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A New Attitude for the Next Generation of Designers
By:
Liz Sanders, SonicRim, Columbus and Robert Suarez, SonicRim, San Francisco
SonicRim on-line
It's time for us to take a new attitude about the "consumer". This won't be hard for those of you new to design, because it matches your intuitions about the way things should be. But it will be much harder for those of us who are experienced design professionals.
The Current Attitude
The current attitude about the consumer is negative. We agree with statements such as:
"They can't come up with ideas for new products or services to improve their lives."
"Consumers can't even recognize good ideas that are put in front of them in the form of concepts or prototypes."
"They just don't get it."
This attitude comes, in part, from the language of product development. We call people "consumers, users, and customers." The language comes from the "consumer behavior experts" in market research and the "user experience experts" in usability testing. Their evidence for upholding this attitude comes from years and years of watching focus groups and usability tests. But people are only "consumers" for small, often insignificant and not so positive portions of their lives. When we label them, it relegates them to minor roles. If we start calling them people, maybe we will begin to think of them as people.
The New Attitude
There is a new attitude. It is about respecting the people who buy and use products. The new attitude comes from a field called participatory design that is based on beliefs such as:
"All people, not just designers, are creative."
"All people can express their unmet needs and dreams when you give them the tools with which to do so and respect their ability to be creative."
The new participatory attitude is based on the principle that those involved in the use and/or production of a product should be directly involved in its design. Participatory design invites people who buy and use products to the design table where they have traditionally been excluded.
Timeline of Ideation and Expression
The "Timeline of Ideation and Expression" helps people articulate their dreams and aspirations about the experience being investigated. Each step along the timeline requires different research methods and tools to get people to express their needs and aspirations.
In the self-immersion step, people are asked to self-document their thoughts and feelings about a given experience. This process lets people become aware of and communicate their own behaviors and feelings. Next, we observe their past and/or current experiences. Then we give them the tools with which they can project an ideal or aspirational experience. Finally, we ask them to express their ideas for products or services that would deliver their ideal experience.
The new participatory attitude is changing the shape of the design profession and design education because it implies that ordinary people can contribute to the design development process at its very beginning. A number of schools have integrated participatory design thinking into their curriculum, including:
- Carnegie Mellon University
- The Ohio State University
- Columbia University & Parsons School of Design
- Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Designing With the People You Are Serving, Not Just For Them.
There is a shift in the attitude of designers who have been introduced to participatory design. This shift shows a new level of respect for the people we serve with new products and services. The role of the designer is changing, and designers are welcoming the new responsibilities.
"Before I learned about participatory design, I had a very self-centered design process. . . I just thought I was smart enough to figure out what everybody would do or say. Or that they would just have to live with what I came up with.
Then I realized that it is more challenging to actually sculpt a space
around people's needs, wants, desires, and feelings then to make something
just look pretty . . . Accepting and responding to input and criticism from non-
design people makes an idea more intelligent, and in turn more
successful."
-Ben Halsow, Student in the Department of Industrial, Interior and Visual Communications Design at The Ohio State University
"Since my involvement in participatory design, I now see the different roles of a designer in the product development process. For example, participatory design uses people as inspiration instead of relying on "designer intuition." Designer intuition has not been discredited, but only relocated to a more appropriate position. It can now be used to develop tools for understanding and facilitating creativity."
-Patrice Martin, SonicRim, San Francisco
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