Smart Things: Ubiquitous Computing User Experience Design - Softcover

Kuniavsky, Mike

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0123748992 ISBN 13: 9780123748997

Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann, 2010

Synopsis

The world of smart shoes, appliances, and phones is already here, but the practice of user experience (UX) design for ubiquitous computing is still relatively new. Design companies like IDEO and frogdesign are regularly asked to design products that unify software interaction, device design and service design - which are all the key components of ubiquitous computing UX - and practicing designers need a way to tackle practical challenges of design. Theory is not enough for them - luckily the industry is now mature enough to have tried and tested best practices and case studies from the field. Smart Things presents a problem-solving approach to addressing designers' needs and concentrates on process, rather than technological detail, to keep from being quickly outdated. It pays close attention to the capabilities and limitations of the medium in question and discusses the tradeoffs and challenges of design in a commercial environment. Divided into two sections, frameworks and techniques, the book discusses broad design methods and case studies that reflect key aspects of these approaches. The book then presents a set of techniques highly valuable to a practicing designer. It is intentionally not a comprehensive tutorial of user-centered design'as that is covered in many other books'but it is a handful of techniques useful when designing ubiquitous computing user experiences. In short, Smart Things gives its readers both the "why" of this kind of design and the "how" in well-defined chunks.

About this title

About the Author

Mike Kuniavsky is a user experience designer, researcher and author. A twenty-year veteran of digital product development, Mike is a consultant and the co-founder of several user experience centered companies: ThingM manufactures products for ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things; Adaptive Path is a well-known design consultancy. He is also the founder and organizer of Sketching in Hardware, an annual summit on the future of tools for digital product user experience design for leading technology developers, designers and educators. Mike frequently writes and speaks on digital product and service design, and works with product development groups in both large companies and startups. His most recent book is Smart Things: Ubiquitous Computing User Experience Design.

From the Back Cover

The world of smart phones, appliances, picture frames, and shoes is already here, but the practice of user experience design for digital ubiquitous products and environments that do not have traditional software user interfaces is a relatively new practice. Unifying software interaction with device and service design and creating a successful product is no easy task. Based on years in the UX, mobile, and industrial design trenches, Mike Kuniavsky brings you the first practical book on the subject, whether you call it ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, or the Internet of Thingsuser experience design. His problem-solving approach provides both broad design methods and a varietycase studies of real world successes hits and misses. This book gives you both the "whyhow" and the "howwhy" of of designinging smart products that people will buy and use.

Edition details

• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0123748992
• ISBN 13: 9780123748997
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 330