Lauren finds out that there is a new immersive installation for Alexander McQueen this month. It is a projection of the late and great designer creating his best looks ever. As a part of this immersive brand experience, Lauren would get to meet the current stylist for Mc Queen, giving her social media opportunity to broadcast something valuable to the fashion world. The best part? Because Lauren is fully involved with Fashion Island, she got a VIP pass that allows her to try on and model a look hand chose by the famous stylist. A couple of hashtags and Fashion Island would give her a small incentive for any sales made through her platform.
Lauren goes to the shopping plaza and interacts with the massive electronic and mirror displays, taking hundreds of selfies with people who are just as passionate as her. She takes pictures with a projection of Alexander McQueen, created to appear real using the front-facing camera of her smartphone. Although the display only takes up 1000 sq feet of space, she had a myriad of opportunities to take unique and exciting pics to share with her viewers. When she leaves, she adds all the hashtags and carefully tags the right links so she gets paid for every click that leads to a sale. Not only does she make new fans, after the event, she makes enough money to buy herself a new outfit!
As a result of her interaction and word around social media, Alexander McQueen gets back-ordered for all their items on sale and through Laurens work, new followers, and trendsetters. Due to the time-sensitive (and photogenic) nature of these installations, plenty of people come to visit the plaza, giving the plaza an opportunity for added revenue and more word on the web. This symbiotic interaction allows every party in the equation to win.
I watch the brightly colored koi swim under speckled floating leaves, often wriggling over one another. It’s a small world for these koi, and their sky is filled with peculiar folks with itemized ambitions. I had entered this skull-like-micro-city through its northeast entry almost ten minutes ago, cutting a diagonal towards the koi pond and then looping back until I found myself staring at those empty bulbous eyes again. I was fighting the bewitchment of every passing exterior, making irresistible pitches, beckoning me to come in, hissing in my ears, blinding my eyes with their sparkle…
“20% Off!” “Free tote with purchase!” “BOGO!”
“Hi gorgeous, this scent is so you! Let me spritz this seductive…” Articulates a high-pitched voice breaking a special connection between a bright yellow koi and I. I look up wearily. “No English,” I say, putting my exotic exterior to use. I pivot with a sigh. The iced coffee in my right palm is sweating, perhaps feeling the heat of my anxiety.
“I just have to go in there and tell them that these weren’t a good fit…”
“Hi! Would you like a great deal on a personalized phone cover?” A deep voice breaks my reverie. “No thanks,” I mumble, taking a too-big gulp of my coffee.
I suddenly come face-to-face with the behemoth that I had come here to challenge. The letters N-O-R-D-S-T-R-O-M tower over me, warning me that aggression is futile. I take another big gulp of my now barely-cool cold brew. I pat my tote, subconsciously placating my fear of no returns. “I should’ve read the return policy…” I think. “But Nordstrom has the best return policy!” echoes my sisters voice in my head. The best. But will it be enough?
I walk into the perfumed, chilled airs of the tower. The click-clacking of heels fills the environment, each sound accompanied by a primped body and a trendy manicure. I can’t help but run my fingers through a collection of cashmere, hung preciously on my left, colored in the hues of autumn, so soft they taste like burrata. I walk to the center of the room, looking down. At the foot of the escalator is a guy with a pink bow-tie. I can’t help but stare at his amazingly moisturized hands. “Hi, how can I help you?” He grins. I am an excellent customer, I remind myself. I have nothing to fear. I am always right.
“Hi, I want to return these…” I say as I dig into my purse, thankful for something to do. He looks at the items as I gently take them out of my tote, precariously placing each item on the counter. I can feel his face souring. I can’t look up. “Just these…” I say, leaving an item I had intended to return in the bag. He covers his disdain with a plastic smile. “Sure. What was wrong with them, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“They weren’t the right fit…” I mumble.
“Sorry to hear that…” His mouth states. His eyes say, “Yeah, right.”
“Your money will go back to your card. Thanks for being a loyal customer. Do you need a receipt?”
“No. I’m okay,” I say.
I try to walk out gracefully, but my feet assume an urgent trot. I’m exhilarated when the fresh air hits my face. I realize that I have left my coffee at the counter. I don’t care. Pink bowtie can have my coffee. All I know is that I have successfully returned from the tower, the weight on my shoulders and my credit balance a little lighter. As I scavenge my purse for my keys, I see the item I hadn’t returned-A hair tonic promising to sort through even the strongest of hair entanglements.
