Helping the developing world see things more clearly, aiming for a better mobile net and reflecting on users
Mobile internet
Surfing in the slow lane
Is the mobile internet – the future of web use, according to some – actually delivering? Revered useability guru Jakob Nielsen says not, and it’s design problems he blames. “In terms of the user experience quality,” he says, “it is like stepping into a time machine for a quick trip back to [desktop browsing in] 1998.”
Nielsen suggests several solutions, but says websites must take responsibility for creating mobile versions of their sites. He believes mobile applications (downloadable content that lets you read maps or shop, for example) offer a significant opportunity for a better user experience.
Nielsen believes the iPhone, while not perfect, could be the tool which makes the mobile web come alive, because it is “pioneering a breakthrough in mobile useability.” A survey by ABI Research revealed 16.5% of US iPhone users spent between $100 and $500 on applications last year – which means many are spending more than the cost of the phone itself on content.
BlackBerry, Microsoft and Palm are all opening their own application stores, which should mean a proliferation of mobile applications beyond the iPhone. If the quality can rise in tandem with their quantity, Nielsen will be able to sleep easy.
Budget eyecare
Vision on
The World Health Organization estimates that there are almost one billion people worldwide who can’t afford to have their vision corrected.
Liquid filled adjustable spectacles by Professor Josh Silver
The problem is especially acute in Africa and Asia, says Professor Josh Silver, vision scientist at the Oxford-based Centre for Vision in the Developing World. In some parts of Africa, there is only one trained optometrist for every million people, compared to one for every 4,500 in the UK.
Fortunately, Silver has the solution – using design to deliver liquid-filled glasses to those in need for as little as $1 a pair. In Malawi, where the average daily wage is $1.39 for men ($0.84 for women), that’s the same price as four cans of Coke.
Silver has developed a simple, affordable pair of vision correction glasses that could transform the situation. The refractive power of each lens can be independently adjusted. And the optical power of the lenses – which consist of two thin, liquid-filled membranes – is determined by the curvature of the lens surface and can be altered by varying the volume of liquid.
Silver says 30,000 pairs of the special spectacles are already in use, but he hopes to have produced one billion by 2020. “One of the major challenges we face is how we finance the scale-up and how we distribute the spectacles,” says Silver. “At the moment they cost between $15 and $20, but if you scale up massively you can bring the cost right down. We are confident that we will eventually be able to make then for $1.”
Q&A
Using users wisely
Roberto Verganti is an academic and design consultant who teaches at the Politecnico di Milano and Harvard Business School.
His forthcoming book Design-Driven Innovation – Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Changing What Things Mean explains why, when it comes to innovation, business must consider carefully how it handles its market research and user input…
What role do you see for user-centred innovation?
Design is a way to innovate the meaning of things. User-centred innovation is great for improving something incrementally – you ask people what they want and provide better solutions. But to radically change a product’s meaning, you can’t always start from the users because they pull you towards an existing meaning.
A focus group almost killed Herman Miller’s Aeron chair. It had a radical new meaning – it was an ergonomic machine that let you see its mechanism [the chair uses a mesh covering rather than cushioning]. When Miller showed it to a focus group, they asked to see the upholstered version.
So why are focus groups still so popular?
I know that managers sometimes feel more comfortable if a user tells them what they want– if they fail, they can say it’s the fault of the user. But if they succeed, they say the method works well. The greatest executives are managers with visions. They have a role in society and they have to put forward their vision; they can’t wait for society to tell them what to do.
Is the need for more design-driven innovation greater now, given the economic climate?
Innovation needs to be led by designers. Some people might think now, ‘who cares about emotion and meaning? All that matters is cost’. That’s completely wrong. Companies have to invest in design now because people don’t want to feel poor. Companies need to cap costs without capping the meaning of their products – and that requires clever use of design.
Honouring a design classic
The Prince Philip Designers Prize 2008, run by the Design Council, has been awarded to engineer Professor Max Fordham, in recognition of his lifetime’s work as a pioneer of environmental building design.
The Sir Joseph Banks Building at Kew
Despite being “fairly cynical about prizes”, Fordham admitted that receiving the award in November was one of his proudest moments. He thanked the judging panel, chaired by the Duke of Edinburgh, for “acknowledging that engineering design really is design”.
For more than 40 years, Fordham and his consultancy have been redefining the way engineers approach building projects. “You have to start from thinking about the universe,” Fordham says. “From there, you keep homing in to the specific problem.”
Memorable work includes designing systems for the Sir Joseph Banks Building at Kew Gardens, the indoor cricket school at Lord’s and the Heelis building in Swindon, headquarters of the National Trust.
Fordham’s contributions have been honoured by the RIBA, the RSA and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and his lectures and research have influenced architecture and engineering students around the world.
“I try to get engineers to understand they are part of the design team and should enter into the political and conceptual debate about a project,” he says.
Now 75, Fordham is ready to focus on writing his ideas down. “There’s definitely a thesis in me on why design should be about making buildings sustainable, not just ticking all the boxes.”
For more about the prize, visit www.designcouncil.org.uk/ppdp
Creative cities
Bangalore
Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bangalore (John Hicks/Corbis)
Source of capital
India’s ‘Silicon Valley’ is the world’s outsourcing capital, but it’s slowly becoming known for its creative skills. A debate hosted by the Design Museum and the British Council named it the world’s next design centre. As more Indian companies design products from scratch and brand identity becomes more important, Bangalore looks poised to benefit.
High-tech hub
Bangalore has the largest number of broadband internet connections in the country and is home to IT giants Wipro and Infosys. In February, its Indian Institute of Science grabbed international headlines by launching a 500 rupee (£7.25) laptop. The National Institute of Design has its R&D campus in Bangalore.
Heavy duty
The city accounts for more than 35% of Indian exports. Bangalore is leading the biotechnology sector and its aviation, automotive and heavy manufacturing industries are strong. Toyota, Hindustan Motors and Volvo all have plants in the city.
Designs on growth
Bangalore’s position as an IT and manufacturing hub is encouraging designers to relocate there. The Karnataka region, which includes Bangalore, houses 916 arts and science colleges and more than 100 R&D centres. The city is also hosting Let’s Design, a reality TV show which gives young people the chance to become fashion designers.
Green solution
Bangalore has been dubbed the ‘Garden City of India’ and green technology is growing. Daily Dump designs innovative home-composting products to recycle household waste.
The caring city
Socially conscious enterprise is growing too. Industree Craft Foundation has created employment for 16,000 women in the region by harnessing the skills of local artisans.
Article first published in Design Council Magazine, Issue 6, Summer 2009