Week 15: A brief for a designer and configuration

This week in the Milab, we were asked to create a product design requirements document, as well as to begin our user testing for the first prototype. In order to perform the tasks above we were required to complete the prototype’s functionality at a partial level in order to enable a minimal experiment. In addition, we needed to think about additional design ideas, new configurations, so that our minds won't be fixed on one idea, and we would be able to think more flexibly along the way towards solving our main problem, both designly and functionally.

We thought about two new configurations for the product. The first is a minor change in the initial design (the cross/plus) with a square LED display in front of it, as opposed to 12 LED’s in the form of arrows, which will allow us to produce a clearer, freer movement and also slightly reduce the size of the final product. This configuration has no “clues” for what action is expected, without the intent of a "pre-formed" shape (the bulbs are not inserted into an "arrow" frame). The second configuration presents a completely new design concept that is not similar to the existing prototype but uses the same principles in favor of transferring feedback to the user. This configuration consists of a number of LEDs at fixed intervals that will be spread across the vehicle's dashboard (whether they will be added as a complementary product to the vehicle or will be assimilated in advance by the manufacturer). The deployment of the lights in the passenger compartment allows feedback to the user and ensures that the feedback will always be in the driver's sight, making it difficult for him to ignore or miss it. Of course, in this design too, the movement of lights as part of the feedback is critical and on which our assumption is based that the user will respond in the desired manner, will move his gaze back to the road.

From sketch's to user testing

This week we also conducted our first user testings that presented various conclusions about the product. First, all testers noted that they did not see the feedback when looking out of the side windows of the vehicle, in fact, the feedback in the driver's sight only when it deviated slightly from the basic angle required for safe driving. It is also possible to say about the presence of the product in the vehicle as affecting the driver's driving style. Half of the participants "drove" more cautiously after the purpose of the product was explained to them.