I look back at the tower.
Next round, I will enter the tower directly. “In and out,” I repeat to myself as I circle towards my ride. “Next time it will be in and out…”
Added outlines of the upper and lower parts of the mall to hint at the height and levels of the wide-spread mall.
Added the strength of wifi through a gradient (I walked a rough diameter of the wifi-spots in the plaza and approximated the radius to establish its strength and spread).
Added American and non-American categories to plaza restaurants to highlight lack of diversity.
Added the path of the trolley service. Since the trolley is bi-directional, I didn’t find it necessary to signify direction.
Emphasized the “island” aspect of fashion island through highlight pathway around the plaza.
Blocked the retail chains versus boutique/sole outlet with colors instead of using the “chain” and “star” icons as I had previously.
Improved the car density patterns to correspond to the legend better.
I found this exercise more demanding than I had anticipated. I started at the no parking sign and found the tree on the left at several turns so thought it deserved a place on my sketch. Many of the following turns didn’t introduce me to things that I found stimulating so I had to take multiple turns before I would find something interesting or space where I could sit and draw it. I found a lot of the architecture aesthetically appealing but I didn’t want it to be all buildings so I kept a lookout for little artifacts/signs to peak my interest. I also made two extra turns to grab a breakfast burrito on the way and found some fun things to sketch like a massive truck that had a large dominos tracker graphic on it. I found boutiques and signs very interesting, along with the vegetation in the area.
Overall, the trip was pretty long but I really got an opportunity to absorb my environment on a different level that I am used to. I was hoping to make it to the beach but somehow, the order of turns kept me in the housing and business areas.
I chose Fashion Island at 401 Newport Center Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Its long history, great restaurant and shopping choices and opportune location make it a thriving shopping plaza. It is one of my favorite spots to shop in my neighborhood and I love taking friends and family there for a bite to eat.
Community
The location is filled with locals and tourists alike. Today (October 30, 2017), as I was observing the premises, I noticed that there were fewer tourists. However, during summer months, you can spot a significant number of Arab and Asian population that greatly contributes to the City of Newport’s economy by shopping here. Since the plaza is filled with high-end stores, the local community that shops here tends to be higher-spending than average.
Today, the traffic wasn’t dense (from 12PM to 6PM). There was an average amount of traffic moving in and out of the parking lots and the parking lots were around 40% full. By evening, the plaza filled up distinctively. It appears that a large amount of food consumption happens by the employees at businesses nearby, therefore the traffic increases around lunch and early dinner hours.
Business Type
Fashion Island primarily supports retail business and restaurants. A shopper will find prominent retail chains like Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Traditional Jewelers, Tesla, Apple, Victoria’s Secret, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and restaurants like the Cheesecake Factory, Le Pain Quotidien, Stone Oven etc. You can find the grocery retailer Whole Foods. You can also find niche and boutique local stores here.
Geometry
Fashion Island is designed largely asymmetrically but is enveloped by a symmetrical elliptical pathway accessible by both cars and buses at nine entry points. The plaza itself looks like an intersection of two rectangles.
The following is the current map of the San Francisco International Airport. Its primary focus is to give a quick overview of where major terminals and transportation facilities are located for drivers and passengers.
[Photo Link: http://www.flysfo.com/maps; Credit: San Francisco International Airport Official Map]Clarity: This map employes the strategy of clarity really well. It filters out the noise and only indicates what is urgent and necessary. All the terminals are clearly indicated, using airplane icons to indicate where the planes are located and different colors to indicate the two halves of the airport system.
Balance: This map uses green, yellow and the grey scale to great effect. The colors are visually balanced by the structure of the land transportation and garaging system in grey-scale. The map also uses asymmetry to create balance by angling the perspective on the map uniquely.
First Impressions: Since there is a high chance that the person will be accessing this map while in motion, in a hurry or on a device while viewing this, “first impressions” definitely proves to be a key strategy in creating this map.
Activity-Centered Controls: There are no excess words or values on this map. In fact, the only words present are labels that determine the location that the person may be looking for. The map does an incredible job of replacing text with icons to present activity-centered controls in a graphic way.
