Embedded Files
Wearable Feeds
UI Researcher: Microsoft Research
ROLE: UI design, prototyping
CHALLENGE: It is very difficult for users to glance at a smartwatch and understand what the most urgent information is, especially when the user has compromised attention.
SOLUTION: A "radar" metaphor is used where the most urgent items are shown near the center of the display. If a user is interested in one particular feed, they can expand that section.
TOOLS: Flash, Figma*
IMPACT: Influenced SPOT project, academic publication, patents
The scope uses the metaphor of a radar screen where items near the center are more urgent. Each quadrant represents a different canonical feed and be default are configured to be:
Calendar
Tasks
Inbox
News
The user can configure different default quadrants.
All four quadrants are shown
The user has tapped on one quadrant to see more detail
Tapping on an item in a quadrant displays specific information and metadata for that item
New items can be created by tapping on the Add button and using standard watch data entry methods
Figma Interactive mockup instructions:
tap on any of the four quadrants to expand that quadrant
in an expanded quadrant, tap on an item (gray rounded rectangle) to display more information for that item
tap on any other quadrant to expand that quadrant
tap on the background of a quadrant to contract that quadrant such that all quadrants are displayed equally
when a quadrant is expanded, tap on the Settings icon ("gear") to show the "Add" and "Filter" buttons.
tapping on the "Add" button shows a new item that would be edited with standard smartwatch text entry mechanisms
* The original Flash mockup was recreated in Figma in 2020
Design Process
Design Process
Tapping on an item displayed text and other metadata for that item
Overflow regions gave the user access to all items from a given feed
I originally proposed a complex icon set to connote different metadata
A set of filters allowed users to reduce the numbers of items displayed in a given feed
On a higher resolution device, such as a tablet, a "lens" widget enabled users to inspect data for multiple objects at the same time
I also proposed a push mechanism that would automatically surface timely items without a need for any intervention on the part of the user
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