What is Design?
Why does it matter?
David Vronay
Research Manager
Windows UI Strategy
Microsoft, Inc.
Dave Vronay
• Current Role
– Research Manager, Windows UI Strategy (MSX)
• Previous Roles
– Research Manager, Microsoft Research Asia Center
for Interaction Design
– Researcher, Social Computing Group, Microsoft
Research
– VP Technology, ImaginEngine (children’s software)
– Researcher, Human Interface Group, Apple Computer,
Inc.
• Educational Background
– Philosophy
– Cinema Production
– Game Programming (self-taught)
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Class Process and
Agenda
Class Structure
• Five day seminar
• No Previous Design Experience
Necessary
• No programming required
– But the lectures will assume a
knowledge of programming concepts
• Participation both inside and
outside of class
– You will only learn this stuff by trying it
yourself
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Assignments
• Every Seminar ends with an
assignment
• Each day’s lecture builds on the
assignments of the previous day
• Assignments can be done
individually or in groups
– I recommend diverse groups
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Getting the most out of the seminar
• Do the assignments
• Use the TAs
• Take advantage of your instructor
– Ask questions!!
– I am around outside of class
– davevr@microsoft.com
• Embrace the concepts
– Don’t just focus on the work
– Make it relevant to what you do every
day
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
What is Design?
MSX and Design at Microsoft
• MSX = Microsoft User Experience
Team
• In reality, MSX focuses on
Windows, not all Microsoft
products
– Shell, IE, Media Player
– Not MSN, Office, Money, Halo, etc.
• Set & enforce style guidelines
• Define the computing experience
for the rest of the world
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
What does MSX do?
• Interaction Design of Windows!
• What is interaction design?
• Making something look good
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
What is Interaction Design?
Device
Capabilities
& Device
Limitations
User Needs
and
User Abilities
USER INTERFACE
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
What designers do
• Understand the user
– Needs, capabilities, desires
• Understand the problems
– Frustrations, confusions, inabilities
• Propose solutions
– enable technology to meet the user’s needs without
exceeding the user’s capabilities
• Test Everything
– Design decisions are not opinions, but are
strenuously tested in formal usability studies
• Iterate as necessary
– Design is a process of moving ever closer to (but
never reaching) the mythical ideal solution
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Common Design Myths
•
MYTH: Designers are artists
–
•
MYTH: Designers are really creative
–
•
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Truth: Designers do not do any technology! Therefore, it is essential
that we collaborate with other groups (like yours).
MYTH: Design is a luxury
–
•
Truth : Design should start as early as possible. The longer you wait,
the less benefit you can get from design. Ideally, design should start
before any other work.
MYTH: Designers are aloof and in their own world
–
•
Truth : Design is much more about being methodical than creative.
Designers want to test and measure every possible approach and
variable
MYTH: Designers come in at the end to polish the final work
–
•
Truth: most designers are not particularly good artists, and most
artists are not good designers
Truth: Actually, design can be especially valuable in cost-conscious
projects because it can stop you from going down dead-ends
In general, design is just a method for solving problems!
Roles in Design
• Interaction Designers
– Design the user model and overall flow
• Visual Designers
– Design the look and feel
• Industrial Designers
– Design the hardware
• Usability Experts
– Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists
• Prototypers
– Fast programmers who help realize designs
• Production Team
– Artists, Animators, Musicians
– Production Managers
– Internal Tools
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Why does design
matter?
A History of the World
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stone Age
Bronze Age
…
Agricultural Age
Industrial Age
Information Age
• And now, the Conceptual Age
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Welcome to the Conceptual Age
• Programming has become a
commodity
– Today China & India
– Tomorrow, Vietnam
– Soon, gone all-together
• Technology is not enough
– How the technology fits into the human
lifestyle is what determines success
• Example: iPod, cell phone, etc.
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
What skills are needed?
• Everything that was needed before,
plus…
• Deep Understanding of
Technology
• Sense of Aesthetics
• Concern for the human condition
• Love of perfection
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Design in the Software
Development Process
The Old Way
Code
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Ship!
The Old Microsoft Way
Write
Spec
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Coding
Testing
Ship!
The Current Model
Design and
Write
Spec
Coding
Testing
Serious problem discovered!
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Usability
Ship!
A Design-Centric Model
Define
Problems
& Goals
Design
Solutions
Rapid
Prototype
User
Test
Less than perfect
Close to
perfect
Write
Spec
Coding
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Testing
Ship!
In summary…
• Design produces a better product
– Iterate and test many versions instead of
just one
• Design saves money
– Rewrites and changes are discovered
during prototyping, while they are still
cheap to fix
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Now it is your turn!
Current calculator is unchanged from
Windows 1.0
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Time for a redesign
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Let’s design Calculator XP!
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Assignment 1: Calculator XP
• Redesign the calculator to make it
better than the one currently
shipping in XP
• Produce a simple walkthrough
that explains your design
– PowerPoint, Acrobat, HTML, etc.
– No more than three pages
• Do not write code
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Understanding the space
•
•
•
•
•
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
Problems with current design
Limitations with current product
Capabilities of the computer
Features we could have
Uses and users
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.
© 2005 Microsoft, Inc.