Grand Finale

I see design as a great, important aspect that comes from designers and is seen through their products to attract certain customers.

Taking this class allowed me to know how stores and companies market their products and the reason why they market it the way they do. Everything from the design of the merchandise, the way employees sell the merchandise, to the way the stores are structured. I now can answer myself why is it that I end up buying more than I originally go shopping for. Now, every time I go shopping, I apply everything I’ve learned and analyze the stores and the merchandise. It is quite enjoyable, and can’t seem to help it.

We spoke about the reactions of the customers, and why they are attracted to certain products, which made me realize what kind of customer I am, which is one who goes crazy in a store and is attracted to colors, and the brand of the products.

An advice I would give a new First Year student is know how to manage their time. Most of the time, professors give a lot of things at once for all classes. Students really should not procrastinate. They need to know how to limit the time of having fun and the time of studying and doing homework. College would not be so hard if they can manage to get things done on time or before time, so that they can have fun afterwards.

A good advice for a student enrolled in this seminar is always do the blog entries, because if they don’t, they will not be able to enjoy the class discussions, which is the best part of the seminar.

Redesign K Thesis

1. The lounges and rooms in Trowbridge Hall serves as an encouragement or a desirable place to be, which can bring out the loyalty from the students commitment to studying in those places.

2. My constraints are how the furniture can be better, and how utilities around them could be useful. For example, wireless internet, which is not provided everywhere in the building, and heating problems, now that it is going to be winter.

The most important trigger points are the physical look of the lounges and rooms, and how it should invite the students to want to spend more time there, and serve as a “heroin” place where it is the only place students can feel they can concentrate on their work, using the things provided.

3. 5 Class Readings:
Emotional Designs: Visceral, Behavioral, Reflective
Design of Spaces
The Third Place
The Experience Architect
Principles of Marketing

4. “Brands are more than just names and symbols. Brands represent consumers‘ perceptions and feelings about a product and its performance-everything that the product or service means to consumers. As one branding expert suggests, ’Ultimately, brands reside in the minds of consumers.’ thus , the real value of a strong brand is its power to capture consumer preference and loyalty.”-Principles of Marketing

Jazzman's Cafe

“Smooth Coffee and All That Jazz!!!”
It is a place mostly for students and workers in Hicks Center. Entrance: No doors, very inviting. Seating Availability: Tall tables and tall chairs with backs. There are couches in front of fireplace. Number of People: 6 walked in and out, 4 sat and talked. Sound: They used to play Jazz music, but now they play slow pop, because it serves more as relaxation for the students while they study. Image: Inviting, relaxing, comfortable. It is a “Third Place,” which Dr. Ray Oldenburg spoke about in his interview. Interaction: People walk in, order and go. Some sit down and talk if they are with friends or they study. A few things I found interesting were the painting below the menu sign, the theme, which is “Naughty & Nice,” and the free samples of new desserts.

Principles of Marketing

Kotler and Armstrong said that the success of brands affirms that products are more than just the physical entities. They gave an example of women buying cosmetics, and how they mainly buy it not for the oils, chemicals, and fragrance, but mostly for the how the company markets the products, with naming products such as: passion, romance, fantasy, love, dreams. It makes women want to feel that way when they wear the cosmetics, and I think it is a good way to attract women who may feel insecure about themselves, and feel that they need that extra something to make them feel better about themselves. Kotler and Armstrong also said that products are the key element in the market offering, which brings value to attract costumers and satisfy their needs.

This discussion of branding and marketing compares to the design of experience by Tom Kelley by addressing that products and services are external and experience are internal; take place in the minds of the costumers. A good example was a mother who makes her own cakes from scratch at home for her child’s birthday party, a mother who buys Betty Crocker to make the cake, or the mother who spends $100 or more to have the entire event at Chuck E. Cheese, which would be a very memorable event for the mother and the child. Experience are full of emotion, excitement, physical, intellectual, or spiritual for a costumer.

Kalamazoo College brand is the honey bee or hornet, and everything that is part of the college is black and orange. They have the “K” everywhere it can be. Design reinforces K’s brand by having a signature symbol of how the college is recognized. The teams names are “The Hornets”, the uniforms have the logo and the colors. The brand is what represents K college and what differentiates it from others.

