Task 1b: Human Centred Design

David Kelly the founder of the internationally renowned design company IDEO presents a few projects that he thinks are evidence of how design is becoming more “human centred”. Each project shows how each designer including David Kelley, created their project with a focus on human experience and interaction.

While I was watching this video, I particularly liked the design of changing room in shopping mall (Brand: Prada); the new interior has much more space than the current rooms in stores. The liquid crystal glass that changes from opaque to transparent with a simple switch of a button amazed me and made me to think that is a very brilliant idea and why couldn’t I think like that before? Bringing privacy control technology into retail removes lots of factors that hinder the customer from enjoying their shopping experience whether it is walking in and out of the change rooms or questioning if each change room is occupied. The designers definitely took into consideration many factors when designing the new rooms, creating something futuristic that also gave a sense of comfort to customers.

The focus on human experience is also clearly evident in the project of the spy fish which is quite the upgrade for customers who like to spend time on the water. The spy fish is a small camera that goes underwater which is controlled by a wireless remote. The idea behind the project is to give the user an experience of the view of the underwater without actually scuba driving. The amazing shape and size allow it to roam freely underwater while also blending in with the inhabitants of the sea. i think, This design is so amazingly well-made technology but it would be more suited towards research purposes rather than retail.

Lastly, there was a company/project called Approtec. This manufacture very basic product that allow Kenyans to grow crops in the off-season and by doing this, tens of thousands of them gets new jobs, crops to grow and sell and most of all, the best options of the approtec is a fact that they are a non profit oraganisatin. It is really happy to see how designers creating basic tools can be beneficial to poor country like Kenya

This particular video of David Kelley provides the idea of where and how the world’s design is moving towards. I would recommend this to anyone as it presents a different perspective on the importance of industrial design and it clearly shows how Human centred design has a large part to play in the near future.

Task 1a: Emotional Design

It is true to say that the world of design is rapidly going towards the side of beauty and fun rather than function of it.  In the past, designing a new product would have meant making things function more efficiently.  But nowadays, there are not much things that we are necessarily need to live because the function of the product is at the peak of its existence.  Maybe, the high technology is allowing us to create good functional products and this will be the reason why emotional design is necessarily used when designing a product.

Donald Norman in this video discusses how’ the new me’ of design is to understand about beauty and emotion and he also brought us to the insight of wonders of our minds, how these aspects can be applied to everyday products around us.  As Norman mentioned, i reckon higher level of positive interaction with the products being designed is depended on understanding of human emotions. 

Donald Norman explains the emotional experience by dividing it into three processes which include a Visceral, Behavioral and Reflective process.  The first, visceral level is the most basic and is set within us through biology and years of evolution. Our senses our attraction to different smells, textures, sights, noises and etc.  Norman gives us an example by showing a visually appeasing water bottle. The user could only use it for decoration because they don’t buy this just for water.

Secondly, behavioural level is feeling in control which includes function and usability of the product. The rondavel tilting teapot is given to us as example. The 3 stages of using this product evokes and emotional response and communicates to people that the pot if out of water when it is lying down. 

The last level presented by Donald Norman is reflective and it is the level where that little voice in your head resides. Just like a navigator in the car, the voice that notice you things are going to be fine, or not, etc. for instance, someone buy an environmentaly safe car which shows that you really care about the nature of the world. 

In conclusion, I was delight to watch this useful video which made me think about what beauty and emotions are about and making things fun and I think, Evoking an emotional response in our target user is a key to interact with our design.