User-created persona: Namibian rural Otjiherero speakers

Persona is a communicative artefact for usability that currently functions under the umbrella of User-Centred Design (UCD). Since we argue usability methods differ across cultures, this project presents a cross-cultural research probe on persona generated by indigenous Otjiherero speakers in Namibia. The objective is to find out how participants in this milieu take on, understand and portray persona artefacts, what goals of User Experience (UX) emerge from the inquiry, and whether the artefacts created simulate or differ from those in literature. Tentative methods scaffold from benefits attained by persona in the attempt to advance persona technical communication in cross-cultural design. This experience report presents initial findings on narrative content, rhetorical preferences, and the physical layout of persona artefacts as so-far constructed by Otjiherero speakers in rural Namibia. The report draws to a close reflecting on present challenges and advances, and indicating upcoming pathways

Applying Cross-cultural theory to understand users’ preferences on interactive information retrieval platform design

Presented at EuroHCIR 2014, the 4th European Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction and Information Retrieval, 13th September 2014, at BCS London Office, Covent Garden, London.In this paper we look at using culture to group users and model the users’ preference on cross cultural information retrieval, in order to investigate the relationship between the user search preferences and the user’s cultural background. Initially we review and discuss briefly website localisation. We continue by examining culture and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. We identified a link between Hofstede’s five dimensions and user experience. We did an analogy for each of the five dimensions and developed six hypotheses from the analogies. These hypotheses were then tested by means of a user study. Whilst the key findings from the study suggest cross cultural theory can be used to model user’s preferences for information retrieval, further work still needs to be done on how cultural dimensions can be applied to inform the search interface design

Effects of cultural cognitive styles on users evaluation of website complexity

The internationalization of websites requires compelling navigation experience for users from diverse cultures. This research investigates the effects of cultural cognitive styles on user perception of website complexity and the subsequent influence on user satisfaction towards the website. More specifically, the website complexity is examined along three dimensions: component, coordinative, and dynamic. Laboratory experiments involving participants from China and United States were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the effect of objective complexity on perceived complexity is contingent on cultural cognitive styles. People with holistic and analytic cultural cognitive styles display different perceptions of website complexity. This study extends website complexity literature to the cross-cultural context. It also suggests pragmatic strategies for website design practitioners to improve website design in order to attract international audiences

Effects of Cultural Cognitive Styles on Users\u27 Evaluation of Website Complexity

The internationalization of websites requires compelling navigation experience for users from diverse cultures. This research investigates the effects of cultural cognitive styles on user perception of website complexity and the subsequent influence on user satisfaction towards the website. More specifically, the website complexity is examined along three dimensions: component, coordinative, and dynamic. Laboratory experiments involving participants from China and United States were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the effect of objective complexity on perceived complexity is contingent on cultural cognitive styles. People with holistic and analytic cultural cognitive styles display different perceptions of website complexity. This study extends website complexity literature to the cross-cultural context. It also suggests pragmatic strategies for website design practitioners to improve website design in order to attract international audiences

User Experience of Architectural Promenade in Art and Cultural Centres in Calabar, Crossriver State, Nigeria

The architectural success of any structure depends on how well people experience spaces. In order to improve the overall user experience in spaces, the architectural promenade concept has become a part of modern architectural design. Despite this, little is known about it or how it affects the user experience, particularly in Art and Cultural Centres. This research aims to assess the user experience of architectural promenade in selected Art and Cultural Centres in Calabar, Cross-river state, Nigeria. A quantitative methodology was applied to gather data from the selected arts and Cultural Centres in Calabar, Crossriver. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 2021 software was employed to analyse the acquired data. The findings indicated that many users did not necessarily enjoy the architectural promenade in Cultural Centres, affecting their overall experience of spaces. The study recommended architectural promenade as an area of user experience that researchers could focus on in research. It also suggests Architects architectural promenade as a conscious consideration in the design of art and Cultural Centres

Understanding international users' library experience in the Digital Age – joining the behavioral and experiential aspects

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe, analyze and understand international users' library experience in the Digital Age in order to inform library service design and ensure it provides an inclusive environment. In this study, the behavioral and experiential aspects of user library experience are merged to develop essential interconnections between information behavior (IB) and user experience (UX) in the context of the academic library with the goal of constructing a more holistic understanding of ‘library experience. Design/methodology/approach: The study was built on the concept “library experience” through analyzing its essential components of IB and UX. It was developed through findings from mixed methods research, consisting of the quantitative investigation from a library log analysis, and qualitative investigations via cognitive mapping exercises and semi-structured interviews, both targeted on the largest single group of international students in United Kingdom – international Chinese students. Findings: The findings demonstrated the complexity and multilayered characteristics of international Chinese students' library context, and three unique contexts emerged from the data shaping their library experience. Building on the previous findings on the connections between IB and UX, the work attempted to redefine “library experience” by joining both behavioral and experiential aspects. It is found that the key components of cultural library experience are the multilayered context, cultural group's perception needs, sense-making process and subjective evaluations. Originality/value: This study joins the behavioral and experiential perspectives together to explore library experience in a more holistic way and proposes a systematic structure to understand and analyze library experience, especially that of international users in a cross-cultural context, which, in turn, will better serve their information needs and inform the design of a more equal and inclusive library system

ASSESSMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL PROMENADE IN ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTRES, CALABAR, NIGERIA

