Our initial prototyping efforts were focused on trying to simulate the trying on of clothing using augmented reality.
By cutting out images pasted on a mirror our hopes were to replicate the experience. Unfortunately, a image taped to a mirror does not successfully capture the magic and power of augmented reality.
It was then that we realized that this is a product that is set in an emerging technology that still requires some development. We were not about to solve the problems of AR through this prototype. Instead what was important to test was the services, features, clothing brands and interaction with the mirror itself. For this we changed our prototyping efforts to four sub groups:
1] Product Look
A cold read of the product renderings with little forward information, to get and understanding of how people view the product from an initial gut reaction.
2] Clothing brands
After a full explanation of the product we then shifted to two different card sorting exercises:
What stores a potential user might view as “must haves” when shopping using the Moda Mirror. The original list being:
- Amazon
- Macys
- Eileen Fisher
- Ralph Lauren
- Uniqlo
- Gap
- Ambicrombie and fitch
- Zara
- h&m
- American Apparel
- urban outfitters
- forever 21
- Hugo boss
- banana republic
- Burberry
- rei
- other (can be filled in by the person we are testing)
- other
- other
- other
The Favorites of these brands were:
All displayed a wide range of brand desires and interests. Some brands were online stores only, some were shoes and accessories.
Of the more expensive, high fashion brands (Chanel, Burberry, Dolce & Gabanna), several interviewees expressed that even though they may not be able to afford those brands, they wanted the fun of trying on the clothes.
3] Apps and Services
From there we asked which of the following Apps/ Services a user might want access to, while they are not using the Moda Mirror for shopping purposes:
- calendar
- weather
- snapchat
- paypal
- amazon (for non clothing shopping)
- alibaba (for non clothing shopping)
- games
- camera
- to do list
- skype
- netflix
- spotify
- other
- other
- other
Of these there was a consensus that the following apps would be desirable:
- Camera
- Skype
- Weather
- Calendar
- Spotify
4] Interaction
Finally we Asked: Now that you understand the Moda Mirror, and the stores & apps it might offer, how would you imagine interacting with this product: Gesture, voice, or touch controls, or something else?
Here many of the interviewees spoke of their interest to gesture and voice controls and that while they might have originally though touch screen would be its primary function, they then realized that constantly touching their screen would become a cleaning nuisance and dirty the mirror with fingerprints.
5] Observations, Insights & Comments
Finally during the conversation here were some of the intriguing comments, thoughts, questions and suggestions:
Positive Comments:
Good that it looks like a piece of furniture rather than a piece of technology
Questions:
Can it be hung on the wall?
How big will it be? (“I have a small room and i cant use small mirrors to see my whole body”)
Image ? Does it help me shop or organize my clothes, not clear.
I want a clear visual listing of everything in my closet
Thoughts:
No games!
Will it look real, and not a photoshop cutout pasted on me?
Logo is sharp shape, cold, unfriendly
Minimal frame design favored
It would be cool to include my favorite fashion blogger news (instagram)
I could use the camera feature to get opinions from family & friends
Brands not listed were found by reading fashion blogs and google shopping searches
Would like if it included shoes and other accessories
Check out ‘covet’ app
Suggestions:
There should be the ability for me to see a live feed of my email, facebook, texts and etc, so I can keep informed while I use the mirror.
Make sure I can compare prices between multiple sites, or see other similar dresses (& etc) on different sites while I am shopping.
Observations
People have their ‘go to’ brands that were not mentioned on the list. Some of them were online only, and were not as well known as the brands listed. People would probably like the option to customize the brand choices very specifically and unique to their tastes.
Clothing is a very personal choice, and a statement.
Price they would be willing to pay:
If I had my dream job, I’d pay $200-500 for the mirror.
$50 to 150 for mirror 200 at most
$150 to no more that 299 for mirror, but it has to work perfectly for 299
$100-200, monthly fees if they can give me special deals!
Moda Mirror 