Joy surfeited turns to sorrow

There is an adage in China which means:" Joy surfeited turns to sorrow."

After I came back from a party which was held by one of my classmates, I just found that I an going to get a A- for one of my course in the passes semester. It is sucks! I feel so miserable, angry, unfair, and...

Freakonomics with Design

I believe that Freakonomics is analyzing problem in different perspectives. Have the meaning of "change roles between people, give a design task to physics, and let a software engineering draw some sketches. " At the same time, means sometimes between the design process, we really need to step back to re-analysis the original problem.

Here is the voices from my classmates:

dproyer What does Freakanomics have to do with design? For me, it means considering the unintended consequences of our designs. A design is created for one purpose, but it will have other effects, immediately and down the road.

tympace
Freakonomics and design is definitely the idea of reaching beyond your initial design to look at the impact of your design in use. The idea of "sustainable design" is related to the "freakonomics" concept. What resources do our designs require and what resources to they replace? What can be reused by the replaced item and what is headed straight for the landfill? Why do we deliberately design for products to be replaced (consumer electronics)?

dproyer
Planned obsolescence, according to Wikipedia is "the conscious decision on the part of an agency to produce a consumer product that will become obsolete and/or non-functional in a defined time frame."

As a marketing undergraduate we learned about planned obsolescence and even how to decide how long a product should last. In a capitalist society, will this always exist? Can anything be done to stop it?

balchenn
I think it has relevance when we decide our design space. Maybe we're not identifying the real design problem, because we think what we know is right. If the fall in crime would have been attributed to economic boom, and not to the abortion law, and policy makers focused merely on incentives for the economy as a solution to decrease crime, and not tackle the problem of unattended children, the problem may not be solved.

ssshould
My concern in regards to Freakanomics is that as designers we have to be prudent and acknowledge that we do not put our needs before the users. There are a lot of good insights put forth in the book but I think that in a collabrative effort such as Freakanomics I think you have to be vigilant in making sure that your assessment is as objective as possible. I think that Levitt's research had several good points but the reflections by the co author Debner were somewhat suspect. I think the chapter about naming ones child and the subsequent success was not very well thought out. For design I think that this is a constant struggle to keep our needs out of the design process for the most part. If we are successful at this our design will be resilient and sustainable.

dproyer
I think the problem with parts of this book is the attribution of human behavior to a specific variable. Humans, and the societies we create are complex, and just because a behavior or societal change is correlated with a certain action, does not mean their is any causation.

I think this is important to remember when designing. Even if something "worked" for a previous design, it may not work for you. Changes in human behavior are affected by such a large number of variables, it is difficult to assume any causation. This is why user testing in context is such a good idea.

chang5
The user indeed matters. The predispositions of designers might lead to a totally different way after the user study or usability testing. I think Freakonomics values what is under beneath. I am really impressed by the cover: the peel is apple but something inside is orange. Maybe the idea is similar to what Marty said in class: dig deep. Finding out a nice solution to a specific problem needs not only thinking continuously and deeply, but also viewing the problem in different ways.

The discussion on this book also makes me think about another concept Marty mentioned. Sometimes, designers might confine themselves in a corner. The design ideas they come up with are going around a circle. If designers are able to achieve another corner, they might get some good insights and concepts. Freakonomics told me not to swamp into former logic and discipline, but to review the problem and find out a good approach to deal with or explain it.

sbhandar
Even I see, Freakonomics as a voice of researching in depth to find out connections that you never thought existed.

I will give you an example (again from one of the papers I read) -> an old lady was asked for a preference between a mobile phone with big buttons and one of those stylish sleeky phones.

What do you think she said --> no brainer --> big buttons right? since it is ultra usable for her (in most of the opinions), Right.

Actually no, she preferred the smaller phone since that would fit in her shirt pocket and she would not have to carry her bag (in which she would put her big mobile phone). And she disliked carrying bags because the bag kept slipping off her paralyzed arm.