Art and cultural centres play a significant role in showing the people's way of life around that community, impacting tourist attraction in cities and regions. This is why user experience is essential in the design of cultural centres. To improve the overall user experience in spaces, the concept of architectural promenade made famous by Le Corbusier has become a part of modern architectural design as every building has an architectural promenade whether designed consciously or not. Despite this, little is known about it or how it affects the user experience, particularly in Art and cultural centres. This research aims to assess the architectural promenade in selected art and cultural centres in a bid to improve the overall user experience in the design of an enhanced cultural centre in Calabar Cross River, Nigeria. The scope of this study is limited to cultural centres and related buildings in specific tourist states. The study employed a mixed-use methodological approach. Four Facilities were purposively selected in Calabar and Lagos state to obtain data. A quantitative and qualitative methodology was used to obtain data. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was employed to analyse the acquired quantitative data. Results were arranged in themes and presented using a descriptive approach with the aid of tables and photographs. The findings indicated that the Arts and cultural centres don't explore the full potential of the architectural promenade as the users did not necessarily enjoy the architectural promenade in cultural centres, therefore, affecting their overall experience of spaces. The study recommended architectural promenade as an area of user experience that researchers could focus on in research and architects could use as a conscious consideration in the design of art and cultural centres

Global Design Studio: Advancing Cross-Disciplinary Experiential Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID pandemic forced universities worldwide to shift to remote and online formats of teaching delivery. In design education, this shift has impacted Experiential Education (EE) pedagogical approach to studio teaching, an approach that gives students an opportunity to apply theory to a concrete experience in a reflective manner and provides cross-disciplinary learning opportunities. This paper discusses Global Design Studio (GDS), a collaborative cross-disciplinary teaching initiative between three design disciplines across three continents: Industrial Design in Australia, Interaction Design in Canada, and User Experience Design in Germany. The objective was to develop a support framework during emergency situations to facilitate cross-disciplinary EE to design students. This paper discusses the three teaching experiences as case studies that offer opportunity for deep analysis and reflection of challenges and enablers to EE education in the shift from traditional design studio to remote and online delivery. While navigating COVID-19 barriers to EE education, GDS aimed to achieve these objectives by sharing resources, ideas, and expertise across the three universities. Each unit dedicated the entire academic term to a first exploration of GDS through a semester-long project ‘Interactive Mannikin for children to learn CPR techniques’. This article discusses the context and outcomes of EE teaching and learning experiences at each unit. This paper also reviews the lessons design educators learned about: inter disciplinarity, inter-intra-cultural issues, group working, timing, remote collaboration, and proposing a GDS model for cross-disciplinary EE.&nbsp

User-centered Design of a Personal Finance Application: Localization for Young Millennials in Vietnam

Finance technology, or abbreviated as fintech, has emerged as an industry ever since people understood that technology can be radically utilized to provide value to the general public in the finance sector. Since then, many initiatives have been taken to improve finan-cial services to users, via ways such as budgeting, investing or cryptocurrency. Although the fintech industry has come a long way, it still has a particular problem when it comes to younger user segment, typically under 25 years old, known as millennials. The reason may come from the stigma that youngsters have against banking and finance being complex. This bachelor’s thesis studies how improved user experience of a fintech mobile application named Blinky, can increase its appeal to this demographic. It does so in mainly two ways, namely user-centered design and product localization. With the user-centered design approach, the thesis explores the definition of user experience, the making of good usability in an application and the principles of user-centered design. When turning to locali-zation, the thesis explains localization and culture. This lay the foundation for applying cross-cultural design to the research process. The research approach can be described as iterative cycles of weekly interviews and us-er tests. Some number of suitable participants each week provide quantitative and qualita-tive feedback for improvements by the end of the cycle. After the research is conducted, there are insightful findings deducted from the data. Several differences are shown in the way Vietnamese testers behave, in contrast to the home market, Finland. They can be in-terpreted from the culture theories. Aside from that, the quantitative data from the user tests give a direction to improve the current version of Blinky. The goal is to help millennials in Vietnam find an effective application to assist them in their personal finance. They could better manage the flow of money between friends that occurred during social activities. Furthermore, with Blinky, they could keep an intuitive log of their saving goals to help them achieve these targets

User-centered Design of a Personal Finance Application: Localization for Young Millennials in Vietnam

Finance technology, or abbreviated as fintech, has emerged as an industry ever since people understood that technology can be radically utilized to provide value to the general public in the finance sector. Since then, many initiatives have been taken to improve finan-cial services to users, via ways such as budgeting, investing or cryptocurrency. Although the fintech industry has come a long way, it still has a particular problem when it comes to younger user segment, typically under 25 years old, known as millennials. The reason may come from the stigma that youngsters have against banking and finance being complex. This bachelor’s thesis studies how improved user experience of a fintech mobile application named Blinky, can increase its appeal to this demographic. It does so in mainly two ways, namely user-centered design and product localization. With the user-centered design approach, the thesis explores the definition of user experience, the making of good usability in an application and the principles of user-centered design. When turning to locali-zation, the thesis explains localization and culture. This lay the foundation for applying cross-cultural design to the research process. The research approach can be described as iterative cycles of weekly interviews and us-er tests. Some number of suitable participants each week provide quantitative and qualita-tive feedback for improvements by the end of the cycle. After the research is conducted, there are insightful findings deducted from the data. Several differences are shown in the way Vietnamese testers behave, in contrast to the home market, Finland. They can be in-terpreted from the culture theories. Aside from that, the quantitative data from the user tests give a direction to improve the current version of Blinky. The goal is to help millennials in Vietnam find an effective application to assist them in their personal finance. They could better manage the flow of money between friends that occurred during social activities. Furthermore, with Blinky, they could keep an intuitive log of their saving goals to help them achieve these targets