David Kelly on TED: Human-Centered Design

Human-centered design is becoming an extremely important element in the creation and development of modern products. In theory, it makes the most sense to design products that suit and fit the user best and make their experience with the product more enjoyable and more interesting, and that's what human-centered design is based on.

After David Kellyn reviews a few of their current projects, he goes on to present a few short video's as a visual basis for explaining the concept of human-centered design. He says that this concept is based on involving behaviours and personalities into the products, an idea that has been adopted by almost every company in every industry. Human-centered design is more obvious in some industries than others, but when you break down any product to it's basic elements, an element of human-centered design can be found.

Kelly explains that his design team has (and continues) to use the more traditional design communication methods such as 3D models and renderings, but he explains that by creating actual working examples within their own environments (using videos and visualisations) the product gains its own personality and sense of place.

The redesigned Prada store that Kelly and his team were part of refurbishing, uses combinations of both new and old technologies. The thing that makes it special though, is the way the technology is implemented (such as the 'magic mirror' that is just a video camera connected to an LCD screen). It is a very simple idea but it is extremely practical and successful simply because it incorporates human-centered design.

The video short involving designing 'Dilbert's Cubicle' is a very good example of how human-centered design can also be incorporated into environments. They attempt to make the most comfortable and interesting work cubicle that they can by adding elements of immersion and personalisation.

The Spyfish, Kelly's most recent creation, is a small submarine device equipped with cameras that allows the user to remotely control the device upto 500ft underwater. It is connected to a large display with super-imposed graphics that immerse the user in the surroundings of the ocean. He says it is like scuba diving while you're still on the boat. By attracting the human desire to explore and still be in a state of comfort, this product has essentially created a new enviroment within itself. It is a very strong example of how new technologies can be manipulated around the concept of human-centered design and it is something that I find extremely interesting.

From watching this video, I am able to take back a new element of design. Although designers pretty much always try and base their products around the users, the concept of human-centered design is essentially a new definition of design and has really set the standard of what designers aim to do. If I am able to integrate this element into my own designs, I am sure they will be successful within their environments

Design Excellence Project - Reflections

My poster for the "Design Excellence" project, based on the Intelligy Energy Management System. After creating this poster, I can definitely say that this is a very clever product. Not only does it perform a new and helpful function (that is both economically and environmentally friendly) but it does it in a way that makes user interaction interesting, simple and natural. It has very sleek and minimalistic looks using basic colours and materials but the final result is very aesthetically pleasing and attractive within any environment. From this product, I have witnessed that if the perfect balance between form and function can be found, the results can be extremely successful

Don Norman: Emotional Design

Don Norman opens his lecture by explaining that usefulness and ugliness do not always have to go hand in hand in design and leads onto open onto his main topic; the relation between emotion and design. Norman is open in saying that he does not always buy products because of their function, but rather their aesthetics and the emotions that the product drew from him.

Don Norman tells the story of his journey through studying human emotional response and how he has shifted from being a designer who was reputable for his 'ugly' but extremely functional and useful work, to focusing almost all his energy on the beauty of design and the way people react to it. He believes that design should be all about fun and making the experience of the user more pleasurable, also believing that from his past knowledge, "pleasant things work much better".

Norman breaks down this theory of emotional response to design into three layers. The first layer is all about the mental processing of events. Within this level, he explains that anxiousness and fear come a strong level of focus (otherwise referred to as depth-first processing). Although, when you are happy you become more relaxed leaving yourself open to interruption. I can honestly say that I agree completely with this fact as I have unconsciously become largely focused during times of stress and anxiousness. I feel that as a designer, it is important to find a good balance between these two features during the design process so that all possibilities are explored without wasting time and effort.

The second level , the visceral level, is also a subconscious level of processing but it is the driver towards our desire for particular aesthetic features such as bright colors. I feel that this sort of information is extremely helpful and important for all designers in any industry because creating a subconscious attraction to a particular object is deeply powerful and is very hard to interrupt. These attractions do not always have to be a means of obtaining a sale, they can also be very helpful to display important information or to provide warning (eg. bright red stop signs). I personally feel that these subconscious attractions are the fundamental features of a successful design whether it be a particular shape, material or color.

The final level of this theory is the reflective level. As Norman puts it, it's the "super-ego" level where we look back on things that we have bought and make decisions and opinions from there. If designers can target this level and ensure that reflections of their product are only positive, they can ensure that their product will have a long and well recognised life. I heavily agree that I need to consider these three levels of emotional response within whatever designing I do to ensure that I create a successful product that tells an important  and valuable story.