Publications

(2002) MSc In Human Communication and Computing (Final year dissertation), University of Bath.

Abstract: For the past five years, with the introduction of increased bandwidth and multi media technologies, designers have attempted to understand how we might design the user experience. The growing interest in designing the user experience mirrors an industry trend that shows that companies that consider dimensions beyond usability are met with greater success in the marketplace. Within the emerging field of experience design there has emerged a clear emphasis on the design of products and services that provide compelling experiences. Most technological experiences-including digital and, especially, online experiences-have paled in comparison to real-world experiences and they have been relatively unsuccessful as a result. The current literature on experience design is limited; therefore we seem to be in no better position to understand human experience or how to design for it. What seems to be missing is a clear idea about what experience is; what its components or elements are; and, perhaps more importantly, whether it can even be designed or scripted. This paper describes the findings of an interview study that was conducted with five design practitioners and artists who design compelling experiences. A theoretical framework was used to guide the analysis of the data. The findings illustrate a number of key components of experience design, and demonstrate that practitioners use a combination of tacit knowledge and defined processes in their professional roles. Designing effective experiences also requires many different types of professionals with a broad range of knowledge.