There are probably several on this list who have grown up in two or more substantially different cultures. Here are a few observations from that perspective. Flipping through the pages of UPoD, I find nothing there that COULD NOT be considered universal. After all, we are the same human species, and are hardwired in the same fashion. There is, of course, another, big part that is available for softwiring -- the part that is at the core of our capacity to learn. Softwiring is behaviorally established through mechanisms such as culture and context. Some of this softwiring is easily reversible (or transformable), especially when the individual is young, or when a behavior is not deeply established. This is what training is about. Training is complementary to good design -- that which cannot be made obvious or automatic or easy can be accomplished through training. Of course, one's ability to unlearn or relearn generally diminishes with age.
Even where it might be easy for the individual to change their perceptions and behaviors, their context might constrain what is conveniently possible. Examples: 1. Jaipur Foot The Jaipur Foot is a prosthetic foot for amputees developed by a craftsman in the Indian city of Jaipur. http://www.jaipurfoot.org/ http://www.goodnewsindia.com/index.php/Magazine/story/jaipur-foot/ He found most amputees rejecting existing prosthetics which were based on designs developed in the West. The traditional prosthetic did not permit the kinds of activities and behaviors common to the people of India. Importantly, much of the Western urban landscape is 'carpentered', the term psychologists use for artificial environments filled with right angles and smooth surfaces, while much of India is made up rough, uneven, terrain. Then there are issues of social perception of a prosthetic. Rural Indians don't wear trousers and shoes that can conceal the presence of a prosthetic. Further, Indians traditionally squat on the floor rather than sit on a chair. The Jaipur Foot has been very successfully adopted in the so-called 'developing' or 'underdeveloped' world. Is the Jaipur Foot based on UPoD? Of course, it has to be, whether this was done consciously or not. Nevertheless, those principles had to be applied to specific social environmental contexts. Hence, design is shaped by universal principles and informed by culture and context. 2. The Potty How many on this forum have used both a Western as well as 'Asian' style potty? Defecation is a natural human (animal) function and how many ways are there to do it anyway, right? Nevertheless, traditional 'Easterners' (there's got to a better way to refer to 'Other' people, but anyway) feel uncomfortable using a Western style potty. Given no other option or with training, they can eventually get comfortable with using a Western style potty, but their overwhelming preference is for an 'Asian' one. How do Universal Principles apply here? I see absolutely no contradiction; both styles of potty are necessarily based on Universal Principles - it' just that the final form that they take are different, because of contextual and cultural preferences. 3. Tableware Plates in India are typically made of metal (stainless steel) with a flat bottom and a wall or lip all around. This is done to accommodate the nature of food eaten, which often contains liquids that run. The typical ceramic plate design doesn't work too well (although it is used by many families and in restaurants) with an Indian meal. If you have ever eaten a 'standard meal' in a restaurant frequented by the middle/working class in India, you would have been served your meal in a plate that has cups built into its shape. Universal principles? Without a doubt; but a little observation of food and eating habits helped to inform the final design of the plate. By the way, cups in South India have a lip around them. This is facilitate easy pouring. For reasons of hygiene and to facilitate sharing of a cup, south Indians did not like to touch the cup with their lips; the lip allows liquid to be poured into the mouth from a convenient height. 4. Signs in public places Since a sign is a semiotic device, it's design is heavily influenced by culture and context. The form of a symbol as well as the colors used, and a lot else are driven by culture. For instance, let's say you would like to put up a symbol to indicate that a particular fenced of area is for families. India has 22 official languages and a overwhelming fraction of Indians are illiterate. It would be advisable to include symbols and pictures along with any text. What sort of symbol would be appropriate to depict a family? The term 'family' means different things across the globe. In many 'developing' cultures, a family includes scores, perhaps hundreds of individuals including uncles and aunts, and grandparents and cousins and so on. Or family could be just mom and dad and kids and grandparents. Or just mom and dad and kids. Or mom and kids; or dad and kids. Or dad and dad and kids; or mom and mom and kids. There are ways to finesse this problem. You could train people to associate a symbol with a particular meaning. Or you could have a person stationed at the entrance to allow or prevent people from entering the area. Also, people are smart enough to determine, by observation, whether a fenced-in area is meant for individuals or families. If we understand the term 'design' in a narrow sense, we might restrict ourselves to just coming up with a suitable symbol. 'Design' in a broad sense would include the entire context and may or may not involve the use of symbols. Cheers, Murli ________________________________________________________________ *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
