Our favorite design Jester is at work again. (It's usability! No, it's aesthetics! No, it's technology! ;) - I probably skipped a few)
It is of course a very interesting discussion that leads us to think about what technology really is, and what user needs really are. Norman shuffles these around a bit as the need for fast, easy and cheap communication 1000 years ago does not include the need for email, and cavemen tamed fire just for the fun of it. I do believe that cooking was not directly a priority, but that safety and warmth could (nobody knows) have led to the taming of fire (the technology of controlling fire). There are of course many technological innovations that were driven by needs; we only have to look at the army and its history to find an abundance of examples there. But these are very strong, obvious and immediate needs (ie: 'don't die'). Not the kind of needs you need a design researcher to uncover, and not the kind of needs Norman is probably aiming at. But what are the kinds of needs he is aiming at? Hidden needs that large groups people have in common, which a design researcher might uncover, and which would lead to a break through technology? That these hidden needs did not lead to technologies such as "the airplane" is in my opinion not really a fair assesment of the design practice. ;) I think that there are still plenty of ways in which design research drives technology, but often geared towards very specific user groups (also by virtue of the nature of design research). And if technology is: "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area" then design can do nothing but drive technology. But again, this is probably not the kind of technology that Norman is talking about. All in all I believe that Norman creates rigid divisions where reality is much more vague, very cyclical and very co-dependant. And surprisingly at a time in which technology, design, and needs are seemingly rapidly shifting in value - where the line between design and functionality is becoming much less defined. (see "The Transmedia Design Challenge: Technology that is Pleasurable and Satisfying" http://interactions.acm.org/content/?p=1318) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48144 ________________________________________________________________ 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