"The Experience Architect"

Tom Kelley mentions that one role of the Experience Architects is to never forget that giving something special to costumers is both good business and good karma. What they do is look for things that are negative, and then tune them. They ask, “Is this ordinary or extraordinary?” Then they figure out how to turn the ordinary into something distinctive and better. When they are designing, they shouldn’t be complex or expensive. They should have in mind that they want the costumers and businesses to buy a product or visit the place more often. They ask themselves what is important to the costumer in order to find “trigger points,” which is finding the success of making things better. Fixing the problem or designing a great experience using the trigger points can be rewarding, because the costumers get to gain an experience from the new design of something. Experience Architects are suppose to have the patience to see what other can’t see and draw a new concept that can help them map out their costumer’s journey, because it helps make a difference in the marketplace. In order to improve those weak spots of a business, they suggest the improvement of packaging, the merchandizing, and the fixtures, work on the tables, displays, lights, and graphics.

Whatever the new design is, it needs to be a visceral design, because it should be appealing to a costumer, because the whole reason they try to make things better is to draw more costumers. In most cases, they need to be behavioral design, because they need to satisfy the costumers’ needs, or what they think they need, and make them need it. Packaging can be reflective, but even though it is something they target, it is not the main point of re-designing something and making it better for the costumers. What is different is they focus on the small details of making something better in order to change the costumers’ journeys and experience when they visit the place and purchase things.

The cafeteria in Hicks Center should have a food contest, since people don’t like to eat there most of the time. Or they can have theme days. They can put little umbrellas on peoples’ drinks, which gives that Hawaiian theme. They can give out goody bags with cool things, like key chains or little prizes, and they can have raffles every week.

Wikipedia Article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo_College:_Violence_and_Safety

"The Third Place"

A third place is a place where people can go and feel comfortable to have a conversation with anyone without any judgment. It is a place where a person enters it, leave all their personal problems at the door and join in to the comfort and social support by the people and the surroundings. They look like homey places, but no one is a host or a guest, they come and go as they please.

Oldenburg said that Third Places are important to economic and political life. He says economic, because it requires three capitals: physical, human and social., and he a political life, because the real democracy is more social than political.

Oldenburg said that if college administrators want to create a successful Third Place, they have to get rid of vending machines, because the place where they are held is only to get beverages versus having a homey and comfortable place that gives a strong sense of community and belonging. Third places have to be a place where students can learn things by talking freely, which helps them prepare for civic and political life as well as all careers.

I think that the Cavern is a good potential Third Place, because outside, there are chairs around in a circle and in the middle there is a camp fire, which any student can turn it on and feel comfortable with other students around and talk about anything. Inside, is very quiet, they have tea and cookies for anyone who wants it. There are rooms with couches, rugs, pillows and students can go and relax and also talk about many things.

The game room in Hicks Center, my favorite, is a good place also because many students go there. Nobody goes in worrying about school work. They go to have conversations with people, play games and have fun. It is not a very quiet room, but it’s not suppose to be silent, because people are suppose to interact. The pool room in the basement of Trowbridge Hall is also a good potential Third Place.

I think Biggby’s and Jazzman’s Café are good places. People go to get coffee, beverages, snacks, and sit down and talk about anything. There are tables and couches, which gives it that homey and comfortable feeling that exemplifies a Third Place.

The Design of Spaces

William Whyte's key points in chapter seven are the space availability and whether empty or crowded spaces attract people, location of the space, and sittable space, how it is designed. Whyte talks about what makes people want to sit, depending on the height of the seat, how close is it from other seats and how movable the seat is. Some people like having seats that are close enough to have a conversation with someone, and sometimes even closer when it is too noisy in a place.

Products are made to appeal a person, so it deals mostly with visceral and reflective designs. Urban spaces are suppose to be more of a behavioral design. It is designed for people to feel comfortable when they walk around. What's similar is it involves pleasing people, attracting people to visit the place more often, and making them want to come back.

