This project aimed to investigate factors that help architects and designers to evaluate thesustainability of their ideas in the early stage of building design through Life Cycle Thinkingin a more simplified and comprehensible way. In order to achieve this goal, the author tookadvantage of valuable tools for ideation, realization and validation that are used in aninnovation process. The findings helped the author to realize what are the needs of thearchitects and designers to be able to step into the road of sustainability and raise theirknowledge about how to bring Life Cycle Thinking into their design process. Analyzingempirical findings and the competitors made it clear that some features, which are actuallydemanding attention from architects and designers, are missing in the current existingsolutions. As a result, a digital ideation tool was brought to this project through UserInterface (UI) Design. The noted solution is an add-on feature which is compatible and can beadded to the current digital tools and other Building Information Modelling (BIM) softwarefor a better fulfillment of architects and designers requirements.

Research relating to VUIs (voice user interface) such as voice assistants like Siri, Google Home, and Alexa has mostly been focused on general usage, error handling, and privacy concerns. This study focuses on mental models in relation to VUI - how users' presumptions about scope and how VUIs work match the reality. Specifically, this study aims to find out how mental models of VUIs form and evolve as well as whether or not mental models of VUIs affect usage. An online survey directed towards Google Home users showed its respondents, mainly identified as early adopters and primary users, showcasing a good mental model of Google Home together with frequent and varied usage as well as self-expressed knowledge. Due to suspected distortion of results caused by recruiting from an interest group on Facebook, study results are not considered to be representative to the population (VUI users in Sweden). This study showed that users base their mental models of VUIs around conventions found in human-to-human conversation and that these mental models evolve through feedback and error handling and can be improved by users exploring and testing more use cases for the VUI.

This thesis sets out to investigate hedonic and cultural web interface design elements present on wine tourism destination websites. The thesis focuses on explaining several cultural frameworks and especially the notion of localization, globalization, culturability, and cultural markers, the high/low context theory as well as tenets of hedonics in user interface design. The aim of the thesis was to develop a better understanding and knowledge about which localized design elements that exist and are important in the cultural context of wine tourism destination websites. Hence, the patterns found can help understand how to create and design websites that are culturally sensitive and globally congruent, thus meeting the needs and behaviors of users across different cultures and backgrounds. A web design analysis was conducted to answer the research questions and results were analyzed qualitatively. The results from the web design analysis indicate several similarities and differences found in web interface design elements between the investigated websites. The results found, indicate that the use of hedonic and cultural web interface design elements present on the interfaces investigated are highly context-dependent. Meaning that the websites are preferably considered being culturally dependent, and to a greater extent reflect and are used to motivate the cultural context examined and regional differences. Hence, the patterns found in web interface design elements are considered to be culturally sensitive to the context of wine destination websites and marketing aims of the websites investigated.  The findings can increase knowledge about hedonic aspects in cross-cultural design and can thus be used to help create culturally congruent and globalized interfaces for this specific context.

People's decisions do not happen in a vacuum; there are multiple factors that may affect them. There are external determinants, such as cost/benefit calculation of decision outcomes. There are also internal factors, such as attitudes, personality, emotions, age, and nationality. Frequently, the latter have a final say on the decision at hand, and similar determinants are triggered during the digital interaction when people make decisions about their privacy. The current digital privacy landscape is filled with recurring security breaches and leaks of personal information collected by online service providers. Growing dependency on Internet-connected devices and increasing privacy risks prompted policy makers to protect individuals' right to privacy. In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation requires companies to provide adequate information about their data collection and processing practices to users, to increase privacy awareness and enable better decision making. Regardless, currently there is no sufficient, usable technology, which could help people make improved privacy decisions, decreasing over-disclosure and oversharing. Hence, multidisciplinary researchers aim at developing new privacy-enhancing solutions. To define such solutions and successfully convey data provision and processing practices, potential risks, or harms resulting from information disclosure, it is crucial to understand cognitive processes underpinning privacy decisions. In this thesis, we examine privacy decisions and define factors that influence them. We investigate the attitude-behaviour relationship and identify privacy concerns affecting perceptions of privacy. Additionally, we examine factors influencing information sharing, such as emotional arousal and personality traits. Our results demonstrate that there is a relationship between privacy concerns and behaviours, and that simplified models of behaviour are insufficient to predict privacy decisions. Our findings show that internal factors, such as nationality and culture, emotional arousal, and individual characteristics, affect privacy decisions. Based on our findings, we conclude that future models of privacy should incorporate such determinants. Further, we postulate that privacy user interfaces must become more flexible and personalised than the current solutions. / Growing dependency on Internet-connected devices and increasing privacy risks prompted policymakers to protect individuals’ right to privacy. In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation requires companies to provide users with adequate information about data collection and processing practices to increase privacy awareness and enable better decisions. Hence, multidisciplinary researchers aim at developing new privacy-enhancing solutions. However, to develop such solutions it is crucial to understand cognitive processes underpinning privacy decisions. This thesis objective is to investigate privacy behaviours. We identify privacy concerns affecting perceptions of privacy and examine factors influencing information sharing. We show that simplified models of behaviour are insufficient predictors of privacy decisions, and that demographic characteristic, emotion and personality affect privacy attitudes and behaviours. Based on our findings we conclude that future models of privacy and designs of privacy user interfaces must incorporate such behavioural determinants.

