Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Thetextblocksonthemodelpresenttheusers'livedexperience,highlightingkeyissues
in small, easy-to-consume chunks. Each chunk can be scanned in a moment and invites re-
flection right then on what the design might do to respond to this issue. They are presented
in personal, story language—
Figure 4.5
shows one part of the planning phase, including
doingresearchduringtheson'sswimlessonmentionedabove.Thisvignettefromtheactu-
al data makes the data real and helps the designer connect to the experience represented by
the model at an emotional and intuitive level.
Figure 4.5:
A portion of a Day in the Life model showing how travel planning fits into life, in different loca-
tions and on a range of devices.
Our principles of communication design say that designers need a way in to the data.
To provide direct stimulus for design thinking many of the Contextual Design models, in-
cluding the Day in the Life, use small speech bubbles scattered around the diagram to ask
direct questions ofthe reader.These questions give designers an initial focus when looking
at the model—an entry point for thinking about the implications of the data, highlighting
what the team thinks matters to the design. From there, designers can jump off to thinking
about other implications—and they can ignore the questions entirely if they wish. But the
questionbubblesstandasanexampleofhowtousethedata.Wehavefoundthatthesimple
addition of these questions has drastically increased the number of design ideas generated
for each model.
*
identity elements and personal values captured during interpretation sessions are collected
togetheracrossusersintopotentialidentityelements:sourcesofpride,self-esteem,orvalue
as relevant to a target activity. Any identity element names captured during interviews and
interpretation sessions become the starting point for grouping the observations meaning-
fully to represent different aspects of self that matter for the project focus. Then, looking
at the whole collection, the team agrees on the important identity elements and what they
