Friday, March 27, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Unit 10: How People Decide
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) by Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D.
Chapter 10: How People Decide
Most decisions are made in an unconscious way. We like to think that our ability to trouble shoot for the best product is what makes us buy, but there are many factors that affect us without us even realizing it. What other people are deciding to buy, what is consistent with your persona, whether you can pay off excuse your purchase by announcing social obligations, fear of losing a sale, etc.
Once realizing that too many options can be a detriment to a viewer, a designer can be more reserved. Taking the design processes, for example. Limiting logo identity directions to three instead of twenty, staying away from sketches when presenting concepts, and making directions clear and identifiable. Most customers will desire more choices, but more choices will ultimately be more of an issue when they are tasked with making a decision.
Does having a choice equate to being in control? Regardless of difficulties presented when confronted with many choices, people gravitate toward more choices because it makes them feel like they are in control. Choice can also make one feel unique. This is especially applicable in gaming.
"Talent Trees" promote uniqueness:
http://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/lets-spec-into-talent-trees-a-primer-for-game-designers--gamedev-6691
We relate back to a previous chapter when the reading discusses social connections. In the end, people are more willing to buy, interact, and do any kind of interaction if there is a personal connection. I immediately related this to games. Even as far back as arcade games can express this exact mentality. The development of a leaderboard influenced more people to play and compete with other players.
Interesting measure of social interaction in games:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134982/playing_to_win_measuring_social_.php?page=1
I have heard, "throw away your first idea, it will always be your worst." I don't necessarily agree, but I can understand the saying. The reading relates this to group work. Also, the reading mentions leadership and how it sways decision making. It brings to question: How can a leader help make design decisions, but keep creativity active in all workers?
Everyone is subject to unconscious processes when making decisions. Often, many people, including myself, are stubborn and think that they aren't among the influenced. Also referred to as the third-person effect in the reading.
People value physical content more highly when it's real and tangible. This can be relative to many aspects of design, but most importantly, the final production of a project. For example, to physically build a package design to completion will greatly increase its value.
Great source for packaging inspiration:
http://www.packagingoftheworld.com/
Links for thesis:
Narrative in games:
http://thegamedesignforum.com/features/narrative_in_games.html
9 things unique to video games:
http://www.theastronauts.com/2013/03/nine-amazing-things-unique-to-video-games/
Chapter 10: How People Decide
Most decisions are made in an unconscious way. We like to think that our ability to trouble shoot for the best product is what makes us buy, but there are many factors that affect us without us even realizing it. What other people are deciding to buy, what is consistent with your persona, whether you can pay off excuse your purchase by announcing social obligations, fear of losing a sale, etc.
Once realizing that too many options can be a detriment to a viewer, a designer can be more reserved. Taking the design processes, for example. Limiting logo identity directions to three instead of twenty, staying away from sketches when presenting concepts, and making directions clear and identifiable. Most customers will desire more choices, but more choices will ultimately be more of an issue when they are tasked with making a decision.
Does having a choice equate to being in control? Regardless of difficulties presented when confronted with many choices, people gravitate toward more choices because it makes them feel like they are in control. Choice can also make one feel unique. This is especially applicable in gaming.
"Talent Trees" promote uniqueness:
http://gamedevelopment.tutsplus.com/articles/lets-spec-into-talent-trees-a-primer-for-game-designers--gamedev-6691
We relate back to a previous chapter when the reading discusses social connections. In the end, people are more willing to buy, interact, and do any kind of interaction if there is a personal connection. I immediately related this to games. Even as far back as arcade games can express this exact mentality. The development of a leaderboard influenced more people to play and compete with other players.
Interesting measure of social interaction in games:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134982/playing_to_win_measuring_social_.php?page=1
I have heard, "throw away your first idea, it will always be your worst." I don't necessarily agree, but I can understand the saying. The reading relates this to group work. Also, the reading mentions leadership and how it sways decision making. It brings to question: How can a leader help make design decisions, but keep creativity active in all workers?
Everyone is subject to unconscious processes when making decisions. Often, many people, including myself, are stubborn and think that they aren't among the influenced. Also referred to as the third-person effect in the reading.
People value physical content more highly when it's real and tangible. This can be relative to many aspects of design, but most importantly, the final production of a project. For example, to physically build a package design to completion will greatly increase its value.