Checklist:
-space
-sitting space
-location
-Does seating stand in the way of people who are walking
-If the place is too small
-the height of a seat
-is it comfortable and inviting
-what kind of seating
-benches
-chairs
-how much seating

Downtown Kalamazoo

Downtown Kalamazoo is very nice and inviting, but I think people might walk into the Kalamazoo Mall and wouldn’t know they did, because it is not a big building that has stores inside. It is an “outdoor mall.” The streets have benches, which invites people to sit, have meetings, eat lunch, or just relax for a while. There are nice shrubs around, makes the street look environmentally friendly, very clean. The stores have nice merchandise displayed in their windows. Some have big clipboards that say the word “sale” to attract costumers, and restaurants have lunch specials. There is one-way parking for cars. On wider streets, there is parking on both sides. Cars pass by at a slow speed, because there are a lot of people walking around, so it gives the drivers time to look into stores and see something they might like. The “Main Street” looks pedestrian friendly. I don’t think there are any potential threats. I know that some security officers walk around at night.

Recommendations:
1, Costumers might pass by a store that could have been interesting for them, but wouldn’t know because there are no signs protruding out to catch their attention.
2. They should have more lights, at night they should have neon lights, especially restaurants.
3. Get rid of stores that are abandoned, not being used. For example: Dragon Inn, not very attractive, everything looks deserted. It is right next to a really nice restaurant. Can make costumers keep walking and not stop by the restaurant.

“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.”-Gibbs

This passage relates to Downtown Kalamazoo, because the most a person sees besides the stores are people sitting on the benches, having a conversation or eating lunch. Benches are really inviting, it gives time for costumers, mostly old people, to sit and look around what stores they want to go into next. I disagree with Gibbs point of view of not having the benches outside. There isn’t much blocking going on on the street where pedestrians walk by. Some stores have signs out their doors with sales signs on them, which attracts the costumers. It is a good idea for it to be in their way, because they will stop, look at it, and then walk into the store.

"What Main Street Can Learn From the Mall"

The criteria Robert Gibbs uses to evaluate “Main Street” is to first visit the place and observe how it is set up. He tells them his views and points out feature by feature how the design actually hurts the town’s businesses. Gibbs compares Clematis Street with a better example in the same area (Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue). Gibbs main points into making “Main Street” into a mall would be:
-Nice floors
-Should follow the malls example in dealing with the public’s fears-Keeping the area clean, having visible police around
-Not to have anything on the street that distracts the costumers from looking at the stores.
-The benches can attract people that make other people uncomfortable to walk by that street.
-Retail planning should begin far from the selling floors.
-”No-left-turn rule”
-Size of windows
-Do not locate store next to restaurants because of certain smells that stick to the clothes.
-Be aware of sunlight direction-stores should be luminous, have enough light to see the merchandise.

I think “Main Street” should be a mall, because they have all the components, but they just need the adjustments that Gibbs suggests to make it look more presentable enough to attract customers. “Main Street” can be one of the outdoorsy malls.

Checklist to judge “Main Street”
-Clean area
-No distractions that may cause customers to not walk by
-Enough light to show the merchandise and attract costumers during daytime and nighttime
-Security
-Make it look a little bit classy enough to attract people with money

Frayed

Store Analysis

The name of the store is “Frayed.” It is located at the end of Academy Street, across the highway. It is next to “Rice Kitchen” Chinese restaurant and is across the street from Dino’s Café. “Frayed” sells clothes that usually college students would wear, ages 18-25. They sell both men and women clothes. They are mostly known for their “Bang-on Custom T-shirts.” Costumers can pick out any type of t-shirt and choose any design the store has and they can make it for them.

The store has glass windows, so anyone in a car, or anyone walking from far can see what kind of clothes they sell. “Frayed” has mannequins displaying their fall clothing. It helps bring in costumers, because of the designs the clothing has and the combinations of colors. The sign that displays the name of the store is huge and has big font letters. The color of the background is black and the font is white. At the bottom of the name the words “Bang-on Custom T-shirts” is written with a red background and black, white and yellow letters.

