Design thinking applied to a unique voice-driven device, helping users perform tasks hands-free
The Challenge
To create a user experience that makes this new unique hands-free device intuitive and enjoyable to use. As a productivity product for industries where workers are required to use their hands, this allows them to, purely via voice, access documents, remotely call experts or take photos and videos of what they see.
My role
The nature of a voice driven device required a “say what you see” approach, with short and recognition tested voice commands. To optimise the screen real estate, main actions are placed at the center of the screen and supplemental unobtrusive navigation on the left that hides away after a few seconds.
The design system
To create a robust navigation solution, I needed to consider how to make it intuitive for users presented with this new experience and consider the android system integration challenges. A shared menu with components such as pagination, global commands and toggles, that could be used depending on the application, made it easy to expand and maintain from a development perspective and created a reliable experience across the device.
The process
Our team used the Agile methodology using Jira and Confluence. As the lead designer, at the start of this project, I defined how the design processes would integrate with development and testing within the sprints.
Designing a voice driven keyboard
A lot had to be considered when designing this, but more crucially: combining ease of use and precision. A combination of dictation - somewhat low precision but quick - and NATO alphabet - precise but cumbersome, was a good fit but the challenge was to display both solutions on a small screen. It became clear that a design where the user could use both and both would affect the input was the best solution.
Previous implementation
The keyboard was originally designed to make use of headtracking seeing 5 items at a time, which was great for scalability and using the solution for other purposes, but it limited what the user could see at any given moment.
A better solution
Sometimes going back to basics is the best way forward. An interface the user is more used to and where they can see all the commands available at once was the winner design.