Yes, I know what you are thinking. Maybe this is just another rant about apple product, and you would probably be right. But hear me out for a minute.
The click wheel currently used on the iPod classic was first introduced in 2004 on the iPod Photo and the iPod Mini. This click wheel was a culmination of the third generation iPod (2003), which featured a scrolling dial and four buttons as separate. This interface worked quite well as the user could change the song, return to the menu or play/pause with the press of a button. The volume was controlled by this circular wheel like button, which took up a good third of the front face of the iPod. The interface on the third generation iPod was neat, and with only 5 ways that the user could interact with iPod, it was simple. These two factors are fundamentals of good design. Acording to industrial designer Dieter Rams, good design has ten governing principals. "Good design is as little design as possible…. Good design makes a product understandable…" Dieter Rams. These are just two of the principals that Rams used to form many of his iconic designs. Another principal of Rams' was that "Good design was aesthetic…". Here, Rams referred to not just the fact that the product looked good to the user, but looked good in the context that is was designed to be in. The context for the iPod was not really known, as the competitors designs such as the Sony Walkman looked nothing like this. The release of the iPod changed the way that people look at personal music devices, not only because of the flawless design of the body, but also the design of the user interface. The four buttons and volume control dial where unlike any other product on the market at the time. The volume dial felt more instinctive to people who where interested in music appreciation, and provided them with a more satisfying feeling of changing the volume of the song they are listening to. It harked back to the audio system people have in their home, and the way they change the volume, with dials. This proved to be a lot more satisfying than pressing a button to increase the volume, and left the competition far behind when people came to deciding on a product to purchase.
Apple developed this interface further with the release of the iPod Mini and Photo in 2004 (as mentioned above). The development of the click wheel not only made the iPod interface easier, but it also made the product look simpler and even more clean and refined. The four buttons that once sat in a line on the top of the iPod third generation now sat in on the click wheel, where the user could change the volume, scroll, change song, play/pause and return to the menu, all on a circular section of the iPod! In terms of having control over a product in the simplest and most effective way, I think the current iPod click wheel does an exceptional job. Sometimes I think when I use my iPod that, sure it is not the most straight forward way to use the product, like regular buttons may be, but we have all learnt to use this interface. We have sort of adapted to understand this interface. We do this with all the products that we interact with, figuring them out so we can use them instinctively. I think that this interface allows people to use it easily without any experience for the first time, but also challenges the user to play with it more in order to figure it out.
With the development and refinement of touch screen technologies, physical buttons are appearing less and less in not only Apple products (as evident with the current iPod Nano), but also with many other products. I myself sometimes think that a touch screen interface feel more natural and easy to use, but I will always have a soft spot for an actual working button. While touch screens tick most of the boxes in Rams' ten principals of good design do they really make a product understandable? They can sometimes seem overwhelming with the amount of possible actions they can perform.
There is something about the satisfaction of pressing a button that appeals to me more than a touch screen button. I find it easier to press the wrong button on a touch screen device than on a device with tactile buttons. I think this may have to do with the fact that the amount of buttons is massive on a touch phone when compared with a phone with physical buttons. This relates back to learning the interface and buttons of the device, which is done more effectively if the product interface is simple!
I hope this is not too much to take in, and that I didn't stretch too far away from the topic. Thanks for reading :)
RIP Steve Jobs
Matt Harding
Ps. I strongly suggest looking up Dieter Rams' Ten Principals of Good Design…
http://www.vitsoe.com/en/gb/about/dieterrams/gooddesign
No comments:
Post a Comment