User Centered Design & Understanding the New Product Development Process with Case Study flo

Confidential Copyright © 2016 June 15, 2016 1
User-Centered
Design &
Understanding
the New
Product
Developme
nt Process
with Case
Study: flō
About Our Author
Karl Vanderbeek
Associate Director
of Industrial
Design

User-centered The end user’s needs are the foundation on which good product design is
built. Every decision needs an end user’s advocate.
Intuitive, empathetic, emotional and purposeful design all flow naturally
when the end user’s priorities are considered first.
At Kaleidoscope, we have activities and processes in place for every project
that ensure the product development story starts with a person needing a
better product and ends with a person experiencing a better product.

Case study
background
tDCS - transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
• The background to this case study lies with this particular technology we
were introduced to while working with the AFRL.
• First explored by Giovanni Aldini in 1801, he had used the idea to treat
“melancholy patients.”
• With the advances in fMRI, there has been a resurgence of interest in this
technology. It is primarily used today to enhance learning and focus, as well
as to treat depression.
• The primary benefit is that it can increase focus and attention. Unlike
caffeine, the body does not build a tolerance to tDCS.

Process

Process and
activities
Research & Insights
Concept Generation
Concept Development

Process and
activities
• Research plan
• Research execution
• Opportunity and insight generation
• Concept generation strategy
Research & Insights
Concept Generation
Concept Development

• Workshops and brainstorms
• Sketches
• Architecture exploration
• Rough models and prototyping
• Concept testing
• Aesthetic theme development
• Product illustrations
• Visual design guide
• Formative research
Research & Insights
Concept Generation
Concept Development
Process and
activities

• Down select to one direction
• Final form development in 3D CAD
• Engineering review
• Design validation
Research & Insights
Concept Generation
Concept Development
Process and
activities

Define User

In many cases we will create individual
characters to design products around. We
will develop details of particular fictional
people.
This provides a solid foundation for which
future concepts and problem statements
can be tested against.
User profile

 Age: 43
 Lives in: Boston, MA
 Work: Works late shift as a Medical
Assistant at Massachusetts General
Hospital, and is also studying part-time at
Connell School of Nursing to become a
nurse
 Interests: Between work and classes, Brit
spends her time raising her two children,
Ben (10) and Jessie (7) on her own
 Style Preference: Comfortable, practical
 Favorite Brands: Fossil, New York &
Company
 Motto: “Dreams don’t work unless you do”
 Indulgence: Taking Ben and Jessie out to
do something fun; spending a relaxing
evening at home
Brit
- THE WORKING --------
--STUDENT

Customer
Journey Maps
We get to know our users’ daily routine
and identify their pain points.
In this exercise we have created these
lives, but they can be composites of actual
users studied in primary research.
Brit experiences several low-energy points
throughout her day. These points are
called out with blue points. Understanding
when and why these points exist leads to
specific opportunity areas to design
against.

7:20am
Get Kids
Ready for
School
8:10
Take a Nap
7:50am
Walk Kids
to School
3:15pm
Go to
Yoga
1:00pm
Study for
Nursing
Test
4:30pm
Pick up Kids,
Drive to
Grandma’s
5:30pm
Nursing
Class
8:45pm
Grab a
Coffee on
the Way to
Work
9:00pm
Work
Late
Shift at
Hospital
Brit
- THE WORKING
STUDENT
Loves
Yoga
but
too
busy
6:00am
Go To
Sleep
Needs
quick
energy
to get
kids
ready
Needs help
to wake up
and get
going
No
Energy
or
Focus
Left

Design
Themes
We begin to visually describe what is
important to the user profiles.
Using color, emotional imagery, products
and words, we build a theme that
matches users’ emotional needs and
expectations.
In these examples you can very quickly
see the contrasting themes between Brit
and James.

Theme Design
The words used below describe the mood to
be captured by the brand and product. The
images provide inspiration to help get dialed
into what makes the user tick.
Subtle
Healthy
Inviting
Durable
Straight-forward
SecureTailored
Reliable
EmpoweringPeaceful
- BRIT

Design
Language
The language of product design is derived
from the theme boards. We identify the
specific design elements that create the
theme. This means identifying the color
use, form approach, detailing, materials,
textures, etc. that combine to create the
theme.
This is a tool we use a little later in the
process.

Form, materials, finish and detailing combine
to give the theme physical definition. The
images of neighboring products and other
tools help frame the characteristics with which
the user can identify.
Characteristic Summary:
• Soft, inviting forms
• Modified basic geometry
• Contrasting matte and gloss finishing
• Function plays true to material
• Straightforward
• Interesting functional and aesthetic
texturing
Design Language
- BRIT

Ideation and Development

Workshops and
brainstorms
This stage will often involve subject matter
experts, researchers, engineers and
designers.
In an organized workshop, we will
categorize opportunity spaces and group
similar ideas.
The beginning of the workshop is a
divergent exercise. Many ideas will collide
and combine into distinct themes as part
of convergent activities.

Sketches, lots
o’ sketches
Sketching is vital to design exploration.
Rough ideas, partial ideas and broad
ideas are all explored to push against
constraints – to test the opportunity
spaces.
This rough visualization is a divergent
exercise, and can be part of a brainstorm
or done by designers by themselves.

Prototypes
Creating quick models is key to developing
a deeper understanding of the
opportunity, and is a first test for the
concept.
Prototypes as crude as paper inform
further ideas.
These models progress in their quality as
the designs converge and acquire more
detail as they are refined.

Selection
Using the user profiles, journey maps
and design themes as judges, select
concepts are refined.
These drawings are a quick
communication method for those
outside of the core team. These boards
are typically evaluated by the broader
development team with sometimes
different priorities.

Communication

flō
flō is a portable device that smooths out
the ups and downs throughout your day.
Enhancing the natural flow of electricity
through the body, flō can be used at low
energy times of the day to carry you
through.
flō is also a daily activity monitor that
identifies trends through your personal
day and will alert you when you may want
a non-caffeinated bump.

flō Wrist-worn, flō can
track heart rate and
body rhythms
Attached to
clothing, flō tracks
activity

flō
flō is part of a larger system that tracks
trends and predicts your needs
throughout your day and week.

Explode
Visually communicating ideas of
construction through exploded views and
cross-sections saves a great deal of time
when communicating with an engineering
team.

Detailing
Detailed design around the color, form
and materials are a reflection of the
theme board built around the user profile.
These explorations also help inform the
marketing team as they develop
strategies.

Process and
activities
Research & Insights
Concept Generation
Concept Development

Need help with the new
product development?
Email Matt Suits in New Business
Development to request a quote:
Questions for our author, Karl Vanderbeek? Find him on LinkedIn
matts@kascope.com

User Centered Design & Understanding the New Product Development Process with Case Study flo

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