On the inside of the store, you can see three big plasma television screens showing music videos; alternative rock and hip-hop music. There are speakers all around the store especially at the entrance so when the costumer walks in, they would hear it and get drawn more into the store. And they wouldn’t leave right away. They would take their time in shopping, because they wouldn’t want to miss the song. The music is perfect for any teenager, it is “hip” music that everyone listens to.

When the costumer walks in, the first thing they see is a table of t-shirts, which makes sense since the store is known for customizing t-shirts. They give examples of the t-shirts that display funny statements, pictures, signs(peace sign) or celebrities. Around the table, there are other tables and racks that display clothing with really nice designs and different colors. On the right of the store, women can get attracted by a section where they have all of the jewelry. On the left of the store, they have the little section where the t-shirts are made. The t-shirts are on racks and behind the counter, the designs are displayed against the wall. There are more designs in three other binders on top of the counter. There are red, fancy, stool chairs around the counter that welcomes the costumer to sit down while they look through the binders. At the back of the store, there are three fitting rooms. The doors are made out of wood, and the handle is a belt cut in half and nailed into the door in a handle shape. On the outside of the fitting rooms, there are two black leather chairs facing the doors with a table in the middle that has magazines for anyone to read while they wait for the person to come out to show off the clothes.

The floors are beige with red orange swerves around the store. It is not very smooth, but it does not really matter much because the costumers would be too distracted by the music videos and the clothes.

There are picture frames displayed young people having fun and wearing the clothes they sell. On some of the tables, there are signs that have little descriptions about the clothes on the table.

The cash register is located up front to the right of the store. The cashier asks the customer for their name to enter them into their system, because they have a raffle for shopping sprees every month. The cash register looks like a bar, it has chairs around it so the customer can sit down while the cashier is ringing up the clothes. On top of the counter, there are more accessories and gift cards.

The image the store projects is any teenager or college student can enjoy shopping at the store because of the music and the clothing is trendy. All the clothes matches with each other, they are set up in a way that anything around it can be combined with another piece of clothing.

When a customer first walks in , they go straight to the table that displays the “Bang-on t-shirts.” Then they are attracted to everything else around. I think it is hard for a customer to choose what they want because there is so much the store offers, that it is hard to choose only one or two things, or what the customer came into the store for.

I found the store “Frayed” very interesting, because many of the students at Kalamazoo College have the style of clothing that the store has. The way it is displayed is understandable but it is one of those stores that the wallet carriers wouldn’t want to walk into.

The Science of Shopping

The most important points that were mentioned in the article were when a shopper is in a store, they want to have the option of choosing what they want, buy it and get out. And they want to see everything laid out for them so it is easy for them to choose. The shopper also has to see the designer’s point of view and understand what they are trying to say based on their clothing and how they it laid out throughout the store.

A lot of tips are also given to people who plan to open a business. The person has to be aware of where their store is located, how is it presented on the outside and on the inside. They have to make sure that they make the shopper feel comfortable in their store and make sure that they are providing most of the shoppers with what they want.

I personally go for what I am shopping for. If I go shopping for fall clothes, I go into the stores that have it displayed at the front of the store. Sometimes, I go in when I’ve been to the store before, and know how the store is laid out. For example, H&M is known for having one of the best fall clothes at a good price, so I always aim for that store. But others that are unrecognizable have to have it displayed outside their windows. If I am not shopping for anything in particular, I go into every store possible, because you never know what you can find. I always find something that I really like in a store that I never walked into, and the store ends up being one of the “it” stores on my list.

I like it when the stores put compliments together with things that I might need with a product. In the article they gave an example about shoppers buying a pair of jeans and then getting a belt to go along with it. And also women trying on clothes sometimes would try on accessories that are right next to the fitting room. I like it when they do this, because it makes it easier for me than to go around the store just to look for it. Even though I go around the entire store anyways, I would like to be lazy and have the compliments at the moment I need them.

