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How to Create Intuitive Products by Imitating Physicality

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How this course will help your career

What you will learn

  • What physicality is and how it affects whether a design is intuitive to use
  • How to design with physicality in mind
  • What is regarded as “physical” in time and space
  • How to model devices for natural interactions through physigrams
  • How to use feedback loops to examine and improve your designs

The iPhone, iPad, and other successful Apple products are good examples of how digital and physical design can be woven together, namely through taking something complex and making it intuitive. Not only can users transfer the knowledge they have gained from past experiences between products, but they also can do the same with the contexts in which those products are used (Blackler et al). This creates a need for designers to incorporate intuition into their creations; a great user experience—and ensuing product success—is more and more often the result of a perfectly designed combination of digital and physical dimensions.

This trend can be seen in all types of consumer products from toys to washing machines, which are increasingly becoming both digital and physical. Terms such as “the internet of things” and “smart cities,” as well as technologies such as wearables and self-driven cars, are examples of how the physical-digital divide is getting smaller. The interface and overall experience design of your product can follow the same approach, with your product able to meet users’ needs through intuition and exploration.

The obvious question for a designer is how to design for this ever-growing market and avoid its pitfalls in the process. You cannot, for example, claim a product is intuitive when it’s not—you will lose people’s trust ahead of your next release. In this course, you will learn how to overcome this by making the use of your product “feel right”; better still, you will learn how to incorporate existing knowledge within your designs, thereby making your product intuitive.

Gain an industry-trusted UX Course Certificate

You earn a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you complete the course. You can highlight them on your resume, CV, LinkedIn profile or your website.

Course Certificate

Our courses and Course Certificates are trusted by these industry leaders, who have taken up company memberships with the IDF:

Centure, Adobe, GE, IBM, Philips and SAP

Is this course right for you?

This is an advanced-level course recommended for anyone involved in the product design and development process:

  • UX, UI, and web designers who want to create designs that are intuitive for users
  • Project managers interested in ensuring that the product development process is run with physicality in mind
  • Software engineers looking to expand their knowledge on applying physicality and making products intuitive
  • Entrepreneurs keen on understanding what makes products “just work,” and how to replicate that in their own products
  • Newcomers to design who are considering making a switch to UX, UI, or web design

Courses in the Interaction Design Foundation are designed to contain comprehensive, evidence-based content, while ensuring that the learning curve is never too steep. All participants will have the opportunity to share ideas, seek help with tests, and enjoy the social aspects afforded by our open and friendly forum.

Learn and work with a global team of designers

You’ll join a global community and work together to improve your skills and career opportunities. Connect with helpful peers and make friends with like-minded individuals as you push deeper into the exciting and booming industry of design.

Lessons in this course

  • Lessons become available at a schedule of one lesson per week.
  • Lessons remain open for you forever and have no deadlines.
  • There is no time limit to finish a course.
  • You have permanent access to your course material, answers, and classmates for the entire duration of your membership.
  • Estimated time to complete: 1 hour 47 mins spread over 3 weeks.

Lesson 0: Welcome and Introduction

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 29 mins.

  • 0.1: An introduction to IDF courses (4 mins)
  • 0.2: Let our community help you (1 min)
  • 0.3: How to earn your Course Certificate (4 mins)
  • 0.4: Meet your peers online in our discussion forums (6 mins)
  • 0.5: Meet and learn from design professionals in your area (1 min)
  • 0.6: Gain Timeless Knowledge Through IDF Courses (10 mins)
  • 0.7: Mandatory lessons vs. Optional lessons (2 mins)
  • 0.8: A mix between video-based and text-based lesson content (2 mins)

Lesson 1: Designing for Physicality

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 32 mins.

  • 1.1: Designing for physicality: Introduction (7 mins)
  • 1.2: Aspects of physicality (19 mins)
  • 1.3: Studying physicality (1 min)
  • 1.4: Discussion Forum (5 mins)

Lesson 2: What is physical?

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 15 mins.

