The Top 4 – Wonderful and Horrible User Experiences of 2017.

 

 

The Wonderful

Airbnb, known to most as THE site catering to unique and unforgettable experiences. They have truly dominated the market and acted as a huge competitor to hotels all around the world. However, they did not achieve this success purely through their idea – it proved to be hugely accessible through it’s simple, chic and trendy user experience and design.

On the home page you are asked three simple, slang like questions about your upcoming venture – “Where”, “When” & “Guests”. Everything is designed to appear friendly and easy to use. Whilst choosing your destination – the site offers self written biographies from the dwelling letters themselves, adding that touch of personalisation which is missing from a hotel experience. You are made to feel welcomed, wanted & part of the family. Airbnb has it’s user experience down to a tee, hence it’s current worth of $30 billion. They’re doing something right!

 

 

Ikea Place, an augmented reality app used to bring Ikea furniture straight into your home (before purchasing them). Everything can be scaled to fit and will be displayed in 3D, what more could you want?

Augmented reality is set to be a game changer for the future of retail and Ikea have been the first to give it a go. Ikea Place will make the user experience of furniture shopping a dream. This app will enable all users to see exactly what an Ikea bedside locker will look like in their actual bedroom… in their actual home. Not only will it make furniture shopping more accessible, it will also encourage users to shop more in Ikea – as it’s the only place around offering this service. This is going to be amazing. Watch this space.

 

 

The Horrible

 

 

 

Plastic bags, where do i begin? In more recent years, even the more careless consumer has seen the damage that plastic bags deliver to the environment. From the effect on wildlife, the land, the sea and our health – plastic bags are the worst. They are made from Crude Oil, a non biodegradable resource, simply meaning it is nearly impossible to get rid of once produced.

1 trillion plastic bags are being used annually and to what avail? Pollution, litter and waste. Their overall purpose is less than satisfactory anyways due to them tending to rip whilst being used. If they hardly meet their purpose in the first place, surely that alone should stop their creation in the first place. Alternatives such as paper, cardboard and fabric are the way forward. Let’s improve the user experience and choose alternatives over plastic, everyone wins. (This includes the lovely turtles in the sea, someone think of the turtles!)

 

 

Car fresheners, everybody and their neighbour has them – but do we actually like them? Whenever I’m in a conversation about car fresheners, it always tends to steer towards negative comments over the scented little tree.

When you first open them up, the smell is completely overpowering. So much so, you’d need to open a window to be able to breathe in any non royal pine scented air. What’s shocking is the fact that the chemicals used in most car fresheners are unregulated by the government. Apparently, it’s not required and they can add in many toxic chemicals. Short term – it isn’t too bad for your health, but longer term it results in some pretty shocking things (genetic disorders, birth defects, just to name a few!). Lastly, they can be distracting whilst driving. I don’t think a swinging mini scented tree was ever the best idea to have in a car. User experience rating – not good.