Companion Selling – May 2011

Get your till on.

Over the last decade “the World Wide Web has become an important channel for providing information and services” (Fogg, Soohoo, Danielso, Marable, Stanford, & Tauber, 2002), so the importance of the user being aware of the credibility is paramount, as society moves more and more towards organizing over the internet, such as: pay bills, buying clothes and donating, the credibility of a web site is essential, to ensure that the user isn’t tricked by fraud. Credibility is decided by the user, they have the option to invest their time or money into certain website, if a website can provide comfort to a user, they will be able to depend on that website and trust its creator/s.

Wikipedia is a perfect example of a webpage that is considered as ‘un-believable’ because the accessibility for all Internet users to manipulate the data on Wikipedia. The Web can be a highly credible source of information, but that is “depending on the person or organization behind a given Web site” (Fogg, 2003, p. 148). Yet Wikipedia does have some credibility, being open to so many people the information is corrected and updated by many users, and this increases the credibility, and moves towards an unbiased source because of so many users. With so many minds coming together the information has some believable aspect to it, in the Thomas Chesney research in 2006 he “simply wanted to see whether Wikipedia could be considered accurate enough to be worth using. His study suggests that it can” (Anderson, 2006), but only with extra research on top of the information received. Wikipedia needs to be used with caution, because the information can be manipulated easily, decreasing Wikipedia’s credibility.

Fogg (2003) found in his research that the perception of Web credibility changes over time. I will discuss the possible cause and effects of future of the change of perception in regards to the Web and the issues that may occur because of it:

• Online banking and payments will become the norm; this will be caused by more confidence in the reliability of the Internet, and seeing it more as a non-biased being. This will then see the end of cheques, because payments will be purely on the Internet, and the need for cheques will dissipate. Paying over the Internet will be extremely accessible. With the possibility of more online banking, there is a larger chance of Internet fraud by websites impersonating bank sites.
• Meeting people over the Internet, such as dating sites and social networks, will become more accepted. Personally the though of meeting someone on the internet without personal contact previously is weird and scary, but as more and more dating sites become available, the more and more people will start to meet, and it will be become accepted in society over a period of time. This could lead to more predators on the Internet, manipulating and luring certain people into dangerous situations.
• The ability to chat face to face over programs such a Skype will increase and move the older generation into computers. The main problem with my father and the Internet is the speed of his typing. He would not be able to communicate via typing to another person over the Internet, and the introduction of video calls will allow the older generation to talk and not type, which is more appealing to that age group. Video chatting will become more popular, and chat communication will eventually be faded out. With the virtual world expanding, it could possibly engulf reality and people will increasingly depend on the Internet to communicate.

There are many possibilities to the perception of the Internet in the future and the issues attached to them; they may even think that the Internet possesses the computer to manipulate humans. As more knowledge and shift in society, perception are constantly changing.

There are many elements that are involved in the webs credibility, and Fogg (2003) suggests that there are four main types of web credibility: presumed, reputed, surface and earned.

www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit/

Presumed is the assumptions made to the credibility of a page. For example this page set up by the Australian Government in regard to Non-Profit Organisations. By having the web address end in: gov.au, the user will presume that the website is credible, just by the title of the URL.

Reputed credibility is the endorsement made by other websites, justifying another’s credibility. At teenreadtoo.com, they are endorsed by amazon.com and by pcworld.com; this enhances their credibility, by find connected with other sites. This is not linking, but rather a symbol that represent a certificate of approval from another site, a form of referencing to enhance a webpage’s credibility.

teensreadtoo.com

ibs.bankwest.com.au/

Surface credibility is the first impression, and one that I believe is the most important in regards to the credibility of a webpage. The Bankwest with logos and an eye attractive design the site looks professionally designs and with no ads or pop-ups the surface credibility is high. The first impression is positive because the website is not overloaded with information.

www.bookdepository.co.uk/

Earned credibility is the hardest to earn, but is the most rewarding, it is consistent with its performance, credibility, used without fear and is constantly being updated. Personally I have found that bookdepository.co.uk has earned credibility with me as a customer and user of the website, by quickly replying to my emails and sending me receipts via email of my purchases I have invested a lot of time and money into this website, because of its earned credibility.

Credibility is essential to a successful website, and will allow or more clicks and dedication to the website from users.