Since the development of modern technology, we are faced with more choices than ever. Our choices are based on the visual impression of a product or a service (Watzman, 1992). But what is it that makes us choose a specific product or service? This essay sheds light on the problems surrounding the development of technology that have led to a digitalized society where products are replaced by digital services. It also highlights a new professional role that has emerged from the digitalisation of society. Furthermore, the essay also enlightens on how a digital service's design might affect its users by examining how the music streaming services Spotify and Apple Music affect user's first impression of the service through a semiotic analysis. The results show that the design of a service is decisive for which target group the company is aimed at. And that the choice of functions maintains the interest of the users. In addition, the graphic design profession takes place through a development, where you may need to broaden your knowledge towards a digital competence. The essay opened up the question of whether there are more aspects that are based on the choice of service, such as the cost of the service and class differences.

Företag som Airbnb, Google och IBM har förändrat sättet de designar digitala produkter på genom att integrera sina egna unika designsystem. Med hjälp av repeterbara komponenter, tillsammans med en uppsättning standarder som vägledning för hur dessa komponenter ska nyttjas, har alla dessa företag kunnat effektivisera skapandet och innovationen inom sina designteam. Syftet med följande studie var att undersöka hur ett sådant system bör utformas för att kunna användas inom en webbyrås verksamhet och om förebildsanalys kan vara en lämplig metod att nyttja vid utformningen. Arbetet ämnar således att besvara två frågeställningar: 1) Hur kan ett dynamiskt designsystem utformas för att tillgodose webbyråns behov? 2) Är förebildsanalys ett passande metodval vid utformningen av ett dynamiskt designsystem? För att besvara frågeställningarna har en förstudie i form av intervjuer genomförts med utvecklare och produktägare på en webbyrå. Tillsammans med en förebildsanalys och ett teoretiskt ramverk för visuell användbarhet utgör de grunden för designarbetet. För att utvärdera den slutgiltiga designen genomfördes en avslutande workshop med informanterna som intervjuades under förstudien. Arbetet landade i en generell verktygslåda, bestående av en samling text-, bild- och videoblock som sedan nyttjades för att ta fram de slutgiltiga visuella mallförslagen. De utgör tillsammans studiens huvudsakliga kunskapsbidrag, ett uppdelat designsystem. Resultatet visade även att en förebildsanalys kan bidra med viktiga insikter, både av estetisk och strukturell karaktär, som i sin tur kan utgöra en väsentlig grund till designprocessen.

Detta examensarbete är baserat på en designprocess som går ut på att influera kvinnliga klädkonsumenter i åldrarna 17-25 att göra mer hållbara val. Fast fashion är ett välkänt globalt problem i dagens samhälle och även om människor är medvetna om problemet, fortsätter vi att mätta marknaden. Varje individ har makten över sin egna garderob, däremot saknas det vägledning i hur man ska göra den mer hållbar. Genom att göra en designprocess som var inriktad på att jobba nära målgruppen har problemet undersökts. Arbetet utvecklades till ett koncept av en mobilapp som riktar sig till unga kvinnliga konsumenter och som genom nudging leder dem i en grönare och mer hållbar riktning, genom att de ser sitt köpbeteende och även får slow fashion tips.

