AS2106 Handout 1 Notes on Human-Centered and Strategic Design

Human-Centered Design

• When we design any multimedia project, the goal is to solve a problem and make it functional for the desired audience or users.

• For a creative to solve any design problem, it starts with identifying and finding the best solution, which requires time, research, and empathy with the audience, especially if you are designing an interactive multimedia project.

• Understanding human-centered design would help you identify the problems, visualize them, frame them, and understand them to come up with a better innovative solution.

• Key focus: user needs, empathy, usability, and interaction quality.

Strategic Design

• Let’s clarify the real meaning of the word design. For some, a “designer” is just someone who adds beauty, and “design” is just decoration to something existing. We understand that design is the act of creating and improving by observing a human need.

• Role of Design in Human Evolution: Million years ago, our ancestors created tools like designing arrows and spears to help them survive. Years later, humans continued to develop architecture to answer the need to create spaces to serve and protect us so we can be comfortable. The writing came later, and we can also talk of writing as a type of design.

• Mass objects are already being created during the Industrial Revolution, and industrial design had its golden age.

• Today, design is becoming part of our daily lives through physical and digital products, like apps and websites.

• In short, everything is designed. A constant search for improvement is called “evolution,” and the design is “constant evolution.” It is creating things that improve lives.

• Design is the only constant, and it is evolving. In the end, it’s what differentiates us from other species.

• Design makes us human, so it is important to think of design as a spectrum of disciplines, not only as one because there are so many kinds of design like graphic design, industrial design, product design, interactive media design, etc. Each discipline values different things.

• Everything is designed; evolution is ongoing; design aims to improve lives and adapt to changing needs.

There are so many kinds of design

• Graphic design, industrial design, product design, interactive media design, etc. Every design discipline values different aspects.

Applied Intention

• We have to understand the concept of applied intention because it speaks of two fundamentals:
  1)
  2) Execution.\n- Intention: the purpose or why we are doing this? Why are we designing? What do we want to achieve for this design?

• Execution: making that intention a reality. It is making it happen in real life. It’s not enough to have a plan, but it should be an executed plan when we do design.

Design Strategy Concepts

• There are four (4$$) important concepts in a design strategy that we need to understand when planning for our designs.

• 1. Mission: The mission is our intention, our goal, why we want to do what we want to do. For example, the client is a pet store. Your mission could be to be the #1 pet store in Metro Manila.

• 2. Strategy: This is the action plan to achieve a specific goal. What will you do to achieve that goal? For example, the strategy is to improve the experience of pet owners so they will prefer to shop online instead of going to the store.

• 3. Tactics: Tactics are a group of initiatives that allows us to execute the strategy. It should always be aligned with your strategy. Both tactics and strategies can change depending on the context. Some strategies don’t work and if it doesn’t work, rethink. Tactics allow us to learn whether the strategy is working or not.

• 4. Artifacts: Tactics alone are still plans, so it needs artifacts to be executed. Artifacts are the resources, materials, or tools you need for this design to be executed. For example, your tactic is to create a fast and smart website for the pet store. So, you would design a web interface that will ask the user the breed and the pet's age then recommend the food.

People-Centered Design

• According to IDEO, it starts with the people you’re designing with and ends with new solutions that are purpose-built to suit their needs.

• It is all about cultivating deep empathy with the people you’re designing with; generating new ideas; building a bunch of prototypes, sharing what you’ve made together, and eventually putting your innovative new solution out in the world.

• People-centered design is all about putting people before technology, before business, before any design execution. It is including humans in the process.

• The purpose of “people-centered design” is not only to create materials for humans but to create value for people. So, it should have value, whether you are designing a website, a game, an interactive document, a mobile app, marketing collaterals, etc.

• What do we mean by creating value? It means that you are designing something valuable and functional for them, improving their experience towards the prepared material.

Examples: People-Centered Design in Action

• Grab: originally a ridesharing app. It is designed for people to book a car to take them to their desired location. Grab did not invent GPS or the database; it is not invented to connect two people. Instead, it is created to have a better user experience so that people will have a wider variety of options. Soon, they added Grabfood, Grabmart, GrabExpress, GrabPabili.

• Airbnb: created an experience around something that seemed unimaginable: staying in a stranger’s house. Staying in a place rented from a stranger can be cheaper than a hotel. They created an experience that allows people to trust a stranger to sleep at your home.

• Grab and Airbnb are companies that put the needs of people before technology, before design. Nowadays, we want instant; we want everything to happen quickly and immediately, which is the strategic advantage these companies have developed.

Practical Implications

• The modern demand for instant, seamless experiences is a strategic advantage for user-centered design.

• Prioritizing people’s needs leads to trust, wider options, faster adoption, and a better overall user experience.

References

• López, L. Introduction to Human-Centered Design. Lecture, Domestika.

• Image credits: iStock, Domestika, Dribbble (as cited in the handout)

Human-Centered Design focuses on solving problems for users through empathy, usability, and interaction quality. Strategic Design views design as a constant evolution, driven by human needs to create and improve lives, encompassing various disciplines like graphic, industrial, product, and interactive media design. Effective design involves Applied Intention, combining a clear purpose (intention) with its practical implementation (execution).

The Design Strategy Concepts include:

1. Mission: The ultimate goal or purpose.

2. Strategy: The action plan to achieve the mission.

3. Tactics: Initiatives to execute the strategy.

4. Artifacts: Resources or tools needed for execution.

People-Centered Design, as defined by IDEO, emphasizes cultivating deep empathy with users, generating ideas, prototyping, and creating solutions that are purpose-built for their needs, prioritizing people over technology or business. Companies like Grab and Airbnb exemplify this by focusing on enhancing user experience and meeting immediate needs, demonstrating that prioritizing people’s needs leads to trust, adoption, and overall better experiences.