Great source for packaging inspiration:
http://www.packagingoftheworld.com/
Links for thesis:
Narrative in games:
http://thegamedesignforum.com/features/narrative_in_games.html
9 things unique to video games:
http://www.theastronauts.com/2013/03/nine-amazing-things-unique-to-video-games/
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Unit 9: People Make Mistakes
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) by Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D.
Chapter 9: People Make Mistakes
This chapter is exactly what you think it would be about. It is impossible to make a completely fail-safe product.
When confronting a user with an error message, here are things to keep in mind: Tell the user what they did, explain the problem, and instruct the user to correct it. Of course, write like a normal human being and give examples to follow.
The Yerkes-Dodson law refers to the arousal created by slight stress. This law states that said stress can help improve productivity and can help you perform a task. However, this is only true to a point. Eventually, too much stress reduces productivity and can be damaging to a creative or a users experience. This section offers the idea to design with stress in mind. Understand that your designs may be experienced in a stressful environment.
Errors:
Commission Errors: Taking additional/unnecessary steps.
Omission Errors: Insufficient steps to complete.
Wrong-Action Errors: Inputting the wrong information at the right time.
Motor-Control Errors: Errors while controlling a device.
Corrections:
Systematic Explorations: Planning out what to do to correct an error.
Trial and Error Explorations: Randomly trying different actions.
Rigid Explorations: Repeating an action that doesn't work.
Web UI mistakes to avoid when designing cross-platform:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2623892/web-development/7-web-ui-mistakes-to-avoid-for-smartphones-and-tablets.html
Interesting game design mistakes that indie developers should avoid:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/181864/The_9_common_mistakes_every_indie_game_studio_should_avoid.php
Autistic kids learning from mistakes while playing video games:
http://learningworksforkids.com/2014/09/8-reasons-children-with-autism-should-play-video-games/
Chapter 9: People Make Mistakes
This chapter is exactly what you think it would be about. It is impossible to make a completely fail-safe product.
When confronting a user with an error message, here are things to keep in mind: Tell the user what they did, explain the problem, and instruct the user to correct it. Of course, write like a normal human being and give examples to follow.
The Yerkes-Dodson law refers to the arousal created by slight stress. This law states that said stress can help improve productivity and can help you perform a task. However, this is only true to a point. Eventually, too much stress reduces productivity and can be damaging to a creative or a users experience. This section offers the idea to design with stress in mind. Understand that your designs may be experienced in a stressful environment.
Errors:
Commission Errors: Taking additional/unnecessary steps.
Omission Errors: Insufficient steps to complete.
Wrong-Action Errors: Inputting the wrong information at the right time.
Motor-Control Errors: Errors while controlling a device.
Corrections:
Systematic Explorations: Planning out what to do to correct an error.
Trial and Error Explorations: Randomly trying different actions.
Rigid Explorations: Repeating an action that doesn't work.
Web UI mistakes to avoid when designing cross-platform:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/2623892/web-development/7-web-ui-mistakes-to-avoid-for-smartphones-and-tablets.html
Interesting game design mistakes that indie developers should avoid:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/181864/The_9_common_mistakes_every_indie_game_studio_should_avoid.php
Autistic kids learning from mistakes while playing video games:
http://learningworksforkids.com/2014/09/8-reasons-children-with-autism-should-play-video-games/
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Unit 8: How People Feel
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) by Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D.
Chapter 8: How People Feel
Understanding how your audience will feel is equally as important understanding how they think. Emotions, which are expressed physically and are a response to an event, differ from moods and attitudes. Moods and attitudes last about a day or two and may come about without a physical event.
There are seven universal emotions: joy, sadness, contempt, fear, disgust, surprise, and anger. Each of which can be expressed with the face. And considering how many muscles are present in the face, it doesn't come to much surprise that emotions are tied to muscle movement. It also brings to question, which the reading covered slightly, can muscle movement tie to emotions in the same way?
People use look and feel as their first indicator of trust, especially when it comes to web design. Whether or not a website follows traditional functional methods and presents itself with design, will make or break said site.
The reading makes this statement: "The more difficult something is to achieve, the more people like it." Yes, true. Sometimes. When it comes to UX and UI, this theory is the exact opposite. But then again, I suppose that wasn't the intended subject. This does bring about another subject, the desire to be unique. I find this subject especially intriguing in game design.
