The places where people interact with design objects can have a profound impact on their experience. When eating at a restaurant, the noise level can enhance or detract from intended experiences. Context isn’t limited to physical spaces. Within a specific context (time and place) attitudes and norms can all shift with different events and movements. Do not ignore the effects of the context that surrounds activities when implementing design objects, studying people, or considering a time and place to integrate a service.
People and the products, services, and systems they use exist in a setting—the physical environment and situations in which interactions take place. These external factors can profoundly impact people’s decision making and the ways design objects function. For example, bustles were in vogue in the mid-to-late 19th century. During this period, a woman was fashionable if she wore a bustle because bustles were the norm. Of course, bustles aren’t in fashion today. If someone were to go out in public wearing one today, they would look a little strange.
Different fashion styles are indicative of the setting in which they existed. People who lived in those settings didn’t get to choose what fashion was in style—the setting (in this case, norms) defined what was popular. Norms are just one way that setting can impact people and design objects. Let’s take a look at setting and better understand ways it can influence experiences.
Observations can produce descriptions of actors. Designers can document things like physical size, style, and makeup. Actors’ characteristics and behaviors directly define what they are and how they are working. However, they fall short of revealing more profound aspects of who they are, why they are, and their function in experience design scenes.
Select any of the aspects to learn its role in experience design scenes at the characteristics and behaviors level.
One of the three essential parts of the experience design scene. A context, person, or design.
Measurable qualities of a context.
The conditions within a specific context.
The physical spaces, ideas, and prevailing attitudes of a place and time affect experience design scenes.
A place and time where an experience design scene takes place.
Physical and social conventions that govern settings.
The dimensions of physical spaces where experience design scenes take place.
People and objects in a context that are not the user.
Materials available for use in a setting.
A designer with experience mindset researches and designs with the tangible and the intangible in mind. When researching experience design scenes, these aspects can be targeted using different design research methods. Designing for complete experiences does not neglect these aspects. Instead, products, services, and systems are designed to align with these aspects and consider them as essential drivers for design decisions.
“Seeing” these aspects requires taking different perspectives—putting on a set of “lenses.” Bifocals, a magnifying glass, and a stethoscope enable the viewer to see different things. Explore scenes using each set of lenses to reveal new details about actors in experience design scenes (Gilmore, 2016).
Select any of the aspects to learn its role in experience design scenes at the experience design level.
Four experience-level themes within experience design scenes.
Aspects of experiences that can be seen using common methods.
Aspects of experiences that are the heart of an actor.
External factors that can affect people and design actors in experience design scenes.
The duration of time in which experience design scenes take place.
Unwritten "rules" that define acceptable behavior.
References and sources that support the inclusion of this Aspects of Experiences for Design component.