Reading Thoughts – 2/3

Interaction Relabelling and Extreme Characters
by Djajadiningrat, Gaver, and Frens

Aesthetics of interaction moves the focus from ease of use to enjoyment of the experience (1).”

This reading provided some good case studies in two usability design techniques: interaction relabeling and extreme characters. While the extreme characters technique would probably also serve as a useful exercise, I am not sure if its power to cast user groups in a negative light would outweigh its power to provide useful insight. Interaction relabeling definitely seems like a technique that would provide great design insight, and would be fun to do! It would have been useful for the authors to provide more instructions for how the exercise can be most successful, since I was left with a few questions. Which object does a designer begin with: the object that they wish to rethink or the replacement object? Would any object do as a replacement?

The Design of Everyday Things
excerpt by Donald Norman

I found this reading extremely fascinating and enlightening. Affordances allow the user to be effective and powerful when using a design, but more interesting is that lack of affordance can render a user helpless. One example Norman gives is how the small controls in a car can be hard to use in different condition, such as when wearing gloves. As a native Californian, I have noticed how different it is to interact with my things during the winter. Gloves make it nearly impossible to pull out my Metro card or grab my ID out of my wallet to show upon entrance to school, and forget about text-messaging. While my gloves allow me to be rather nimble considering, my wallet and phone do not afford accessibility while my hands are covered in fabric. Another interesting take-away from this reading was how “many computers and computer terminals have the on’off switch in the rear, difficult to find and awkward to use.” I was instantly reminded of the newest Apple iMacs with its hidden on/off button. Apple is so often praised for their beautiful, intuitive design, yet it is so awkward to turn their iMacs on and off! Finally, I loved that the three student suggestions have since all been implemented in technologies such as the iPod, digital television, and recipes on boxes or pre-programmed microwaves. This reading will definitely provide inspiration for our first module.

The Power of Representation
excerpt from Things That Make Us Smart by Donald Norman

Throughout this reading, I was constantly thinking about how ineffective reading tablet technologies are for me, personally, as a reader. I cannot read from a computer screen or tablet device and comprehend well what I have read. The act of having a physical piece of paper in my hands, along with a highlighter and pen, is the only way I have been able to successfully comprehend and interact with any sort of literature. Yet, with all the worry about wasting natural resources as well as the many the attractive features of tablet devices, I wish there was a way to get around my tech-reading block. Perhaps my difficulty is with accepting the fact that an electronic screen is just as much a signifier of an actual artifact as a piece of paper is. While my brain understands the commonalities, my hands do not yet accept them, and thus my hand-eye-brain coordination is not equivalent. This is a topic I would very much like to explore further.

I also put together a presentation last semester about Ferdinand de Saussure and his theory of Semiotics. I think the topic is very relevant to this reading, and hopefully the presentation can help other students gain insight into these ideas. The presentation can be found here.

Tags: interactivity, reading, thoughts