Dissertation online

Link to PDF of dissertation

The version above does not include websites in the bibliography and has wrong page numbers for this section in the table of contents.
This is the correct and otherwise identical version:

cklavery_dissertation07.pdf

My dissertation in a nutshell

Taking on board criticism and guidance from my tutors regarding the level of detail and lack of focus on the core argument demonstrated in the chapters I have submitted to date I went back to the drawing board and sketched out the gist of my dissertation on a piece of paper:

• Working title
  Making web accessibility sexy

• Aim of the study
  Highlighting common ground between web accessibility and the LOHAS movement which could change perceptions and thereby help web accessibility gaining further momentum beyond the current realms

• Method
  Comparing exemplary LOHAS products and principles with the notion of web accessibility

• Core argument
  Web accessibility and the LOHAS movement share a lot of almost unrecognised common ground and the former could learn a lot from looking at some successful principles and products that helped making LOHAS mainstream and being perceived as sexy.Slightly more elaborate but still concise:
  The underlying values and technical implications of web accessibility share a lot of common ground with the ideas and ethics of the LOHAS movement. Web accessibility is not assocciated with sexiness; in this respect it could learn a lot from looking at exemplary LOHAS ethics and products which are now mainstream and being perecieved as sexy.
  or:
  Web accessibility and LOHAS have many key aspects in common -> these similarities are almost unrecognised in current debates-> LOHAS is perceived as being sexy, web accessibility is not -> the latter could learn a lot in this respect from looking at successful LOHAS principles and products ->a perception of sexiness would help the cause of web accessibility

Relevant quotes by Robyn Waters

• “It’s a myth that trends can only be spotted early by überhip Bohemian types who are ever-so-much cooler than everyone else.Trends are indicators that point to point to what’s going on in the hearts and minds of consumers” (p.ix)
• “If you’ve ever witnessed a trend unfolding and said to yourself, “I should have seen this coming,”there’s hope.”(p. xx)
• “The deluge of trend options available today can be confusing.Combine this overwhelming input with type-A personalities who obsess over details, and you have a bad retail recipe: over designed products that spring from over-concieved strategies.” (p.6)
• “Big Pictures can be hard to find frame,but they’re worth looking for.Big picture = Big Opportunity.”(p.6)
• “Finding the big picture has everything to do with perspective.When you’re lost in the forest,step back- way back – and reexamine your original principles.”(p.7)
• “The most important thing is to look at the problem through the eyes and lives of the end consumer.”(p.7)
• “Trends with real staying power are often a series of smaller trends fused together.Trends that intersect and complement each other are more likely to be embraced by the consumer.When fusion occurs,it’s much esier to offer a product that is in sync with your customer’s values.” (p.24)
• “Think of each small trend you observe as a thread thatyou can weave,twist, plait, braid, knit, or splice together with other common strands into a tapestry of opportunity.”(p.25)
• “Now,in the age of the Internet,trends spread like viruses.”Word of mouse”is infinitely more powerful than word of mouth.” (p.58)
• “In order for a trend to resonate,it has to connect with what your audience considers important. That is to say,it must be consistent with their core values” (p.74)

Waters, R. (2005) The trendmaster’s guide: get a jump on what your customer wants next. NewYork:Portfolio

Read more about the author.

“Blue Beanie Day” coinciding with my dissertation subject – a message from above?

http://www.zeldman.com/2007/11/19/blue-beanie-day/

Relevant quotes by Steve Krug

• “In most organizations,the people who end up being responsible for doing something about accessibility are the people who actually build the thing: the designers and the developers. […]Two arguments in particular seem to make them skeptical [of making their websites accessible]:
  • Since their world consists largely of able bodied 26-year olds, it’s very hard for them to believe that a large percentage of the population actually needs help accessing the Web.They’re willing to write it off as the kind of exaggeration that people make when they’re advocating for a worthy cause…” (p.170)
• “The worst thing about this skepticism is that it obscures the fact that there’s really only one reason that’s important:
  • It’s the right thing to do.

