Case Study 3

Case Study 3
Equity, Brand and User-Experience

1. The focus on brand and control of user experience are attempts to overcome the "complacency of the artifact." Creating new forms of interaction is a way to escape the push towards sameness.
Qualitative differentiation is one of the keys to tackling this complacency. By creating new and different forms of interaction design it is possible to create a user experience that forms a positive brand view and allows a product to stand out amongst the rest.
I think tag galaxy is a great example (http://taggalaxy.de/). As far as image searches go they're all pretty similar. Google images is okay but a little unpredictable, and there's sites like photobucket and flickr which have the images but aren't the easiest to navigate. Tag Galaxy on the other hand really sets itself apart. It is based off of flickr but contains an interactive element that sets it apart. You can search for a word and be presented with a sphere of images that you can explore and view all at once. You can see related words and explore the galaxy of images. It is a veer unique search engine and provides a excellent user experience.

2. I think this was made quite clear in the article BMW website gives 'best experience' . BMW's website was a stronger web experience because it included many things that customers were looking for such as lists of cars and test drive information. Ferrari's website did not include such information and so scored lower in customer experience.
Customers who visit BMW's website are going to be more likely to purchase a product in the end because of the good user experience. This helps substantiate the brand because a customer will remember the experience they had with the company and their view of the brand will be positive.

3. User-experience design is about consistently representing and delivering the brand values you have led your customers to expect in order to achieve a desired brand perception. Positive user experience has direct correlation to positive brand perception. And to achieve positive brand perception, a user must be able to link your brand values to your brand through effective interaction design.
For example, take FedEx (http://fedex.com/us/). FedEx's brand values are about delivering your mail and packages in a fast and efficient manner. Their website reflects this by putting everything you need right there on the main page. There is a tracking form to check the status of your packages, there is information about shipping, fees and store locations. Their website is efficient and fast, just like how we see their brand.

4. I think the obvious example here is Amazon. Customers were getting annoyed with having to enter their credit card information each time they bought something. Amazon listened to what customers wanted and provided an easy solution. Now you only have to enter your credit card information once and Amazon will remember it.
Another example that can be seen as either good or bad is Facebook. Facebook changes the layout and function of the site unusually frequently (at least three times in the last few years). The apparent reason behind the changes is that it is listening to what users want and responding by trying to make the site safer and easier to use. However, every time the site layout is changed there is an uproar from users who do not appreciate the change. They just got used to the new design and now everything is changing again. They like consistency and familiarity and to them nothing needed changing. It appears that Facebook is listening and responding to some of their users, but it is not listening to those who want things to stay the same.

5. “Brand represents the intellectual and emotional associations that people make with a company, product, or person. That is to say, brand is something that actually lies inside each of us.”
When a user experience is comfortable, intuitive, consistent and trustworthy, then the user will relate the emotions they get to the brand and they will form a positive view of the brand.
I'd like to compare Google to Yahoo in terms of a search engine.
Google's user experience is pretty flawless. You have your main search box as the main thing on the page while other parts of the site are listed neatly at the top left out of the way. Google is intuitive as anyone can use it, it is comfortable because of the clean design and simplicity of use, and it is consistent and trustworthy too. Customers want to be able to find what they are looking for, and Google provides them with the perfect tool.
The user experience in Yahoo's site is very different. The main page is littered with things like news, "my favorites", "trending now", ads, funny videos, and other such boxes. A user feels overwhelmed in the site and the ease of use is not apparent. Yahoo is trying to be too many things at once, and because of this the user experience suffers. And this negative user experience leads to a negative view of the brand.