A series of lectures on the power of design, focussed on User Experience, and how it is found across the world.
An invitation to explore design beyond our daily work
I was asked to present a lecture on design issues that sparked interest for me, and also hit upon important questions and answers about design around us. It soon became part of an ongoing series. In each case, I would take on a new aspect of design and pull out specific topics that showcased how design problems were solved. The unifying factor was to focus outside of our work projects, looking at problems and methodologies from very different design cultures which would then help inform some of our UX concerns.
Part 1: Principles of Design
In this first installment of the series, I opened with some of Edward Tufte’s thoughts on what constitutes good design, focussing on his dissection of the Minard Map of Napoleon’s Russian Campaign. Also covered was the planning of Brasilia, and the zhongwen Chinese dictionary.
Part 2: Principles of Design: Human Factors
The second installment focussed more specifically on the area of human factors and how its study had helped to inform design paradigms that have since shaped much of our empathy toward users. For this, I chose the following areas to explore: Farm technology, artificial Languages and Esperanto, industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, and the creation of flight simulators.
Part 3: Principles of Design: Accidental or Adaptive Design
The third installment is an exploration of design created from factors that are not in the designer’s area of control, or design that involves some acceptance of randomization. This could involve happy accidents, conditions that provide unusual solutions, or the evolution of solutions from a desired outcome. This became a rich area of study. To demonstrate these different points, I chose to delve into the Tokyo 1964 Olympics graphics, George Nakashima furniture design and wabisabi, and the Munsell Color System.