Design Update: Europe

Design update: Europe

• Europe: a mix of nations and nationalities
• A mature level of technology
• European design trends
• Design as a driver
• BBC iPlayer
• Aka-aki
• Nokia Sports Tracker
• Time Machine
• The Disappearing UI: emphasis on convergence
• Nimbuzz
• Goojet
• eBuddy
• Conclusion

Introduction

This article is intended for mobile developers who plan to design applications and services for markets in Europe and who want to know more about the region’s cultural and economic environment and design trends.

Figure 1: European design is affected by the cultural and economic environment.

First, the article discusses key factors that have an impact on the design and development of mobile services and applications, such as the level of mobile technology, and the most important market areas and players. Then, it takes a close look at European mobile design by analysing several success cases.

The first challenge of mobile application design for Europe is that there is no single market to target: Europe comprises a large number of sovereign countries, with different cultures, languages, legal regulations, mobile service providers, and marketing channels. This makes addressing all segments of the European market a nearly impossible mission or, at the very least, a highly complex and expensive endeavour.

Despite the challenge, however, the European market provides a lucrative opportunity for mobile developers and service providers. The market is quite mature, made up of people with a genuine interest in — and the financial resources to pay for — advanced mobile services. In general, the European countries are densely populated with educated people who earn moderately good incomes and who have access to high-speed mobile networks on fairly new mobile devices.

Figure 2: European mobile users have access to both advanced technology and high-speed connections.

As far as mobile services go, the European market is similar in many respects to that of the U.S. There are some differences, though, such as in the projected growth rates of certain mobile services. In a survey conducted by The Nielsen Company in 2008, Americans indicated that mobile internet is the mobile service they are most likely to start using over the two years to follow. For Europeans, instead, multimedia messaging service (MMS) was on top. Figure 3 shows a detailed breakdown of the top services to be adopted in Europe and the U.S.

Figure 3: Top five mobile services to be adopted by Americans and Europeans

One reason for people favouring MMS over mobile internet in Europe and vice versa in the U.S. is that Europeans are accustomed to short message service (SMS) and thus also MMS. In the U.S., MMS became mainstream significantly later, when device support of mobile e-mail and browsing became common. The success of RIM BlackBerry and Apple iPhone devices has paved the way for mobile internet usage in the U.S.

Cost considerations affect the popularity of mobile services. In fact, the bundled service packages sold by operators both in Europe and in the U.S. can affect the usage patterns of consumers very effectively. In the U.S., the messaging features (SMS and MMS) usually are not part of service bundles, and users pay extra for receiving and sending text and picture messages. In Europe, however, the bundles always include messaging features. To build services that will enjoy success, developers need to keep tabs on the pricing strategies of operators in their target regions and see how consumers react to them.

According to a recent Nielsen study, 15.6 per cent of American mobile subscribers used mobile internet services at least once a month in the first quarter of 2008. Usage rates for mobile internet services in top European markets during that period, according to the study, were as follows:

• U.K., 12.9 per cent.
• Italy, 11.9 per cent.
• Russia, 11.2 per cent.
• Spain, 10.8 per cent.
• France, 9.6 per cent.
• Germany, 7.4 per cent.

By the first quarter of 2009, the usage rates had increased in all of those countries:

• U.S., 18.2 per cent.
• U.K., 16.9 per cent.
• Italy, 13.2 per cent.
• Russia, 11.9 per cent.
• Spain, 12.4 per cent.
• France, 13.5 per cent.
• Germany 9.6 per cent.

In other words, relative growth of mobile internet usage in the first quarter of 2009 as compared with the same period in 2008 has been highest in the U.K., followed by France, the U.S., Germany, Spain, Italy, and Russia. This indicates that although mobile internet is not used in Europe as much as in the U.S., it is being adopted faster in some European countries than in the U.S. This is fabulous news for all mobile developers interested in building mobile web applications and services.

Europe: a mix of nations and nationalities

Europe, consisting of 50 sovereign countries, boasts a total population of 731 million. The continent is highly fragmented in terms of nationalities, languages, cultures, and histories, making Europeans an extremely varied mix of people with different backgrounds, levels of education, and interests. While certain countries lead in terms of size and population — such as the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, and Russia — nationalism is very important all across Europe, and the people who live there identify strongly with their own nations’ cultural backgrounds and histories. Given the clear distinctions among European countries, the European Union (EU) has facilitated a smooth flow of movement across national borders, and freedom of movement is a significant feature of life in Europe.

