Sunday, October 28, 2007
Design is complicated
Until I walked into Design Intelligence for the first day of class, I had never realized that design was such a big issue. In the past, if a product was complicated to use, I would keep working at it until I understood how to use it. It never really bothered me because after I did find out how to use the product, I would never have to worry about it again. Now, when we talk about poorly designed items in class, I have a hard time agreeing with people about how bad those products are. I have come to realize that trying to figure out a product is such a small part of my life that there is more important things to worry about like what I'm going to eat for dinner that night or where I am going to go on Saturday night. To put it simply, design is complicated. Some products are going to be harder to figure out because the technology involved with them is complicated. That's unavoidable. Now there are products that Donald Norman, the author of The Design of Everday Things, talks about like doors and phones that should be simpler to use because they are not new to consumers and are used everyday. These are the instances where many consumers get angry because the door doesn't open immediately because they pushed/pulled the wrong side of the door. If you think about it though, is it really a big deal. It is not going to have any life-long effects on you and you will mostly likely forgot about it in the next minute. If not, it is something you can laugh about to yourself later on. Norman talks about how consumers blaim themselves when they use a product improperly, when they really shouldn't. I agree with that completely, but its not exactly the end of the world either. All in all, I do think that designers should make products as simple as possible, but if they are not perfect, then it shouldn't be that big of a deal either.
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3 comments:
I kind of have the same idea about design as Robert does. I do not really mind figuring something out because once I do ill know how to use it forever. But taking this class and actually learning about design and its implications has made me realize how much simpler a product should be and how much easier it would be to use if i didn't have to waste time figuring out how its works. Yes it may not be a big deal at the time but think if everything has a design flaw or bad design could you imagine how much time would be lost during a day and how frustrated you would be. Designers should always strive for a perfect product since that is there job
I didn't think that design was really important at all before I was in this class. I liked Apple products and I had for a long time, but I never really knew the specific reasons why. Now I know that Apple excels at mapping, etc. and that is why their products are good: the design.
I agree with alot of what Robert said. Some things really arent a big deal. I also think however, that if they can be changed to make life easier for us,then why not do it? I mean we have alot to deal with every day and I think that the less time we spend on trivial things like trying to figure out how to use a toaster, or set our new watch, the less stress and frustration we would have. Doors arent the end of the world, but designers should think about how they effect the lives of users when they design a new product.
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