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