References

Anderson, N. (2006, November 27). Experts rate Wikipedia’s accuracy higher than non-experts. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Ars tecnica: http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/11/8296.ars

Fogg, B. J. (2003). Credibility and the World Wide Web. In Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do. Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

Fogg, B. J., Soohoo, C., Danielso, D., Marable, L., Stanford, J., & Tauber, E. R. (2002, November 11). How Do People Evaluate a Web Site’s Credibility? Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/doc/501181/How-Users-Evaluate-Website-Credibility-

Sundar, S. S. (2006). Self as Source: Agency and Customization in Interactive Media. Dresden: International Communication Association .

A user of an object or a design will not want to put more effort then is necessary in regards to its performance. The performance load follows the idea of ‘reaping what you sow’, if a user invest a lot in the work load, mentally or physically, then they will expect even more from that effort. If the workload for a design is low, then users will feel more inclined to use it. There are two aspects to the performance load: cognitive and kinematic load.

The cognitive load “refers to the total amount of mental activity that the working memory has to attend to at an instance in time” (Pitts, Ginns, & Errey, 2006), if the necessary mental power to use an object is high, then the probability of the design being used decreases because the user becomes uncomfortable. (Preece, 1993) If the method to accomplish certain goals were complicated in a mental sense, then it would be ideal to reduce the information that is in the users eyes, and try to collect information that needs to be remembered.

Kinematic load deals with the motion of a body or system (Pye, 1978), and how much physical effort it takes to use a certain design. If it takes a lot of physical attention to attain a certain goal, or complete a certain task, then the possibility of accomplishment diminishes, users will want to invest as little as possible and achieve as much as they can. “The human brain holds a center … called the basal ganglia … where we store patterns and routines” (Weber, 2007), and this is where it is believe the laziness pattern comes from, but arguable it is how we make sure that designs are as efficient as possible, restricting human effort. A designer will look to minimize physical activity in the interest of the intended user.

Design should aim at simplifying a design to increase its use and appeal, allowing for the user to be able to accomplish with as little physical and mental effort as possible.

An Electric Sander

An electric sander is one of these designs that allows for the workload to decrease because of its design. It was Black and Decker that created the “trigger switch, innovations that are still standard in electrical tools today” (Dictionary of Design since 1900, 2004, p. 39), their designed reduced the workload, and increased the users enjoy ability. By adding an accessible switch, the user could reap more then they sowed, they felt a sense of accomplishment when they controls the design.

“Chunking” information, allows for the reader to process information in an easier fashion. Having a section where the information can be collected, allows for the user to be able to access the information that they want, and be able to get there in an easy fashion, and this action is called “minimizing visual noise” (Lindwell, Holden, & Butler, 2003, p. 148). Reducing the relentless inundation of information to the user, the design can be broken up, and allowed for easier navigation and legibility.

The “chunking” of the information could be as easy as a summary at the end of the page that allows for the user to read over what he has just read and see how everything fits together. A summary doesn’t bring any more to the information presented previously, but neatly condenses it to one section as an overview of the previous information.

“Chunking” a website is also another important aspect for web designers. They are able to designate certain section of the screen to allow the user to process certain tasks. The columns can allow for navigation, with the top of the screen having the possibility to take the user back to home page, or ‘breadcrumbs’ that outlines the path a certain user travelled to make it to a certain page.  The ‘chunking’ allows the user to access certain things; it also shows that the web page has been designed, not just cobbled together.

Paragraphs could also be considered as a form of ‘chunking’ information, they allow for space between idea to the next, and this allows for the reader to easily distinguish between sections. These paragraphs are usually organised in topics, and the topics are usually hyperlinked to the index, where user can explore the topics a certain page displays.

The method of “chunking” information reduces the mental strain on understand and accessing certain information in a design. Collecting the information allows for workload to decrease, and for productivity to increase, allowing for a user to feel accomplishment in finding the correct information.

Psychology is the study of human behaviour, and I do believe that is an essential part in the success of design, especially in regards to the performance load. The human brain is a complex machine, and understand of how it processes information is important to how present the information. The study of humans is essential in design because they are the intended target audience, what they find attractive, why is it considered attractive, and how the designers make more ‘beautiful’ designs are all essential parts in creating a design. I believe that the study of psychology is necessary for the success in design.

