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The UX challenge for a smart and connected world

SUMMARY: The big challenge is to design the intersection of the digital and the physical world, to understand how it can really improve our daily lives with seamless experiences for the users.

Last Salone del mobile has hosted Eurocucina, the biennial fair dedicated to the most innovative kitchen brands that are defining the future of the market.

Me and my business partner Fabian Niederkofler attended to have a look at the results of our studio’s last 6 months hard work for Smeg – presenting their first ever iOT collection – and to have the opportunity of having a look at the bigger picture, how technology is shaping the way we live our daily lives more generally.

Walking around Eurocucina 2018

One of the first things we noticed was that everybody is betting hard on the Internet of things area, from Tech giants like Samsung to Italian companies like Elica, it seems that connecting the digital and physical world is the shared vision of the future for the kitchen market.

Cookers, fridges, ovens, wine coolers.. it’s like a big puzzle of appliances is getting smarter with one big goal: evolve the cooking experience to the next level while making our lives easier.

Many companies around the fair exposed prototypes, using a method that’s typically used in startups

Sounds good right? But It is not that easy to understand how. That’s probably why many companies around the fair exposed prototypes, using a method that’s typically used in startups where staying lean means understanding the market first and then satisfy the customers. Big companies are getting faster and smarter.

As for every new market, what pays the most is making little steps trying to focus on little but big improvements.

Take theSmeg Connect line as an example, their wine cooler helps with small but so handy features like wine pairing – thanks to a special partnership with online wine retailer Tannico – or food pairing, with a bunch of recipes specially crafted for the Italian brand. While designing the user experience we were particularly focused on exposing this features in the right place at the right time to give the best experience to the user. The oven app is yet to come with assisted step by step recipes and special programs.

Italian companies like Elica are doing well too, with a bunch of product smart features like air quality detection. Your meal is burning down? No worries, an alarming light will gently pulse and alert you just in time.

Companies that usually succeeds are the ones that solve a small problem with big and clever solution.

We also had the opportunity to try Samsung’s family hub smart fridge. While it is an excellent piece of tech, it remains tricky to understand how people are exactly going to get advantage of its tons of advanced features. Will we really ask the fridge what’s actually in the fridge ( as Samsung employee did) or ask to call an Uber for us? Sometimes it’s hard to understand if companies are trying to bring value in our lives or if it’s just a run for the most feature-rich product. As we continuously see in the startup market the companies that usually succeeds are the ones that solve a small problem with big and clever solution.

In the end, what remains clear is that something huge is happening and many companies are working hard to do something remarkable.

It’s a UX challenge

Are we really going to add a screen on every product we own? Hopefully not. The big challenge in terms of User Experience is to design the intersection of the digital and the physical world, to understand how it can really improve our daily lives with seamless experiences for the users. The big goal is to enter in the era of calm technology where the interaction with digital products doesn’t demand our constant attention and smoothly permeates our lives, improving them. There is a long way to go and only the ones that will put the user at the center of the process will be really able to leave the mark.

We are so curious to see what will happen.

What about you? Do you already use smart and connected objects in your daily life? How do you feel they’re already improving your life?

Share your thoughts ; )

Our replies
to your questions

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Why choose glueglue?

We are a digital product agency with more than 10 years of experience and highly specialized skills in both design and development.
Over time, we have consolidated an agile and effective method to work best with all types of clients: from the start-up that needs some kind of support to the multinational corporation that wants to integrate a team with design and executive agility, our most appreciated peculiarity.
We are positioned in a medium-high market segment and are able to offer excellent value for money. Direct supervision by glueglue's founding partners of each project ensures the highest quality of service and finished product. We are on the top list of the best User Experience and digital product agencies on Clutch, the most widely used database of digital consulting agencies in the world.

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How does glueglue work and what are the areas of expertise?

We always start with a careful analysis of the customer's needs considering not only the product needs but also the medium and long-term business objectives.
As a first step, we often deal with the visual identity, evaluating the positioning by analyzing the competitor and identifying areas for improvement in terms of branding and image.
Then, we move on to the UX/UI area: we study the user experience of your product or service through a UX Review with 3 dedicated professionals to identify the points which it is necessary to act to improve the usability of the site or app examined.
In the following phase, we design the User Journey Map, i.e. the map of all the paths that the user follows, interacting with the product and the brand . Identifying all the contact points is of strategic importance in order to immerse ourselves in situations of real use and understand where value can really be created for the end user and therefore for the product.
We will then move on to the phase of creating the wireframes, with the sharing of an interactive prototype that will define the functionality and structure of each single page and interaction of the product.
Once the wireframes have been consolidated, we will move on to the design phase of the graphic interface, with attention paid to the smallest details in so as to ensure a positive and truly satisfying user experience.
At this point, our developers come into play for the implementation part. We use the most current technologies such as React, Flutter, Gatsby JS, Symfony, Node.JS and others to create products with high standards of quality and stability, working and pixel perfect.

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What distinguishes glueglue from other top design or product agencies?

To offer maximum value, the glueglue team works on a limited number of projects. In this way, our professionals can dedicate an uninterrupted focus to always obtain excellent results.
Each project is managed on the basis of precise deadlines and intermediate meetings with the client. We take care of the unique needs and potential of each product and consequently, each solution created is exclusive and highly customized.
Thanks to the experience of 10+ years in the digital sector, we have developed a successful method to achieve the highest goals in the areas that matter: strategy, design and development.

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Can you do web design?

We work on all types of digital products, from iOS and Android apps to webapps and complex platforms.
Furthermore, part of the team specializes in creating marketing websites, i.e. websites totally focused on promoting the product or services.

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Do you also do branding or should I look for another agency?

Being a full-service agency, we also offer branding services such as naming and logo design. Among the products we create for our customers, the brand guidelines stand out, i.e. the detailed guidelines document for the corporate image. We are totally comfortable working on existing guidelines or in collaboration with a branding agency.

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How much does it cost to entrust you with a digital project?

We like to always be as transparent as possible and we believe that talking openly about the budget is important to understand how to get added value from the partnership for both parties. Given this, since each customer has its own peculiarities and presents different challenges, we do not use a price list, but we invest time to understand the customer's reality well and provide a specific approach and an appropriate price.
Indicatively, the price of user experience and graphical interface design projects can vary in a range between €10,000 and €30,000, depending on various factors such as the client's needs and the complexity of the project.
The cost of the projects in area Branding is positioned between €5,000 and €15,000, always taking into account any possible peculiarities.
As regards the more technical part, the cost for the development of iOS and Android web and mobile apps ranges from €20,000 upwards .
Website development starts from a minimum of €10,000. Our average hourly rate for single consultations is €60 per hour.
If you want to get to know us better, you can schedule 30 minutes free by appointment.

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Do you also work with early stage startups, therefore with limited resources?

Of course, we love startups! Over time we have met many enlightened and highly talented entrepreneurs.
We have invested in some startups, preferring work for equity. Our experience has always been positive, contributing to the achievement of various rounds of investments for a total value of over 30 million Euros.

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