  • 2.1: What is physical? - Kinds of things (1 min)
  • 2.2: What is physical? - Rules of the world (7 mins)
  • 2.3: Continuity in time and space (2 mins)
  • 2.4: Discussion Forum (5 mins)

Lesson 3: Physicality and devices

To be scheduled. Estimated time to complete: 31 mins.

  • 3.1: Everyday devices to physigrams (6 mins)
  • 3.2: Multiple feedback loops (6 mins)
  • 3.3: Device unplugged (14 mins)
  • 3.4: Discussion Forum (5 mins)

Lesson 4: Course Certificate, Final Networking, and Course Wrap-up

To be scheduled.

  • 4.1: Course evaluation (1 min)

How others have benefited

Pierleone Loreti

Pierleone Loreti, Italy

“Thanks for this course: I find it really stimulating and it gives lots of insights in what human expects from machines and objects.”

Ana Rajner

Ana Rajner, Germany

“I love it. And Alan is so great. It is my first time to take his course, but I will dig for more of his courses. He takes so simple examples, but explains a lot. Thank you IDF for this experience.”

Mehmet Berk Bostancı

Mehmet Berk Bostancı, Spain

“Our brains have been hardwired for physical interactions throughout many ages, and it is clearly important to implement the instant and ubiquitous feedback mechanisms in the physical world to the digital, for the better use of man-made objects. Understanding the essentials of the underlying principles of and what our brains expect from physical interactions is therefore critical at this point.”

See other reviews of the IDF

How to advance your career with IDF courses

  1. Attend lessons at your own pace

    Each week throughout the course, you get access to a new lesson, but you can move through the lessons at your own pace. This means you can learn before you leave for work, or in between breaks — in as little as 15 minutes per day.

  2. Network online and offline

    Network with your fellow course-takers online, through discussion forums inside lessons. You can also connect with your peers offline via IDF’s Local Groups. Local Groups connect you with other designers around your city who share the same passion in UX design as you.

  3. Advance your career

    Get a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you’ve scored at least 70% on a course. Highlight your Course Certificates on your résumé, your LinkedIn profile, or your website to showcase your newly mastered skills.

Start advancing your career now

Become a member to take “How to Create Intuitive Products by Imitating Physicality”. Take any other IDF UX courses at no additional cost. Take a concrete step forward in your career path today.

Advance your career now

Frequently asked questions

Courses

I missed the enrollment date and now the course is closed. Will I have any opportunity to take the course in the future?

Don't worry if you missed the course. We will re-run it shortly. One of the reasons we continually open and close courses is to be able to control the classroom size.

Networking is a large part of our value proposition, so we want just the right number of people inside the courses. That is also why we display the "XX % percent booked" on our course icons.

We’ll re-schedule the course and make it available for sign-up on https://www.interaction-design.org/courses in only about a week (or perhaps a little bit longer). The actual start date of the course will be a few weeks after sign-ups begin too. We’ve found that this is the best way to maximize flexibility and convenience for everyone, especially you as you put your course program together.

Can I take more than one course at a time?
Yes, you can take all the courses you would like. For example, if there are 30 active courses, you can enroll in all 30 courses at the same time and move from one to the other as you please.

There are no further charges once you’ve paid for your membership.

Please note: If you have a student membership, you can take a maximum of two courses at the same time. As a student, you can thus still take all the courses you would like – free of extra charges – just as long as you finish them (or drop them) so that you don’t have more than three ongoing courses at the same time.
Do I have to be online at an exact time to study?

No. You can set your own study schedule. There are no "live sessions" or "webinars" since our members are from all timezones around the world. We are a truly global community – with members in every single corner of the world.

Thus, once you are enrolled, you can take all the time you want to complete a given course. Every "classroom" in each course will never close, so you’ll have permanent access to your classmates and your course material (as well as your own answers).

Will I receive a Course Certificate?

Yes. Every time you complete a course, you get an industry-recognized Course Certificate. There is no limit to how many Course Certificates you can earn during your membership. You will also receive a 3-step guide on how to include your Course Certificate on LinkedIn and in your résumé/CV.

You can see an example of a Course Certificate at the bottom of the Course Catalogue.

