1. There are a couple of passages that I would like to post. The first passage can be found on pg. 91. Donald Norman writes: "The coaches are the leaders of a large, active team. Football players are among the largest, most muscular players in team sports. The headset had to reinforce this image: it had to be muscular itself to convey the image of a coach in charge of things." I thought that this quote was interesting because companies try to match their products to the style of certain group of people. Now that I think about it there are many types of people all with different personalities. For instance, in this environmentally aware age many companies are making reusable bags that are an eco-friendly alternative to the plastic bag. These products make the user feel better about themselves, just like the large headset makes the coach feel more in control. Also, people also buy hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius because they feel that they are doing less harm to the environment. I suspect their intentions are good natured because the Prius does more damage to the Earth than a Hummer. That's right, a Hummer is more environmentally friendly than a Prius.
Another passage that I thought was interesting was the quote made by Mort Spivas, the so called super salesman. "When you're wearing a thousand-dollar suit you project a different aura and then people treat you differently. You exude confidence and if you can feel confident, you'll act confident. Then Donald Norman adds: " If sales people believe that wearing an expensive suit makes them different, then it does make them different. For fashion, emotions are key. Stores that manipulate emotions are simply playing the game consumers have invited themselves into. Now, the fasion world may have inappropriately brainwashed the eager public into believing that the game counts, but that is the belief, nonetheless. " I thought that this passage was interesting because it displays the power a product can have on the user. For instance, riding in a convertible can only be described as one of the most fun things that a person can do. The experience is probably why people shell out more money to have this fun feature.
2. I think that the author could use a different term for "Visceral Design". Perhaps he could use Aesthetic design? I really don't know what the word visceral means so that would be the only word that I would change. The two other terms that the author uses fit well. Behavioral design describes how a product behaves and reflective design describes how a product reflects the user.
3. Different products definatley have different levels of visceral, behavioral and reflective designs. Products that are made more for function than form, such as lights and doors could be more behavioral then visceral. However, it really depends on what the consumer wants. If they just want a simple door such as the one for my dorm, they could purchase one just like it. However, if they want a door that has a bit more flair, they could get a glass door that has no hinges. I think that designers have to change the levels of design depending on the group of people they are aiming their product at. There are definatley products that are more form over function and vice versa. The author had a great example using the two different watches. There was the simple digital watch and the more fancier watch that used a difficult method to tell time. The more aesthetically pleasing watch was more harder to use however, it just looks cooler than the black, plain digital watch.

Design Intelligence #4

1. I felt that the author had a few main points in this chapter. I thought that the physical attraction between the person and the object was very important. Humans are attracted to things that are pleasant to our senses. We enjoy sweet fruits, soft materials, and pleasant odors. Our initial perceptions of an object are very important because it is usually the only chance we get at evaluating an object. Therefore it is extremely important that companies make their products stand out and catch our eye. Another key point that came up during this chapter was the function of a product. I think that function is a key point because if a product does not do the job it was created to do then the designers have failed and the product will not sell. I was not surprised to learn that most designers do not actually test their products on real people. I thought that the story about the cup holders was very interesting. I thought that the automobile companies were idiots for ignoring the need for cup holders in their cars. It should be obvious to them that the consumer must be comfortable in their product and not giving them such amenities as a cup holder seems somewhat mean.

2. This chapter is similar to the previous chapter that I read because it provides pitfalls in design that companies fall into. The chapter reflects on previous ideas given in the previous chapter such as the importance of feedback. One thing that the author touched on that he did not before was why companies usually fall into the design traps.

3. To me, a good visceral design is a car that everyone thinks looks cool. I think that when people turn their heads to look at a car going down a road, the manufacturer has done their job pretty well. When a person steps into a show room and sits in a car and they are so comfortable that they can actually see themselves driving in it, the manufacturer has done their job. There are many products that I think succeed very well as visceral design but I wanted to think of a product that did just one thing only. It seems very hard; multifunction products are omnipresent in this age. A lighter is a product that just does one thing, it lights fires and it does it very well. There are also design enhancements to this product. There are simple lighters that are made out of plastic and disposable and the more elegant Zippos that are made out of metal, some even have intricate designs carved on them. Again I will have to use a car as a reflective design success. Driving an expensive car is a status symbol everywhere in the world. Luxury automobiles are not the only type of cars that send a message. Driving a hybrid is making a statement about how you want to help the environment. Driving a sports car may send a message that you enjoy driving. Different cars can send different messages.

Design Intelligence #3

1. "Consider the door. There is not much you can do to a door: you can open it or shut it. Suppose you are in an office building, walking down a corridor. You come to adoor. In which direction does it open? Should you pull or push, on the left or the right? Maybe the door slides. If so, in which direction? I have seen doors that slide up into the ceiling. A door poses only two essential questions: In which direction does it move? On which side should one work it? The answers should be given by the design, without any need for words or symbols, certainly without any need for trial and error."
I thought that this was an interesting quote because the author described how even the simplest designs could be made into a complicated puzzle. Think about the process you use when you want to open a door. You don't stand in front of the door and begin to deduce how the door may open, you walk up to it and push or pull, turn a doorknob or even turn a handle. However, how many times have you walked up to a door and have accidentaly pushed or pulled the wrong way? How many times have you seen a person walk up to a door and accidentaly push instead of pull? It seems so interesting that added features that are designed to help can at first hinder us.

