Why Design is Hard Flashcards
Current interaction paradigm
Computers are getting cheaper and people are getting more expensive
Focus shift from algorithms to people
Memex Machine (Vannevar Bush, 1945)
Device that stores all of an individual’s books, records, and communications, and is mechanized to be consulted with good speed and flexibility
-enlarged intimate supplement to their memory
Mother of all Demos (Douglas Englebart, 1968)
Computer demo
Xerox Star
First commercial GUI
Ubiquitous Computing
Technology should fade into the environment
Ubicomp
Goal is to create language of interaction so close to task domain that computer and its interface essentially become invisible
Ubiquitous Computing Implementation
Context- user’s location, what they are doing, emotional state…
Broader input/output- sensors, form factors, computers embedded in things
Add intelligence to things- be more situationally appropriate, help a person in task
Appropriation
When people buy something for one purpose and use it for a completely different purpose
Designer’s Fallacy
A designer can design into a technology, its purposes and uses (Fallacy: you’re in control)
Why is Design Hard?
-Judging/predicting which designs will be successful is difficult
-Designs involve making trade-offs
-Good designs usually only obvious looking backward
Core Design Skills
Take a broad view: see constraints and understand what may make a difference
Frame/reframe the problem and objective
Create and envision alternatives
Know a good approach to select from those alternatives
Visualize and prototype the intended solution
Ultimate Goal
Interfaces should meet the tasks that users want to perform
-should leverage people’s existing understanding and skills, and minimize learning and translation
