User Observation is a heavy part of this exercise where I talk to different people and see how they use their mobile devices in context. I believe this is a great source of inspiration for this project and as a designer I need to practice this methods from the early stages of design to be able to address the needs of the user and design for them.

The image above is from a guy I met in a bar in Stockholm. He has been using this old Nokia phone for 8 years now. One interesting story was how he has been using the phone to open the beer bottles and you could see the marks on the phone. Stories luke that are very valuable and to see how people use their devices can help designers have a better view on who they are designing for.

"iPhone for me is an instant access to the information". This user is a28 years old professional that need constant communication with clients and friends.

The user I talked to has just started using iPhone and has interesting points of view on it. "I can fit everything in my iPhone". like all his banking information, emails, bookings. He appreciates that he can do anything he could have done using his laptop with internet access. "I want to replace my computer and iphone with one thing". Why do we have to have all these different devices.

Since he feels different needs for each task, for him having the mobile device made of different parts and using each part based on the needs are very important. I hear a lot from users that they also would see a need to sync their mobile devices with their computers. Also using the mobile device as a key access point to all the digital devices in life would be a perfect case for users like him.

Application:"I wish I could just delete the apps that I don't use anymore, and what id we just had apps like physical icons that I could put in my phone and remove them when I don't need them."

Phone Personality:"I wish my phone was behaving more like a pet or human! Maybe it could be behaving rude to me sometimes! For example maybe my phone would not let me a phone call and makes me actually go and talk to that friend in person"

Access:"I don't really check my emails on my laptop anymore because that take so much time to open the browser and check the email. If I don't have my phone then I just skip checking my emails". I think that is a very interesting point when it comes to instant access to the information.

Size:"I think I am a bit limited by my iPhone because of the size of the screen, ".

One of the interesting cases that I observed was an iPhone user that had to start using a basic phone after moving from the US to Europe. He basically gave up iPhone and I was curious to know how he feels after this transition.

He mentioned that he actually found it quite nice to start using a simple phone like that again. He misses the email service on the phone. "It was super convenient to be able to use email on phone!". The basic phone he is using now has a flash light that surprisingly is on of the coolest features for him. Also basic convertor tasks like temperature and currency could be done on the basic phone and he finds that just useful. Having to deal with the buttons and entering text using the mobile phone number system buttons was the most annoying thing about the new phone.

I could see the different life style user has in Europe compared to the US and that is because of the difference in the kind of work he is involved in here. Still I don't see this as a big problem if you take away the smart phone from the users and give them a simple phone. Maybe iPhone is too much for us? Maybe that level of connection is not really necessary. This is one interesting topic I would like to explore further later on!

It is amazing how people react to this phone. Some think that this is just a calculator nota phone!

I took this photo of one of my friends who used his phone to keep the door open!I was really amazed how the phone could be used! Sometime you get really interesting inspirations when you talk to people who don't see the need for all these new gadgets! Here are some opinions from few of the users who would not switch to a smartphone anytime soon.

Always connected: "Why do we think it is good to be always connected, I don't think we need to have access to the network all the time, it is actually annoying sometimes."

Size: "tablets are much more useful, at least you can surf the internet on them and send emails. The internet experience on smart phones is horrible."

Social networking on the go: "This is just too much of social networking when you use social networks apps. I need simple phone for communication"

Engagement: "I see myself being isolated from others when I use smartphones. there is so much to manage, like email. messages, social networking and ... "

Too much: "Some apps are just way too much! I don't have time for these stupid apps! "

It is always interesting to talk to extreme users. They always have interesting ideas and also have figured out some strange ways of doing things! here comes some of the quotes I captured in my research:

I am the coolest: "My sister who has a blackberry calls me when she wants to so a search on the map. that is because her blackberry is still in the form of the old phone, she is missing on iPhone!"

Behavior changed: " 5 years ago, when iPhone came out I was not even expecting such a shift in my on daily behavior. It is like I have another identity and the worst part if I loose my phone I cant am lost myself. Actually once I lost my iPhone when I was traveling and I could not even find an Apple store to buy another one. I am so dependent now"

My second life: "My everything is on my iPhone. All my friends are there. I do everything there like from making a shopping list to managing my banking accounts"

Games: "I love playing games, I love actually waiting for bus or spend time on the trains. it is just perfect to sit and play new games on my iPhone. I don't care if I miss to see what is happening around me "

Capturing memories: "My blog is being updated twice a day now. I take photos of everything I find interesting. I enter my feeling right when they happen. How cool is that! I update my status few times a day. my tweeter is kinda my diary now. I can't imagine not having this device with me for even 5 min!"

Maps: "Maps is the most useful app for me. not just the Google map itself but all the other services that are created around maps. like I can search for lots of things on the go and end up with a map and direction that takes me where I want to go!"

Today we can survive without carrying around few main items. Credit cards, ID cards, tickets, key cards and some cash are the minimum of what we need to carry around. This is in addition to the mobile device we always have with us.There are already some ideas on how to use mobile devices to replace some on these items. Doing payments using mobile devices, Using mobile devices as card key and ...., they all depend on some hardware integration that is being more and more considered in the new products.

