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Contrarian Design How to use bad ideas to create the best products
Katie Quehl IxDA Cincinnati 26 May 2015
The ugly ducking?Photo courtesy of Flickr user Pasma, “The Ugly Duckling” under Creative Commons 2.0
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What is contrarian design?
A UX design and research technique of intentionally coming up with really bad (crazy, silly, outrageous, contrarian) ideas to:
A UX design and research technique of intentionally coming up with really bad (crazy, silly, outrageous, contrarian) ideas to:
Encourage Creativity Overcome being “stuck” Gain new perspectives
A UX design and research technique of intentionally coming up with really bad (crazy, silly, outrageous, contrarian) ideas to:
Encourage Creativity Overcome being “stuck” Gain new perspectives Developing empathy Explore taboo and uncomfortable topics
A UX design and research technique of intentionally coming up with really bad (crazy, silly, outrageous, contrarian) ideas to:
Encourage Creativity Overcome being “stuck” Gain new perspectives Developing empathy Explore taboo and uncomfortable topics (and have a little bit of fun)
Overview
• Background
• Contrarian Design as a design technique
• Contrarian Design as a research technique
• Let’s try it (workshop)
–Isaac Newton
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Defamiliarization
Bell, G., Blythe,M., &Sengers, P. (2005). Making by making strange: Defamiliarization and the design of domestic technologies. Transactions on Computer-°©-Human Interaction (TOCHI,12(2).
“Defamiliarization, then, is a literary device that compels the reader to examine their automated perceptions of that which is so familiar that it seems natural and so unquestionable.”
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Doctor Yuri , “PICT7043”, under Creative Commons 2.0
What is a comb?
Defamiliarization
“Defamiliarization, then, is a literary device that compels the reader to examine their automated perceptions of that which is so familiar that it seems natural and so unquestionable.”
“ [A] method which aims to question usual interpretations of everyday objects in order to better understand users and their practices”
Bell, G., Blythe,M., &Sengers, P. (2005). Making by making strange: Defamiliarization and the design of domestic technologies. Transactions on Computer-°©-Human Interaction (TOCHI,12(2).
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Doctor Yuri , “PICT7043”, under Creative Commons 2.0
BadIdeas Methodology
Dix, A., T. Ormerod, M. Twidale, C. Sas, P. A. G. d. Silva and L. McKnight (2006). Why Bad Ideas Are a Good Idea. HCIEd2006, Limerick, Ireland.
Paula Alexandra Silva. 2010. BadIdeas 3.0: a method for creativity and innovation in design. In Proceedings of the 1st DESIRE Network Conference on Creativity and Innovation in Design (DESIRE '10). Desire Network, Lancaster, UK, UK, 154-162.
Paula Alexandra Silva and Janet C. Read. 2010. A methodology to evaluate creative design methods: a study with the BadIdeas method. In Proceedings of the 22nd Conference of the Computer-Human Interaction Special Interest Group of Australia on Computer-Human Interaction (OZCHI '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 264-271.
Contrarian Design for design
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Baldri, “wireframe”, under Creative Commons 2.0
Contrarian Design for design
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Baldri, “wireframe”, under Creative Commons 2.0
Contrarian Design for design
Who is involved UX design team, internal project stakeholders
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Baldri, “wireframe”, under Creative Commons 2.0
Contrarian Design for design
Who is involved UX design team, internal project stakeholders
What materials are neededTypical design tools (whiteboards, sketch books, pens, markers, etc.)
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Baldri, “wireframe”, under Creative Commons 2.0
Contrarian Design for design
Who is involved UX design team, internal project stakeholders
What materials are neededTypical design tools (whiteboards, sketch books, pens, markers, etc.)
Where does this fit in the UX process Concepting phases (iterations)
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Baldri, “wireframe”, under Creative Commons 2.0
Contrarian Design for design
Who is involved UX design team, internal project stakeholders
What materials are neededTypical design tools (whiteboards, sketch books, pens, markers, etc.)
