Origami mp3 player

The thing that I love about this design is that the physical interaction maps directly to the mental model of the user. If I want the mp3 player to play, I fold it to look like the classic play icon, a triangle pointing to the right. See below:



In order to fast forward, I fold the mp3 player into the classic fast forward icon. I envision these signature moments surprising and delighting users. It's an interesting combination of iconic representation and mapping that make operation quick and very intuitive. Hopefully, our interactions with digital devices will continue to go in this direction.

What's not clear is how you maintain the current state without having to hold the small device continuously. For example, will I be able to put this in my pocket without having it get accidentally folded into shapes that interrupt my listening experience. I imagine this is key to making those signature moments worth it.


Via: Fast Company

Interaction Critique - The Clapper

The Clapper Plus Interaction Critique from Nicholas Evans on Vimeo.

WeBlimp

One of the coolest things (in my opinion) going on at the olympics right now is an interaction experiment called WeBlimp. The WeBlimp is a remote controlled mini blimp. At they olympics, though, this miniature blimp is controlled by multiple people who stand in a space and work cooperatively to direct the blimp. People must work together to direct their collective center to direct the blimp. However, the blimp is in a completely different room and has a camera so those steering it can interact with those who are actually near it. It makes for some pretty interesting (and I'm guessing, at times, some funny, foolish, and frustrating) interactions.

weBlimp! from BdotQ on Vimeo.

The Power of Storytelling

How many of you let out an audible "awwww" when you saw the following commercial?



Google does an incredible job of advertising their search engine in this advertisement. I love this video, because it leverages the power of storytelling. It just resonates with me. It gives a tangible demonstration of Google's their search service is useful in a number of contexts, and uses the power of story to tug at our heartstrings.

The music builds perfectly (it makes me shudder, but in a good way) as the video progresses to the climax when the search "How to assemble a crib" is typed in the search bar. The subtle sounds in the background give some added guidance as to what's going on and help people imagine the progressing scenes. Why is this video so appealing? Everyone wants to find love in this world and be loved. Google makes an emotionally appealing case that they can help you on that journey.

The video makes good use of the design principle called closure to tell the story. We observe the parts, individual searches (which taken individually would less meaningful), but perceive the whole, the connected story, and construct a continuous story in our head. In this case, we are given the freedom to imagine the in-between steps. And the music and structure of the video lead us to construct an ideal and positive story. I think storytelling is such an essential part of understanding the context to design within and communicating design solutions. Here it is employed as a useful advertising tool that builds Google's brand. And the kicker? This video probably cost them very little in comparison to other Super Bowl commercials.

TSA and Iconic Representation

While in the security line in an airport this past weekend, I noticed a new video about restricted items on flights and procedures for packing liquids. The TSA chose to use iconic representation to illustrate many of the rules. The video can be found playing on this page of their website: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/index.shtm. According to Universal Principals of Design, icons reduce performance load, conserve display and control area, and make signs and controls more understandable across cultures:

Here is a screen shot from the video:

Here we see Symbolic icons used. The icons represent a category of objects that are banned. However, it's not completely clear what all of these icons symbolize. Fortunately, the video enlarges them and adds some text to clarify the categories. Here, it clarifies that the top middle icon, which symbolizes flammable or explosive materials:

Here are some other screen shots from the video:

Liquids Procedure

Approved Laptop Bags

The icons follow best practices by being labeled (most of them at least) and sharing a common visual style and color. UPD also talks about how pictures are remembered better than words, which the video clearly helps accomplish.

Here is another TSA video from their YouTube channel for international travelers that uses iconic representation to communicate different concepts of traveling to and from the US: http://www.youtube.com/user/TSAHQpublicaffairs#p/a/f/0/vRGUaSKtEg8. However, many of the concepts are only made clear by the voice narrating them in English. If I'm coming from a foreign country, I might not understand the narrator...TSA fail.

Making Interactions Seamless

During Jen Levin's visit to class, she talked about the difficulty of getting diabetic patients to log the context when they check their blood sugar. She talked about how the Bayer Contour attempted to make that interaction seamless by taking advantage of the latent time when people were waiting for the reading of their blood sugar to get them to input some context details such as before or after a meal or exercise. Here's a photo of the Contour USB:

My NUvention:Medical Innovation project team has come up against a similar wall. We're hoping to get input from caregivers (doctors, nurses, technicians, etc.) in order to help improve the patient experience in the Emergency Department. However, we've heard over and over again, that you can't design anything that would require input from the doctors and nurses. "Anything that requires more workload will fail." After Jen's presentation though, I'm starting to think that it's completely possible to get input from caregivers, as long as the interaction is seamless. The trouble is finding the opportunities to capture latent moments and getting the caregivers to see the value of inputting information. We'll just have to make sure to make a clear connection between them inputting information and the value of that information to the patient as well as link that back to improved patient satisfaction. Luckily, Press Ganey reports regularly measure satisfaction.

I really like this concept of designing people's interactions with devices seamless. I think it's a great way to lower the bar for new adopters. Making something fit naturally into someone's daily routine seems like the best way to introduce new products that offer a long-term benefit, but don't have clear, short-term value (satisfaction reports lag by 2 months from when a patient was in the hospital).

We've thought of giving them something that's portable that can be interacted with as they walk from room to room or allowing them to input information right alongside when they are "charting" (putting information into the electron medical record).

My question for this audience is: What other clever devices or systems have you seen that capture latent moments in order to get a person to interact in a way that they wouldn't be inclined to normally? What other areas could we draw inspiration from?