Checklist:
-Where the store is located
-How is it presented on the outside
-name of the store
-colors
-clothing on display
-What type of clothing is placed on the front
-is it drawing shoppers more into the store
-what type of clothing is at the back of the store
-Are the shoppers having a hard time choosing what they want
-What kind of shoppers are going into the store

Isn't It Ironic?/Powerful Packaging Design

Packaging is important, because it is the visceral design of the product. It is what catches the attention of a buyer. It is also what helps the buyer recognize the product, because of its unique appearance. Packaging is also important for the brand manager of a company. They would want the product to stand out from other products that are the same. For example, there are many different ketchup companies, so it is important to be different and stand out from those other companies.

Packaging is not really important for me unless if it is really pretty or pink and that would look good if I want to put in my dresser, or a place that is very visible and can catch the person’s attention when they come into the room. Tiffany & Company might be something I would want to have in my dresser. Tiffany & Company has a very simple visceral design. Their packaging is always the same baby blue color that has the name of the brand on the bag. The box where the jewelry is in, is the same color as the bag. The name of the brand is displayed in the jewelry also.
Tiffany & Company is a very famous jewelry store. Anyone walking around with a small blue bag would know that it’s from Tiffany’s.

Hellman’s Mayonnaise has an iconic packaging. It went through the same thing with the Heinz Ketchup. It has been a great product for many years. The packaging is in a clear plastic container that has a unique, round cylinder shape with a blue cap. It also comes in squeezable bottles, which is easier and faster for the person to make a sandwich. The label is yellow and blue and the name “Hellman‘s” is in capital letters. The product itself is recognizable and it is the only mayonnaise I get, because it tastes better than the others.

A product that has made it hard for me to use because of its packaging is a box of Christmas lights. They come in a box, but after it is taken out of the box, they are wrapped around a plastic thing that makes it hard to take it out because the lights interfere with the plastic thing. Others are just wrapped around and the lights stick to each other, and it’s hard to be careful to not rip them apart from each other, which would cause them to break. Once it does break, the lights are useless, so because of packaging, you can’t use to product.

Biggest Mistakes in Web Design

This article explains that websites are suppose to be a behavioral design, because people only use websites to get what they need quickly. Websites should also be a visceral design, because the page has to look very easy to use, and make sure that it would have the information that the majority of the people who go into it are looking for. It cannot have too much information, but just the most important things.

I think that the most important points in this article was making a website that any person would want to use with ease, and no interruptions with advertisements or other offers that were never asked for.

List of important design factors for a webpage
1. Whatever I need from the website, I need it to be right in my face
2. No obstacles to getting where I want to be
3. It has to be easy to go back to it so I would remember how I got there

Know It All

Stacy Schiff’s main point in the article “Know It All” was how “Nupedia” became “Wikipedia”, its achievement, and people’s views about it. Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia said he is on a mission to distribute a free encyclopedia to every single person on the planet in their own language. So anyone who has Internet can create a Wikipedia entry or edit one that already exists. Some people take this to their advantage and change things. For example, senators from House Representatives are now banned from visiting Wikipedia, because many of them tried changing facts about them and what they do. Others also tried making false statements and insulting certain people like the president. Actions were taken to stop abuse and vandalism.

“Even Eric Raymond, the open-source pioneer whose work inspired Wales, argues that “ ‘disaster’ is not too strong a word” for Wikipedia. In his view, the site is “infested with moonbats.” (Think hobgoblins of little minds, varsity division.) He has found his corrections to entries on science fiction dismantled by users who evidently felt that he was trespassing on their terrain. “The more you look at what some of the Wikipedia contributors have done, the better Britannica looks,” Raymond said. He believes that the open-source model is simply inapplicable to an encyclopedia. For software, there is an objective standard: either it works or it doesn’t. There is no such test for truth.”

I think that this passage gives a good insight on how people write inappropriate things that make Wikipedia seem unprofessional, and makes Britannica a better encyclopedia. Schiff said that some entries look like they were written by a seventh grader, and people don’t really want to rely on information from Wikipedia. So Wales, idea of letting anyone create an entry in Wikipedia was not a good idea, but the idea of having rules and a mediation committee to block certain people and be aware of editing any entries that have misspelled words or bad grammar, is a good idea to make the Wikipedia more presentable and have people want to use it instead of Britannica.

