Week 8
Project 2 Humanistic Design/Redesign
We have decided to go with redesigning the CTA fare machine for project 2. The CTA fare machine is an object that numerous people use on a daily basis. But not only do Chicago natives use it, people from out-of-state use it, and possibly tourists from outside the US. According to my classmates, this machine can be confusing to use, especially for someone that has not used it before. I suppose I have the luxury of living in the suburbs and not using this “terrible” machine; however, we figured out that I would be a great test subject to see how “terrible” this design was. I have not tried it out yet, but I will the next time I’m in Chicago for class.
I’ve started to have an interest in user center design. A professor once said in class that there will always be a competitor to a product that you will create. The product that will win over your audience is the one that is easy and simple to use. I see evidence in that in Apple products. I’m not saying that Apple products are the best; however, they do a great job with design. They have created an easy to use interface that does not require too much instruction. Most tasks can be done intuitively. Interfaces that are hard to use will not make it in the market.
Through pictures from my classmates, I have seen that the CTA fare machines are not all the same. Some only accept credit cards, some only accept cash. The machines are not standardized throughout the city. I believe it would be best if they were the same throughout. This would reduce confusion and reduce the amount of time needed to learn a new machine.
After doing a quick search through Google of other fare machines in other cities and countries, I found that color blocking was a nice way to segment different sections of the fare machine for different tasks/uses. For example, a portion of the machine would be colored red. This was the cash return. A portion of the machine was green to signify the starting point of a transaction. A blue section to signify a place to swipe your credit card. Finally, a green section to tell the user to place cash here. I think color blocking, if it isn’t already implemented here, would be a great idea.
Overall, I’m excited to work with the group. We come from slightly different backgrounds of IT and Communication. Most of us have some experience in web design, others in mobile application development, and finally networking in IT. I’m excited to see how far we can get this idea/product to go, I believe we have a great group =)