Ironing out the interface: Design of an iron user interface that elicits the feeling of simplicity

Ironing out the interface: Design of an iron user interface that elicits the feeling of simplicity

Kokkeler, L.

Boess, S.U. (mentor)
De Jong, A.M. (mentor)
Mys, M. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Industrial Design

Master of Science Design for Interaction

2010-12-17

This is the master thesis of the graduation project entitled “Ironing out the interface: design of an iron user interface that elicits the feeling of simplicity”, performed for the Philips Garment Care marketing department based in Amsterdam. The goal of this project is to improve the user interface of steam and system irons, by designing an interface that elicits the feeling of simplicity. The term ‘user interface’ is defined for this project as the parts of the iron that the user interacts with. Simplicity plays a significant role in this project; therefore the term simplicity is defined during the first ‘exploration’ phase: ‘The new interface should be simple and intuitive, in order to create a product that is easy to use. The interface will create a feeling of being in control and of being able to use the product optimally.’ With the intention of grasping the existing user knowledge, previous Philips user research is explored. Recent developments of iron interfaces are also discussed, as they influence the interactions with the users. The second phase concerns two types of qualitative user research with one common goal: ‘Understanding the users and their needs when interacting with an iron’. The initial explorative research (consisting of observations) reveals interesting directions for the second research. This research strives to gain tacit knowledge about the context of use of the iron, by conducting contextual research known as context mapping. This research consists of generative sessions with users that have been sensitized beforehand. A booklet containing the findings of the research is created. The aim of this booklet is to inspire, create empathy for the user and share these findings with the involved parties within Philips. In order to describe the envisioned interaction between the user and the iron, the following interaction vision is created during the third ‘conceptualization’ phase: ‘By creating relevant and unambiguous features & feedback, the interaction with the iron will stimulate a natural flow of the user’s actions into a state of distraction’. Ideas are generated and some fundamental decisions (based on technical insights, user insights and interaction insights) are taken. A selection of the potentially interesting ideas is made and this results into concepts for the steam and system iron. The two concepts are created consisting of an amalgamation of features believed to improve the interaction for the steam and system iron. In order to evaluate if the concepts have potential of complying with the interaction vision, an experiential prototype and storyboards are created and tested on several participants during the fourth ‘evaluation’ phase. Overall the participants responded positive about the concepts and most features seem to be regarded as relevant and unambiguous. There are signs that the concepts could elicit flow, and it is believed that it can stimulate the distraction during ironing. This means that the concepts have potential to comply with the interaction vision and therefore have potential to elicit simplicity. Finally some recommendations are made regarding the concept and the future.

contextmapping
user research
iron
interface
simplicity

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:4012a012-9438-4af5-9b55-e38619809a0c

2011-12-17

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2010 Kokkeler, L.