[(Designing Connected Products : UX for the Consumer Internet of Things)] [By (author) Claire Rowland ] published on

by Claire Rowland

The Internet of Things (IoT) promises a wealth of new possibilities for interacting with the world around us. But it is still an immature and technology-driven field, and there are many barriers to creating compelling consumer products. This book explains in simple terms what the challenges are and explores practical solutions for solving them.Drawing on the best of current design practice and academic research, "Designing Connected Products" provides an introduction to the technology of IoT and practical guidance on designing for diverse devices, cross-device interactions, and complex ecosystems.UX for connected devices is about much more than UI and interaction design. It requires you to think about interusability, industrial design, conceptual models, productization, and platform design. This book provides a clear and practical roadmap for approaching product strategy and design in this novel market, suitable for both UX design and technology experts.

Genres: Design, Technology, Technical, Business, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published March 25, 2015

Reviews

[Tanmay Jadhav · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took up this book after meeting up with a friend who is now a User Experience(UX) designer.

The book is a textbook of sorts but is an amazing one at it. The simplicity with which the basic concepts are explained is great. There are times when the book gets too complicated for a non design or coding person to follow but i doubt we' use those parts.

Overall, reading this book has really made me see the things around us in a different light. The efforts and the intricacies that go into making even the simplest of products.

I'd really suggest anybody interested in understanding UX/UI design to at least flip through the book. It has some great concepts to tell.

[Zane Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps one of the better UX books out there for connected devices... with some long-term caveats.

I'm a designer, but don't do IoT for work. I've been doing DIY home automation for the past few months, and thought this might help me avoid some pitfalls.

Some of the challenges facing IoT device companies deal with onboarding users for the first time. This is make-or-break stuff for a single product/brand (eg smart light bulbs). However, for an end user, the primary challenge is bringing all these different products together (eg lights, speakers, tv, etc). It was intriguing to read about this from a product's point of view, and while onboarding is indeed a challenge, IMO more time needs to be spent on longevity and interconnectedness of these products.

I've been using cheap microcontrollers and sensors. You don't have to worry about device getting deprecated, spying, introducing ads or doing a redesign after the company decides it needs to grow. You might say people don't have the time, but its about the same time investment as any other home DIY project.

I think I learned some valuable lessons from the PoV of a designer for smart devices, and as a end-user that’s to be really cognizant of who the company is making those products.

[Sivakumar Thangavelu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given this is an area which is so new, I think this is one of the few, if not the only book, which covers this space so comprehensively. The book is meant for UX designers, interaction designers, UI designers and product designers (to a certain extent, architects) alike. It starts with the fundamental concepts in each field and progressively approaches higher level ideas which one would encounter in a real life situation. I personally enjoyed the last few chapters, probably because I was already acquainted with the concepts explained in the first half and I found the data science part more interesting (but that’s just me!). One downside (which the author honestly concedes away at the start) of this book may be the heavy focus on Home HVAC / smart Home systems (Nevertheless that is acceptable at this stage of the technology in 2018). So, in essence:

A great comprehensive book on the design of connected products.

[Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a substantial amount of knowledge, but it felt more like an introduction and survey to the IoT landscape rather than a UX best practice guide (as might have been implied by the title). I was pretty disappointed. The parts that were written with more authority and direction were well-established topics such as how to properly research, role of design and prototyping, etc. not unique to the IoT. I admit that IoT is a newer field, but I didn't learn anything too different than what is already out there in the field of design. Perhaps I knew too much coming in already. Regardless, I felt like the book could have been at least 75% shorter (without the rudimentary fluff) and been a much more compelling read.

[Vuk Trifkovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to gather impressions as I read early release with incomplete chapters but overall very useful.

[Delhi Irc]

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