Humans have always had this obsession with technology, to make it faster, better, stronger, although with this dangles our fear of losing human experience. Over the last few decades design has been controlled by functionality and efficiency, however, designers like David Kelley have taken a new approach to design, something they call “Human-Centred Design” which create a more human experience in design, where the consumer interact and respond to product rather than a subjective bystander. Kelley talks about a variety of examples which I found very inspiring and informative and as a young industrial designer examples like these help me to understand the ever changing design world both technologically and theoretically.
New York Prada store wanted a different shopping experience for its customers, a store that played both a cultural and retail role. This was achieved through the use of custom technology such as individual staff scanners which allowed the customer to see what each garment would look like on the runway on a touch screen giving them an added visual depth to their shopping experience. Liquid crystal glass had been used to create a sort of window-like change room where the transparency could be turned on and off with a touch of a button. As Kelley mentioned people flocked to see and encounter this amazing interactive technology as it provided them with an enjoyable, new shopping experience.
Kelley spoke about the interactive installation in the London Science Museum, which amazed me with its complex simplicity. Each moving white line defined a message or information entered by someone interacting with it, the installation could only work with the personal interaction of each visitor. This extraordinary design provides this human experience to technology, which I found highly inspiring as a young designer.
Although Kelley provided many excellent examples of human-centred design, the Spyfish I found to be one which I believe strayed from the main ideas of this new approach to design. I found Spyfish to be a luxury consumer product that rather separated human interaction with its environment by projecting the image on a television screen meters away. This artificial projection of something so natural detracts from the possible human experiences and personally, I think its not much better than watching Finding Nemo on DVD in your lounge room. However, in terms of aesthetical design, I believe they have succeeded in creating something that could be so easily created for research purposes into an actual consumer product.
Out of all his examples, I found Approtec to be the best example of Human-Centred Design, it reminded me of a scientist who came to my primary school and showed me of a radio that ran off solar power and the winding of a handle made for people in desolate and remote countries to warn them of floods and other natural disasters. This non-profit organisation, shows how the design of simple but more effective tools such as water pumps can save and improve thousands of lives. It really shows how human interaction with design can prove to be life saving and something that is more than just a luxury consumer product.
David Kelley’s talk on Human-Centred Design was inspiring, questionable and educational. It is important for industrial designers to watch videos like this, to maintain the latest knowledge of design in a range of contexts. Understanding the design ideas and approaches of other designers provides greater insight and inspiration for my own design considerations as I found new ways of thinking about design and technology.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXndL3TNCmo
Image: http://www.marketingfeeds.nl/tag/Americas
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