Form Follows Functions: This map utilizes the forms of the garage system, ground transportation and docking-structure of the terminals and hangars to great effect. But blocking the structures with bright colors, the cartographer brings the viewers eye to the airport’s high-utility design. By outlining the routes of transportation in dark grey, the cartographer allows the viewer to instantly assess how the train allows its passengers to access terminals and the garage system.
This cognac colored Italian leather armchair is a part of a set including a couch and an ottoman. It was a lucky find at Macy’s before the furniture manufacturer of this brand stopped selling with the retail chain. This chair is where all the magic happens. In other words, it is my work chair and TV watching chair. I line it up with my ottoman and use it to prop my laptop and work on my school work or contract work and do all my writing on it. I love it because it receives good lighting from my large windows and sliding door during the day and receives light from the only source of light in my living room at night. During work hours, it gives me enough space to spread out and gives me visibility to both my TV and laptop screens which are connected to extend my desktop space. The leather is soft and I condition it often to maintain its texture. I also prefer to throw some blankets on it if I am working on it for extended periods of time.
This is my dining chair. It was bought in Mexico two decades ago and was upholstered by hand by my boyfriend’s grandmother who used to be a very accomplished seamstress and furniture upholsterer. It is now perceived as a family heirloom because of all the history it holds. The cushion is made with “ticking fabric”, a combination of cotton and linen, and is striated in texture. Its rigid seating doesn’t allow for extended comfort but is great for a meal. The high chairs allow for adequate leg space even though the placement of the dining set is compact.
This is my work chair at the Ceramic’s Studio, where I do visual branding and marketing consulting. It is a basic swivel and roll chair with a handle that adjusts the height. It doesn’t provide enough spine support for extended use but is suitable for the time frame of my engagement with it. The plastic and fabric are cheap (the fabric holds on to scents and stains). You cannot sit back in this chair, which is a plus because it is placed in a small space but a minus because it gives you no relief after sitting for a while.
This is a 2018 Mercedes Benz E63S AMG racing bucket seat. My boyfriend who works at Mercedes rented this car for me for this week. This seat is structured to set up a 5-point harness for a potential a roll cage even though the car is technically a luxury sedan. If you wanted to, you could take this car to the track and put a roll cage behind it. The seat-belt straps would come through the holes near your headrest and would strap you in like a race car. The seats are all leather and provide heating and cooling. It also has double stitching throughout and the double horizontal lines across its spine indicate the padding underneath for comfort. The leather is perforated to let it breathe. The seats in this car are extremely comfortable. On a scale from one to ten, I would give it a six (which would be high for race seating).
I love the DeLonghi Espresso because it is a semi-professional machine for a $100 price tag.
The machine creates cafe-grade espresso, lattes, and cappuccinos within five minutes, once the machine warms up (which takes ten minutes). I have undergone habituation with this machine because it took me several tries to understand how long to wait for the machine to heat up, how to “pack” ground coffee beans, and how to froth milk using the system. But the learning curve is related to the art of coffee making more than using the machine.
I greatly appreciate the product design and the user interface of the machine. The machine posses high visibility because it successfully uses mapping, especially semantic mapping but restricts the user input by utilizingaxes with effectiveconstraints: The green light and the “OK” word gives you a clear indication that the machine is ready to use. The icons used are clear: steam, power, “powering up”, “ready” are on the face of the machine. The steam knob at the top of the machine adjusts the strength of the steam. The machine gives you instant feedback once it uses its heat to disperse a shot or releases steam. The knob provides affordances for creating the right amount of steam. The machine overall provides great affordances for locking the packed coffee powder, catching the excess liquid at the bottom and cleaning the messy process.
HATE | Elizabeth Arden Lip Balm (Container)
I hate the Elizabeth Arden lip balm’s container because it makes using the incredible product inside an absolute drag (as you can tell from the dents and holes resulting from trying to pry the lid open on several occasions).
The container provides enough visibility as to whether the container is open or closed. The container is basic and provides no feedback as to its status. There is no indication to the fact that the balm doesn’t prefer heat and when you leave it in heat, it seeps into the lid and locks it in place. There are no affordances available to open the container when it does get stuck. There are physical constraints to restrict the movement of the lid. It would benefit the designer of the container to provide a barrier to restrict the product movement inside.
“Therefore, win-win opportunities for the environment and economy can be captured through improvements which reduce pollution in production processes (Porter & van der Linde, 1999). These authors argue that competitive advantages rely on the capacity for innovation; thus, “by stimulating innovation, strict environmental regulations can actually enhance competitiveness” (Porter & van der Linde, 1995, p. 98). As the Porter Hypothesis states, properly designed environmental policies that make use of market incentives can encourage the introduction of new technologies and reduce production waste.”
