Successful interactive systems design is often based on detecting a need that really good solutions do not yet exist for, then coming up with a realistic solution others haven’t thought of. The real key is then having the technical and design skill and perseverance to actually build it, as well as the perseverance to go through lots of rounds of prototyping to get it right. Even then it is still a long haul needing different people and business skills to end up with a successful product. Kamal Ali showed how its done with the development of My Salah Mat, an interactive prayer mat to help young children learn to pray.
He realised there was a need watching his 4-year old struggling to get his feet and hands, forehead and nose in the right place to pray: correctly bowing low to God in the direction of Mecca. Instead he kept lying on his tummy. Kamal’s first thought was to try and buy something that would help.
He searched for something suitable: perhaps a mat with the positions marked on in some child friendly way, and was surprised when he could find nothing. Thinking it was a good idea anyway, and with a background in product design, he set about creating a Photoshop prototype himself. One of the advantages of prototyping is that it encourages “design-by-doing” and just in doing that he had new ideas – children need help with the words of prayers too, so why not write them on the mat in child friendly ways. From there realising it could be interactive with buttons to press so it could read out instructions was the next step. After all young children may struggle with reading themselves: it is important to really know your users and what will and will not work for them!
As he was already running a company, he knew how to get a physical prototype made so after working on the idea with a friend he created the first one. From there there were lots more rounds of prototyping to get the look and feel right for young kids, for example, and to ensure it would fill their need really, really well.
He also focussed on the one clear group: of young children and designed for their need. Once that design was successful the company then developed a very different design based on the same idea for adult / reverts. That is an important interaction design lesson. Different groups of potential users may need different designs and trying to design one product for everyone may not end up working for anyone. Find a specific group and design really well for them!
In the process of creating the design Kamal started to wonder why he was doing it. He realised it was not to make money – he was really thinking of it as a social venture. It was not about profit but all about doing social good: as he has said:
” I finally realised that my motivation was to create a high quality product that could help children learn how to pray Salah. Most importantly, children would want to pray and interact with the different aspects of Salah. This was my true motivation and the most important thing to me.”
Great interactive system product design takes inspiration, skill and a lot of perseverance, but the real key is to be able to identify a real unfulfilled need, and come up with realistic solutions that both fill the need and people want. That is not just about having an idea, it is about doing rounds and rounds of prototyping and trial and error with people who will be the users to get the design right. If you do get it right and you can do all sorts of good.
by Paul Curzon, Queen Mary University of London.
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