This however made me think that we can look at mobile devices as more than just a communication tool or a way to access the information on the go. How would that be if my mobile device could replace my wallet. or maybe my mobile could be part of my wallet? I am looking into this in the ideation phase as one of the directions.

I opened up a conversation with a professional in his mid 20s to see what he thinks about the whole digital experiences in his daily life. I also spent a day with him in Stockholm as I was crashing at his place!

Search: "I am always searching, Google is like becoming the most important tool in my life now, I even search for my own files on my computer I hate navigation in the folders and looking for files. for me it is all about search"

Task oriented computers: "I would like to see the computers to be more task oriented, and we could have less interaction with them. Maybe we could just talk to them!"

Watch dog: "Mobile device could be your watch dog!"

Distraction: "My brain can only handle few tasks at the same time. It is always a great relief to leave my computer and phone aside and be free. our word is full of distractions. Sometimes it is nice to be engaged and being updated constantly, but at times you wanna be just free."

Time suckers: "Some tasks on the go are really good time suckers. like text messaging. it is a really good communication tool though."

My perfect phone: "My perfect phone would be a phone with a map google search and basic communication functionality!"

Product:"Mobile phones don't last so long. I change the phone every other year. I think the product itself could be designed to last for two years only! Then I feel better when I change it"

Although it was pretty sad for Adam to see his iPhone end up like this, for me it became a source of inspiration to see the beauty of cracks on the iPhone screen. Adam dropped his iPhone a couple of day earlier but he is still using it as before. Worth mentioning that Adam cut his finger using the iPhone!

Looking at his phone helped me uncover three interesting findings:

- There is something nice about textures on the screen.In this case the cracks on the screen gives a nice feeling when you touch it. It is almost like a nice tactile feedback on the phone. This is something we miss today on our smart phones.Sorry to find out that Adam cut his hand the first day he was using his broken phone.

- Multilayering is very critical in information visualization. We see a lot of it in small screen UIs. The interesting thing here was to see the opportunity to have layers as literally separate layers. How would that be if the smashed glass could be a layer that is used for visualization of some of the information?

- I had a feeling that this screen makes the users less interested in using the phone. But it was interesting that Adam was still using the phone in the same manner. I guess he just got used to it and accepts his iPhone the way it is!

Observation os where and how users actually use their mobile devices.

COMING SOON!

Considering a user's context is the key to understanding their needs and making a desirable experience relevant to them. Mobile devices are always with their owners. Obviously time and location play a big role in defining the context of use. When designing for mobile it is good to keep in mind that we are designing something that can be used anywhere, anytime, and be instantly shared or discussed with other people. From my research and observation I learned better where and when mobile devices are used:

Even though we call these devices mobile it is interesting how they are being used in places like home or at work more often than on the go. As visualized above, one other interesting context of use is when users are actually waiting in lines or for appointment. That is where most of the users desire a more powerful device so they are able to use the tim efficient and do some of their daily tasks while waiting

Public places like shopping centers and events are also another context that users see a big value in being connected and use their mobile device. While might sound strange but many users actually use their mobile device while watching TV! Either to get additional information or have side browsing.

Even thought most of the usage happens where the device is more a portable device that mobile, the essential and valuable experiences of mobile device happen while users or on the go and in places that makes it hard for them to focus on the device.

For most of the users just one device is just good, they would go through hassles but never use the extra gadgets that can help them have a better experience. This is really interesting when you talk to people that carry all the accessories with them to get better functions with their phone.

COMING SOON!

Observation os where and how users actually use their mobile devices.

COMING SOON!

On how we use mobile devices to capture memories

COMING SOON!

COMING SOON!

Alexis laptop died a week ago! He ended up using his Nexus one as his only computing device for almost 10 days. I had an interview with his and did some observation on how his digital life was adopted to the new situation.

"I avoided typing as much as possible, instated I started using the voice to text function on the my phone". It is obvious that the input method on mobile devices is a big part of the experience and the limitations size of mobile devices impose make the input method a not very desirable experience. In this case when the user had to use his phone, he started to adopt to a new input method "Voice to Text" even though the functionality is not perfect yet but still that is a more natural way of input.

"I was relying more on brewers than apps". It is very simple, apps are designed for mobile devices but when you start using browser on your mobile device you realize how different the experience is.

"Mobile device became more of an entertainment device for me". Many users spend hours a day using computer for entertainment. in the case of mobile devices, there is less functionality to the device, but still could be used as an entertaining device.

"Some tasks are much better to be done on mobile device like Emailing is a better experience even though my E-mails became shorter when using my Nexux one". This is an opportunity to find out that there are applications that would be a better experience for the user on the mobile device.

In the beginning of the project I decided that for me as a designer even the mobile experience main purposes should be left to be defined. I believe that this approach provides a solid foundation for design decisions. I had to first identify the unmet needs and desires of users. From these I can derive needed functions, which could finally be designed into the experience.

I find this ver interesting that non of these big players in the marker never mention this in their ads: "you don't really need to pull our your phone form your pocket every time you wanna use it or you get a new notification" and yet this is one of the most annoying moments for any user especially when they are out somewhere and have to pull out the phone just to see a message from a friend that says:"OK"!. I believe that there is a great opportunity to design a mobile device and define the interactions that work best when you have the phone in where is happens to be most of the times: yes your pockets!