SOURCE: Emas, R. (n.d.). The Concept of Sustainable Development: Definition and Defining Principles. Florida International University. doi:https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/5839GSDR%202015_SD_concept_definiton_rev.pdfMaeda, J. (2006). The Laws of Simplicity. Cambrige, MA: MIT Press.
SOURCE EXAMPLE:
The source is a scholarly article without any images.
ONLINE EXAMPLE:
The Greenest Building in Netherland: This building was designed to utilize renewable energy, needing no external fuel, electricity, water or sewage, without compromising design or utility. [Photo Credit: PepeLeMoko, Wikipedia]
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
Mercedes Generation EQ, is an electric car with an inductive charging platform presenting an elegant alternative to current bulky charging stations. The car promises an “emotional quotient” and is meant to be Mercedes’ play at creating a competitive vehicle that looks, drives and interacts well with the consumer while having the world’s interest in mind. [Photo Credit: Mercedes Benz.]
“Uniformity trials are useful in identifying and quantifying sources of bias and variation without any interference from differing treatment conditions. They help to determine which factors need to be studied further to operationally remove or reduce bias and variability. Factors which contribue most to overall variability will also need the most replication.”
SOURCE: Murray, S. R. (1996). Principles of Experimental Design for the Life Sciences. CRC Press.
SOURCE EXAMPLE:
Source offers an example. “If a typical study involves administering test compounds or vehicles to laboratory animals, then the uniformity trial would involve administration of only the vehicle to all animals in the study in the same manner as usual. All other additional factors would be as they normally were and studied to assess whether differences in study outcomes among different levels of factors were large enough to warrant further investigation.”
ONLINE EXAMPLE:
AirBnB: The company provides uniformity in service by enforcing a “code of conduct” amongst human beings. They realised that people treat other people’s property better when the experience is personalized. By inviting renters to personalize their guests’ experience and asking the guests to remember that the renter is a real person, they forge a bond necessary to provide uniformity in service (and avoid lawsuits). [Photo Credit: BBC.com]
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
The Four Seasons: No matter which Four Seasons you go to, you will always recieve an exceptional level of service. There are place, product, time and people consistencies in every location. Since the chain services a discerning group of people, they have to provide a very high level of timeliness, accuracy, responsiveness, availability, variety, convenience and personalization amongst other things to legitimize their pricing and keep their customers satisfied. [Photo Credit: Booking.com]
The main goal of any design is to get a message across. It may be a straightforward message (“Buy this product!”), or it may be a complicated one, but in all cases, there’s a story to be told. In an excellent design, every shape, color, photograph, and font choice works together to create a strong, clear message. Great designers add elements that contribute, and (just as importantly!), they weed out elements that distract.”
SOURCE: Reigstad, K. (2015, March 25). The Principles of Design: Clarity. Retrieved October 17, 2017, from https://dailypost.wordpress.com/2015/03/25/the-principles-of-design-clarity/
SOURCE EXAMPLE:
“The classic Joseph Müller-Brockmann poster below is a great example of design elements that work together to tell a story. The shapes flow like a symphony, while the simple, organized typography fills in the details,”KJELL REIGSTAD. [Source: Design is History]
ONLINE EXAMPLE:
Search Engine on Wired: This search engine takes clarity to the next level. When you press the magnifying glass icon on the top right side, you are taken to this page, allowing you focus on your inquiry. [Photo Credit: Wired]
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
The Kindle Paperwhite: This ebook takes the design principle of clarity and applies it to reading. The creators deduced smartly that having a device that projects light and texture like paper would provide the reader a better reading experience. [Photo Credit: Amazon]
“(1) Trust manifests in the product design process with the integration of Privacy, Safety, and Security principles.(2) Partnership is key. Security is a requisite for privacy and safety.
(3) Find that sweet spot of giving consumers meaningful controls over their experience without limiting the core functionality of the product.”
SOURCE: Bao, H. (2016). Building Trust by Design: How to Integrate Privacy, Security and Safety into Your Product. Insomnihack. Retrieved October 17, 2017, from https://insomnihack.ch/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/inso16_trust_by_design.pdf.