Desiring the familiar is related to the fear of loss. People crave the familiar. They want what is familiar, especially when they're sad or scared. This relates to brands in an interesting way. If one has a positive experience with a brand, then that brand is a safe place for them to revisit.
Amygdala versus thalamus: The thalamus processes sensory information and sends it to the appropriate part of the cortex while the amygdala is where emotional information is processed. The eyes function through the thalamus which gets routed to the primary visual cortex. Our sense of smell goes directly to the amygdala, which is why smells cause emotional reactions in people. The amygdala happens to be close to the memory centers of the brain which is why smelling can also invoke memories.
“Welcoming Warmth”: Welcoming Warmth is the name of the scent that the Sheraton hotels use as a part of their branding.
Nucleus accumbens: The nucleus accumbens is the part of the brain that is active when people experience pleasurable events. This was significant in the reading because of the study using water and fruit juice to surprise subjects.
Attention restoration: Attention restoration refers to pastoral scenes (paintings in the reading) which make people feel happier. However, real positive health effects can be seen from actually seeing nature.
Chapter 8: How People Feel
Understanding how your audience will feel is equally as important understanding how they think. Emotions, which are expressed physically and are a response to an event, differ from moods and attitudes. Moods and attitudes last about a day or two and may come about without a physical event.
There are seven universal emotions: joy, sadness, contempt, fear, disgust, surprise, and anger. Each of which can be expressed with the face. And considering how many muscles are present in the face, it doesn't come to much surprise that emotions are tied to muscle movement. It also brings to question, which the reading covered slightly, can muscle movement tie to emotions in the same way?
People use look and feel as their first indicator of trust, especially when it comes to web design. Whether or not a website follows traditional functional methods and presents itself with design, will make or break said site.
The reading makes this statement: "The more difficult something is to achieve, the more people like it." Yes, true. Sometimes. When it comes to UX and UI, this theory is the exact opposite. But then again, I suppose that wasn't the intended subject. This does bring about another subject, the desire to be unique. I find this subject especially intriguing in game design.
Desiring the familiar is related to the fear of loss. People crave the familiar. They want what is familiar, especially when they're sad or scared. This relates to brands in an interesting way. If one has a positive experience with a brand, then that brand is a safe place for them to revisit.
Amygdala versus thalamus: The thalamus processes sensory information and sends it to the appropriate part of the cortex while the amygdala is where emotional information is processed. The eyes function through the thalamus which gets routed to the primary visual cortex. Our sense of smell goes directly to the amygdala, which is why smells cause emotional reactions in people. The amygdala happens to be close to the memory centers of the brain which is why smelling can also invoke memories.
“Welcoming Warmth”: Welcoming Warmth is the name of the scent that the Sheraton hotels use as a part of their branding.
Nucleus accumbens: The nucleus accumbens is the part of the brain that is active when people experience pleasurable events. This was significant in the reading because of the study using water and fruit juice to surprise subjects.
Attention restoration: Attention restoration refers to pastoral scenes (paintings in the reading) which make people feel happier. However, real positive health effects can be seen from actually seeing nature.
Thesis Bibliography 3
Visitor Retention (Cohort Analysis):
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/how-to-analyze-traffic-funnels-and-retention-in-facebook-applications/234838
History of Video Games:
http://www.museumofplay.org/icheg-game-history/timeline/
History of Storytelling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6E8jpFasR0
Future of Video Games:
http://www.fastcolabs.com/3013499/why-the-next-generation-of-video-games-is-going-to-be-insane
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/how-to-analyze-traffic-funnels-and-retention-in-facebook-applications/234838
History of Video Games:
http://www.museumofplay.org/icheg-game-history/timeline/
History of Storytelling:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6E8jpFasR0
Future of Video Games:
http://www.fastcolabs.com/3013499/why-the-next-generation-of-video-games-is-going-to-be-insane
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Unit 7: People Are Social Animals
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) by Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D.
Chapter 7: People Are Social Animals
A "strong tie" group size limit is 150 according to Dunbar's number. Robin Dunbar, the creator of a formula to calculate the limit previously stated, designed said formula based on the size of an organism's brain (specifically the neocortex).
