(in English): The diploma thesis deals with the use of design methods among Czech UX designers in the design of web and mobile applications. The aim of this work is to find out and critically describe how Czech UX designers use design methods in practice. The thesis analyse the design process of website, web and mobile applications, its various stages and procedures. The theoretical part of the thesis introduces the basic terminology of the User Experience field and current research in the field, with emphasis on relevant terms and processes that occur in design practice. This part of the thesis is based on data obtained in the practical part, according to which popular approaches, frameworks, processes and methodologies of the UX field will be identified and described on the basis of professional literature. In the research part, qualitative research will be carried out in the form of semi-structured interviews with Czech User Experience designers, focused on the identification of methods, procedures and principles and ways of their usage. At the end of the thesis, the obtained data will be evaluated and it will be identified whether Czech designers in their practice adhere to academic approaches, or what existing and theoretically described methodologies and procedures their design process...

This is a study regarding the use of information aimed at relatives and close ones to people that is experiencing hypoglycemia due to their diabetes. And how the use of the classical rhetorical appeal pathos can be used to design such information, in order to emphasize the importance of knowing how to act when a person is experiencing the hypoglycemia state and how to make the information more relatable. This is a design study with and academic leap containing qualitative interviews with three participants. The problem studied is the information gap between people with diabetes and their surrounding family and friends. In this study the results show that the participants face danger in environments outside their home due to the lack of knowledge about diabetes and hypoglycemia symptoms. The focus of the study is understanding how people with diabetes type-1 experience hypoglycemia, so that I can inform about this subject in a manner and language that will reach the intended receiver. Done research shows that a low knowledge regarding diabetes is more than a fact, it’s a real problem within the field of information design and textdesign. Keywords: textdesign, hypoglycemia, diabetes, information design, human centered design, pathos

The multi-cultural demographics of those who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease should be closely examined. From a designer’s standpoint, its cultural traits can foster positive behaviors that lead to better quality of life for patients and caregivers. A patient-centered approach in design was explored in order to shape community-based care that empowers (1) individuality in care services, (2) interpersonal connection in caregiver–patient activities, and (3) a communal culture of being valued via humanitarian approaches.

People have difficulties using computers. Some have more difficulties than others. There is a need for guidance in how to evaluate and improve the accessibility of systems for users. Since different users have considerably different accessibility needs, accessibility is a very complex issue.<p>ISO 9241-171 defines accessibility as the "usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities." While this definition can help manufacturers make their products more accessible to more people, it does not ensure that a given product is accessible to a particular individual.<p>A reference model is presented to act as a theoretical foundation. This Universal Access Reference Model (UARM) focuses on the accessibility of the interaction between users and systems, and provides a mechanism to share knowledge and abilities between users and systems. The UARM also suggests the role assistive technologies (ATs) can play in this interaction. The Common Accessibility Profile (CAP), which is based on the UARM, can be used to describe accessibility.<p>The CAP is a framework for identifying the accessibility issues of individual users with particular systems configurations. It profiles the capabilities of systems and users to communicate. The CAP can also profile environmental interference to this communication and the use of ATs to transform communication abilities. The CAP model can be extended as further general or domain specific requirements are standardized.<p>The CAP provides a model that can be used to structure various specifications in a manner that, in the future, will allow computational combination and comparison of profiles.<p>Recognizing its potential impact, the CAP is now being standardized by the User Interface subcommittee the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission.

People have difficulties using computers. Some have more difficulties than others. There is a need for guidance in how to evaluate and improve the accessibility of systems for users. Since different users have considerably different accessibility needs, accessibility is a very complex issue.<p>ISO 9241-171 defines accessibility as the "usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities." While this definition can help manufacturers make their products more accessible to more people, it does not ensure that a given product is accessible to a particular individual.<p>A reference model is presented to act as a theoretical foundation. This Universal Access Reference Model (UARM) focuses on the accessibility of the interaction between users and systems, and provides a mechanism to share knowledge and abilities between users and systems. The UARM also suggests the role assistive technologies (ATs) can play in this interaction. The Common Accessibility Profile (CAP), which is based on the UARM, can be used to describe accessibility.<p>The CAP is a framework for identifying the accessibility issues of individual users with particular systems configurations. It profiles the capabilities of systems and users to communicate. The CAP can also profile environmental interference to this communication and the use of ATs to transform communication abilities. The CAP model can be extended as further general or domain specific requirements are standardized.<p>The CAP provides a model that can be used to structure various specifications in a manner that, in the future, will allow computational combination and comparison of profiles.<p>Recognizing its potential impact, the CAP is now being standardized by the User Interface subcommittee the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission.

This design thesis is part of CATEA's RERC workplace accommodations grant, and it adopts a human centered design methodology to research, develop, test and evaluate designs of behind-the-counter workspaces that maximize independence and participation of employees and increase their employment possibilities. Preliminary research shows that current designs of behind-the-counter workspaces do not accommodate needs of intended employees including the seated and standing users. According to the research, factors like task design and lack of ease of use have contributed to job loss and reduced employment. Through participatory research techniques and ergonomic studies, this project identified accessibility and usability needs and outlined basic and extended design guidelines for behind-the-counter workstations that would address these needs. Results from observational research, usability studies and user interviews were analysed to create design specifications for a range of workstations. The resulting workstation designs incorporate universal design guidelines and aim to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities and older adults.

