James Dyson
James Dyson, prominent British inventor and designer (best known for his company, Dyson Ltd) used his own frustration with a sub-par product to understand what changes needed to be made to suit not only his own needs, but the needs of a larger population of vacuum-users. Dyson’s study of user-needs and how they were not being met by products currently on the market. The consistent need to buy replaceable bags for products that didn’t successfully clean was all the population knew.
Dyson’s Project
Though bag vacuums were regularly used, many users suffered from the same annoyances as James Dyson, but that’s where the similarities stopped. Where the majority of the users just accepted it as a fact, James knew he could do better than what was currently on the market. Inspired by turbines made to clear wood shavings out of the air in workshops, he prototyped the first bag-less vacuum.
James Dyson took a problem that vexed him and pushed to improve it and put it on the market to improve the experience for everyone. In essence, this is user-centered-design. Dyson took an experience that was not as good as it could be, took note of what the goal was for every user, then created a product that embodied that goal as to improve the experience for the user. Not only did he meet the one goal of a vacuum cleaner (to clean) but in the process, Dyson strove to understand other things users could make use out of, even if they didn’t know it yet.
The idea of not having to buy vacuum bags was an improvement that was unforeseen by the public as a possible option. This brand new idea saved the user money, and also maximized airflow. Other details were added as well, like the swivel-ball joint, a joint designed specifically to make it easier to move the vacuum around tight corners and navigate furniture. This design problem that was annoying but accepted by the public until James Dyson saw the potential in re-writing the vacuum META.
Principles of User Centered Design
As the Dyson company progressed, James started looking at a new way to design for the user. Vacuums are used by nearly everyone, and up until recently, they’ve been heavy to move and awkward to carry. How does one design for nearly everyone in the world? James Dyson studied his users and how they interacted with his current product. What were the drawbacks? What could be improved? After much research, a new product was designed, not as a replacement to the old product, but as an alternative for everyone, the Dyson DC02,a hand-held vacuum that was less than a fourth the weight of the previous push models, and didn’t rely on the user to push all the weight. This is an improvement of the Kinematic Load, making the product physically usable for a wider range of people.
Target Audience and User Expansion
This opened up a whole new set of possible users; the elderly. People who couldn’t push the full weight of a vacuum without getting tired or experiencing pain previously didn’t have a market of bag-less vacuums.
The original target audience consisted of nearly anyone, either in the commercial cleaning industry or those looking for a vacuum for home-use. The restrictions keeping weaker people from using the vacuum
My grandmother, who’s the owner of three dogs, two of which who shed, has owned a Dyson V6 vacuum for the last few years, enjoys the ability to not have to plug it in, and also how light it is. It was designed with maneuverability in mind, and even comes with a modular end system to change it from a push vacuum to a hand-held one. She can easily detach the dust compartment without much effort, and dump it out, all without having to exude large amounts of effort. Without the studies of his users, Dyson would possibly never have extended his user-group to include weaker people, such as my grandmother.
Despite her love of the product, she wishes that it would hold a charge longer. Current limitations on battery life affect many wireless devices on the market, and Dyson vacuums require a consistent stream of power to cause enough suction.
“Oh, I love it. It stays charged longer than my leaf blower, but I can’t do the whole downstairs with it in one charge before it starts to slow down.”
User Centered Design Value
James Dyson took his ability to see a problem and took it further by understanding what he needed to do to fix it. All user centered design starts this way. By taking a less-than-perfect scenario and understanding exactly what the user wanted and how the current ideas were keeping them from getting what they wanted, Dyson was able to design a brand new system from the ground up that not only met the main requirement that wasn’t being met by other products, but also created solutions to minor inconveniences that were accepted as normal by the users until the Dyson vacuum made its debut.
Takeaways
Using this as an example, I can take away the idea of designing around a user, viewer, or audience is a key part of all good design. In the end, design is for people, and while we sometimes can’t recognize bad or faulty systems, a good designer can always reach above what is currently offered and improve upon it if they understand what a user really needs.