SOURCE EXAMPLE:
[Photo Credit: Insomnihack.com]
ONLINE EXAMPLE:
Google: Google has embarked upon creating unique design interactions on their homepage like no other company has. Through playing with their logo (the ultimate branding experience), they bring to light important events, thoughts, and people, providing education, news, games or a little ray of sunshine to any day. This effort is a great trust builder with consumers because they are “giving” people an experience without (evidently) expecting anything in return, on a daily basis.[Photo: Google.com]
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
Discover: When you call discover, they answer. They answer fast. Discover was the first company to realize that people like to talk to people, not machines. This insight has made them one of the best companies for consumer interaction. I personally use my discover card everywhere I can because not only do I trust their service but also because they treat me well. [Photo Credit: Discover.com]
“Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.”
SOURCE: Maeda, J. (2006). The Laws of Simplicity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
SOURCE EXAMPLE:
[Photo Credit: lawsofsimplicity.com]
ONLINE EXAMPLE:
MailChimp: This e-newsletter creation and management’s simple topographical design takes a daunting task and makes it visually appealing and easy to comprehend. It uses simple stylistic elements to create a visual representation of the data. [Photo Credit: Creative Bloq]
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
Spoon: The spoon is a perfect example of effective design through simplicity. This spoon affords a surface to hold and a large enough surface to pick up enough food to place in the mouth. It does exactly what it needs to do and nothing more. [Photo Credit: Martha Beck]
If they can’t find what they’re looking for within three clicks, they might move on to somebody else’s site. Hence the so-called “Three-Click Rule,” which, as you might expect, states that users should ideally be able to reach their intended destination within three mouse clicks.
SOURCE: Zeldman, Jeffery (30 May 2001). Taking Your Talent to the Web: Making the Transition from Graphic Design to Web Design. New Riders. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7357-1073-3.
SOURCE EXAMPLE:
Let’s play it out. You are designing a site for people who live with house- cats. In the scenario portion of development, the team agrees that cat own- ers might want to read about Mister Tibbles’ genetic heritage. In the top-level hierarchy, you create an item called Breeds. When Aunt Martha clicks Breeds, the site offers Long-Hair, Short-Hair, Tabby, and Exotic options. A second click takes her to Short-Hair, a third to Mister Tibbles’ particular breed.
Zeldman, Jeffery (30 May 2001). Taking Your Talent to the Web: Making the Transition from Graphic Design to Web Design. New Riders. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7357-1073-3.
ONLINE EXAMPLE:
Apple’s Desktop Website: The 3-click rule primary indicates that good interfaces need to minimize the number of clicks that people should need to get to the content they are looking for. A business can use this rule to assure themselves that there “bottom line” is always in view. The Apple website does this beautifully. Every essential navigational item is visible on every page at all times. [Photo Credit: Apple Inc.]
MOBILE APP EXAMPLE:
The WhatsApp Messenger: The app caters to the needs of their clients by allowing them an opportunity to fulfill their needs with limited intuitive clicks. You never need more than three clicks to get to your destination. [Photo Credit: IBlast Phone]
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer: The heat and power are controllable within a few clicks, making it very intuitive and quick. [Photo Credit: Dyson Inc.]
Every feature or piece of functionality we add to the system should add value for users and the business. We should spend time and effort building the features that people need and want to use. We do this by understanding the root of the problem we are trying to solve and by fully understanding user needs and business needs.
Each delivered feature should work well and be well designed before we move on to adding the next feature.
SOURCE: Oxford Computer Consultants . (2016, November 08). OCC’s design principles. Retrieved October 17, 2017, from https://www.oxfordcc.co.uk/design-principles/
Source doesn’t cite a visual example.
ONLINE EXAMPLE:
Canva: Canva has proven over time that their corporate strategy is to provide value. Not only do they provide a plethora of design options but they stick to only adding features, options, and upgrades where it is absolutely necessary. [Photo Credit: Canva.com]
REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE:
In-N-Out: This fast food chain is the ultimate example of what it means to provide value over features. They have stuck to their core menu, corporate standards and food quality standards for decades. [Photo Credit: Photo: Rachel Haller/Flickr]
PERSONAL EXAMPLE:
Chanel: Coco Chanel had a vision. To create fashion that would stand the test of time. Chanel’s brand has continued to stand by this corporate philosophy by creating limited products with no iterations. [Photo Credit: Wikipedia]
