“The phrase “alignment diagrams” describes a class of documents that reveal the touchpoints between a customer and a business. These touchpoints are organized and visually aligned in a single graphical overview. Illustrating these touchpoints helps a company shift its inherently inward-focusing perspectives outward. Alignment diagrams make the value creation chain visible from both sides of the fence.”
Read full article here!
Mental Model Diagram
As I have mentioned in the post prior to this, this is an idea for an app to help IKEA’s customers to plan their living spaces. A more simple version of 3D softwares such as Autodesk 3DsMax or InteriCad, a more advanced version of The Sims! I hope you get the idea 
Measure your room, key in the dimensions into the app and build a 3D version of your living space. Then, drag and drop IKEA furniture into your new 3D room and see if it actually fit! Bring in as many IKEA furniture as you want and see which couch works with which coffee table, or which bedside table would fit best in your small cozy bedroom.
Making furniture shopping and decorating your home much more fun and efficient!
For this week’s project, I have chose to improve IKEA’s mobile app, tailored for the iPad.
IKEA already have an app which serves as a mobile catalogue with augmented reality functions. You are able to select IKEA furniture and see how it looks like in your home by using your iPhone camera by dragging and dropping the furniture from the catalogue.
I have chosen to take this app to a new level. Instead of it functioning just as a tool to see how IKEA furniture looks like in your home aesthetically, I’ve decided to construct a more detailed app which allows you to actually plan your home to scale.
Its a simplified version of Autodesk 3DsMax or InteriCad, and a more advanced version of The Sims.
Browse through the IKEA catalogue and add items to your “FAVORITES” collection within the app.
Also, if you are in the IKEA store, you can scan the barcodes of the products you like with the “BARCODE SCANNER” and the 3D version of the item will be placed in your “FAVORITES” too.
Then, place your favorite items into the space that you have created within the app and see how it would fit into the room where you would eventually place it.
Here is a draft sequence of events.
“GALLERY” tab
- Browse trough the current IKEA catalogue.
- Click on the “Favorite” icon to add it to your “Favorites” collection.
“BARCODE SCAN” tab
- Scan the barcode of an item at the IKEA store and the 3D version of it will automatically be added into your “FAVORITES”.
“FAVORITES” tab
- All the IKEA products that you’ve “Favorite” will be displayed here (3D version).
- Option to change colors of the product.
“CREATE A ROOM” tab on the app.
- Select “Floor Space” and draw out the rough shape of the floor space you are going to fit your new IKEA furniture in. Then, on the sidebar, key in the exact dimensions of each side. Floor space is DONE.
- Select “Wall”. Key in height of wall.
- Choose to turn ON/OFF ceiling.
- Choose materials for the floor, walls and ceiling.
- Add windows and doors.
- Choose the type of lighting (morning, afternoon, evening, night).
- Add IKEA products into the room by selecting “Insert Items”
- Rotate and place items into space.
- Zoom in & out / rotate space to view the room in different angles.
- Take a picture.
- Save project.
Here is some of the draft wireframes of the app.
Here is Challenge #03!
Huge brand. Really excited about this!
Here are the beautified wireframes for my proposal of Fender’s Artists section on their current website.
1 : Screen when you enter the Artists section on Fender’s website. This month’s Featured Artists will be displayed in a slideshow panel. Right after that is a search bar and buttons to narrow down your search.
2 : Scroll down to view artists.
3 : Hover over each image and you will be able to view more details.
4 : Click on the selected band and the gallery of artists splits into 2 and moves upwards/downwards. Creates an empty space in the middle of the screen where more details of the artists will be presented.
5 : Click on the ( > ) icon and it takes you to the next page. Fender instruments that the artist use will be displayed here.
6 : Click on an instrument and a window will pop-up, giving more information about that particular instrument and an option to view the item in the Fender online store.
7 : The final page lists the artist’s tour dates and link to purchase tickets and to their official website.
I have decided to re-design Fender’s Artists page on their website. Their current design is really “standard” and “boring” in simple easy words.
Like I’ve mentioned in the post below, Fender’s identity rides on the artists that supports them.
Therefore, I think much more emphasis should be put on featuring these artists on their website and all these to be done in a fun, interactive way.
Both for the benefit of the Fender brand as well as the artists.
Generating more traffic to Fender’s website and their online store, and at the same time, setting a platform for fans to interact with their favorite artists through Fender.
Fender has always used famous musicians/icons/rockstars as their ambassadors in most of their campaigns and advertising.
These musicians endorse the brand not just in the form of fake-pose-with-guitar-for-poster kind of way, they actually own and use these instruments on a daily basis, to write their music, when recording, in performances and concerts.
It is a very valuable form of advertising in my opinion that doesn’t scream for attention. The quality of these instruments speak for themselves and Fender has done a great job to build their campaigns on this.
Here are some examples of advertising throughout the years.
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