The challenge

The focus for this vision project for Samsung R&D; was to look for alternatives to the standard app-centric paradigm on mobile devices by deconstructing application and device boundaries. The goal was to create meaningful concepts that might disrupt the mobile device space by leveraging the many other electronics and appliances in Samsung’s portfolio. This was a constrained 6-week idea generation effort with no budget for user research.

The result

We took a guerrilla approach to generative research and developed an innovative model for Samsung to use when thinking about their device ecosystem. We used journaling and needs analysis to establish an overall life flow model that enabled us to create a meaningful UX strategy meeting the needs of the personas established by Samsung. We analyzed how the Samsung’s competitors were meeting these needs, defined future scenarios in which the needs were met and users were delighted, and provided core screen renderings to bring the design to life. This project grew the Samsung relationship considerably and shifted their attitude toward the power of design research.

My contribution

As Director of Design Research, I defined and led the guerrilla research approach. I worked hands-on with the design researcher and interaction designer on gathering and synthesizing journaling data, creating the life flow model, brainstorming opportunities and designing the vision solution.