Where does this fit in the UX process Concepting phases (iterations)
When is it most usefulWhen stuck, exploratory projects, initial brainstorming
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Baldri, “wireframe”, under Creative Commons 2.0
Think outside the box
Photo courtesy of Youtube user 9 Cats, “Please, come back! Taro beckon to May”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt7S_6Bx9R4
So how do you do it?
1.Understand your foundation
Photo courtesy of Flickr user ArmChairBuilder “Poured Concrete Foundation”, under Creative Commons 2.0 armchairbuilder.com/resources/how-to-build-your-own-home
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts (individually)
What makes a good bad idea?
- A good bad idea has to be purposely bad, silly, crazy, weird and/or impossible
- A good bad idea has to be vague enough to allow transformation
- A good bad idea is not too detailed, so that it becomes harder to lay aside those details
-A bad idea does not need to be related to anything or to any domain in particular, including the design brief
Silva, P. A. (2010). BadIdeas 3.0: a method for creativity and innovation in design. … Conference on Creativity and Innovation in Design.
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts (individually)
3.Introduce your contrarian concepts
Photo courtesy of Flickr user EdTechie “Day #311 There is such a thing as a bad idea” under Creative Commons 2.0
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts (individually)
3.Introduce your contrarian concepts
4.Question your concepts’ qualities
Photo courtesy of Flickr user benjraey “big question mark” under Creative Commons 2.0
How to interrogate your designs
1. What is bad about this idea?
2. Why is this a bad thing?3. Are there any other things that share this feature but are not bad?4. If so what is the difference?
5. Is there a different context where this would be good?
1. What is good about this idea?2. Why is this a good thing?
3. Anything that shares this feature but is not good?
4. If so what is the difference?5. Is there a different context where this would be bad?
Dix, A., T. Ormerod, M. Twidale, C. Sas, P. A. G. d. Silva and L. McKnight, Why bad ideas are a good idea. HCIEd2006, Limerick, Ireland, 2006.
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts (individually)
3.Introduce your contrarian concepts
4.Question your concepts’ qualities
5.Design concepts contrary to the contrary
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Lorenia “Opposites” under Creative Commons 2.0
Contrarian Design for research
Contrarian Design for research
Contrarian Design for research
Who is involved users (research session participants), UX team members
Contrarian Design for research
Who is involved users (research session participants), UX team members
What materials are neededTypical design tools, note taking and audio/video recording
Contrarian Design for research
Who is involved users (research session participants), UX team members
What materials are neededTypical design tools, note taking and audio/video recording
Where does this fit in the UX process Discovery research
Contrarian Design for research
Who is involved users (research session participants), UX team members
What materials are neededTypical design tools, note taking and audio/video recording
Where does this fit in the UX process Discovery research
When is it most usefulLooking for innovative research methods, sensitive topics
What are sensitive topics?
Politics
Religion
Sex
Abuse
Death
Divorce
Relationships
Health Issues
Addiction
Illegal Activities Finances
1.Provide a foundational overview
Photo courtesy of Flickr user ArmChairBuilder “Poured Concrete Foundation”, under Creative Commons 2.0 armchairbuilder.com/resources/how-to-build-your-own-home
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts
3.Describe the contrarian concepts
Photo courtesy of Flickr user EdTechie “Day #311 There is such a thing as a bad idea” under Creative Commons 2.0
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts
3.Describe the contrarian concepts
4.Probe for concepts’ qualities
Photo courtesy of Flickr user benjraey “big question mark” under Creative Commons 2.0
Probe for insights for the design
1. What is bad about this idea?
2. Why is this a bad thing?
3. Is there a different context where this would be good?
1.Understand your foundation
2.Generate contrarian concepts
3.Describe the contrarian concepts
4.Probe for concepts’ qualities
5.Design the ideal solution
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Lorenia “Opposites” under Creative Commons 2.0
What might this look like?
Design Workshop: Car systems