Britannica gives pictures, advertisement, and it gives options of shopping browsing, blogs, and log in place. Wikipedia’s homepage has no pictures or advertisements. It gives the user a choice of languages any user would want when they look up information. And then it just has a search bar at the bottom. Once you enter what information you need, then it pops up in paragraphs. In Britannica, when you enter a topic, they give you many choices that has to do with what you entered, but it might not be exactly what you are looking for. For example: I typed in Frelon Dance and it just gave me every type of dance except frelon. When I typed it into Wikipedia, it gave me no entries, but it gave suggestions. It gave me the link about Kalamazoo College and what they offer. Britannica also gives very little information about any topic you ask for. Wikipedia expands and tells you everything you need to know.

Simplicity v.s Complexity 2

Simplicity contributes to visceral design, because designs that look simple can attract a person by how many buttons it has. That automatically tells a person how the design would behave with them. If the design has only two buttons, the person will know that it can only do a few things, which might be exactly what the person is looking for in a product. Simplicity also contributes to reflective design, because anyone who is seen with a product that looks simple to use can say that that person is a simple person who doesn’t like things that are extravagant.

Complexity contributes to visceral design by a person that likes to have products that have many functions and buttons would like the product just by the way it looks. It can contribute to behavioral design, because if it has a lot of buttons, then it has a lot of functions, which is what the person wants. Reflective design contributes with complexity, because people seen with complex products are seen as complex people, or people who are in business and are too busy to have many products that have only one function. It is better for them to have an “all-in-one” product.

“Complex products are only good when that is what the user is looking for. Most of the time they are inappropriate and frustrating for the user. Some users my take pride in the fact that their product is complicated and they are still able to operate it. I think the majority of the time simplicity is the way to go. It is easy to understand and operate. It is especially important when the product does crucial functions that need to be easily understood.”-Keenan

This passage makes a good point about how it depends on the person to want a product to be complex or simple. It explains why is it that people choose one over the other, which makes their decision based on visceral, behavioral or reflective design.

“People often buy stuff just for looks or something cool that it can do instead of other important features. I think that complexity is not always the best thing, but it seems like everything is becoming more complex in today's society.”-Evan

I think that Evan is right about products that are complex is what everybody wants these days. Just to have something that has so many functions even though they are not going to get used, it is still good to have it there in case if one day the person decides to use it.

Complexity v.s Simplicity

The iPhone looks complicated, because of all the functions, but I still wanted to get it, because it has a really cool touch screen and looks pretty and slim. But in order to understand it, I would have to sit there and play with it and try out its many functions. It would take at least 1 hour or 2 to completely know everything about it well enough to remember what I have done.

Board games should be easy to play and be fun play. Some of the board games I own at home are: Pictionary and the Cranium game. They were not easy to understand. Even though they came with instructions, they had so many steps to win the game. It made it hard for me to want to play it, which is not what is suppose to happen. But the fact that the games looked so interesting or because of the fact that the “package” looked interesting, I went ahead and bought it to try it out.

Video games, especially the Xbox 360 are hard to use also. If you don’t have experience, or a person who is not a video game fanatic, it will be hard to use an Xbox 360. The games are confusing to play. Just the simple fact of turning it on and off is confusing. I only bought it, because all of the people I knew that had them, said that it was so cool to play, and the games were so fun. But I never knew it would be so hard to understand how to use the Nintendo.

Electronics, especially computers, have about over one hundred uses and you need to have a little bit of experience before you use them. I remember my first time using a computer. I had to type an essay and I didn’t know how to get to the Microsoft word. I didn’t know anything about having to type the letters, the use of a space bar, backspace, capitalizing letters, and using symbols and punctuations. My friend had to sit with me and tell me what to do. But, because they are so useful and necessary, it is understandable for them to be complex.

Simplicity has to be found in products that are used everyday, many times during a day. Like utensils, coffee and tea makers, and microwaves. Some electronics: television, DVD players, laptops, have to be easy to use also. Even though you won’t use them every single day, they still need to be simple enough to remember how to use it.

