As an engineering designer, or a purchasing professional, you are
used to dealing with numbers, specifications, test data, pricing, etc.
You design, specify or purchase based on what will work for you, what it
will cost, how it will affect your assembly, and when can you get it in
the door.
The people who use your products, however, have a different
perspective. Ultimately, they are impressed by products that function
well for their intended use. But many elements add up to that sense of
satisfaction with a product, be it professional, industrial or consumer.
Does the product feel right, sound solid, look good? These are
difficult reactions to quantify but impossible to ignore.
In a 1973 speech at the University of Pennsylvania, then IBM president Tom Watson, Jr. said: “Good design is good
business”. The acceptance of the original IBM PC was aided immensely
by a keyboard that users loved, with just the right amount of keyswitch
travel and that satisfying “click”. Those keyboard features were wisely
continued on the original IBM laptop – the ThinkPad, and what made it a
success.
Now, the experience of solid keyboard clicking is a somewhat emotional reaction to overall product design, but depending on the size of the company you work for, evoking similar responses could well be your responsibility.
If you’ve read any reviews of automobiles in the popular press lately, you’ve probably come across a writer or two who state that “the control screen is needlessly confusing” or “the interface takes some getting used to”. With a touchscreen as part of almost every automotive dashboard these days, the comment “takes some getting used to” is anything but superficial.
Touchscreen and point and click interfaces are now ubiquitous in product design, from automobiles to process control systems. Part of this is to communicate more information to the user, but another part is also to reduce costs. With a touchscreen interface, whatever the function of the product, upgrades, changes, and recalls can use a software solution instead of hardware replacement. But while keeping physical controls to a minimum on products and systems can be a design and cost imperative, using too few controls can negatively impact user operability, satisfaction, and perceived product value.
And in the industrial product area, where it would seem that functionality should rule, design can be critical in terms of imparting quick, accurate information to the user and allowing him or her to react without hesitation. If you’re controlling the batch flow in a petrochemical plant you not only want switches, gauges and controls that work, you also want them to be clear, not confusing, and easy to react to.
Physical controls, as in our case, the humble switch, can not only allow a product to function well, they can also evoke a sense of quality, security, and interactive ease from the user. And these are the critical brand preference attributes that come into play at final purchasing time. The selection of a switch, or a group of switches on a product quite simply can go a long way to make it feel, sound and operate well. That’s something the user will remember, and demand again.
Good design, particularly at the industrial level, is a way to counter frustrations, satisfy needs, and allay fears – especially from operators in the field controlling powerful equipment. The selection of just the right switches in the right spots on a product can serve to optimize function, improve safety, increase perceived value and enhance appearance.
The routes to good industrial and consumer product design are many and varied, and can depend on not only your budget, but also on the value your company puts on the design process. IBM’s Tom Watson might add that “the design beyond the engineering” is a skill worth cultivating by both the engineering and purchasing elements of a product development team.
The steps in this process are not necessarily complicated. Nor do they require an expensive outside consultant to implement. They are, quite simply:
- Understand the problem (listen, listen, listen)
- Relate to the setting (the operator of a big rig not only has to throw switches while keeping his eyes on the road, he also has to do this while being bounced around)
- Seek out critiques, questions and suggestions (listen, listen, listen)
- Be willing to change
- Accurately and simply communicate your solution
If you’re in a large company, you probably have resources to help and guide you. If you’re in a small company, you may need to fight an uphill battle to get where you want to be in terms of design focus, expertise and execution. But in either case, the ultimate judges won’t be your management, they will be your customers.
And remember, as Steve Jobs once said: “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations”.
One way to get your innovating into gear is to reach out to people who have been through the process many times. The engineering and design professionals at Master Electronics spend their working hours exposed to design challenges
in countless industries around the globe. Their world-class expertise in using just the right switch or component for a design application runs strong. Ask for their help, and get the answers you need to build it just right.
