Assignment 1: Products and emotion

Being a vespa rider myself, I've decided (quite instantly) that I'll choose 2 wheelers as my subject matter as soon as this assignment was announced. Heh.

Task:

• To choose 3 products from a category choice ("2-wheelers" motor vehicle) and to list down my reflections, based on Norman's framework of Visceral, Behavioural and Reflective.

First up,

Brand: VESPA
Model: GT60
Type: Scooter
Info:

• Produced to celebrate Vespa's 60th Anniversary
• Limited edition
• Only 999 pieces in the world (only 2 in Singapore)
• Fastest Vespa scooter to date
• 250cc engine

Visceral:

• Retro & modern cool
• Attractive
• Lifestyle item
• Stylish
• Timeless

Behavioural:

• Comfortable to ride (big seats, automatic)
• Safe to ride (2 disc brakes)
• Good for city riding
• Excellent handling
• Practical (huge storage space - front glove box, under seat, optional rear box)

Reflective:

• Professional
• Self Image
• Classy

Second product choice,

Brand: BMW
Model: R 1200 GS
Type: Sports Tourer
Info:

• Titled "Ultimate long distance enduro for the globetrotter and adventurer"
• 1170cc twin boxer engine

Visceral:

• Attractive
• Thrilling
• Exciting

Behavioural:

• All terrain motorvehicle (On and off road riding)
• Dynamic performance
• Riding comfort for long distance riding
• Bad for city riding (bulky)
• Powerful
• Functional & roomy

Reflective:

• Adventurous
• Self Image
• Elegance
• Outgoing
• Show off
  

Lastly,

Brand: Honda
Model: Super Cub 50 ("kapcai")
Type: Scooter
Info:

• Named "Greatest ever motorbike" in 2006 by Discovery Channel 's Greatest Ever Series
• 50 million units sold worldwide
• 50cc engine
• 1 litre of petrol => 146km

Visceral:

• Not very exciting
• Timeless
• Simple

Behavioural:

• Easy manoeuvering
• Versatile
• Very Robust
• Excellent fuel efficiency
• Able to carry heavy loads
• Good for city riding
• Sturdy
• Reliable

Reflective:

• Not a show motor vehicle (no showoff value)
• Outgoing
• Not trendy
  

Some quick peeks at why the CUB is so popular worldwide!

"Greatest Motor vehicle" by Discovery Channel

Norman's Framework

A quick refresher of norman's work. Came across these terms when I took NM2216 and CS3240. Quick pointers.

Visceral:

• Initial impact of the product's appearance
• The "I WANT IT" factor
• Physical beauty that hides all of its possible flaws

Behavioural:

• Look and feel
• Behaviour of the product
• Total experience of using it

Reflective:

• Image presented to the user
• The message that send to others about the owner's taste
• Brand power
• Proud to own one

Assignment 0 - Bad Design

Product: BBQ pit Shelter @ a Condo

Bad design: Open air-styled shelter

Users: Susan & Fern
Scenario:

• Vespa Club Singapore organized a BBQ gathering @ the Condo
• 22nd Dec 07, 1800 - 2200hrs
• It rained heavily from 1630 till 1845hrs
• Users are asked to recall the experience during the gathering
• They will also base their comments on a similar BBQ gathering (which did not rain) that was held on the previous year

Users' reactions are as follows(direct quotes):

a) Feelings towards products

i) Susan

• Ventilation is good, if no rain
• Best if no shelter at all (she was commenting this as she feels that the shelter did not serve its "purpose", which is providing cover)
• Sucked

ii) Fern

• Good for non rainy days, but does not cater for bbq during rainy days
• The metal grills above the pits, provides good ventilation, however, it also allows for rain water to seep through

iii) @lvin

• Useful if it does not rain
• Helps to filter off direct sunlight (for day BBQ)
• Should inplace glass panels or retractable shutters in the event of rain
• Not user-friendly
• Cause extreme inconvenience in the event of rain

b) Lessons learnt from the product

i) Susan

• Will use it again, provided no rain lor

ii) Fern

• Only certain areas under the shelter can ward off the rain. And that the structure is only good for non rainy days

iii) @lvin

• To always plan for contigency plan when organizing a BBQ at the condo
• Book a function room in advance to cater for wet weather

c) Impression of brand (developers of the condo)

i) Susan

• Bad designer / contractor
• Whoever built that has no experience with BBQ

ii) Fern

• Overall good pit design, but the shelter is not catered for rainy days

iii) @lvin

• Unfavourable
• Failed to weigh all factors when building the structure

Summary

• Although we live in an equatorial country, the occassion rainy days and the seasonal raining period during the year will make the shelter a badly designed product
• BBQ sessions are often hard to come by, difficult to organize, and a time whereby family and peers gather for some fun and laughter. Thus, cancelling a session due to rain is rather uncalled for, especially when the venue is at a premium condominium and when a "shelter" is provided

Solutions

1. A "dual role" shelter (for either sunny and rainy days), that has shutters that can be user-controlled depending on weather
2. Upgrade the current shelter by installing glass or aluminium panels to the existing metal panels
3. Installing a BBQ shelter that is weatherproof, using materials such as concrete, bricks, glass or decorated zinc sheets

A simple flash demo showcasing Solution 1

Usability vs User Experience (UX)

These are 2 terms that were introduced during our 1st nm4210 class. I first met them when I took CS3240 and NM2217. Its pretty confusing initially, but there's always Google. Heh. Some quick definition:

Usability: the ease of use of a product

User Experience: something (feelings towards the product) that makes you feel happy or enjoyable while using a product

A quick analogy:

Usability: Driving a car via CTE from A to B (exclude the peak hour jam and erp charges, heh) It gets you from A to B quickly, but its pretty boring driving on expressways.

User Experience: Driving a car via small/trunk roads from A to B. There's more things to see and feel, such as the shopping malls, heartlanders, more greenary etc etc. But the time taken will definitely be longer (most of the time)


But question is, can we have the best of both worlds? Are we able to combine UX & Usability together to create a product that can win the hearts of many? It's not as easy as it seems, but it's not impossible. The one product that you and I can think of off our mind that has achieved that is, the iPod,
and most definitely, the iPhone as well. =)