Immediately, I though of social media and how ridiculous it must be to think that we have hundreds and hundreds of friends. However, the reading continues with Jacob Morgan's argument about how "weak ties" can be just as beneficial and attractive. To think that every person on our Facebook friends list is apart of our close relationships is ridiculous. But that's exactly it, weak ties are easy to control and limit. They don't involve direct communication and take very little work.
Mirror neurons, which is an event where one reflects a similar action of another based on the neurons in our premotor cortex, reminds me of interacting with children. The reading mentions this too, but I still wonder if our interactions with children are simply mirrored, or if children do feel the same emotion.
The same way social interactions have rules, so too do online interactions. Users have assumptions about how a website should respond, function, and show information.
Did you know that people lie more depending on their medium of communication? I had no idea. And apparently, people who lie using email write 28 percent more words than people who don't.
Communication and brain functions are interestingly integrated during the speaking and listening process. In fact, studies show that brains sync during said process. On a similar subject, we are programmed to pay special attention to people we are close to. Regardless of how similar one is to another, our brains function differently depending on how close we are to that person. This can be related to social media and allow predictability when looking for loyalty in a customer.
Laughter, which is a universal activity, brings people together. I can especially appreciate this when relating it to games and narrative. I think that connecting to viewers through humor (even though the reading says that laughter isn't about humor) is a great way to improve the user's experience.
Duchenne's supposed 80 percent of people not being able to produce a fake smile, seemed to be quickly disproved. Krumhuber's test revealed that 83 percent of people could produce fake smiles that others believed.
Dunbar’s number: A number defining the limit to strong relationships derived from a formula created by Robin Dunbar based on the brain size of an organism.
Mirror neurons: Watching someone take action can cause some of the same neurons in our premotor cortex to fire.
Synchronous activity: Actions you take together with others that are the same and within close proximity to on another.
Duchenne smile: Refers to a study done by Guillaume Duchenne where several tests were done where electrical currents were sent through the muscles on the face to conduct a smile. These smiles were seen as genuine because a supposed 80 percent of people can't control those muscles in their face, resulting in the inability to fake a smile.
Chapter 7: People Are Social Animals
A "strong tie" group size limit is 150 according to Dunbar's number. Robin Dunbar, the creator of a formula to calculate the limit previously stated, designed said formula based on the size of an organism's brain (specifically the neocortex).
Immediately, I though of social media and how ridiculous it must be to think that we have hundreds and hundreds of friends. However, the reading continues with Jacob Morgan's argument about how "weak ties" can be just as beneficial and attractive. To think that every person on our Facebook friends list is apart of our close relationships is ridiculous. But that's exactly it, weak ties are easy to control and limit. They don't involve direct communication and take very little work.
Mirror neurons, which is an event where one reflects a similar action of another based on the neurons in our premotor cortex, reminds me of interacting with children. The reading mentions this too, but I still wonder if our interactions with children are simply mirrored, or if children do feel the same emotion.
The same way social interactions have rules, so too do online interactions. Users have assumptions about how a website should respond, function, and show information.
Did you know that people lie more depending on their medium of communication? I had no idea. And apparently, people who lie using email write 28 percent more words than people who don't.
Communication and brain functions are interestingly integrated during the speaking and listening process. In fact, studies show that brains sync during said process. On a similar subject, we are programmed to pay special attention to people we are close to. Regardless of how similar one is to another, our brains function differently depending on how close we are to that person. This can be related to social media and allow predictability when looking for loyalty in a customer.
Laughter, which is a universal activity, brings people together. I can especially appreciate this when relating it to games and narrative. I think that connecting to viewers through humor (even though the reading says that laughter isn't about humor) is a great way to improve the user's experience.
Duchenne's supposed 80 percent of people not being able to produce a fake smile, seemed to be quickly disproved. Krumhuber's test revealed that 83 percent of people could produce fake smiles that others believed.
Dunbar’s number: A number defining the limit to strong relationships derived from a formula created by Robin Dunbar based on the brain size of an organism.
Mirror neurons: Watching someone take action can cause some of the same neurons in our premotor cortex to fire.
Synchronous activity: Actions you take together with others that are the same and within close proximity to on another.
Duchenne smile: Refers to a study done by Guillaume Duchenne where several tests were done where electrical currents were sent through the muscles on the face to conduct a smile. These smiles were seen as genuine because a supposed 80 percent of people can't control those muscles in their face, resulting in the inability to fake a smile.
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