“One product that I found appealing due to its complexity would be the Sidekick LX, when it was first introduced to the world. The flipping of the screen always intrigued me, especially after seeing my friends using it during high school. When I first used it, the visibility for the flip was confusing. The screen seems like it can be flipped both ways, but there are hinges on the left side, so it can only flip to the right. Also, the buttons on the sides are not labeled, which made the process even more complicated. After I figured out how to work it though, I decided that I did not need one, because I could find a phone that is less complicated, but with more features. Hence, me and the Blackberry Curve have finally united.”- Dion

I agree with Dion’s point about the complexity of a Sidekick LX, because when I first got my Sidekick LX, I had no idea how to use it. All I knew about it was that the screen can flip, and I knew the direction the screen was suppose to flip, because both of my sisters had the old version sidekicks. The buttons on the side are confusing, because, as Dion said, they are not labeled. But when you press the button you will see what pops up on the screen and you can automatically see what it is for. The Sidekick LX has many functions, but you can work those functions by using the eight buttons that it has on the outside, and then by using the keyboard that is shown after the screen if flipped. It is not so difficult to use after you get the hang of it, but if a person has no knowledge of a Sidekick, they will probably not know what to do with it.

Emotional Designs 2

“Fruits and flowers provide an excellent example of the co-evolution of plants and animals. Nature’s evolutionary process made flowers to be attractive to primates and other animals, the better to spread their seeds. Fruits and flowers tend to be symmetrical, rounded, smooth, pleasant to the touch, and colorful. Flowers have pleasant odors, and most fruits taste sweet, the better to attract animals and people who will eat them and then spread the seeds, whether by spitting or defecation. In this co-evolution of design, the plants change so as to attract animals, while the animals change so as to become attracted to the plants and fruits. The human love of sweet tastes and smells and of bright, highly saturated colors probably derives from this co-evolution of mutual dependence people and plants.”

I think this passage is interesting, because I never thought the environment would be such a good example of describing the “wow” factor in a product. The use of colors from the environment is a very important factor that any designer uses, because it’s what they use to make their product look attractive, and they make sure that it catches the buyer’s attention. The environment serves as a motivation for the designers, and I think it’s very interesting that Norman uses that as an example to describe a visceral design.

At first I had no idea that the word “visceral” is used to describe something that is intensely emotional, and it turns out that it’s a smart word to use if you are describing a person’s feeling and combining it to a feature on a design that would create a certain reaction from the person. I think if I knew what the word meant before I looked it up, I would have used that same word. I understand that Norman would use the word “behavioral” to describe a design that is created for its use instead of its appearance. It has to do with how the product behaves with the user. I also understand that Norman would use the word “reflective” to describe a design that reflects how people feel about a certain product. The fact that a person would get so many of the same product and show them off all the time, creates this image about them.

An author can decide if either visceral, behavioral, or reflective design is more important for their product by knowing that a user would want a product that is both visceral design and behavioral, and then the user will decide if the product is a reflective design.

I think every product has either only one, two of three, or all three of the designs. Some products can be more visceral and reflective than behavioral. For example, home decorations, curtains can be all three; it can be visceral design, because it brings attention to a person’s living room, it’s behavioral because it helps block sunlight, and reflective, because it can be a certain type of material or made by a famous designer, like Martha Stewart. Same thing for bed sheets, and other home decorations.

Books can be visceral, because some people would judge a book by its cover, and can be behavioral, because it is used for reading. It can’t be reflective, because people don’t really walk around with a book just because the author is famous or because the book looks good with their outfit.

Emotional Designs

The author’s key points in this chapter were the three levels of designs, which shows emotional impacts from the designers that are expressed in their designs. The first level is visceral Design, it has to do with nature. Designers use the environment’s “look” and uses them to create their designs. An example Norman uses are flowers and fruits. Flowers are viewed as pretty, colorful, and have a nice odor, and fruits are sweet and also come in a variety of colors. They attract people’s attention and it is exactly what every designer wants people so see in their designs. Users select on colors, size, and appearance and visceral design is based on that.