I guess Freaknomics asked us to open our eyes to links like these though in itself the book was good, there are still few things which seemed to me too out there to believe (while i was reading it ) but point taken the example also calls for need of good contextual inquiry, but a small question surfacing in my mind now --> how many old people we would be observing or keeping in mind. Few opinions can't predict general trend right.

everyone is different, their needs, choices, tastes, dislikes.

Changm: Why "old people?" It is true that everyone is different, but people have some kind of same desires, same characters. When we face one thing, wehave similar opinions. We use some tools in a similar way...?

kshgupta
I think Freakonomics does not just attempt to discover a cause-effect relationship from a big set of data. A mathmatical correlation of the data may say that A causes B, but it does not rule out the possiblity that B caused A or the presence of another variable X which caused A and B together due to which they appear correlated. The answer may lie in triangulating the verification of research by multiple research methods, not ruling out any possibility. We conduct a research to verify the predisposition, but sometimes uncosciously our predisposition may drive our research and in our eagerness to prove something right, we may design a research method specifically to prove that something. I think what I learnt from Freakonomics is to be honest as a designer, overcome my personal bias, to look at the problem from all different perspectives, not ruling out any possibility and in two words "dig deep".

sfarouk
I agree with the comments above, and particularly like the chapter on "Why Do Drug Addicts live with their Mothers?" The researcher had major incorrect predispositions and it was only until he reached beyond his target group and interviewed, and did the the contextual inquiry with the drug addicts that he figured it out. I saw this ethnographic part, particularly role

What is design? Opinions from my classmates

Changm:
When professional designers do designs, they should have clear goals, go through processes, apply all kind of skill, and consider involved factors .

nroberg
The various levels of transparency a designer must offer the user depending on the goals of the design.

I think of true design as really attempting to emphasize a more universal communication-"this is how you use me", "this is what I do (or don't do)"-that is obvious to most everyone (at least everyone of a particular culture).

cbaskin
I think the reason why I with struggle with the statement “everything is designed and everyone is a designer” is because we might be looking at the object, whatever it might be, in terms of “good” or “bad” design.

Although the products/works that are produced by the various designers are very subjective to interpretation, there was the intent to deliver a message.

sramalin
Design means to consciously put together bits and pieces of a whole with a strong sense of reason as to why each piece fit into one and not another. HCI as a field in which these self placed constraints are those that relate to human factor issues like usability, accessibility and experience. HCI is not 'just' about usability and designing usable interface, but also one that uses the principles of human behavior to make big impacts on people's lives. Using technology to change the way people think and feel is a large part of what makes HCI.

nroberg
Design is a process and a designer is, obviously, a person who would carry out the process. However, the process and the person do not have to be inextricably linked.
A Designer who has studied design has special tools, knowledge, and approaches to the process of design that makes him/her successful. But I think people, by nature, design regularly. In a broad sense of the word, I think we design our lives everyday.

I prefer not to make too much of a distinction between a sort of "high" design and "low" design because concepts, products, ideas come from all around us.


ptrendaf
A design may have a variety of meanings. Design can be a form of expressing your feelings, ideas and emotions. Design can be a way of speaking to the world and elaborating on ideas of public importance. During this course I realized that every design needs to be able to communicate ideas to the surrounding world.

Human-computer interaction design is the focal point where functionality and aesthetics meet.

A good design has to lead you in a certain direction.

Tympace
Our goal is not just communication, but persuasion.

Nroberg
Persuasion is the goal of sales and advertising but I think design is about communication and maybe even creating desire or enjoyment

tympace
I think persuasion, much like emotion, is more important in some projects than others. A UI is persuading a user to perform certain actions in a specific sequence which is a pretty subtle form of persuasion.

dproyer
Persuasion is the goals of sales and advertising, and much like emotion.
The world design is flexible, and can be applied to many disciplines. Is this problematic? Does it marginalize design? If everyone is a designer, shouldn’t everyone be given the opportunity to take design classes?

wodom
Persuasion is used to make an intended audience or target user group adopt a particular viewpoint and/or action. Naturally, persuasion is an important part of marketing; however I feel the true power—and perhaps more noble use—of persuasion is instituting behavioral change for such causes as this year’s CHI problem.
The dark side of persuasive technology presents future of lost freedom, mistrust, coercion, and manipulation.

