Pixel

A pixel (or picture element) is a single point in a raster image. The pixel is the smallest addressable screen element, it is the smallest unit of picture which can be controlled. Each Pixel has its address. The address of a pixel corresponds to its coordinate. Pixels are normally arranged in a 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares. Each pixel is a sample of an original image, where more samples typically provide more-accurate representations of the original.

Lucas Cobb Design

Unique selling point (USP)

The point of difference or unique selling point (USP) is the combination of values and attributes that differentiates a company or product from all other similar companies or products.

Ambrose/Harris 2010, p. 52

Basic design directions

Divergence: the expansion or spreading out of something from a central point or theme in different directions; aka branching out
Convergence: the contraction of two or more entities towards a central point or common ground
Transformation: substantial qualitative change in appearance/character and strategy

Ambrose/Harris 2010: p.50

Drivers and barriers

The research stage aims to identify the drivers that stimulate the target group to act on a design and the barriers that could impede the success of a design.

Ambrose/Harris 2010, p.36

Dieter Rams’ design principles

Dieter Rams (Industrial Designer *1932): 10 design principles

1. Good design is innovative.
2. Good design makes a product useful.
3. Good design is aesthetic.
4. Good design makes a product understandable.
5. Good design is unobtrusive.
6. Good design is honest.
7. Good design is long-lasting.
8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail.
9. Good design is environmentally friendly.
10. Good design is as little design as possible.

From http://designmuseum.org/design/dieter-rams

Pareto’s Principle: 80/20

A high percentage of effects in any large system are caused by a low percentage of variables.

E.g. 80% of Web traffic is caused by 20% of Web sites

Aka Juran’s principle, Vital few, Trivial Many Rule

Based on Vilfredo Pareto (economist); seminal work: Quality Control Handbook (1951) by Joseph M Juran (ed.)

Perception Matrix (Emotional Responses)

Bright * * * * * Subdued
Professional * * * * * Domestic
Light * * * * * Heavy
Plain * * * * * Pretty
Dramatic * * * * * Understated
Simple * * * * * Complex
Contemporary * * * * * Traditional
Sophisticated * * * * * Childish
Warm * * * * * Cold
Expressive * * * * * Restrained
Humorous * * * * * Serious
Open * * * * * Closed
Surprising * * * * * Expected
Colourful * * * * * Monotone
Friendly * * * * * Independent

Plato: ideas

“Almost 2,400 years ago, Plato made the case against cultural context. The best of all possible worlds, he thought, was one removed from the tainting influence of embodiment I even from the taint of human culture. Plato despised politics, just as, like a good Greek aristocrat, he despised the world of commerce. In fact, Plato believed that our embodied, everyday world was only a poor reflection of the real world, which for him was an invisible world of abstract ideas, or forms. This is the great Platonic reversal. It would seem obvious that the world of ideas depends on the world of the senses and culture, because people can’t come up with ideas unless they are alive in this world and find themselves in a particular cultural milieu. But Plato reversed the dependency. He argued that the embodied world of human culture is a reflection of an invisible world of abstract ideas. Moreover, the amazing reversal became a major influence on ancient culture and later Western culture. The French philosopher Descartes in the seventeenth century reiterated this reversal and made sure that it would remain part of Western thinking into the twentieth century.”

From: Bolter, Jay David and Gromala, Diane (2003), Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art, and the Myth of Transparency, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, p. 136

Interfaces need to go beyond usability

“‘In the field of Human-Computer Interaction, the measure of a tool or application’s success is most often based on whether its intended users can perform their task objectives easily and efficiently. Traditional user-centred design approaches and techniques work in service to these objectives, but in a cultural product whose task is to address issues of self-definition or expression, this may be the wrong mind-set.’ (…)
Interfaces are becoming increasingly social as they mediate more social activities (such as conversations) in more sophisticated ways. This makes them cultural products. We already attribute social behaviors to our interfaces, and this trend is growing. (…) It is not enough for interfaces or designs to be merely usable. They also must be desirable, useful, needed, understandable, and appropriate. They also need to be human, which implies vast diversity.”

From: Shedroff, N. (2003), ‘Research methods for designing effective experiences’ in: ed. Laurel, B.: Design Research: Methods and Perspectives, Minneapolis: The MIT Press