Architects create models. In the old days, they created detailed physical models using little sticks of wood and paper. The bigger the project, the more detailed the model. The model would be part of their deliverable. Nowadays, architects often deliver extremely detailed Illustrations and 3D walkthroughs as well as very detailed wood and plastic models. Architects, car designers, aircraft designers, software designers: we all need to build concept models to prove concepts. This happens near the end of a design cycle as the model-building requires a lot of work - a lot of which is not design related. My models are my creations. I make them. Web and Flash designers often end up actually making the site. Likewise, Blend developers are starting to deliver the actual presentation layer to dev teams. This is a sneaky change and the temptation is to build our concept models using the same physical method that we use to deliver the actual presentation layer. I think this is a mistake because inevitably, we turn our concept models over to the dev team prematurely. David and Stewart, you are correct: designing is not building. We can also be builders, using tools such as Blend and Silverlight, but we need to be disciplined and follow our design process thoroughly. We need to build our concept models and be as detailed as necessary with these models in order to prove that our designs work well. I know for myself that when I take shortcuts, I cheat the product that I am working on. Dave
>-----Original Message----- >From: Stew Dean [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:11 PM >To: 'David Malouf' >Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Paper is not a prototyping tool > >On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:40:59, David Malouf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> In the end what Andrei is saying (at least my interpretation) is that >> detailed models have to be a part of our design process if we are to >> indeed consider ourselves designers. Designers make things ... not >> semblances of things or virtualizations of things. To me one of the >> biggest failings of IxD and IA is that we have traditionally let >> other people create the things that we conceptualize. We immediately >> loose our value to the process and fight to explain ourselves. > >Take two steps back for a second. Consider an architect, you know, the >real ones that design buildings. They make nothing as part of a >project, just as I make nothing as part of a project. > >So not you don't have to make anything to be a 'designer' - you just >need to specify and guide. Depending on the role and make up of a team >I will do differing things in different ways - for example my current >project is a software project and I'm using real interface looking >elements in my page designs as opposed to web stuff where it's all >very lo-fi. > >If you're saying that having visual design skills or technical skills >are a benefit then yes, I agree. I have a smattering of both and they >help, I am totaly capable of putting together a website including CMS, >graphic design and a fair amount of scripting. BUT others can do it >better - so I work as part of a team. > >I also hold that good experience design requires a degree of >seperation between design and implimentation. Why? Because the >engineering mindset is not the same as the design mind set and tends >to lead to feature rich and finely engineered solutions that, well, >suck. You can end up with a Nokia N95 instead of an iPhone, to use a >product design example. Nokia - what happened? > >Because you can do everything does not mean you should and often it's >better you don't. > >-- >Stewart Dean >________________________________________________________________ >*Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* >February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA >Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ > >________________________________________________________________ >Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! >To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe >List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines >List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
