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Friday, April 16, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Behaviors in Context: a Trio of Tales
Behavior in Context: Part I
I had an experience recently at Baltimore Penn Station that can only be described as bizarre. While waiting on the benches for my train to arrive, I was approached by a sociable tot whom I assumed was making her way towards me across the benches to say hi to a new friend. Instead, once she reached me, she proceeded to comb my hair. Her mother stopped her, and this kid's wide smile turned into a pout, and she proceeded to pitch a fit that echoed throughout the station. Rather than discipline her child, or explain to her why she cannot "comb that lady's hair," Mom unsuccessfully tried to bribe the kid with a donut to calm her down. I don't know how the story ends, but for the next 20 minutes, we were all subjected to the little girl's wails, and her mom's mantra, "want a donut? want a donut? want a donut?" (Mom: clearly, she did not.)
My 2-year old friend wasn't misbehaving, but her actions were inappropriate for their context. And while the initial incident was bizarre, the mother's response was baffling because it was so arbitrary: combing a stranger's hair (a misguided, but friendly gesture) yields the response of distraction-with-pastry? No lessons learned, and a sequence of cause + effect that is more non sequitur than natural. The initial behavior was out of context, and was met with an equally inappropriate response. From this, no lessons are learned, and confusion ensues.
Behavior in Context: Part II
Confusion--not to mention awkwardness--ensued from a former coworker's inability to recognize behavior appropriate to the workplace. Her emotional immaturity, and a crush on a fellow colleague, proved embarrassing on several occasions when she blatantly flirted with our colleague in the office and in other professional situations (full disclosure: I had no respect nor tolerance for her, and her behavior came across as desperate and pathetic, even in more appropriate contexts, but the extreme nature of her actions illustrate my point nonetheless).
Our office designed a heavy amount of corporate collateral, including substantial annual reports for Fortune 500 clients. As a result, we helped contribute to our paper vendor's healthy financial quarter. They are true professionals, and wanted to take our office out for a happy hour as a thank you. "Ray-ray" proceeded to get drunk, hold a beer over our colleague's head "threatening" to pour it on him---and then, due to her sloppiness, dumped the hops over his head. Our vendors were immediately and visibly uncomfortable with what they had just witnessed. She exhibited "woo girl" behaviors in an office context. For those of us who knew her, we should not have expected anything less (I think this was the night that elicited a slap across our colleague's face when he sent a sarcastic remark her way). One could argue that her behavior was inappropriate, regardless of the context, although if we were at a different kind of happy hour, maybe it would be considered fitting. But in a corporate environment with business colleagues, her behavior was inappropriate to its context, and most of us were more embarrassed for her than she seemed to be of herself. The response to her behavior was ill-fitting, too (I would have fired her, but she continued to "work" in our office for a few more years).
Behavior in Context: Part III
As it applies to user experience, behaviors in context demystify technology, making products more accessible and less daunting. Appropriate responses to behaviors--behaviors in this case, defined as user actions--minimize the learning curve, engage the user, and heighten the understanding of cause + effect. In a digital environment, natural interfaces integrate the actions and responses between physical and virtual environments. When this integration is successful, it is because of the appropriateness of the responses: I hover over an area on screen with more information, and that information is revealed; I click and drag my cursor across Google Maps, and the geography moves in the direction that I guide it. By contrast, early versions of the Palm Pilot failed to incorporate truly natural interactions into their product: the notebook and stylus metaphor was confusing because among other things, there was an awkward shorthand required for alphabet recognition. A former boss of mine spent more time trying to figure out how to use his Palm--a product he bought for its intended efficiency--than I spent taking copious notes the old fashioned way---pen to paper, longhand. In fact, he bought 2 Palms: one for his use, and one for our IT guy to use so that he could then teach our boss how to use his own (don't get me started on the challenges the Palm presented to him with regard to sharing information between Palm & desktop computer).
Advancements in technology, and an improved understanding of behaviors appropriate to their context have led to the introduction of highly sophisticated--and successful--touch screen interfaces like the iPhone and Microsoft surface, and gaming controls like the Wii. On my iPhone, I can scrunch something to minimize it, or swipe it away. The Wii's recognition of natural movements makes it a viable physical therapy for stroke victims, and physical fitness option for the general population; a tennis match requires swings of a 'racquet' and a bowling ball will stay with my Mii until I release it down the alley from my Wiimote. The touch screen interfaces are especially successful, because the middleman is eliminated--there is no device between the hand and the screen.
As one cryptic, but ultimately influential professor of mine used to say, "The thing is the thing." This statement drove my classmates and me absolutely crazy throughout our grad school career, but I finally interpreted it to mean that the "thing" is all about context. As designers, our mission is to communicate information clearly and appropriately. Sometimes these design solutions are appropriate as complex, but they should never be complicated; in interface design, experiences are most engaging when they are fluid, naturalistic responses to fundamental gestures. Determining the when and how is not unlike knowing when to comb another's hair, or flirt unabashedly.
Links of interest relevant to this post:
Online:
Don't Click It!
Microsoft Future Technology
Jeff Han, TED 2006
The work of Nikolai Cornell
Offline:
The United States Holocaust Museum, Washington D.C. USA
Haus der Musik, Vienna Austria
Franklin Institute, Philadelphia PA USA
Products:
HP TouchSmart tm2
pop up books, such as 600 Black Spots and ABC3D
I had an experience recently at Baltimore Penn Station that can only be described as bizarre. While waiting on the benches for my train to arrive, I was approached by a sociable tot whom I assumed was making her way towards me across the benches to say hi to a new friend. Instead, once she reached me, she proceeded to comb my hair. Her mother stopped her, and this kid's wide smile turned into a pout, and she proceeded to pitch a fit that echoed throughout the station. Rather than discipline her child, or explain to her why she cannot "comb that lady's hair," Mom unsuccessfully tried to bribe the kid with a donut to calm her down. I don't know how the story ends, but for the next 20 minutes, we were all subjected to the little girl's wails, and her mom's mantra, "want a donut? want a donut? want a donut?" (Mom: clearly, she did not.)
