So, we already have Gen-Xers, GenY, GenZ, and Generation D(igital). I'm still not sure if any of them apply to my 3-year old but I think his generation is yet to be coined - correct me if wrong. One thing is for sure: His will be the most digitally fluent and wired yet.
Case in point...we have a Windows Media Center machine at home as our media server. All our music and photos are accessible through the Media Center interface.
Like many 3-year olds he can click around a web browser on NickJr.com and a couple other places, but it's easy to get lost or stuck if he clicks the wrong thing. In other words, computers usually present an interface built for more advanced navigation.
Media Center, however, uses a kiosk-like interface. Big buttons, full-screen, and no flashing ads or pages of text to confuse the eye. The result is, after watching me a few times he can easily find and play most of his favorite songs (and he's very specific about what songs he wants to hear) even though he can't read. Album covers are instantly recognizable patterns for a 3-year old, and individual songs are located by their position in the list and length of the name. He can find the play and back buttons and that's all he needs.
The implications for design here are not insignificant. Microsoft has ostensibly created a user interface that is so easy "a three-year old could use it." TiVo shares many of the same attributes. One might argue that if your target audience is "everyone," then the mark of a successful software product design should be just that - successful operation by a three-year old.
Fundamentally, you can only make something so easy before you have to start removing features, but my point is this: The use of minimum age as a metric for determining software complexity might hold value for the design process. Perhaps software companies should even go so far as to start focus testing products with children. If the products fail, then refine the software until it is operable by a target age group. That age could then be considered the "complexity level" for the product or web site.
Kids products and toys are usually kid-tested, but I think there may be great benefit in kid-testing almost any consumer product to improve ease-of-use (uh, toasters and powersaws excepted). The consumer electronics industry, for example, could use some serious help here. The iMac remote is probably the only one a 3-year old could truly use.
Welcome, Generation DMIG (Digital Media Instant Gratification), our focus group for Generation X!
Case in point...we have a Windows Media Center machine at home as our media server. All our music and photos are accessible through the Media Center interface.
Like many 3-year olds he can click around a web browser on NickJr.com and a couple other places, but it's easy to get lost or stuck if he clicks the wrong thing. In other words, computers usually present an interface built for more advanced navigation.
Media Center, however, uses a kiosk-like interface. Big buttons, full-screen, and no flashing ads or pages of text to confuse the eye. The result is, after watching me a few times he can easily find and play most of his favorite songs (and he's very specific about what songs he wants to hear) even though he can't read. Album covers are instantly recognizable patterns for a 3-year old, and individual songs are located by their position in the list and length of the name. He can find the play and back buttons and that's all he needs.
The implications for design here are not insignificant. Microsoft has ostensibly created a user interface that is so easy "a three-year old could use it." TiVo shares many of the same attributes. One might argue that if your target audience is "everyone," then the mark of a successful software product design should be just that - successful operation by a three-year old.
Fundamentally, you can only make something so easy before you have to start removing features, but my point is this: The use of minimum age as a metric for determining software complexity might hold value for the design process. Perhaps software companies should even go so far as to start focus testing products with children. If the products fail, then refine the software until it is operable by a target age group. That age could then be considered the "complexity level" for the product or web site.
Kids products and toys are usually kid-tested, but I think there may be great benefit in kid-testing almost any consumer product to improve ease-of-use (uh, toasters and powersaws excepted). The consumer electronics industry, for example, could use some serious help here. The iMac remote is probably the only one a 3-year old could truly use.
Welcome, Generation DMIG (Digital Media Instant Gratification), our focus group for Generation X!
Tags: design , Windows Media Center
Comments (1)
This is one of the reasons I'm looking forward to getting a Nintendo Wii. The controller ought to be intuitive enough for my six year old to use. When she first started playing on our Xbox 360, her natural instinct was to move the controller around. Obviously, that didn't pan out for her. It was difficult enough that she never really picked up gaming (hmmm. Am I crazy? That's a good thing, right?). Now here's a real revolution in gaming: last weekend I saw an overweight kid sweating while playing a boxing game on the Wii. Bring it on!
Posted by Juan Soberanis | November 29, 2006 2:13 PM
Posted on November 29, 2006 14:13