Young Designers 2011

		Young Designers 2011
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Zalak Upadhyay | zalakupadhyay@gmail.com

Interaction Patterns for Web-connected Printers

Information and Interface Design | PGDPD
Guide: Mamata N. Rao
Sponsor: HP IPG, Bengaluru

Keywords
Consumer printers
Interface design
Common interaction patterns
Print applications

The project aimed to come up with patterns that can be used across printers and later on leveraged for use on touchscreen devices running on WebOS. It focused on developing a common flow across printers for tasks performed by a printer, e.g copy, scan, print and fax. UI analysis of the screens of chosen printers determined that printers varied a lot in terms of interface and design elements.

HP makes many printer models that have different capabilities and cater to various customer segments. The project intended to evolve a set of common interaction patterns across printers and printer applications that could be accessed via touch and non-touch interfaces. HP’s Imaging and Printing Group offers various sets of printers, from consumer to business to large format printers, that have been built on various technology platforms. Some devices have touchscreens whereas others do not. Their functionalities and features vary and so do their prices.

Previously, I had worked on devices that were close to the user i.e. on their bodies, or right next to them, in their hands or on their desks. In this case, the device could have been anywhere. I also discovered that people prefer to buy printers without screens because they think they are easier to handle and cheaper. Though this was a setback, I made a sincere effort to design the interface in a manner that it would make the user’s job as easy as possible.

Working on WebOS with no physical device in hand to study the interface gave me scope to learn a lot. I believe this project has a really good scope in the future of consumer printing devices.