October 22, 2010:
Live Blog:
Chris has always been interested in the form and function of experiences and learned much from his father who was, like Chris, also a Human Factors Engineer. Understanding people has always been the focus of his design efforts and studies.
He found that experiences and aspirations can translate into design for people. That quest led him to where he is now at Lextant.
A couple of points to ponder by Chris regarding how we should think about designing with our audience:
All Design Results In An Experience
Like it or not. On purpose or by accident.
Chris uses the coffee cup with poker game on it as an example of bad design. You have to dump out the coffee to see the “hole” card on the bottom.
Ideas Are Everywhere
How do we find them? First, we must find out where ideas come from. They result from creativity and intuition. Our frame of reference shapes our ideas and an accurate frame of reference results in better ideas. The challenge is how do we create an accurate frame of reference?
Example: Boeing once created technolgy solutions for the border patrol without consulting them. The result was poor design because of a lack of reference.
First, what is a frame of reference? How can one be achieved? One way is by studying and figuring out:
- How the world works
- What the world desires
If we understand these 2 things, we can design successfully in between them.
Some more points to ponder:
- We must start with questions
- Ethnography gives us insights into current experiences
- Directional Research helps us assess direction
- Usability Testing assesses intuitiveness
- Participatory Design Research enables creative expression of ideals
- Insight Translation describes the ideal experince and allows its assessment
Ultimately, the way we can get to “next” is by involving our audience early in the design process and using that info to tell stories of the “future”.