Sunday, August 1, 2010

Task 6: Human Centered Design

Video Review and Reflection:

It is important as a designer to keep in the know with the ever-changing world of design. The constant development of new and better ideas, or even an alteration in the approach to design itself. The Video Human Centred Design featuring David Kelley is a good representation of some of the changing designs and design philosophies within the commercial market as we see it today. Within the video, produced by New Talks Each Week the concept of human centred design is discussed. As an industrial designer, this would be a beneficial video to view, as it gives an interesting insight into some of the more recent developments and directions of products and design styles within the design world.

A number of new products are analysed within the video. I feel that one of the most innovative designs was the RF tags and scan devices created for use within Prada stores. This retail product aimed to possess a cultural role. For this product, scanner devices are made available throughout the store for use by both customers and staff. By scanning items of clothing, the user of the device is able to gain a more detailed level of knowledge by viewing related product information displayed on LCD screens throughout the store. The interaction between the customer and the clothing represents the affective generation of a human-centered product.

Another suave human-centred design developed for Prada is the magic mirrors within the change rooms. This mirror design allows the customer to view themselves from the back by having a three second delay within the display. Not only does this design effectively solve one of the dilemmas experienced by every individual when trying on clothing, it represents human interaction with the design. My personal discovery of these designs has not only broadened my knowledge of recently developed products, but has created a myriad of ideas within my creative design potential.

Spyfish was a new product design that had my attention 'hooked' throughout the entire product promotion. The design consists of two cameras built into one device to effectively allow the user to scuba dive without getting wet. Controlled by a wireless remote, the camera is simply thrown off the side of a boat and navigated to a depth and compass setting of choice. The only restriction of this design was a maximum depth of 500 feet. With built-in lights, a view of the underwater world can be experienced by users in whatever light conditions. I found this a very interesting design concept, especially as it had been advertised as a consumer product rather than a research tool.

A design for a deep well, low cost manual pump was discussed within the video. Developed for the use of farmers in Kenya, this product allowed the growth of crops during the dry seasons when the lack of rain had previously restricted crop production. I found this appealing as this was a design being produced on wide-scale production at low cost, to help people in countries who would otherwise not have a solution to their food shortages. Human initiative is reflected through this design with the consideration of a human-centred influence.

Through the viewing of the video Human Centred Design, a better understanding of different concepts and ideas within products available on the commercial market can gained. A strong influence of human centred design can be recognised throughout each of the products presented within the show, representing how the consideration of behaviours and personalities have been incorporated into the different designs. As a result of successful design and design approaches, designers are becoming further integrated into the business strategies of companies.

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