In order to operate safely and naturally in human-centered environments, robots need to respond compliantly to force and contact interactions. While advanced robotic torsos and arms have been built that successfully achieve this, a somewhat neglected research area is the construction of compliant wheeled mobile bases. This thesis describes the mechatronics behind Trikey, a holonomic wheeled mobile base employing torque sensing at each of its three omni wheels so that it can detect and respond gracefully to force interactions. Trikey's mechanical design, kinematic and dynamic models, and control architecture are described, as well as simple experiments demonstrating compliant control. Trikey is designed to support a force-controlled humanoid upper body, and eventually, the two will be controlled together using whole-body control algorithms that utilize the external and internal dynamics of the entire system. / text

Mobile phones, tablet computers, laptops, desktops, and large screen displays are increasingly available to individuals for information access, often simultaneously. Dominant content access protocols, such as HTTP/1.1, do not take advantage of this device multiplicity and support information access from single devices only. Changing devices means restarting an information session. Using devices in conjunction with each other poses several challenges, which include the presentation of content on devices with diverse form factors and propagation of the content changes across these devices. In this dissertation, I report on the design and implementation of MIDAS - architecture and a prototype system for multi-device presentations. I propose a framework, called 12C, for characterizing multi-device systems and evaluate MIDAS within this framework. MIDAS is designed as a middleware that can work with multiple client-server architectures, such as the Web and context-aware Trellis, a non-Web hypertext system. It presents information content simultaneously on devices with diverse characteristics without requiring sensor-enhanced environments. The system adapts content elements for optimal presentation on the target device while also striving to retain fidelity with the original form from a human perceptual perspective. MIDAS reconfigures its presentation in response to user actions, availability of devices, and environmental context, such as a user's location or the time of day. I conducted a pilot study that explored human perception of similarity when image attributes such as size and color depth are modified in the process of presenting images on different devices. The results indicated that users tend to prefer scaling of images to color-depth reduction but gray scaling of images is preferable to either modification. Not all images scale equally gracefully; those dominated by natural elements or manmade structures scale exceptionally well. Images that depict recognizable human faces or textual elements should be scaled only to an extent that these features retain their integrity. Attributes of the 12C framework describe aspects of multi-device systems that include infrastructure, presentation, interaction, interface, and security. Based on these criteria, MIDAS is a flexible infrastructure, which lends itself to several content distribution and interaction strategies by separating client- and server-side configuration.

Det ligger något motsägelsefullt i att bilföretag arbetar med miljöfrågor. Ökad globalisering och urbanisering har haft en stor inverkan på vår miljö. Som en av världens största biltillverkare anser Toyota att de har ett stort ansvar för sitt ekologiska fotavtryck och satsar dagligen 49 miljoner kronor på miljöarbete. Examensarbetet gäller för Toyota Sweden AB med syftet att skapa nya möjligheter för att kommunicera Toyotas miljöarbete hos återförsäljarna. För att kunna uppfylla syftet arbetade vi med att besvara två övergripande forskningsfrågor: Hur ser Toyotas miljöarbete ut idag samt  Hur kan Toyotas miljöprofil förstärkas hos återförsäljarna? Då forskningsfrågorna var av bred karaktär valde vi att arbeta efter IDEO:s framtagna process Human-Centered Design, kombinerat med det arbetssätt som Anders Wikström utvecklat genom den forskning han bedriver vid Mälardalens högskola. Vid Human-Centered Design utgår man från de människor man designar för genom att utveckla empati, dvs. en djup förståelse för de problem och den verklighet de människorna lever i.  Resultatet av examensarbetet kom att bestå av två delar. Dels en nulägesanalys av Toyotas miljöarbete och hur det återspeglas hos återförsäljarna. Dels ett visionärt koncept, Talking Cars, som skildrar ett framtida sätt att köpa bil som syftar till att förstärka upplevelsen i bilhallen.  En av många slutsatser som kan dras av examensarbetet är att Toyota gör det de säger sig göra i samband med sitt miljöarbete. De behöver dock bli tydligare i sin kommunikation till omvärlden för att kunna göra sitt miljöarbete rättvisa. Genom detta examensarbete är våra förhoppningar att Toyota har fått insikter och inspiration till hur de skulle kunna gå tillväga.

This dissertation proposes principles for the design of ubiquitous health monitoring applications that support reflection and learning in context of diabetes management. Due to the high individual differences between diabetes cases, each affected individual must find the optimal combination of lifestyle alterations and medication through reflective analysis of personal diseases history. This dissertation advocates using technology to enable individuals' proactive engagement in monitoring of their health. In particular, it proposes promoting individuals' engagement in reflection by exploiting breakdowns in individuals' routines or understanding; supporting continuity in thinking that leads to a systematic refinement of ideas; and supporting articulation of thoughts and understanding that helps to transform insights into knowledge. The empirical evidence for these principles was gathered thought the deployment studies of three ubiquitous computing applications that help individuals with diabetes in management of their diseases. These deployment studies demonstrated that technology for reflection helps individuals achieve their personal disease management goals, such as diet goals. In addition, they showed that using technology helps individuals embrace a proactive attitude towards their health indicated by their adoption of the internal locus of control.