32. People Interact with Conceptual Models

32. People Interact with Conceptual Models

Conceptual vs. Mental Models

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• Caption: Image Courtesy of: http://elviscommunications.com/blog-item/conceptual-vs-mental-models-its-all-in-the-mind
• While a mental model is a person's idea of what something should look like or how it should work, a conceptual model is the actual product or idea that the designer has created.

Successful Use of Conceptual Models

• Take the time to purposely create the design around your user's mental model. Don't simply design around the existing technology.
• Understand that if you have a product that isn't familiar to your user, you will need to offer some form of training to help bring them up to speed so that they can successfully develop a new mental model around their experience.