On Jun 23, 2008, at 10:24 AM, Christine Boese wrote:
I dunno. I'd never say Design Theory has nothing to do with
ethnography or usability.
What then do you think design theory is? If we're going to talk about
what something is or isn't, please start by defining what you think it
is. "Nothing to do with" might have been a little strong, because
philosophically, how you approach design may intersect with those
fields, but theory is not really about methods, which both ethnography
and usability testing are.
(-$1 for me using usability as a noun earlier.)
To me, that kind of one-way design thinking approach is what got the
design field into the blind alley it currently is stuck in,
We're in a blind alley now? How so? Funny, I'm thinking just the
opposite. I'm thinking design is more integrated, powerful, and
respected than in any time in the previous 50 years, since back in the
heyday of industrial design in the 1950s.
helpless to adapt to precisely what INTERACTIVE design means.
What is interactive design? That term is meaningless. I have no idea
what you mean by this. Explain. How are we not adapting to what? Are
you talking about graphic design?
That blind alley is the reason we are creating this new field in the
first place.
No, the reason this field exists is because design goes where
technology and materials take it. Once there became a need to start
designing the behavior of objects, the field of interaction design was
born. Not because of some blind alley (what does that even mean?).
I'd say the last thing we'd want to do is put the Artist/Designer
back into her high-tower, preparing wondrous creations to unleash
upon a grateful and waiting one-to-many monologic world.
Why is this not a valid means of design? I'll let Andrei and Jim
Leftwich do their thing here, but I'll point to Jared's recent keynote:
<http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/04/23/ia-summit-keynote-journey-to-the-center-of-design/
>
where he notes:
"The foundations of user-centered design are now disintegrating.
Notable community members are suggesting UCD practice is burdensome
and returns little value. There’s a growing sentiment that spending
limited resources on user research takes away from essential design
activities. Previously fundamental techniques, such as usability
testing and persona development, are now regularly under attack. And
let’s not forget that today’s shining stars, such as Google, Facebook,
Twitter, and the iPod, came to their success without UCD practices."
Dan
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