While the existence of multiple nationalities signifies a culturally rich Europe, it also poses two key challenges for the mobile application developer: Almost every country has its own official language, and most countries have their own mobile service providers.

In essence, this means that a developer of a prospective service must either target a handful of selected markets within Europe or be prepared to localise the service for a multitude of variants. Furthermore, reaching the entire potential user base also becomes challenging, because the key marketing channels vary from country to country.

On the other hand, when it comes to user interface design, there is a fairly strong pan-European design language that is well-accepted by a large percentage of European consumers. This sense of UI aesthetics transcends geographical and linguistic boundaries. While language localisation is imperative in various European countries, design localisation is not.

The largest, most important mobile markets in Europe are Germany, the U.K., France, and Spain, while Russia is an emerging market with great potential. For example, in the U.K. market, 45 per cent to 50 per cent of mobile users browse the mobile web on their mobile devices, while 30 per cent to 35 per cent of mobile users have web-capable devices but do not use them for that purpose (source: Mobiilin läpimurto).

In terms of mobile operators, Europe is characterised by national operators with strong brands and history and by pan-European or global operator brands, such as Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, and O2.

Although Europe can be considered a highly fragmented region, technology and design unite the continent. In general, Europeans have a lot of drive and skill for creating innovative mobile services and products. The trendsetting centre of European mobile design is London, with companies such as Fjord spearheading mobile design. Sweden and Germany contribute a lot of creativity, as well, and are home to such leading design companies as TAT, Ocean Observations AB, frog design, inc., and Iconmobile.

A mature level of technology

Most European countries, especially in Western Europe, enjoy a fairly high standard of living. From a technological point of view, Europeans are savvy users of the latest technologies: Broadband internet access at home or at the office is a commodity. The Europeans are accustomed to going online with their laptops or desktop PCs to use many services, such as e-commerce and social networking.

The penetration rate of personal mobile devices is very high: In most European countries, the rate is 100 per cent or more, meaning that a large number of users have more than one mobile device at their disposal.

Fast 3G data networks covered approximately 77 per cent of Europe as of the end of 2007 (source: IDATE, Broadband Coverage in Europe). Of a total of 911 million mobile subscribers in Europe as of May 2008, more than 100 million — or approximately 11 per cent — were 3G subscribers (source: Informa Telecoms and Media research as reported by Reuters). According to a study by Allot Communications, mobile data usage grew 28 per cent in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) in the second quarter of 2009, while growth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and the Americas was 36 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.

Traditionally, the PC has been the platform of choice for accessing web applications and surfing the web, while the mobile phone has been used for telephony, messaging, casual game playing, and multimedia. Now, as a result of the social networking boom and the development of mobile browsers and touch UIs, mobile devices are being used more and more for web browsing.

Mobile data roaming — using mobile data connections outside one’s native country — has been quite expensive, causing consumers to shy away from mobile services while travelling. Now, however, there are EU-wide regulations that set upper limits on data-roaming charges.

The mobile device base in Europe is currently dominated by Nokia, with approximately 40 per cent market share. While the quantity of hardware and software features previously led the race for the top device models, with global positioning system (GPS) functionality being the latest hit, the focus is shifting toward the user experience and visual design of software and services — yet another indication of the market’s maturity.

In 2008, Nokia topped the list of Western European mobile phone vendors.

Figure 4: Comparison of top device vendors in Western Europe

European design trends

In Europe, the boundaries between downloaded applications, online services, and web widgets have started to blur; as long as users can access a service with ease, the underlying technology is irrelevant to them. Services that have both mobile and desktop properties are popular in Europe, especially in business usage.

As a consequence, websites are increasingly designed for mobile optimisation, and the market is mature enough to see how the mobile domain complements the desktop world. For example, in Finland, Facebook is the second-most-popular mobile site.

Mobile services are used first and foremost for finding out what is going on right now: News and social networking are by far the most popular services. Viewing of movie trailers and video clips is gaining popularity as high-speed data connections are becoming more popular, while traditional ring-tone services maintain their fair share of the market.

