Designing Connected Products cover

Designing Connected Products: UX for the consumer internet of things

Networked thermostats, fitness monitors, and door locks show that IoT devices can (and will) provide abundant ways for people to interact with the world around them. But designing connected products for consumers is a challenge that involves issues beyond UI and interaction design.

This book provides experienced UX designers and technologists with a clear and practical roadmap for approaching consumer product strategy and design in this novel market. By drawing on the best of current design practice and academic research, Designing Connected Products delivers sound advice for working with cross-device interactions and complex ecosystems inherent in IoT technology.

Topics include:

  • How the technology of IoT affects UX
  • Product and design strategy for connected devices
  • Industrial design
  • Interface and interaction design for embedded devices
  • Cross-device interactions and interusability
  • Interoperability
  • Responsible IoT design
  • Designing with data
  • Prototyping and user research methods for connected products

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Praise for Designing Connected Products

“This is more than a UX book; it covers all of the critical design and technology issues around making great connected products.”

David Rose - Entrepreneur, MIT Media Lab Researcher, and author of Enchanted Objects

 

“Whether you’re an IoT pro or just getting started designing connected products, this comprehensive book has something for everyone, from examinations of different network protocols all the way up to value propositions and considerations for hardware, software, and services. This book takes a clear-eyed look at IoT from all angles.”

Dan Saffer - Author of Microinteractions

 

“This book should be on the desk of anyone contemplating an IoT product. Covering the end-to-end ecosystem of devices through to backend services, the authors address so many aspects of the UX journey that constantly make you think: ‘Oh, yes, really good point!’ There is comprehensive coverage of the technology options available as building blocks and patterns for an IoT solution. The book skillfully delivers a wealth of sound UX wisdom, backed up by of-the-moment examples, which will resonate with practitioners already familiar with the IoT world, and will serve as a modern educational text for everyone.”

Dr. Andy Stanford-Clark - IBM Distinguished Engineer for the Internet of Things

 

“The explosion of possibilities with the Internet of Things will only come about if people can understand and use it. Designing Connected Products brings much needed clarity to the challenge and provides a toolkit to build better solutions. It also acts as a showcase of the brightest and best Internet of Things projects and products.”

Adrian McEwen - Founder, MCQN Ltd., and author of Designing the Internet of Things

“The authors do a fantastic job of not only exposing the complexities of a future pervaded by connected things, but suggesting exactly how we can consciously go about preventing that complexity from overwhelming us. This book will be an essential reference for designers as they come to grips with creating these new type of things that will live throughout our lives.”

Ben Fullerton - Design Director, Nike+

 

“In a field where the hype can change even faster than the technology, this book grounds designers, entrepreneurs, and technologists in what matters—the fundamentals of people’s behavior, networked technologies, and the context both now find themselves in. In doing this it reaches back to a larger historical field of research, design, and evaluation that is invaluable.

“As a grizzled veteran of several campaigns within the matter-battle of the Internet of Things, I was pleasantly surprised to find the number of times this book made me pause, think, and rethink my own work (and that of others). A very valuable addition to the canon of design thinking in this emerging area.

“This book pretends to be a primer on designing the Internet of Things (and it’s an excellent one) but it reveals itself quickly as really being a primer on nearly every aspect of contemporary design—as the Internet touches nearly every aspect of it.”

Matt Jones - Interaction Design Director, Google Creative Lab, and former Principal at BERG

 

“Usability is THE challenge for the Internet of Things. This book is full of excellent guidance on how to achieve that most elusive but essential quality of an IoT product: simplicity. This book shows you how to delight your connected product customers by treating their attention as the precious and finite resource that it is.”

Pilgrim Beart, Founder, AlertMe

 

“In an industry that is dominated by engineering concerns, this book will illuminate the human side of IoT. It’s a broad and deep survey with a rich set of examples for every point.”

Matt Biddulph - Cofounder, Thington