Latest Articles
i-design 08 - 3D to 5D
The first panel discussion broached the topic of 5D, the developing area of immersive design that touches on themes around sensory experience, virtual reality environments and design that is not just digital and not just virtual, but rather a hybrid of the two.
moreOnline Advertising Bucks Flagging Market
The industry received a welcome boost this week with the news that Internet advertising revenues rose significantly in the first half of 2008, despite tough economic conditions. NMK quizzed the industry on what we can expect for the next year.
moreITV’s Overlay Advertising Trial Panned
Troubled ITV is experimenting with ‘automatically placed overlay advertising’ to help revive flagging revenues. NMK’s Chris Lee canvassed opinion from around the new media industry about the move.
more- More Web 2.0 Needed In Schools
- UK Council for Child Internet Safety Launches
- US Presidential Election Gets Social
- i-design 08 - Brendan Dawes, My Interactive
- i-design 08 - Simon Waterfall
- YouTube gets into Top Gear
- Goldfarming for Fun and Profit
Related Articles
i-design 08 - 3D to 5D
The first panel discussion broached the topic of 5D, the developing area of immersive design that touches on themes around sensory experience, virtual reality environments and design that is not just digital and not just virtual, but rather a hybrid of the two. more
i-design 08 - Brendan Dawes, My Interactive
Brendan Dawes, creative director of MacneticNorth, talked about the ways in which his early experience of technology has affected his approach to interactive media and of the seismic shift that has taken place in recent years in how people use technology. more
i-design 08 - Simon Waterfall
Simon Waterfall, creative director at Poke and former digital chair of D&AD, began the day with a series of questions and observations about the aspects of online media he found frightening and disturbing. more
YDA Awards Open for Entries
The Y Design Awards (YDA), part of London Design Festival, is now open for entries. Covering nine categories, the awards recognise excellence in the UK’s digital creative industries at a designer level. more
Great Funwall of China
In February this year it was reported that China had overtaken America to become the world's biggest Internet market. With 221 million Web users, it is little wonder that more companies are looking to expand their offering in the country. more
Related Events
i-design Portfolio Clinic
Location: Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, South Bank Centre, London
Price: Reduced to £0.00 if you are eligible for a discount.
Book now for the i-design 08 conference
Location: Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London
Price: £70.00 Reduced to £60.00 if you are eligible for a discount.
User Centred Design (NMK)
Location: Central London TBC
Price: £250.00 Reduced to £200.00 if you are eligible for a discount.
User Centred Design (NMK)
Location: University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UX
Price: £250.00 Reduced to £200.00 if you are eligible for a discount.
London Web Design Meetup
Location: Horse & Groom, 128 Great Portland St, London, W1W 6PX.
Price: Reduced to £0.00 if you are eligible for a discount.
China's Digital Sector Focus On Users
StumbleUponDr Rachel Jones, founder of Cambridge design and innovation company Instrata, reports on the recent SESUN project user-centred design (UCD) workshop tour of China. The workshops, led by leading practitioners in the field, shed light on the levels of technological progress in the country...
A recent user-centred design (UCD) workshop tour of China held by the SESUN project and involving leading experts and practitioners in the field unearthered some interesting insights into the levels of design and progress towards usability in websites in the region...By Dr Rachel Jones
[Register and post your own comments on this article below...]
The aim of the SESUN project (www.sesun-usability.org) is for China and the EU to collaborate in the design of usable IT. The objectives are mutually beneficial: contributing to the development of usability practices in the Chinese IT industry whilst showcasing European expertise in user-centred design.
UCD tends not to have been given the same level of priority in China in the past as in Europe, so we were surprised to discover the high level of both interest and progress.
We led workshops in Beijing, Dalian and Shanghai. On each occasion, we asked participants their background discipline and application area. Most participants were from the software industry or had an industrial design background. They worked in fairly equal proportions on products, websites and handheld devices.
China’s tech-designers focusing on the user
Workshops were well-attended with between 100 and 120 participants at each session. There are very few UCD courses offered by Chinese universities and as a result of this lack of formal training, many of the questions asked in the workshops reflected on the different roles in UCD, how the roles worked together, the skills required, and how to recruit and gauge UCD expertise.
Participants were keen to hear about case studies, carry out exercises, and learn about the impact of limitations, such as recruiting from internal staff.
We were particularly surprised by how comparable the issues are to those of practitioners in Europe, at least as reflected by participants’ questions. For example, common issues that were raised in workshops included:
• knowing how to shift users to a radically new interface when they are familiar with the old one
• gaining time to do user research and iterative development
• how to use different types of prototyping at different stages in the process
• how to understand usefulness when a device does not already exist
• the relationship between data mining and usability
• how to test for emotional appeal
The tour was organised from China by Prof Zhengjie Liu, and four people from Europe ran the workshops: Professor Jan Gulliksen from Uppsala University in Sweden, Nils-Erik Gustafsson from Metamatrix in Sweden, Jon Rimmer from University College London and Rachel Jones from Instrata in Cambridge.
Professor Janni Nielsen from Copenhagen Business School joined them for the last workshop. Christina Li from Thames Valley University was interpreter, guide, reviewer and food advisor.
About the Author:
Dr Rachel Jones is Managing Director and founder of Instrata. She has worked for the two foremost pioneers of people-centred techniques in design: Xerox EuroPARC and Sapient (formerly E-lab), and has over 20 international publications and has authored 10 patents. Headquartered in Cambridge UK, Instrata specialises in people-centred innovation and design. This includes design research, user-centred interactive solutions and strategic market innovation. Instrata’s team includes technologists, anthropologists, strategists and designers, building an in-depth understanding of the requirements of potential customers. The company has extensive experience in the technology sector, including: mobile services; home devices; medical products; web services and control systems. Instrata’s work is relevant across diverse market sectors. Clients include: Microsoft; Yahoo; The Automation Partnership (TAP); University of Cambridge; British Design Council and The Countryside Agency. Instrata has conducted projects in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Japan, and the USA. www.instrata.co.uk
The University of Westminster is a charity and a company limited by guarantee.
Reg. No: 977818 England. Reg. Office: 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2UW
© 2008 New Media Knowledge.
Site created by Green on Black and designed by Imagination
Comments
You must be logged in to comment.