Design for China Migrant Workers: A Case of User Research and Mobile Product Concepts Development

The mobile user experience in China is far from optimal. The language styles, interactive modes and interfaces for most of the mobile communication products in Chinese marketplaces are just copies of those developed for Western users, which are difficult and not suitable for Asian people's thinking habits and usage customs. This especially applies to the needs of the poorly educated and users who are challenged by digital products. They are almost totally ignored by the mainstream of mobile product makers, even though a huge consumptive potential exists in those segments of consumers in the future years. This joint project of Tsinghua and Nokia, targeting the market segment of Chinese migrant workers, concentrates on user research and conceptual design for proper mobile Communication products or service systems, with hopes to contribute to the corporate future design strategies and market development plans.