Interactive analysis of the operation interface of the washing machine

What product design methods can we learn from the interaction of the operating interface of the washing machine?

Recently, I need to buy a washing machine at home. Due to limited space, I can only choose a pulsator washing machine. Because there are elderly people at home, simple interface operation has become an important criterion for me during the selection process. Had to give up this standard. The reason is that I am confused when facing these operation panels. After communicating with the customer service, I am still confused. Obviously, the superposition of product functions will increase the operation cost of the operation interface. The operation interface of the washing machine I bought below:

After reading the instructions and operating practices, the basic information architecture is as follows:

The problems are as follows:

• One indicator light represents two levels of meaning, and it is too expensive to understand by distinguishing between constant light and flashing.
• There is no separate choice between the two businesses in the function selection.
• There is no relationship between the expression of the water volume description and the amount of laundry. The user’s concept of 27L, 32L…55L, 58L is very vague, and it cannot be related to the amount of laundry. If the user puts half a bucket of clothes in, how much should be selected It is estimated that the amount of water used to wash clothes can only rely on subjective judgment.
• It is not arranged according to the frequency of use and the priority of the function. For example, the reservation function should be an additional function, a low-frequency operation, and the position is centered and the color is prominent and cannot be understood.
• The cost of learning and use of combination health is a bit high, especially for the elderly.
• The descriptions of “commonly used” fields are ambiguous. Are they recorded according to my usage habits? It is the laundry function that has been set by the system, this can only be referred to the manual for help.
• The function selection of laundry business (water volume selection, function selection, washing method selection) is sequential. We can guide the steps on the interface. For example, if the user chooses the single dehydration business, there is no choice of washing method and water volume selection. It’s necessary.

Recently, I read the book “Simplicity First-Four Strategies of Interaction Design” again. The book puts forward the four principles of simplifying design: organization, deletion, hiding, and transfer. The book gives examples of Flip cameras. The brand’s many-featured cameras broke a blood path. Flip cameras sold millions of units from obscurity. At that time, the total sales of cameras in the US market was only 6 million units. The designers Kaplan and Bronstein’s design goal is to be simple and easy to use, and even everyone can use it without any instructions. Obviously they did it.

Back to the problem of washing machines, how to use the four principles of simple design to redesign the operation interface of washing machines is the main issue we discussed this time. In fact, the user’s mental model in the process of washing clothes is like this: Put the clothes and liquid detergent into the washing machine, close the door, and turn on the start button, which is similar to putting an elephant in the refrigerator into several steps. Obviously this is not the case. Taking a rough look at the washing machines on the market today, it is a trend to superimpose functions in order to improve competitiveness. It is a design challenge to meet the multi-functional operation in a limited space.

Next, we use the four principles of simplified design to analyze and redesign the washing machine operation interface:

1. Organization

Organization is a common way to simplify design. First, you need to group according to functions, and prioritize the function groups according to the frequency of use. Secondly, you can guide users to follow the steps according to the order of use of the functions, and set the main ones with higher frequency. The process or function is outstanding.

So we can get the following design scheme:

• Re-categorize according to the frequency and priority of user use, and add step guides, and need to be prominent in design: The first step is function selection, which refers to the functions used by the user to wash clothes, because the selection of functions will affect the subsequent procedures and washing For example, if the user selects the single dehydration function, the latter two options are meaningless. The second part is the laundry mode, which guides the user to choose how to wash the clothes. The third step is the choice of the laundry volume. The user chooses the amount of laundry this time, and the unit of measurement is a relatively intuitive washing bucket.
• To change the amount of water to the amount of laundry, the user only needs to pay attention to his own amount of laundry. The specific amount of water that needs to be put in is a matter of the washing machine.
• Commonly used is changed to smart washing. The field description is more in line with the business scenario. It refers to the process set by the program. The user does not need to select any functions, just turn on the power, put in the clothes, and click on.
• Smart default value: Since most of the scenes when the user is using the washing machine are washing clothes, the default selection needs to be consistent with this business, so the function selection is selected by default: washing-rinsing-dehydration, the laundry mode is selected as smart washing, and the amount of laundry Choose the more common 5 barrels.
• The power function is different from other buttons, and the position and shape need to be different from other buttons.

Operation area analysis:

• The bottom of the washing machine operation panel is the hot area for operation, so put the main operation area at the bottom and highlight it.

Operation path analysis:

• Users mostly use right-handed operation, and the main operation flow is from left to right, which is in line with usage habits.

Various status descriptions:

Function selection:

Display screen

2. Delete

Deleting unnecessary functions can make users more focused, quickly achieve user goals, and return to the original core functions of the product. Now we start from the most basic functions of the washing machine, and we can go to the following design solutions to return to simplicity and focus on the core business of the washing machine. , The trouble is left to the machine instead of the user. The operating cost and operation are very low. You only need to turn on the power button, put in the clothes and laundry detergent, click Start to start the washing machine, and wait for the clothes to be washed.

• The power button is used to control the power on and off of the entire machine, and to control the working state of the entire washing machine. It does not need to be distinguished from other buttons in position and shape.
• The start/pause button is mainly used to start and pause the washing machine. It also controls the overall function and can be distinguished from other buttons in position.
• The display screen shows the working process of the washing machine and the remaining time.

3. Transfer

Transfer can refer to from one location to another, or from one device to other devices, that is, to transfer non-core low-frequency functions to other places, but also to achieve the user’s more focus on core functions and their own templates, and reduce other Interference with options. For example, when the Internet of Things is emphasized, whether the less frequent functions such as child locks and appointments in washing machines can be considered to be transferred to APP for operation.

4. Hide

It is to hide the non-core and low-frequency functions so as not to interfere with the normal operation process of the user. There are many ways to pass. This goal is generally achieved through visual invisibleness, such as changing a certain function entry in the software. Deep, if some air conditioner remote controllers are made like this, the physical buttons can be covered and folded to realize the hidden function. The washing machine is changed to a two-layer design that can lift the cover. It is worth studying, so I won’t discuss it here.

Aroused our reflection: the user experience of the product superimposed in exchange for the decline of the function is turning the cart before the horse, and it will also make their products lose competitiveness in the market, so traditional manufacturers also need to work hard on the user experience, and the hardware products are slow. In today’s slow homogeneity, a good user experience is also a magic weapon for enterprises to have market competitiveness.