The delivery of the future (PART V) – An example of Vision in Product Design (ViP) being used
With my MSc. graduation project now in full swing, I havent had much time to dedicate to posting things, but I figured that this could be a nice way of clearing my mind, so today I’ll continue with the ongoing series of posts explaining the Vision in Product Design (ViP) process.
PART 5:
DESIGNING – THE INTERACTION LEVEL
By following the ViP methodology, the next step in our process was to think about the interaction level in the future context. In this new step the idea is to identify a number of interaction qualities which are relevant in our attempt to achieve the vision that we conceived in the previous phase, but without thinking of any particular product yet.
These qualities of interaction will be of great importance for the design team in the next phase of the process in which they will serve as a guideline to develop our future product.
In order to identify these qualities of interaction, the team performed a brain storming session in which a list was made of all the possible qualities that we could think of which in some way or another would be relevant to our vision. These were later reviewed (and clustered when possible) and a final selection was made of the most interesting ones which are listed below.
Qualities of interaction selected for our project
NON INTRUSIVE: Intruding: “to thrust oneself in without invitation, permission, or welcome” The interaction should not be forced into the user; the product should not be seen as obstructing him in any way and be as transparent as possible.
EPHEMERAL: Ephemeral: “lasting a very short time” The interaction between the product and the user will spam a short period of time.
ACCEPTANCE & HARMONY / EQUAL & BALANCED: Harmony: “pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts” There should be a balanced and harmonious interaction between the user and the product; a relationship in which both parties give and take.
INFORMATIVE / COMMUNICATIVE: Communication: “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior” The interaction should be informative and communicative for both parties. The user should know what the product “knows” and vice-versa.
INSPIRING: Inspiring: “having an animating or exalting effect” An interaction that inspires the user in a positive way is desired
ENDEARING / PLEASANT: Pleasant: “having qualities that tend to give pleasure” There must be a pleasant interaction which the user enjoys and can feel comfortable with.