Chinese Magic Puzzle Box. Retrieved from: www.budgetgadgets.com

Some designs don’t follow the rule of lowering the performance load to increase use, some designs allow for the cognitive load to be high, such as the Chinese Box, which employs trickery to withhold its contents. The owner would know how to open it, but others would have to think about how the system would work, before they have the capabilities to open the box.

Note Book

A Text Book will attempt to inform the reader immediately, and other forms of books will also employ this method. Information about the author and the title, cause the cognitive load is reduced because the information is given without the user needing to search for the title or the author.

References

Lindwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Performance Load. In the Universal Principles of Design. Massachusetts: Rockport.

Pitts, C., Ginns, P., & Errey, C. (2006, April 26). Cognitive load theory and user interface design: Making software easy to learn and use – Part 1. Retrieved 2010  29-May from ptg Global: http://www.ptg-global.com/papers/psychology/cognitive-load-theory.cfm

Preece, J. (1993). A Guide to Usability. Suffolk: The Open University.

Pye, D. (1978). The Nature & Aesthetics of Design. London: The Herbert Press .

The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900 (2^nd ed.). (2004). London: Thames & Hudson.

Weber, D. E. (2007, January 15). Human Nature’s Lazy – Or So Some Say. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Brain Based Business: http://www.brainbasedbusiness.com/2007/01/human_natures_lazy_or_so_some.html

Aesthetic consistency is related to the style and consistency of a design, which means that the user is able to connect a brand to its attributes and reputation. Repetition of color, patterns, and words allows the reader to associate with the design, the “path to theoretical progress focuses on foundational issues of internal logic and self-consistency” (Quigg, 1999). If a user can recognise a brand, they will have an opinion on that certain brand, depending on the society and on the their personal beliefs.

Kellogg's

Kellogg’s uses the same logo on all of their products, with the same lettering, italics and font. It “enhances recognition, communicates membership, and sets emotional expectations” (Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, 2003, p. 46). For Kellogg’s their purpose is to place the logo in the same area on the product to show their consistence, and with the ‘beautiful’ logo always present on their product, a user/purchaser will relate an emotion or opinion to the object, whether positive or negative.

Functionality consistency is related to the meaning and action; the consistency of functionality Consistency in the functioning of a design is “important for learning to use a particular system” (Preece, 1993, p. 55). The consistency allows for the user to apply certain rules to a design, if a user uses a design and there is no consistency. The user will become confused and frustrated because the user will not understand the function of the design.

Having the consistency in the function allows for the user to become more knowledgeable of the design quicker and” improves usability and learn ability by enabling people to leverage existing knowledge of design functions” (Lidwell et al., 2003, p.46).

GameBoy Pocket

For Game Boy Pocket the buttons A and B held consistency in the different games available for the Game Boy. As a general rule the “A” button represented action, while the “B” button represented cancel, this consistency allowed for the user to understand the concepts of the games much quicker. With the buttons having a consistency, no matter what game the user played, their frustration in understanding the process of the game would be reduced by the consistency in the design.

Internal Consistency is related to the constant relation with other elements within the design system, the signs are coherent with each other. This implies that a system has been thoughtfully designed and not just put together because it looks good, because a “design is organisation” (Evans & Thomas, 2008, p. 155). Having consistency within a design allows for the design to portray its purpose and message without confusing the user, with the brain and the eye working together, the internal consistency is essential, otherwise the brain cannot find reoccurring patterns to attempt to understand the process of the design.

External Consistency is related with other elements in the environment, this means that there is a consistency over a wide variety of systems, “creates a smooth and unobtrusive experience for users, and means their learning time will be shorter” (Colville-Hyde, 2009). It the design is consistent with other similar designs then the user will learn the process much quicker, their own previous knowledge will aid their understand of the process in design.

Car Steering Wheel

The steering wheel of a large majority of legal cars is in the shape of a circle. This is a great example of external consistency, even though the design of each car is different, each having their benefits and their downfall they all have a wheel to drive the car. This allows for the driver/ user to be able to learn how to drive different cars without struggles of understand or controlling the steering. The reason why external consistency is common is because the benefits of having a design transfer over certain designs, for example the benefits of have a wheel instead of a square to drive the car.

Consistency in a design allows for the user to understand the process of a design, reducing frustration and increasing productivity with that certain design. Aesthetic, function, internal and external consistency are elements that a designer needs to keep in mind when constructing a design.

