On April 28th 2021 I graduated with honors at Politecnico di Milano, in the MSc of Product Service System Design. The following project is the core of my research thesis, focusing on the User Experience process followed to re-design a textile machine interface.
ABSTRACT
In the industrial context, products and systems are designed to be highly performative, applying the latest and smartest technologies in terms of hardware and software. Sometimes the design of the interface, which shows the results of the process or serves as a control panel for the whole system, takes a back seat. It is designed in a purely functional way, to serve a purpose, just like the machine itself.
The case study proposed in this thesis is a quality control system made for the textile industry, where the hardware and software to measure the density, the diameter and the weight of a yarn bobbin are highly sophisticated.
The goal of this project is to redesign the interface of the LDCS Series, applying the UX Design methodology in a context of work that is not used to this practice. Through a careful research and a series of interviews, both with customers and with the company, the problem will be mastered and the current interface will be evaluated. Afterwards, with a different perspective, a new interface and interaction design for the LDCS Series will be proposed. In conclusion, this thesis aims at investigating the possibilities of improvement in terms of visual effectiveness and usability, functionality and consistency with the current use of the machine. All this keeping a focus on the single experience, trying to support and answer the user’s needs.
The structure given to this thesis follows the path and mindset that guided the project development throughout months of work. The thread that links all the covered themes is firstly determined by the sequence of practices and phases typical of a UX design project. Secondly it also follows a logical way of thinking made of questions and tools to find an answer. The succession of these questions, techniques and outcomes creates the project roadmap which describes the development path of this thesis. For each phase of the project, some questions are taken in consideration, and the appropriate research and design techniques have to be found. Consequently, a series of outcomes are generated, in the form of text, diagrams and schemes. For every outcome and answer found, follows a new set of questions, and so on until the project reaches the desired degree of definition.
Final prototype video
