So far this semester, I have learned a lot about playing the "Whole Game of HCID." One thing that I learned about design in this class is that design is not just one forward path of steps and processes, but rather a continuous loop of designing and redesigning. Another thing that I learned recently is that designing means that you have to fail over and over before you are going to get even remotely close to a decent product, and that no product is ever going to be perfect because they are all designed by humans and no one is able to create something flawless.
Before this class, I basically thought that design was just someone coming up with a few sketches and maybe presenting them to a group of people for critique and then redrawing up some new sketches for a final product. I realized after doing the projects in this class that design is nothing like what my initial thoughts were. It consists of original sketches, usability testing, teamwork, creativity, redesign, critique, more revisions, and so much more.
Probably the hardest part of the design "loop" is when you find out something about an idea or sketch you really liked just isn't going to work, and you're either going to have to remove the feature and start over or redesign it from the ground up. Designing even the most simple concepts can be a lot of work and it can be hard to let a good idea go. HCI Design isn't a good field for people with an ego.
ReplyDeleteYou both are so right. HCI has made me realize how much creative work is the work of designing. An interesting thought experiment is to ask, "How is art different from design?" Personally, I think it has to do with goals and the increased constraints that come from people like stakeholders and your others. What do you think?
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