Nroberg
Here it seems like persuasion comes from the transparency of the design and it's ability to instruct or guide the user.

I'm seeing persuasion and transparency being strongly interlinked.

balchenn
As a process, I think design is decision making.

ssshould
Design should focus on providing tools for problems. But the manner in which the tools are used seems beyond the scope of design. The concept of persausion is not new the scale of implementing it has changed. I think it is useful for designers to see that within the design process, there are always questions of policy.

chang5
For the communication thing, I think it is not only from designers to users. It should be a two way communication flow during design process. Designers keep gaining the information about the chracteristics of users and the context. Also, they design something to convey the ideas. The designs are the products of continuous communication.

Tympace
Isn't everything about communication ideas? Does that mean design is everything or design is the absence of something (i.e., nothing)?

ashahran
Design is a unique solution.

jmbooher
Design to me just seems to be a recreation of ideas into new things.

wodom
Disagree with that design should focus on providing tools for problems. The design of a tool, its application to a problem, and the manner or context in which it is used are intrinsically tied to each other. Faulty assumptions within these areas of focus will produce any number of design flaws. Simply focusing on creating a tool for a problem without addressing the manner in which it will be used leaves one designing for an ideal world, while living in the real.

kshgupta
For me, Design is all about rational thinking.

ashahran
Design is the process of practical innovation. In order to be effective, the process must accommodate consideration of novel and practical spaces and constraints. Design serves as a guide to an end. Design is a plan to reach a goal. The best design serves its purpose the best.

dmick
To me design is the amount of pleasure someone feels from using or observing a design. The criteria for which could be functionality, usability, and ascetics. All of which combine to form an excellent design.
jmbooher
I think that you can teach design but you can’t teach someone how to be a good designer. This is something someone either has an eye for or doesn’t. This does not mean someone can’t learn the basic rules and get by as a designer but they will never be doing design, just copying formulas and repeating others.

pnshah
For me, Design is in all the intricate things of the universe. We just need to put on our Designer Spectacles to see the design.

junykim
I agree that design is everything.

sinthiru
Design to me is about communicating ideas to the intended users in the best way possible and creating lasting impacts on people’s lives. Designs should stimulate the user aesthetically, create a feel for it and be usable.


Wodom
Design is a philosophy of metaphors and analogs.

Ssshould
I think design is informed by tacit knowledge and therefore we need linguistic tools such at these, to help us convey our vision.

Balchenn
Design is communication; an interface must communicate to the user what can be done by the complex machinery hidden underneath.

Ashahran
Design utilizes similes and metaphors and results in communication. Design is inventive, practical, and can establish medium for interaction.

sbhandar
Design to me is empowering the user to get her task completed without her investing her thoughts, or much time and it would be successful design if she goes back with a pleasant or absence of unpleasant experience.

selthand
A good design should always have some GOAL and it should involve a lot of THINKING. Most of the designs have some GOAL but it gets perfected only by the THINKING.

atrus
To me, good design is the process of creating a unique solution for a specific persona which clearly addresses their needs. Design can and usually should include elements already designed before. However, good design is usually one which has not been created in whole before and would be found inspirational to other designers.

sfarouk
To me:
As a noun, embodies a purpose - sometimes readily seen, and sometimes left to the eye and mind of the beholder. As a verb, is the process of creating a utility, which involves understanding the need, the stakeholders of the design, analyzing relevant issues, devising a strategy for execution, and communicating effectively about the solution. It is important that design creates something useful, particularly one that adds significant value because it makes it all the more purposeful for me to execute it till the end.

kanreed
We design in order to produce something which will aid a user in our target group in their everyday life. Like it has been said before, the design must be a unique solution when compared to 20 other similar solutions. The design must meet specific guidelines of usability, ease of learning, etc...

sk3
Now, I would define design is something that harmonizes human needs with creative activities.