  And not just the right thing it’s profoundly the right thing to do, because the one argument for accessibility that doesn’t get made nearly often enough is how extraordinarily better it makes some people’s lives.”(p.171)

Krug, S. (2006) Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach To Web Usability. 2nd ed.Berkeley: New Riders

Relevant quote by John Simmons

• “Chefs and cooking programmes became all the rage on TV,and one of those chefs,Jamie Oliver,started a campaign based on his reality TV show to improve the quality of school dinners.The choice between good and bad food became an emotive issue,surrounded by moral arguments directed at the big manufacturing companies.Guilty of poisoning us with chemicals,ws the charge.And a little juice company in West London seemed to make its position clear through its name, Innocent.” (p.27)

Simmons, J. (2007) Great Brand Stories: Innocent : Building a brand from nothing but fruit. London: Cyan Books

Relevant quotes by Donald A. Norman

• “The academic, research enterprise of design has not done a good job of studying fun and pleasure. Design is usually thought of as a practical skill, a profession rather than a discipline.” (p.104)
• “Academics have concentrated primarily upon the history of design, or the social history or societal implications,or if they are from the cognitive and computer sciences,upon the study of machine interfaces and usability.” (p.105)
• “I believe that those of us who become angry with today’s technology are justified.It may be an automatic result of our affective and emotional systems.It may not be rational,but so what?It is appropriate.Is it the computer’s fault,or is it the programmers who neglected to understand our real needs?As users of technology ,we don’t care.All we care about is that our lives are made more frustrating.” (p.141)
• “Technology often forces us into situations where we can can’t live without the technology even though we may actively dislike its impact.Or we may love what the technology provides us while hating the frustrations encountered while trying to use it.” (p.157)
• “The designer has some power here,but only to a limited extent,for although some of the irritation and dislike is a result of societal norms and standards,and these can only be changed by society itself.”(p.157)
• “Much of modern technology is really the technology of social interaction:it is the technology of trust and emotional bonds.” (p.157)

Norman, D.A. ( 2004) Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things.New York: Basic Books

Relevant quote regarding accessibility and sexiness

• “Accessibility is definitely not the sexy subject of design. Very few folks get on the covers of design subscriptions for making something equally accessible to people with various disabilities.”

Onori, P.J. (2006) Comment on the article ‘Accessibility for blind people’ [Online] available from http://www.pingmag.jp/2006/09/29/accessibility-for-blind-people/
[Accessed 23.06.2007]

Relevant quotes from “Politically correct down to a T: the rise of ethical chic” article

• “The clothes-buying public has become increasingly ethically aware over the past decade. There have been a number of high-profile allegations to disturb the liberal-minded fashionistas.”

• “It is part of a new trend to market “anti-sweatshop” clothes by selling ethical T-shirts, the most emblematic piece of clothing for independent youth.”

• “However, Rob Harrison, editor of Ethical Consumer, a Manchester-based monthly “shopping and politics” magazine, said the marketing strategy could backfire. Many “fair trade” companies, such as the coffee firm Cafédirect, had learnt that quality was a better selling point than ethics. “The more ambitious ethical companies are moving ethical claims to the back of their marketing mix,” he said.

Mr Charney, 34, said he agreed with Mr Harrison, and insists his central strategy is to build his reputation on high-quality garments made by a proud workforce.”

Carrel, S. (2003) ‘Politically correct down to a T: the rise of ethical chic’.
The Independant on Sunday [Online] available from http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article85848.ece
[accessed 11.10.2007]

Relevant quotes from “Think Sexy” article on the Creating Passionate Users blog

• “… our brains seem to attribute sexiness to things that have nothing to do with a real breathing human.
  • A 45-year old programmer says, “Sure, this technology is sexier, but we can’t afford it now…”
  • A 29-year old attorney says, “That is the sexiest new sports car I’ve seen in the last five years.”
  • A 17-year old student says, “That new iPod is really sexy.”
  • I say, “I love this music… it’s so damn sexy…”
  • A 32-year old graphic artist says, “That new package design is sexy.”
  • A 65-year old architect says, “The curves of that new museum entrance are very sexy.”

  On it goes. And we’re not talking about the obvious things like cologne in a bottle that’s shaped like, well, you know. The unimaginative can simply use the shortest route to the brain’s basic response to sex. They’ll use the Coors Twins in an ad, for example, rather than come up with something more subtly clever.

  But the rest of us can Think Sexy rather than relying on overt sex in our product design, marketing, adverstising, or in our case — books (including covers).”

Sierra, K. (2005) Think Sexy [Online] Creating Passionate Users Blog
available from http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/05/think_sexy.html
[Accessed 17.11.2007]