In terms of revenue, downloaded applications are still more important than mobile sites, because the business logic and cost of using the service can be made more transparent. Mobile widgets are one way of blending the best of both worlds. Nowadays, users can even personalise widgets, for example via Online as it happens. Widgets have created a buzz among developers and consumers alike.

Design as a driver

In general, simplicity is the key to successful application design in Europe: The clearer the interface and the fewer clicks needed, the better.

On the other hand, European consumers are so accustomed to mobile services and applications that it is very difficult to gain momentum here with services that are bland and basic, in terms of both design and functionality.

Original service concepts and innovative ideas, supported by strong design efforts, can yield great success stories. Among original concepts that have enjoyed positive market reaction are Spinvox, which offers various speech-to-text services, Last.fm, which combines personalised radio and music service and social networking, and Spotify, which provides an extensive, free music library to its users and encourages social functions such as sharing playlists and songs with friends.

While in markets such as China, UIs often are very crowded with information, Europeans typically favour simplicity. The theories behind this aesthetic preference are multifaceted. Although Europe as an area is densely populated, people typically have more room around themselves than people in the Far East. Homes and personal office spaces, for example, typically are larger. European architecture is also quite minimalist. From a technology point of view, the legacy of S60 and its UI style can still have an impact on European design decisions.

For more information on application design and specific applications, visit the Forum Nokia Design Gallery.

BBC iPlayer

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the world’s largest broadcaster. BBC iPlayer is a service that enables those in the U.K. to catch up with radio and television programs from the past week, either via streaming or download.

Figure 5: Overview of the BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer has a straightforward and visually pleasing interface for browsing TV and radio programs. Notice the clear grouping of UI elements, even though many diverse content items are available on the same surface. The UI components are quite simple, providing ample space for the bright pictures and icons that depict the content. There are no animated elements, and even the advertising feels like part of the page. The template is well-balanced and the overall effect is clear and calm, with graphical delight coming from the most crucial element: content. The same UI style used in BBC iPlayer’s desktop interface extends to its mobile client.

Figure 6: BBC iPlayer on the Nokia N95 multimedia computer

The web application currently works on Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS, Linux, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3, and Apple iPhone platforms. For certain S60 devices, a specific application is provided. See Where to get BBC iPlayer, on the BBC iPlayer website.

Aka-aki

The aka-aki online and mobile service, from Germany’s aka-aki networks GmbH, is a winner of the 2009 Webby Awards. The service helps people to find one another. A central theme of aka-aki is to make social interaction as easy as possible. The service uses Bluetooth wireless technology to enable people to locate other aka-aki users around them.

Figure 7: Stick figures appearing in various roles in aka-aki design

Aka-aki has a very simple and calm UI design, which is typical for many European applications. The colour scheme is clean and fresh and utilises only a few colours, which contributes to a pleasing user experience. The grouping is very clear and the number of items per screen is quite limited. The design uses stick figures, bringing uniqueness and a sense of integrity to the service.

Video 1: Aka-aki helping people discover each other

Video 2: ‘What would a day be like without aka-aki?’

Nokia Sports Tracker

The Nokia Sports Tracker application is a GPS-based activity tracker that runs on compatible Nokia mobile devices. Information such as speed, distance, and time are automatically stored in users’ training diaries. Users can store and share their workouts and routes on the Nokia Sports Tracker site. Sports Tracker was the winner of the Best Mobile Internet Service category in the GSMA’s 14th Annual Global Mobile Awards.

Sensors are expanding the notion and possibilities of a UI. Nokia Sports Tracker is a fine pioneering example of this trend. All types of context-related information can be fed to the application, and this information can be presented to users in appealing and novel ways.

Figure 8: Nokia Sports Tracker

The design follows the S60 UI style, which by nature is very clear and geared towards usability. The large graphical icons impart a fresh look and feel to the application. This UI design is a prime example of the power of great iconography. Even the simplest UI components look refined when the icon design is detailed and interesting and utilises metaphors that instantly connect with the content.