2. Even thought this book is 20 years old, it by no way means that the information it contains has become useless. Mathematicians use formulas and techniques that are much older and dated than this book. This book contains ideas that are widely accepted, and I would think that many companies would use this book's ideas as a starting point for any products that they produce. This book's opinions and ideas seem like they are the best that can be found today until someone can come up with something better.

3. There are several factors that I would put in a checklist for the evaluation of a product. First, I would make sure that the product was easy and simple to use. Secondly, I would make sure that the product would do its job and do it well. Thirdly, I would make sure the product was practical. Fourthly, I would make sure that the product was produced with quaility. Lastly, I would make sure the product would be appeasing to the group of people it will be aimed at.

Thanks for reading,
Ted Hwang

Design Intellignece #2

1. I felt the one of the key points of the book The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman was the fact that simple everyday objects were too complicated to use. The fact that people were having trouble opening doors was a perfect example of this. It seems almost ridiculous that an object as simple as a door could have the ability to confuse people but surprisingly it happens quite often. I also thought another key point that the author tried to get across was the idea of conceptual models. A conceptual model allows the user to get a sense of what his or her action may have. For instance, a door with a long horizontal handle will probably have to pushed in order to open the door. A good conceptual model will allow the user to use the item easily. However a bad conceptual model can send the wrong message and confuse the user. For instance, take the example of the projection slide remote. The student had no idea that he had to press the button a different way to make the projector go forwards or backwards. I also thought that mapping was a key point in this chapter. In this case mapping is the relationship between the controls and their the controls effect on the world. A product with good mapping can be easily used such as a car. The window controls are near the window, radio controls near the radio, etc. Perhaps the only thing that could confuse a user are the pedals, I would have no idea how to distinguish the clutch, brake and accelerator from each other.

2. I remember I had trouble setting up my father's printer at his office. I was trying to set up the printer so that it would be connected to the wireless internet so that everyone could print their documents and reports. I remember that I had misplaced the manual but I had already connected everyone's computers to the network and I thought that connecting one printer would not be too difficult to handle. After a half hour I had scared off most of the workers in the office. I was sweating profusely and cursing at the printer trying to get the stupid machine to work and I had gotten no where. Even after I found the manual I still could not get the machine to work properly. The design was fairly simple, it had a up, down, left, right, and an OK button. However, the controls were the only things that were simple. Trying to understand the computer jargon was like trying to read Chinese. I had to use a crude system of trial and error to see if I had programmed the printer correctly. I think that the printers controls were not mapped correctly, there was no correlation between the controls and the outcome that control would have. I think the problem that I had was very similar to the problem the author had with the telephone. There were so many functions that the phone had but it only had a few buttons to operate these functions.

3. The designers of the Ipod did an excellent job of making the Ipod user friendly. The Ipod only has a few functions and they are labeled well. The play button plays music, the menu button takes you to the menu and the scroll wheel lets you scroll through music. The controls give visual clues to the user that allow them to use the Ipod with ease. Also these buttons only do one or two things, nothing else.

Thanks for reading,
Ted Hwang

3. The creators of the Ipod

Design Intelligence Assignment #1

1. The article "The Perfect Thing" displays a few elements of the design process. To begin with, Apple brought together a team of people that would design, evaluate, test and market the product. One of the "fathers" of the Ipod Anthony Fadell created three different forms of the Ipod two of which he designed to fail and the other product he hoped would please Steve Jobs. To say the least, Fadell's plan worked brilliantly. Using Fadell's model as a base for their new Ipod they began to fuse ideas together that they felt would make the perfect product. While all this was going on Apple had another team that would leak information out to the press. After the Ipod was finished, a handful of tech writers would be given the Ipod; Apple's hopes being that they would enjoy the Ipod and write good things about it.

2. There are a couple factor I would use to evaluate the "perfect thing". First, the "perfect thing" must do the job it was created to do. For instance, the first Ipod was created to play music and it performed this task quite well. Secondly, the "perfect thing" should be able to do its job 24/7, not every now and then. The "perfect thing" must be easy to use. No one enjoys a product that is hard to use especially the lazy people of today's society including yours truly. The "perfect thing" also must be a quality product, it can't break down after a few days. I have never had the pleasure of having the "perfect thing". Even my beloved Ipod still manages to frustrate me from time to time.

3. There are many great characteristics that my Ipod has. It is a good looking product, it has been quite reliable, it's easy to use and it does its job very well. However, my I did have to replace the headphone jack system about a week ago. Not having music with me all the time was very infuriating. Also, for some reason I have to keep on replacing my headphones, they always seem to break every couple of months and it has always has been the right headphone that breaks.

Thanks for reading,
Ted Hwang

First Post

Hi, my name is Ted Hwang and I am a freshman at Kalamazoo College. I am writing this blog for a seminar called Design Intelligence. In this class I hope that I can better understand the role that design has in this society.

Thanks for reading,
Ted Hwang