I have answered questions in a lesson; when will they be marked/graded?
We do the marking/grading in so-called "sprints," where we sit down and do all the marking/grading in one go. Your answers will be graded approximately two weeks after you submit your work. 
We do this because it is much more efficient than doing one little step every day. It's part of our lean/agile work philosophy, and that approach to efficiency is one of the factors that keeps our membership prices so incredibly low.
We are doing it to save you money and as part of our mission to lower the cost of high-quality design education.
I have updated my name, but my course certificate is not updated — how can I change it?
Once you update your name, the certificate will be updated automatically in the next 48 hours. 
I have started the course/lesson later than the specified date, are my answers still going to be marked?

We will be marking answers for as long as there are active members. Therefore, even if you are the only person taking a lesson at that particular time, your answers will still be marked.

How are courses graded?

Open-ended questions are graded by our experts and course instructors - not by machines.

That's one of the reasons why our Course Certificates are credible and recognized by industry leaders.

I started a course after the official start date; for how long will I have access to the course materials?

Regardless of when you have enrolled on a course, you will have access to the course materials for the entire duration of your membership. So, if you pay for a one-year membership, you will have access for one year, renewing your membership for a second year means you will have access for two years, and so on.

New lessons are starting before I have had the chance to complete all aspects of the previous lesson(s); am I going to be locked out of these unfinished lessons?

No, you will not be locked out of any lesson or course. You will have access to all course materials throughout your membership, so there is no pressure to keep at the same pace as the specified lesson release dates.

All we recommend is that you try to stick to the same schedule as other participants. The reason is they may have moved on to other lessons, thereby meaning you could miss out on the social aspects of the course(s). However, we anticipate that there will be a constant flow of participants working through different lessons and courses, so overall you are unlikely to miss out. We will also be running all courses again — so there really is no rush.

Are course certificates awarded on a specific date?

No; you can generate your certificate as soon as you attain at least 70% of the total course points.

When will I receive my Course Certificate?

Course certificates will be given to participants when they have scored more than 70% or more of the total course points. For example, if a course contains ten lessons each with ten questions, you will receive a course certificate when the instructor has awarded you at least 70 points (70% of the total course points).

There is no specified time that certificates will be awarded — instead, they are given to participants as and when they have answered all questions, even if this is long after the official end date.

How do I add my Course Certificate to my LinkedIn profile?

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your IDF course(s) to your LinkedIn profile:

  1. Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
  2. On the right, in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.

  3. In the following fields add:
    • Name – Course name
    • Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
    • Check the field “This credential does not expire”
    • Issue date - Input the date written on your certificate (e.g., May 2019)
    • Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
    • Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your course page

  4. Click on the save button.

Congratulate yourself!
You’ve made a great accomplishment by earning your course certificate, and now the world knows about it!

How do I add the IDF Membership Certificate to my LinkedIn Profile?

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to add your IDF membership certificate to your LinkedIn profile:

  1. Log in to your LinkedIn account, then go to your profile.
  2. On the right, in the Add profile section dropdown, choose Background and then select the + next to Licenses & Certifications.

  3. In the following fields add:
    • Name – Membership Certificate
    • Issuing organization – The Interaction Design Foundation
    • Check the field “This credential does not expire”
    • Issue date - Input the date when you joined our community (e.g., May 2019)
    • Credential ID – Your membership ID number (it's written on your certificate)
    • Credential URL: Input the certificate URL provided on your profile page
  4. Click on the save button.

It is as simple as that. Now, anyone who visits your profile can see your certificate!

How much will I have to pay for the courses?

As a member, you can take as many courses as you want with no additional costs. This means you only have to pay our membership fee to take an unlimited number of courses. There will be no further charges on top of the membership fee, no matter how many courses you decide to take.

Do you provide mostly beginners' or more advanced courses?

We provide courses for all levels of mastery and accross the full spectrum. If you’re new to design, you can start from our beginner courses and progress all the way up to our advanced ones. If you’re an established designer, on the other hand, you will find some of our lower-level courses provide a good refresher—and the advanced ones, a bit of a challenge.

How long does it take to complete a course?

Once enrolled in a course, you will gain access to a new lesson each week, which you are free to complete without any deadlines and no end date, either.