Video 3: Nokia Sports Tracker

Time Machine

Sometimes an appealing design makes all the difference in the world, even though the underlying application is very simple. One example of this principle is an application called Time Machine, which is simply a stopwatch, but with a very nice design. In Europe, it is not common for an application to stand out merely on the strength of visual appeal, especially compared with a market such as China, where many people like to decorate and personalise their devices. Even in the European market, however, a powerful visual design can propel a mobile application to success.

Figure 9: Time Machine’s design delivers a stopwatch with visual appeal.

The Disappearing UI: emphasis on convergence

Social networks and instant messaging (IM) clients such as Facebook, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk are well-established in Europe. New services often take advantage of the enormous popularity of these services and tap into their functionalities. In this context, innovation is about finding new ways to utilise the capabilities of existing services as well as designing attractive and functional alternatives for the users.

Convergence has been a long-term driver for mobile devices in Europe. In application and service design, aggregation is a similar driver; users are easily drawn towards services that offer access to all their social networking, IM, and microblogging solutions through one interface. Aggregation often results in UIs and solutions where the integrative service almost disappears, enabling the aggregated applications to enjoy the limelight. In the following examples, the UI design of each portal is minimal, while the display real estate is dominated by the applications that the portal integrates.

Nimbuzz

Nimbuzz is an integrative application that combines various communication services and social networking offerings, such as Skype and Facebook. Netherlands-based Nimbuzz describes itself as a new-generation mobile service that enables people to enjoy free and low-cost mobile calls, free instant messaging, social networking, and other rich communication features, using the internet capabilities of their mobile devices.

The premier design innovation of Nimbuzz is the seamless integration of other devices, making it convenient for Nimbuzz users to connect with their contacts via the channels of their choice.

The challenge of UI design in integrative applications is to present a lot of information all at once. An expanding-list component combined with powerful indicators can be just the right design approach for this type of situation.

Figure 10: Flickr CC attribution: Nimbuzz

Figure 11: Flickr CC attribution: Nimbuzz

Goojet

Goojet, which hails from France, is a social-media application dedicated to web content discovery. Goojet makes it easy for people to share their favourite websites with their friends.

Goojet has two main functionalities. First, it provides a personalised mobile home page, which includes recommendations, mini-applications, and other services. Second, it enriches mobile communication through the use of ‘goojets’ — small objects that can be attached to messages or uploaded to public spaces. Goojets can be news clips, photos, videos, widgets, and so on.

As with most examples of European design presented in this document, Goojet adds value by combining services and data. Goojet has a nice approach of representing the pieces of content, or goojets, with similar-sized icons. The way an integrative application presents its content is crucial. The more attractive and efficient the presentation, the better. While many applications opt for a vertical list component, Goojet uses a grid.

Figure 12: Mobile goojets (source: Goojet)

Figure 13: Rich messaging with Goojet (source: Goojet)

eBuddy

eBuddy is a web and mobile communications hub that offers an aggregated chat interface to AIM, Facebook, Google Talk, ICQ, MSN, MySpace IM, and Yahoo!. The eBuddy mobile application is available in various versions for a range of mobile devices, and a light web application that eliminates the need to download or install an application. The mobile service is available via WAP or mobile internet browser.

All mobile devices that support XHTML or WAP — including mobile phones, PDAs, Sony PlayStationPortable, and Nintendo DS — can be used to access eBuddy.

Figure 14: eBuddy connects to a variety of instant messaging and social media services.

Conclusion

In Europe’s highly saturated and fragmented mobile market, user expectations are high and design is an important factor in promoting services. The key to successful differentiation is to come up with sufficient innovation and graphic appeal.

Clear and logically arranged user interfaces generally are preferred by European users. The content needs to command the foreground, but without too much visual embellishment. Design often is appreciated in the same way as seasoned craftsmanship: in the detail and functional design of the components rather than in the usage of unusual and eye-catching shapes and colours. The logical arrangement of content is important, because Europeans feel at home with well-organized items — in shops, in public spaces, and in user interfaces.

Innovation can take several forms. Often the execution of concise graphic design alone is the key to the hearts of European consumers. Some of the best innovations come from new combinations of existing services, making things easier for users to manage. Integrated applications that act as portals to popular services are one example. The ‘truest’ form of innovation, however, fulfils user needs that have thus far remained neglected or unrecognised. The secret of successful mobile-application design in Europe, as in other regions of the world, is rooted in understanding the user.

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