X-Sign
Field Experiment at Design Pin
The project's objective is to deploy X-Sign, BenQ's self-developed and one-stop solution, within real-world user environments, enhancing our products and refining the overall user experience.
Furthermore, we endeavor to integrate our solution with user data collected from various sensors, culminating in a comprehensive software and hardware solution tailored for smart retail environments. This integrated solution aims to deliver personalized product content to customers while assisting stores in refining their product selection strategies.
Time:
July. 2018 - Apr. 2019 (9 months)
Team Size:
3 ( 1 designer, 2 developers)
My Role:
UX/UI Designer and Researcher
Tools:
Interviews, Contextual Inquiry, Quantitative Research, Prototyping, Field Experiment
Learn within
real-world contexts.
Background
Project Goals
X-Sign is a BenQ self-developed and one-stop solution tailored for retail businesses seeking to streamline the design, scheduling, and management of digital signage content, offering interactive experiences without complicated setting processes.
Featuring a diverse array of templates and intuitive editing interfaces, X-Sign seamlessly integrates with commodity databases, facilitating efficient content creation.
The project aims to benefit Design Pin and BenQ through the implementation of X-Sign and BenQ's digital signage solutions in real user contexts.
For BenQ:
- Evaluate product usability and refine functionalities and interface design through iterative testing.
- Investigate the effectiveness of displaying customized content in engaging customers.
- Analyze the impact of item placement on shelves on product sales.
For Design Pin:
- Identify customer demographics and preferences to gain insights into the specific categories of products they are interested in.
- Offer insights on product selection and display strategies based on sales data analysis.
- Manage and update in-store display content efficiently with X-Sign.
Scheduled content distribution ensures simultaneous publication across displays, which can be
remotely controlled and maintained. Additionally, X-Sign can automatically record and generate data on customer visits, empowering stores to refine their selling strategies accordingly.
Overview
X-Sign
Digital signage CMS solution
DESIGN PIN is a select shop situated within the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei, Taiwan, which curates a diverse collection of award-winning Taiwanese design pieces alongside popular international items.
Its mission is to make exceptional design accessible to all, blending life and aesthetics to create a space where design enthusiasts and lifestyle aficionados alike can explore the intersection of creativity and daily living, experiencing the unique charm of products and immersing themselves in the artistry of design.
DESIGN PIN
User Research
Interview & Site Visit Observation
Decipher store dynamics.
Through comprehensive contextual inquiry, we gained valuable insights into the store's environment, encompassing the structure of shelves, product display methodologies, and the planning of in-store traffic flow. Interviews with staff provided further understanding of the store's customary product selection strategies and the rationale behind shelf organization.
Additionally, direct observation of customers within the store allowed for the creation of detailed user journey maps and graphs depicting customers' pathways, facilitating a nuanced understanding of customer behavior and traffic flow patterns in the store.
Observation of the DESIGN PIN environment
Interview with staffs
DESIGN PIN Floor Plan & Observing customers’ trajectory in the store
Customer Journey Map
Ideating
Product Shelf
Prototyping
Build. Test.
Measure.
In preparation for the main testing phase, we conducted a preliminary evaluation by setting up a basic product shelf in our office. This pretest aimed to assess the feasibility of data collection using a range of sensors and refine their sensitivity, sensing range and detection capabilities.
The pretest involved deploying infrared and ultrasonic sensors to detect motion, along with facial recognition cameras placed on the shelf to capture customer demographics such as gender and age. Additionally, ceiling-mounted cameras were installed to record the direction of customer traffic flow and measure dwell time.
Detecting objects’ movement through infrared and ultrasonic sensors on the shelf
The second iteration of prototype and its paper scale model.
1)Analysis of customer flow, such as traffic, visited areas, customers’ paths, and dwell time; 2)Statistics of times each object was taken
Design Concept
Data-driven
CMS application
Transform data into content.
The concept involves leveraging sensors to gather diverse data including customer demographics and store environment metrics. This data is then integrated with our CMS service (X-Sign) to develop a smart retail environment. This total solution offers customized product content for customers, bridging our software service and hardware products seamlessly.
Construct from the ground up.
After several rounds of pre-testing and refining, we commenced the installation of the entire software and hardware system at the DESIGN PIN. This involved the placement of our self-made ultrasonic bars between shelf layers to detect product movement and customers' hands.
Additionally, three ceiling-mounted people flow cameras were installed to monitor the whole environment and track customer paths. Finally, a Raspberry Pi unit was installed at the back of the shelf to connect all sensing devices and facilitate data collection to our database for subsequent data analysis and visualization.
Implementation & Testing
Ｗide angle view of store’s environment and product shelves
Self-made ultrasonic sensor bars
Installing Raspberry Pi and wiring
Configuration of people flow camera and detection area
Heatmap of customers’ trajectory
Statistics of product sales
Nuggets
I picked up.
Takeaways
Participating in this unique field experiment project was a stroke of luck, affording me invaluable insights into the integration of hardware and software. It was an opportunity to confront real-world challenges and hone my practical skills significantly. Despite the setback caused by the pandemic and its impact on the retail industry, leading to the suspension of our solution, I remain optimistic. I'm confident that the experience and lessons learned from this project will prove invaluable in future endeavors. Here are three important points I learned from the project:
Reflections
1.
Data's pivotal role
I gained a profound appreciation for the critical role of data in shaping design decisions and understanding user behavior. Leveraging data effectively can illuminate insights crucial for informed design choices.
3.
Challenges in system integration
Integrating software and hardware presents significantly greater challenges compared to standalone software or hardware development. This experience underscored the importance of not only innovating in designing digital services but also comprehensively understanding the inherent limitations and complexities involved in ensuring seamless integration and optimal performance.
2.
Contextual user understanding in the natural environment
Observing users in their natural settings revealed nuanced insights about their behaviors. This firsthand observation offered deeper and more relevant insights into how users complete buying processes compared to users' self-reported or lab-based research methods.