Culture
Single, worldwide market
Your design/product could take off in different cultures = larger buyer pool
Makes things alike across cultures
Homogenizes consumer needs and wants
Lower production costs
Easier design process
Do we want this?
Is it even possible?
Globalization aims to provide greater similarity of perception and lifestyle and greater uniformity to product culture
• Culture Sells & Increases Competitiveness
•Improves user satisfaction
• Can balance globalization
• Allows user to express identity
• Can set trends and fashions
• Cultural sensitivity and insensitivity
• Area for design innovation and inspiration
•Influences intuitive use
If you can appeal to culture through advertising and packaging, it resonates with people!
And advertising that appeals to these different cultural and ethnic identities has become a
vital part of the corporate marketing arsenal. But ethnicity-oriented marketing can backfire
and even turn multicultural consumers against a product or service if the strategy is wrong.
What can designers do?
● Redefine normal away from homogeneity and toward diversity
● Redefine masculine and feminine
● Be inclusive and accessible
● Recognize your own biases and work to unravel them
● Diverse teams/diverse testers
● Research, research, research
● Culture thinking as part of design thinking