My 2-year old friend wasn't misbehaving, but her actions were inappropriate for their context. And while the initial incident was bizarre, the mother's response was baffling because it was so arbitrary: combing a stranger's hair (a misguided, but friendly gesture) yields the response of distraction-with-pastry? No lessons learned, and a sequence of cause + effect that is more non sequitur than natural. The initial behavior was out of context, and was met with an equally inappropriate response. From this, no lessons are learned, and confusion ensues.
Behavior in Context: Part II
Confusion--not to mention awkwardness--ensued from a former coworker's inability to recognize behavior appropriate to the workplace. Her emotional immaturity, and a crush on a fellow colleague, proved embarrassing on several occasions when she blatantly flirted with our colleague in the office and in other professional situations (full disclosure: I had no respect nor tolerance for her, and her behavior came across as desperate and pathetic, even in more appropriate contexts, but the extreme nature of her actions illustrate my point nonetheless).
Our office designed a heavy amount of corporate collateral, including substantial annual reports for Fortune 500 clients. As a result, we helped contribute to our paper vendor's healthy financial quarter. They are true professionals, and wanted to take our office out for a happy hour as a thank you. "Ray-ray" proceeded to get drunk, hold a beer over our colleague's head "threatening" to pour it on him---and then, due to her sloppiness, dumped the hops over his head. Our vendors were immediately and visibly uncomfortable with what they had just witnessed. She exhibited "woo girl" behaviors in an office context. For those of us who knew her, we should not have expected anything less (I think this was the night that elicited a slap across our colleague's face when he sent a sarcastic remark her way). One could argue that her behavior was inappropriate, regardless of the context, although if we were at a different kind of happy hour, maybe it would be considered fitting. But in a corporate environment with business colleagues, her behavior was inappropriate to its context, and most of us were more embarrassed for her than she seemed to be of herself. The response to her behavior was ill-fitting, too (I would have fired her, but she continued to "work" in our office for a few more years).
Behavior in Context: Part III
As it applies to user experience, behaviors in context demystify technology, making products more accessible and less daunting. Appropriate responses to behaviors--behaviors in this case, defined as user actions--minimize the learning curve, engage the user, and heighten the understanding of cause + effect. In a digital environment, natural interfaces integrate the actions and responses between physical and virtual environments. When this integration is successful, it is because of the appropriateness of the responses: I hover over an area on screen with more information, and that information is revealed; I click and drag my cursor across Google Maps, and the geography moves in the direction that I guide it. By contrast, early versions of the Palm Pilot failed to incorporate truly natural interactions into their product: the notebook and stylus metaphor was confusing because among other things, there was an awkward shorthand required for alphabet recognition. A former boss of mine spent more time trying to figure out how to use his Palm--a product he bought for its intended efficiency--than I spent taking copious notes the old fashioned way---pen to paper, longhand. In fact, he bought 2 Palms: one for his use, and one for our IT guy to use so that he could then teach our boss how to use his own (don't get me started on the challenges the Palm presented to him with regard to sharing information between Palm & desktop computer).
Advancements in technology, and an improved understanding of behaviors appropriate to their context have led to the introduction of highly sophisticated--and successful--touch screen interfaces like the iPhone and Microsoft surface, and gaming controls like the Wii. On my iPhone, I can scrunch something to minimize it, or swipe it away. The Wii's recognition of natural movements makes it a viable physical therapy for stroke victims, and physical fitness option for the general population; a tennis match requires swings of a 'racquet' and a bowling ball will stay with my Mii until I release it down the alley from my Wiimote. The touch screen interfaces are especially successful, because the middleman is eliminated--there is no device between the hand and the screen.
As one cryptic, but ultimately influential professor of mine used to say, "The thing is the thing." This statement drove my classmates and me absolutely crazy throughout our grad school career, but I finally interpreted it to mean that the "thing" is all about context. As designers, our mission is to communicate information clearly and appropriately. Sometimes these design solutions are appropriate as complex, but they should never be complicated; in interface design, experiences are most engaging when they are fluid, naturalistic responses to fundamental gestures. Determining the when and how is not unlike knowing when to comb another's hair, or flirt unabashedly.
Links of interest relevant to this post:
Online:
Don't Click It!
Microsoft Future Technology
Jeff Han, TED 2006
The work of Nikolai Cornell
Offline:
The United States Holocaust Museum, Washington D.C. USA
Haus der Musik, Vienna Austria
Franklin Institute, Philadelphia PA USA
Products:
HP TouchSmart tm2
pop up books, such as 600 Black Spots and ABC3D
Sunday, January 31, 2010
...goes to Baltimore
I recently began teaching at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA); the senior studio in which the students determine their own capstone projects. As someone who believes strongly in the impact of reading, writing, and 'making,' I made it a requirement for the seniors in my section to maintain a blog. The requirement holds two primary objectives:
- an alternative outlet for students to formulate thoughts, test ideas, work through challenges, and solicit / offer input to their classmates
- a way for me to observe (and guide) their process, especially given the fact that I'm on site only once a week
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