References

Colville-Hyde, B. (2009, June 5). Consistancy of Design. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Cxpartners: http://www.cxpartners.co.uk/thoughts/consistency_and_design.html

Evans, P., & Thomas, M. A. (2008). Exploring the elements of design (2nd Edition ed.). New York: Delmar Cengage Learning.

Lindwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Aesthic-Usuability Effect. In the Universal Principles of Design. Massachusetts: Rockport.

Preece, J. (1993). A Guide to Usability. Suffolk: The Open University.

Quigg, C. (1999, April 4). Aesthetic Science. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Lutece: http://lutece.fnal.gov/Reviews/Aesthetic.html

Beautiful and visually appealing designs enhance usability; “users perceive more aesthetically pleasing designs to be easier to use than less aesthetically pleasing designs” (Boulton, 2005). With a user finding the product more appealing to the eye, they accept its defaults and become more accepting of the performance of the object, even if the performance level is low.

Aesthetics is the “philosophy of the perception of beauty” (Pye, 1978, p. 96). Aesthetic designs have the capability of creating a relationship between the user and the object through the design, even if the attractive design restricts the performance of the object. Aesthetic designs create personal relationships and positive attitudes and these human factors, “recently there have been some endeavors towards emotional aspects of product design aesthetics” (Yin & Zhang, 2005), these feelings will allow the design to use more, and to be used even if there are issues or problems.

Aesthetic designs create positive attitude for the user, this allows the user to become more tolerant and personify the object, and an iPod is a perfect example of aesthetic design increasing usability. I have had several iPods over

the last six years, and even though they break and die easily, every time I go back to buy a portable music player, I always go back to the i

Pod. Its attractive body and beautiful screen menu I believe it’s easier to use, “aesthetics designs look easier to use and have a higher probability of being used” (Lidwell, Holden, & Butler, 2003). The name of my recent iPod is Peter, and it is difficult not to invest personality into him because we spend so much time together.

Peter the iPod

“Usability testing defines the acceptable performance of the system for specific types of user carrying out specific tasks” (Preece, 1993, p. 44), and if an object in the eyes of the user is ‘beautiful’ they will have more acceptances towards the underperformance of the object. If the design is appealing and there is personal dedication to an object, then the user will use the object continually, even if it doesn’t meet the usability standards for what it was created to do.

In my house we have a wooden box on top the tissue box, and even though it restricts the accessibility to the tissue, my family is accepting of it.

Wooden Tissue Box

Having an eye-pleasing box on top of the tissue box increases the atheistic value, but as a tissue holder, it does not serve its purpose effectively, because the tissues get suck, and that is against its objective. Yet because it is beautiful we are accepting of its faults.

An aesthetic design may not only hinder the effectiveness of an object, but also the availability to its purpose. The interior of my car is wh

ite, which means that if any one of my friends tries to come into my car with a chocolate bar, they are immediately locked out side until they have finished eating. The white interior isn’t that fantastic because it doesn’t allow for spills, meaning that it has a limited usability and accessibility due to the restriction of food entering my car.

White Interior

Yet the white interior is beautiful, and this allows for higher acceptance of the interior, and introduced the no-food in the car rule.

Design is in one way very pointless, it may not even enhance the purpose of the object, but it causes the object more attractive to use. Making the appeal of the object not based on its functionality, but rather on the way it presents these functions. “A surprisingly large proportion of manufacturing time in nearly every field is in fact taken up with useless work catering for the requirements of appearance” (Pye, 1978, p. 100), the aesthetics of the design allow for some acceptance of their process troubles by appealing to the user through the eye, not its use.

References

Boulton, M. (2005, March 6). Aesthetic-Usability Effect. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Word Press: http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/comments/aesthetic-usability-effect.

Lindwell, W., Holden, K., & Butler, J. (2003). Aesthic-Usuability Effect. In the Universal Principles of Design. Massachusetts: Rockport.

Preece, J. (1993). A Guide to Usability. Suffolk: The Open University.

Pye, D. (1978). The Nature & Aesthetics of Design. London: The Herbert Press .

Yin, L., & Zhang, W. J. (2005, December 21). Integrated design of function, usability, and aesthetics for automobile interiors: state of the art, challenges, and solutions. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from MetaPress: http://pep.metapress.com/content/a0173050t5714035/fulltext.pdf?page=1