Forest machine operators work in an environment that requires simultaneous monitoring of several factors. This is done using a control and information system, MaxiXT, that should provide the right information at the right time. The interface plays an important role in improving efficiency and promoting a favourable working environment for operators. Therefore, it is important to have an interface that effectively meets the needs of users. The objective of this study was to design a prototype of a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for the forest machine drivers to find the information they need. The design thinking methodology was used in this study, with a focus on forest machine operators who are the users of the control and information system. The process involves conducting user research and user testing. The insights gathered from the user research, combined with the findings from literature studies, served as the foundation for developing the prototype. The prototype was tested in both Mid-Fi and Hi-Fi versions, generating valuable feedback and insights. Overall, the impressions of the future users were highly positive. The diverse personalities and backgrounds of the users revealed varying interests in interaction and expectations from the control and information system. This highlights the potential for personalizing the interface, while also providing default settings based on the most typical preferences of Swedish users. To ensure broader usability across a wider user group, it is essential to supplement this information with input from users in other countries.

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Forskning och implementering av teknik och tjänster för navigering utomhus, såsom GPS, har kommit långt om man jämför med de alternativen som i dagsläget erbjuds för motparten för navigering inomhus. Användarvänliga wayfinding-lösningar för inomhusbruk är ett område som fortfarande har ett stort behov av mer forskning inriktad på rekommendationer och genomförbarhet av god praxis. Ett av våra mål under forskningsprocessen syftade till att undersöka och identifiera de mest lämpliga sätten att förmedla wayfinding-lösningar till slutanvändarna i olika situationer. För att vi skulle kunna undersöka denna uppgift använde vi oss av en benchmarking-process. Processen utfördes på ett urval av tjänster som erbjuder olika alternativ för wayfinding. Målet med denna process har varit att utreda vilka olika alternativ som finns tillgängliga i dagsläget, vad dessa tjänster erbjuder användarna i form av wayfinding stöd, och var potentiella problem kan uppstå utifrån användarens kognitiva beteende. Processen har även lyft fram områden som rör god praxis för wayfinding och de teknologiska begränsningar som tillhör valet av mobila enheter eller andra digitala plattformar. Vår forskning har visat att det finns flera olika lösningsalternativ som är tillgängliga för implementation i dagsläget. Dock har alla de alternativ som erbjuds sina egna specifika styrkor, svagheter och begränsningar kopplat till både den teknik som används, såväl som användbarheten för slutanvändarna. Det slutliga resultatet av vår forskning är en sammanställning av kvalitativa data och rekommendationer som hanterar både digitala och användar-fokuserade begränsningar som är sammanlänkade till vårt specifika fall. Det resultat som lyfts fram i vår forskning bör dock inte limiteras till endast vårt specifika fall. Istället bör det snarare ses som en referenspunkt för organisationer eller utvecklare som har ett intresse av att implementera wayfinding-lösningar, med syfte att hjälpa sina besökare för att navigera inomhus, eller för framtida forskning inom inomhusnavigering och wayfinding. / Research and implementation of use when it comes to outdoor navigation and GPS systems have come quite far compared to their indoor alternatives. Pedestrian friendly wayfinding solutions for indoor use are still lagging behind, and even more so when it comes to recommendations on implementation of best practice. One of our goals during the research process was aimed at finding the most adequate ways of conveying wayfinding solutions to end-users in different situations. In order to perform this task, we used a benchmarking process on a selection of wayfinding alternatives. The goal of this process have been focused on finding out which solutions are available at this moment, what they offer the users in terms of wayfinding support, and where issues might arise based on cognitive user theory, wayfinding best practice and technological limitations concerning mobile devices or different digital platforms. During our research we found that there are several different solutions that are available for implementation, but that they all come with their own specific strengths and limitations on both the technological side and for the end-users concerning usability. The result of our research has been a collection of qualitative data, and recommendations concerning digital and user limitations connected to our specific case. However, the result of this research should not be limited to our case alone, but rather as a reference point for organizations or developers that wish to implement indoor solutions for users, or for future research within the area of indoor navigation and wayfinding.