Design in the Dark yielded the Sky Handset

Sky's brief to Frazer was to create 'the most comfortable and easy-to-use remote ever for males and females between the ages of five and 80'. Jonathan Knight of Frazer Designers gave the "BSkyB Sky Plus handset design case study" at AIGA Experience Design London meeting last week.

Knight described how the first prototypes of the handset were cut from foam after anthropometric data on hands had narrowed the range of sizes and shapes deemed viable. These models were given to people to size up and select their favourites. Testing went on in the dark so that people could concentrate on shape and feel without the distortion that visual impressions lead to. Researchers also investigated the ease with which back could be distinguished from front as this point.

Then more refined models were mocked up. People mostly use remote controls in three ways: with their forefinger, or their thumb, or using two hands. Designs reflected this distribution of activity and the resulting areas in which controls should be placed.

The new prototypes allowed testers to slide weight up and down the length of the handset to place it where it felt right – this simulated the battery. 'Surprisingly, they came up with a standard position,' said Knight.

The designers also used a magnetic graph to allow people to record which controls they used most and for longest. The result was three categories of control and combined with other findings, this led to the recognition of three zones to lead the placing of functions.

Frazer also sought to minimise the problems that people associated with handsets:
* the battery door gets ripped off
* the IR lens comes off
* the graphics identifying function rub off
* the buttons are fiddly and hard to read
* it is hard to get the unit the right way round
* the handset soon shows signs of wear and tear.

The result is robust and has a distinctive asymmetric shape with a different texture on the back, so that it is both easy to grab the right way round and also satisfies the marketing brief of being distinctly different. The Sky + model has added functionality and a more prominent central zone, which both emphasises the interactive functions and makes the service look smarter.

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