The second level of design is behavioral design, which is the opposite of visceral design. Behavioral design does not focus on appearance, but on the use and the performance of a design. There are four components: function, understandability, usability, and physical feel. It is basically a level of design that is used to fulfill needs.

The final level of design is reflective design. It is all about the message that the design is sends to others. Users tend to use different styles of the same product to make an impression of themselves for any occasion; when they are going out to dinner, going to work, or visiting old friends. It describes what kind of people they are by wearing or using a product, which is sending a message about themselves.

This chapter relates to The Design of Everyday Things, because visibility, visceral design and reflective design, all have to do with the appearance of a design, and how well it attracts the users. The concept of a conceptual model is mentioned in Emotional Design. The designers talk to the users through the product, and the product is seen as the system image, because it contains the information that is carried by the physical product itself.

Cars can be a good example of a visceral design, because even though they are meant for driving, the car has to look really good from the outside, because that’s what catches the attention of the buyer. It has to look modern, have a nice shape, the interior has to have a nice feel to it, and the car has to be a pretty color. All these things bring out the “wow” factor. After the car gets that reaction from the buyer, then the buyer asks questions about how it works, and how much it costs.

Shoes are a good example of a behavioral design. Shoes are made for walking, so anybody who
does not really care what brand it is or where it was made, goes for the comfort. How it feels as they walk on them is important, and if it’s durable for at least a few months. Athletes have to worry about the comfort of their shoes. For example, basketball players need sneakers that fit their big feet comfortably, and that is good for running while playing a game. Shoes are based on the way they perform on a person’s feet, which makes it a behavioral design.

Designer bags are a very good example of reflective design. I personally love Coach bags, I have a big collection, and they are so pretty and very unique. It symbolizes where the bag comes from, because it has tags that say “Coach” on it, and they have their signature “c’s” going different directions, but still maintaining a certain pattern. They come in different colors, styles, size, materials, and it is great for any occasion and any outfit. Coach bags can express a certain image of a woman. They express that the woman likes looking classy, likes variety, likes patterns and colors, and the brand itself, which is expensive but worth every penny.

Desgin Intelligence

The Psychology of Everyday Things

"This book is about the psychology of the everyday things. POET emphasizes the understanding of everyday things, things with knobs and dials, controls and switches , lights and meters. The instances we have just examined demonstrate several principles, including of visibility, appropriate clues, and feedback of one's actions. These principles constitute a form of psychology, the psychology of how people interact with things. A British designer once noted that the kinds of materials used in the construction of passenger shelters affected the way vandals responded. He suggested that there might be a psychology of materials. "

I like the fact that Norman connected all the principles and included them as a form of psychology. I would have never thought of it that way. All of the properties have a lot to do with a person's way of thinking, and I agree with Norman on the fact that it's the psychology of how people interact with things and their ideas and putting them together that make a successful design.

Many of the designs that were invented in 1988 are some of the most important designs we use on a regular bases today. For example the telephone and the refrigerator, they are designs invented many years ago, but they always need a boost, or an upgrade to make it look more modern, and because of the fact that it consistently needs to be remodeled, many designers try to make it more interesting by adding more functions to the designs and make it look like "a perfect thing". Norman's book still influences designers twenty years later, because it reminds them of the key points that are important in constructing a successful design, and making sure they don't make mistakes like the examples Norman displays.

The factors that I definitely would keep on my checklist are making sure the function of the product is visible, it illustrates affordance, mapping, and if needed, a good conceptual model. As long as I keep these factors in my checklist, my product would have the qualities of usability and understanding, which is the main focus of the product.

Frelon Dance(Topic for Wikipedia Paper)

My topic for the Wikipedia paper is Frelon Dance. It is a type of dance offered at Kalamazoo College, and takes place in the Fine Arts Building, across the street from the Upjohn Library.
I chose this topic, because I was planning to join it during the K-Fest, but I got there late and their table was already gone. I had it stuck in my head to make sure I go to the Fine Arts building to sign up for it, so I thought about it for this paper. It turns out that it is not included in the Kalamazoo College website and there are no results found when I looked it up on Wikipedia.

I got my blog ready

Hi Chuck,

I am Maureen Federo. I got my blog done..yay..lol