Approach
There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all design process, so there’s no point in trying to describe one, but let me touch upon two things that characterize my way of working.
I prefer to work by means of quick and not so quick prototypes, tinkering, material/form explorations, role-plays, and other ways of experientially gathering insights to inform design. How else would you design for human experience and other things too complex to fathom through reasoning alone? Quick models, video scenarios, imagery and fully functional prototypes are my main means of communication.
Having been schooled in an environment where ‘user-centered’ was the keyword, I’m all too familiar with the full suite of user-research methods such as focus groups or co-design. However, the term user-centered implies building your design directly around issues and needs expressed by users, which hampers radical innovation. Instead, I like to say my work is inspired by users, and humans in general, but driven by a vision of change. What we learn about users as we engage with them continually hones this design vision, but never simply dictates it.
design-by-doing
I prefer to work by means of quick and not so quick prototypes, tinkering, material/form explorations, role-plays, and other ways of experientially gathering insights to inform design. How else would you design for human experience and other things too complex to fathom through reasoning alone? Quick models, video scenarios, imagery and fully functional prototypes are my main means of communication.
human-centered, vision-driven
Having been schooled in an environment where ‘user-centered’ was the keyword, I’m all too familiar with the full suite of user-research methods such as focus groups or co-design. However, the term user-centered implies building your design directly around issues and needs expressed by users, which hampers radical innovation. Instead, I like to say my work is inspired by users, and humans in general, but driven by a vision of change. What we learn about users as we engage with them continually hones this design vision, but never simply dictates it.
