Synopses & Reviews
The world of smart shoes, appliances, and phones is already here, but the practice of user experience (UX) design for ubiquitous computing is still relatively new. Design companies like IDEO and frogdesign are regularly asked to design products that unify software interaction, device design and service design -- which are all the key components of ubiquitous computing UX -- and practicing designers need a way to tackle practical challenges of design. Theory is not enough for them -- luckily the industry is now mature enough to have tried and tested best practices and case studies from the field.
Smart Things presents a problem-solving approach to addressing designers' needs and concentrates on process, rather than technological detail, to keep from being quickly outdated. It pays close attention to the capabilities and limitations of the medium in question and discusses the tradeoffs and challenges of design in a commercial environment. Divided into two sections, frameworks and techniques, the book discusses broad design methods and case studies that reflect key aspects of these approaches. The book then presents a set of techniques highly valuable to a practicing designer. It is intentionally not a comprehensive tutorial of user-centered design'as that is covered in many other books'but it is a handful of techniques useful when designing ubiquitous computing user experiences.
In short, Smart Things gives its readers both the "why" of this kind of design and the "how," in well-defined chunks.
* Tackles design of products in the post-Web world where computers no longer have to be monolithic, expensive general-purpose devices
* Features broad frameworks and processes, practical advice to help approach specifics, and techniques for the unique design challenges
* Presents case studies that describe, in detail, how others have solved problems, managed trade-offs, and met successes
Review
Finally a book about ubiquitous computing that covers the broad challenges of designing for user experiences over a vast range of devices, device sizes from micro to meso to macro, and crucially, ecologies of devices. An evocative tour thru past design efforts and devices/systems that beautifully sets the stage for the design challenges we are quickly marching into. --
John Seely Brown, Former Chief Scientist, Xerox Corporation; Former Director, Palo Alto Research Center (PARC); author The Social Life of Information and The Power of Pull
"This book explains in no-nonsense language why you should care that computing has become ubiquitous and what the implications are for people who design things. Even better, it lays out suggestions as to how to use this knowledge to make better things. If you've ever wondered how interface, interaction, information, and industrial design overlap, what they have to do with user experience, and how it's all affecting your life, you should read this book." -- Tom Igoe, Associate Professor, NYU, Interactive Telecommunications, author of Physical Computing and Making Things Talk
"Smart Things is a rare artifact from the future that packs immediate practical value. I predict its coverage of multi-scale design will change user experience practice forever. It is the most useful book about the future of design I've read and has changed the way I work. Mike Kuniavsky doesn't just write about the future, he lives there... and now so can you." -- Peter Morville, President, Semantic Studios, author, Ambient Findability
"Provocative and pragmatic, Smart Things describes an important new approach to the design of consumer electronics. Its chapters explain why the design of digital products is different than other kinds of design and provide valuable techniques that unify the disciplines of interaction and industrial design." - Charles L Jones, Vice President, Global Consumer Design, Whirlpool
Synopsis
The practice of user experience (UX) design for ubiquitous computing is still relatively new. "Smart Things" presents a problem-solving approach to addressing designers' needs and concentrates on process, rather than technological detail, to keep from being quickly outdated.
Synopsis
The world of smart phones, appliances, picture frames, and shoes is already here, but the practice of user experience design for digital ubiquitous products and environments that do not have traditional software user interfaces is a relatively new practice. Unifying software interaction with device and service design and creating a successful product is no easy task. Based on years in the UX, mobile, and industrial design trenches, Mike Kuniavsky brings you the first practical book on the subject, whether you call it ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, or the Internet of Thingsuser experience design. His problem-solving approach provides both broad design methods and a varietycase studies of real world successes hits and misses. This book gives you both the "whyhow" and the "howwhy" of of designinging smart products that people will buy and use.
About the Author
Mike Kuniavsky is a founding partner of Adaptive Path, a user experience consulting company in San Francisco. He has been developing commercial web sites since 1994, and is the interaction designer of an award-winning search engine, HotBot. He created the Wired Digital User Experience Laboratory and served as its chief investigator for two years. His design work and writing have appeared in many publications, including
WebMonkey,
ID Magazine,
Wired,
Step-By-Step Design, Inc.,
The Wall Street Journal,
The LA Times, and
.Net (UK).
Founder, ThingM, a ubiquitous computing design and development company; cofounded Adaptive Path, a leading internet consultancy; cofounded Wired Digital UX for Wired Magazine's online division, where he served as the interaction designer of the award-winning search engine, HotBot.
Table of Contents
Part I: F rameworks 1 Chapter 1
: Introduction: The Middle of Moore's Law Chapter 2
: W hat Is User Experience Design and Who Creates It? Chapter 3
: Interaction Metaphors Chapter 4
: Information Is a Material Chapter 5
: The Whirlpool centralpark™ Refrigerator: The Design of an Accessory Port Chapter 6
: Information Shadows Chapter 7
: Clickables: Toys and Information Shadows Chapter 8
: Devices Are Service Avatars Chapter 9
: The iPod: A Service Avatar Chapter 10
: Applianceness Chapter 11
: RoomWizard: An Appliance for Office Society Chapter 12
: Scales of Experience Chapter 13
: Plasma Poster: Unifying Work Cultures with a Digital Poster
Part II T echniques Chapter 14: Observation and Ideation Chapter 15: Simulation and Sketching Chapter 16: Nabaztag, an Ambiguous Avatar Chapter 17: Augmentations and Mashups Chapter 18: Common Design Challenges Chapter 19: From Invisible Computing to Everyware