Design Optimisation

Nigel Flack
Aug 24, 2017 · 4 min read

We’ve been working on a very interesting project recently at work in the smart home space. As part of that project, we’re designing an app. Nothing new for us, should be no big deal, right?

Well, there are a few challenges that make it interesting… we’re in London and the client’s in California. The client isn’t very design aware. The brand palette is bright orange and a couple of grays.

Anyway, we’ve found it particularly difficult to get good feedback. And that’s making it hard for us to nail the design.

And that’s led me to question the right approach to getting to a design. In general, we present some options, and draw out feedback based on the reaction to those options. Sometimes the client can talk through specific things they like and dislike; other times it’s the feedback equivalent of “meh, not really feeling it”.

So — that led me to do a bit of googling, and looking into n-dimensional optimisation techniques (sorry, it’s the engineer in me!) And in doing so I appear to have stumbled on quite a complex topic! See the rational engineer-type in me says when testing something “like do you like A or B?” you should vary only 1 thing at a time. But there’s a fair bit of research on whether that is or isn’t a good approach, and it looks like it’s not. Which is interesting.

Of course, this is largely treated as a mathematical or scientific question… not visual design. So it seems like a fun topic to explore further. And so, I’ve decided I’m going to try to write some serious Medium posts on the topic… and we’ll see where that ends up. Stay tuned!

The personal bit…

So, since this is my “standard” format, just a quick opportunity to go back to the cyclist case mentioned a couple of days ago.

The young man was found not guilty of manslaughter, but guilty of “wanton and furious driving”. A large part of the case appears to rest on his not having front brakes and thereby riding a bike that was illegal to be ridden on the road. He’s due to be sentenced in a few weeks, and faces up to 2 years in jail.

He’s now been tried in court, where presumably professionals on both side argued facts before a judge and jury. And no one outside the court room knows the details of what the people inside the court room heard and saw.

But the general public is having a field day! The victim was a 44-year old married mother of 2, with a “proper” job — he’s a cocky 18-year old school drop-out. News articles mention things like “he was wearing a sweatshirt that said ‘antisocial’” and that he “has a tattoo of a skull crying tears of blood ”. And in the photos he got a piercing of some kind in his cheek. He doesn’t exactly sound or look like the most clean-cut or respectful individual ever born.

The amount of people judging him on wild conjecture, his appearance and shady, sensationalist reporting is just shocking!

Here’s a selection of comments from the Daily Mail:

  • He look a right pathetic weasel of a man , with apologies to both real weasels and real men.
  • If there is any justice , at some point the deadbeat will be knocked off his bike and crushed to death under the wheels of an unroadworthy lorry by an uninsured driver who has a similar couldn’t-care-less attitude as himself.
  • Vile piece of s…t!
  • He looks a right piece of work and what is that earring doing in his cheek? His appearance says it all really — no respect for himself, let alone anyone else.
  • Just clocked his tattoo thinking what a sick individual he is
  • Sue the crap out of the little maggot
  • If I came across this arsh ole in the street I would kick is fer kin head in…and I would be prepared to go to pri son for it.
  • He looks like a proper cnt.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4818846/Cyclist-knocked-mother-ghoulish-tattoo.html#ixzz4qhzOrHSH
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Keep in mind, the woman stepped out into the road in front of him, when he was cycling at 18mph through a green light on a road where the speed limit is 30mph (for vehicles that are 10–100 times heavier). He apparently swerved to avoid her, he yelled out to her twice, she moved out of the way and at the last second stepped back directly into his path.

But hey — he looks like a pr*ck (and he has a scary tattoo!!!) so let’s send him to jail and throw away the key…

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