Presented at Google DevfestX 2012

1. Make you users feel nice
Introduction to
User Experience Designing –
Some Thoughts
Amrit Sanjeev
Bangalore Android User Group

2. About me
• Co-organizer of the Bangalore Android
User Group.
• Research Engineer - Mobility Group at
Philips R&D
• Architect – Android platform development
• Android hacker

3. How can we describe user experience ?
“User Experience is the qualitative
emotional description of multiple
interaction with an object, in this case
the user interface of a mobile
application.”

4. How would you want to read news on your mobile ???

5. Do not confuse it with Interaction design
• Interaction design is how the user would
interact with the application .
• Interface design is merely a method
• User Experience is the relationship

6. Factors that affect UX
MEMORY
INPUT COMPUTATIONAL
MECHANISM POWER
NETWORK
BATTERY
LATENCY
FORM FACTOR
USER CONTEXT
EXPERIENCE

7. Why is UX so important?
• The application environment is like a space
shuttle
– Single early failure = non returning user
• The first 30 -60 seconds usage is very
important
• The environment differs based on where
you are

8. Layers of Mobile Experience
PORTING Adapt for other devices that fit our strategy
OPTIMIZATION Reduce all assets to its lowest possible size, memory footprint
TESTING Test, test and test some more
DEVELOPMENT Put all the pieces together
PROTOTYPE Test the experience within the context
DESIGN Create a user experience based on needs
DEVICE PLAN Choose devices that best serve your audience
STATEGY How can we add value to the business
CONTEXT The circumstances where information adds value
NEEDS & GOALS Identify the basic needs of our users
IDEA We need an idea that inspires us

9. Elements of Mobile Design
CONTEXT
MESSAGE
LOOK & FEEL
LAYOUT
COLOR
TYPE
GRAPHICS

10. Mobile context
“Context is about the understanding human
relationships to the people , places and
things in the world”

11. Mobile context
Why will
Who are When will
they user
your they
your app
users ? interact?
?
How are
What is Where are
they
happenin the
holding it
g? users?
?

12. Message – what you are trying to say
“Overall mental impression you create
explicitly through visual design.”
• How will someone react to your design?
• What are your impressions of your design
?

13. Look & Feel
• What you use to describe the appearance
• Eg) clean look and feel or usable look and
feel
• “What does it mean?”

14. Layout
• How the user will visually process the
page ?
• The structural and visual components of
layout often get merged together, creating
confusion and making your design more
difficult to create.

15. Color
• Create and maintain brand identity
• Common problem : When complex
designs are displayed on different mobile
devices, the limited color depth on one
device can cause banding, or unwanted
posterization in the image.

16. Typography
• Try out custom typography styles . It will
make a huge difference
• subpixel-based screens –
– division of each pixel into a red, green, and blue
(or RGB) unit at a micro- scopic level, enabling
for a greater level of antialiasing for each font
character or glyph
• How type is rendered on mobile screens:
– pixel density or greater pixels per inch (PPI)

17. Graphics
• Use of images that are used to establish
or aid a visual experience.
• Graphics can be used to supplement the
look and feel, or as content displayed
inline with the text.
– Iconography
– Photos & Images

18. Behaviors and Usage

19. Mobile Environment
• Single early failure = non returning user
• First 30 ~ 60 seconds usage is critical
• Environment changes depending on where
you are
• Data Snacking ( small snippets, simple but
repetitive and regular )
• Reuse learnt behavior

20. Mobile Environment
• Mobile is NOT about making things
smaller
Miniaturisation vs Mobilisation
• Fewer options = simple and more effective
interface
• Decide the default states in UI to maximize
impact

21. Mobile Environment
• Faking it
– Increasing responsiveness
– Immediate visual changes while processing is
happening in backgroud
• Keep it simple ( the real hard part )
– Increases user comfort
– Sense of exploration increases

22. Conclusion
What comprises of a great mobile
experience?
Experiences are uniquely mobile
Is sympathetic to context
Exploit the power of mobility

23. Q&A