Weekly+Lab+6+Response

=Lab 6=

What is Body Storming?
Body storming allows researchers to delve into the notion of interactivity. They will be given an idea of how to adjust their product to help better the functionality. This type of research extends further from abstract concepts and transforms them into physical ones. It gives designers the opportunity to test out a design in the real world.

A example of body storming involves stepping into the situation, of someone who has a disability such as blindness, arthritis, and attention deficit disorder. Disabilities can leave people feeling frustrated, alone, and scared. Designing for disabled people is very important because many suffer from disabilities and designers fail to recognize the importance of considering these issues when designing. Some designers do not even consider many of these issues and purposely design only for the general user. One important aspect of designing is to make it user-centered. Designers sometimes fail to understand how humans are interacting with their products therefore losing focus on the entire product. Moreover, having a user-centered design involves its interaction with the environment. For example, whether or not the product is made of material that can be easily recycled. This has a lot to do with body storming because you are trying to examine exactly how a product works in a given environment. You come to analyze how an actual product will function in the real world.

Another way of body storming is constructing prototypes and constructing environments. By constructing environments you are providing stimulation for your product to act in. I prefer putting a product in a real environment rather than a stimulated one but this will give you a good indication in how it will act in the real world.

Body Storming Analysis
One issue that I would like to body storm are the buttons of new flat screen televisions and Blu-ray players. I own both by Samsung. Although both products deliver amazing quality in picture and sound, it only irritates me in one feature that is present in both products. The feature that lacks usability is the buttons.

I took these pictures to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about. The first one is the television and the second picture is the Blu-ray player.



In order to maintain a sleek design Samsung removed the buttons. Instead sensors replace these buttons and you do not have to physically push a button. Although the design as a whole is phenomenal its usability and accessibility is low.

One problem that I have with the product is the usability depending on the environment that it is placed in. When I am trying use the Blu-ray player in the dark there is no backlight. Therefore, I do not know exactly where the buttons are placed and if I am pushing the right one. This is the same with the television. Therefore, it is becomes difficult for the use these products in dark environments.

The user does not know how much pressure is required to ensure that that the button has been properly pushed. The buttons are not well defined on the black background.A lot of the times these sensors require you to push them at a particular spot that can be easily missed. The user is oblivious to the amount of pressure to input.

People with disability may have difficulty with this aspect of the design. Designers sometimes turn a blind eye and only design for the general user. The company is ignoring specific demographics. People with arthritis may have a hard time with these buttons because of their lack in feedback. As users age they may have difficulty seeing the buttons. The design is poor because you can barely see the shape of the button and what they stand for. The black background makes it difficult to see in the dark and during the day.

Perhaps something that Samsung can do for the future is to develop buttons that light up first when the user is trying to press something so that the user knows what exactly they are pushing. Also add a bit more emphasis on the buttons by outlining them in a different color. Most importantly consider users outside the general population and test the product with users with different conditions.