Response to Design Thinking

When people think of a “designer” they often imagine someone in a black turtleneck who makes already-designed products look more pretty. How does this differ from the portrayal of design thinking and user-centered design in the article by Tim Brown of IDEO and the shopping cart redesign video?

User-centered design is so much more than just making products look pretty.

Before I had knowledge about user-centered design I also thought that designers were people who just design the aesthetic of a product. For example, clothing designers are mostly about the aesthetic of a piece they create and the image they convey. However, the designers at IDEO had been very different from what I had in mind.

When we see prototypes they are usually very well done (like car prototypes) and look like a lot of time had been invested into them. The prototypes as shown in the video on the other hand were produced pretty quickly and weren’t well done aesthetically. However, all the prototypes succeeded in conveying the ideas they needed to convey. For example, one of the prototypes had used a shower head as a microphone which I thought was pretty funny. That being said they accomplished their goal of creating a quick and cheap prototype!

As for the misconception of a designer that just makes things more “pretty”, a big part that the designer has to fully understand and grasp the problem, usually by empathizing with users. This is user-centered design. As said in the reading, it is important to get to know your user and to research the based on direct observation. This will allow you to develop solutions to existing problems rather than hypothetical or unimportant problems.

List of things I have designed before.

1.) A house in Minecraft

I was the one who lived in the house so I designed it to have everything in easy access locations to allow me to play the game easier.

2.) A business letter

I designed this email from their point of view. I thought about things that an average email-answerer would hear and thought beyond that. I sent things that I liked about their product and wanted to improve. That business letter to a pen company sent me free pens!

3.) An Art Piece

This wasn’t user-centered and I didn’t consider a person who would view my art at all. That being said, I’m not a talented artist, however, when I draw I like to draw things that I enjoy drawing no matter how they may look to others. A more experienced artist with more things on the line may treat his art differently.

Things that are/could be designed but aren’t usually thought of being designed.

1.) Essays / Homework assignments

2.) Dance, videos