Design

No artefact exists without somebody having designed it!
• Etymology of design
• Definitions of design

Good design

Balancing:
• looks
• purpose
• user, usability
• traditions and cultures
• cost
• business model
Choosing proper:
• materials
• proportions
• tools and methods of fabrication
=> Standing out

"No design"

• Lacking awareness of the above, random choices
• Copying some obvious or random model
=> One among the usual.

Design (noun)

• shape
• form
• plan

To design (verb)

• Determine the shape, form, function, looks, rules etc. of an artefact
Give form (German: Formgeben)
• Shape

Design what

The object of design: artefact

Physical artefact design

Interface design

• Interface design
Digital: E.g. interface of a program
Physical: e.d. control buttons

Interaction design

• Interaction design
• Designing both two ways of interaction

Experience design

• Experience design

Media environment design

• E.g. designing a new social media application
• Conceptual relation to architecture

Game design

• Game design
• interfaces
• rules
• behaviors
• narratives
• interactions
• strategies
• winning logic

Concept design

Can be related to branding, ads, business logics.

Ontology design

How the artefact exists and appears, conceptual structure:
• Concepts
• Menu hierarchy
• Functions
• Displays
Etc.
Literature.

Design process

Design how?

• Choice of plannning tools
Manual:
• Supporting the feel of the material in a holistic way
Digitally:
• Support the mental by allowing easy parametric changes
• Multiple perspectives

Involve the user/participant

• User-centered design (Anglo-American tradition)
• Participatory design (Scandinavian tradition)

Design tools

Persona

• Persona (imaginary user, often a written description)

Mock-up

Mock-up?
• Full-size
• Not functional

Demo

Partially functioning mock-up to demonstrate the design.

Prototype

Prototype?
Nearly fully functional artefact.
• Pro-production

Beta

• Fully functional
• To be refined with (non-paying) test users (family, friends, students, fans)

Constraints and responsibilities of design

• Aesthetical
• Ergonomical
• Social
• Political, societal
• Economical
• Ethical
• Cognitive

Design theory

Design theory?
Theory or theories?
General design theory? -> Upcoming course

Design gurus

• Donald Norman (user-centered-design), The Design of Everyday Things
• Jakob Nielsen (usability...)

Media art

Art as design laboratory:
• Exploring new technologies and concepts
• Breaking and questioning conventions
• Free from design constraints

Industrial art

Fundamental text: Walter Benjamin (1936) The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Assignment

A draft design for an online community.

Organization

• Free (single or team, present or distant)

Task

Design a screen mock-up of an online community for one of these:
• Luxury shoppers
• Sharing bike trails
• Shared environmental awareness
• One-goal online political party

Phases

• Persona (a few sentences describing name, sex, age, background, context of use)
• Mock-up (drawn or digital)

Tools

Alternatives:
• Paper, cardboard, marker pens etc. + camera
• RevMedia software download
• Look for your own tools here

Reporting on your blog

• Present on the blog, or
• Provide a link on your blog to an external URL
• Comment others' designs