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ENGR 101/HUM 200: Technology and Society

ENGR 101/HUM 200: Technology and Society. October 6, 2005. Agenda. Wrap-up of yesterday’s lecture Announcement of groups (posted to course website) Group assignment for Monday (preliminary list of topics for project) Designing the World. Sci-Fi As Snapshot of Culture.

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ENGR 101/HUM 200: Technology and Society

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  1. ENGR 101/HUM 200:Technology and Society October 6, 2005

  2. Agenda • Wrap-up of yesterday’s lecture • Announcement of groups (posted to course website) • Group assignment for Monday (preliminary list of topics for project) • Designing the World

  3. Sci-Fi As Snapshot of Culture

  4. “The Psychopathology of Everyday Things” • What is psychopathology, anyway? • The study of the origin, development, and manifestations of mental or behavioral disorders. • In other words, how did the things we use everyday come to be so messed up? • What are affordances? • Properties of an object that determine how it can be used

  5. Getting Used to Life’s Difficulties • We’re all told life is difficult • You might have heard the version that goes: “No one said life was going to be easy.” Or “No one said life was going to be fair.” • Why should objects be any different? • Umm…. • (because one is a philosophical lament, and the other is a fixable problem, if only people cared to fix the problem)

  6. A well-designed object… • Is easy to interpret and understand • Has visible cues about how it works • Maps functions onto form • Takes advantage of physical analogies and cultural standards • Provides feedback to the user about what has been done and subsequently accomplished • Don’t just tell me I pushed the button; tell me what action has been called forth • Is all-too-rare

  7. The example of the door • Why should you ever not know whether to push or pull a door? Or where to exert pressure on a door? • The mechanism is not complicated! • Why should a door ever obscure its function?

  8. Principles of Good Design • Visibility • Natural design; Not at odds with aesthetics • Simplicity when possible • Airplane cockpit, no/ VCR, yes • Appropriate clues • Feedback for user actions

  9. How does this “clue” thing work? • Affordances • Look at the shape of an object, consider its weight and texture, look at its color in context. • Constraints • What are the gaps in the affordances? What clearly can’t be done with the object? Or by the user? • Mapping • Use what people already know how to do! Conceptual models are a designer’s friend.

  10. Why is the world so complicated? • Setting aside the philosophical lament part… • Is it because of too many objects? • Is it because of too many diverse users?

  11. Natural v. Designed • “Designing the World” • Objects we live with everyday become “naturalized” and we stop seeing what about them is manufactured to be a certain way. We stop seeing how they are “designed” to be a certain way. Whether it is an overpass, an energy source, or a book, we learn to stop seeing (or maybe we never learn to see!) the affordances of an object.

  12. Five (5) Things To Keep in Mind When Designing • Design is not just about coming up with good ideas. • Don’t design for yourself!! • Don’t become too attached to one approach. • Don’t just focus on the top and bottom levels. • Design is not a linear process.

  13. 1. You Need More Than Good Ideas • Design is not just about coming up with good ideas. • Creativity is important, but it is probably not as pivotal as you think. • Ask yourself if your design is realizable. • Ask yourself if your design is based on data. How have you analyzed your data? • Ask yourself if your design is based on informed decision-making and analysis.

  14. 2. Don’t Design for Yourself! • Remember when your parents told you that you were special? They were right! DO NOT assume you are a typical user. • Respect your users; their constraints are not your failures. (In other words, keeping something simple to accommodate user constraints doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of designing something more complex.) • Think about the environment in which the design will reside. Don’t assume you know the ins and outs of that environment; take the time to learn about it.

  15. 3. Don’t Become Too Attached to One Approach • Even after you choose a design solution to pursue, revisit your ideas and continue to consider alternatives. • Halfway through trying one approach another idea may present itself; remember that you only can see that new idea because of the distance you traveled down another path. • Changing direction as you learn more about the specifics of your design is not a sign of failure; it is evidence of flexible thinking and creativity.

  16. 4. Don’t Spend All Your Time Thinking About Top and Bottom Levels • Come up with concrete ways to go from your general ideas about function to specific ideas about the structure of a product. • There are many steps between the first abstract notion of a design and the final finished product. How will you get there? • How will you accommodate constraints at different levels? • Will you be able to recognize changes to your design as you begin dealing with constraints?

  17. 5. Design is Not a Linear Process • Design requires an iterative process. • Revisit past decisions often. Don’t be afraid to ask yourself whether a decision made four steps ago was the right one given what you know now. • Continue to evaluate alternatives even if they are not pursued. Elements of a rejected solution may prove valuable. • Reevaluating past decisions does not mean you’re stuck. Looking at past choices through a new lens is in fact making a new decision.

  18. Conceptions (and Misconceptions) about Design • Designing is about: • Making trade-offs • Decomposing • Synthesizing • Generating alternatives • Sketching • Understanding the problem • Using creativity • Visualizing • Making decisions

  19. What the Experts Say • Professional designers DO NOT emphasize • Brainstorming • Creativity • Visualizing as critical activities when they talk about their work.

  20. Make It Better example • http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/243444_ncenter05.html

  21. Next class… • Meet as a group and come up with a list of preliminary topics for design project. Turn in the list (with your names!) on Monday. • Read The Diamond Age • Read “The Road to Hell is Unpaved,” from The Economist • Henry Petroski, “The Gleaming Silver Bird and the Rusty Iron Horse,” from Beyond Engineering • “Air Travel: Its Impact on the Way We Live and the Way We See Ourselves” • Preview Powerpoint slides (posted to website as of Friday)

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