Date 28 February 2011

Design StudiesThe territory

What do you get from Studies?

✤ The language to speak “Design”

✤ A Verbal Language - a way to construct design

✤ A Visual Language - a way to see patterns in society

How does ‘studies’ contribute?

✤ 3 Stages of a Design Project

✤ Studies - to do research, formulate your position, write your brief, make a pitch, have a ‘brand position’, define your unique approach

✤ Communication - visualize an idea as an object

✤ Technology - figure out how it will work, and how it will be made

Studies gives you a language

✤ The Vocabulary to express yourself

✤ The Tools to break up complexity into manageable parts

✤ The Framework to understand phenomena and to construct Visions

Eg.: Have you heard of Network Theory?

Network Theory?Who needs it?

Network Theory: A Key toUnraveling How Nature Works

In the last two decades, network theory has emerged as a way of making sense of everything from the World Wide Web to the human brain. Now, as ecologists have begun applying this theory to ecosystems, they are gaining insights into how species are interconnected and how to foster biodiversity.

- carl zimmer

Assange's view seems to borrow from recent work on network theory, emergent systems, and work on self-synchronizing systems

The paper “Making the Social Hold: Towards an Actor-Network Theory of Design” by Albena Yaneva is an interesting contribution to the role of Actor-Network Theory in design.

It basically shows how various ANT concepts can be relevant and insightful in the context of designing artifacts. Relying on notions such as scripts or delegation of action to objects the author examines various mundane artifacts (stairs, handrails, elevator buttons, etc.) and show how the way they have been designed triggers “specific ways of enacting the social“.

In its simplest form, a social network is a map of specified ties, such as friendship, between the nodes being studied. The nodes to which an individual is thus connected are the social contacts of that individual. The network can also be used to measure social capital – the value that an individual gets from the social network.

New Words:

Network TheoryEmergence

Social NetworksSystems

transumer

• Another sense of the term "transumer" is being shopped around by social network types, and it seems to refer to a person who uses a social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook to graze information and join groups of like-minded people.

• Related terms:

• barefoot luxury

• commodified leisure

• glamping

• prosumer

• vigilante consumer

• Websumer

What are Design Ethnography and User Research?For most companies, understanding the complex web of relationships between people, technology and design - the 'user experience' - can be vital in acquiring the competitive edge necessary in today's market place. User research has become an important function in almost all design-oriented industries: from car manufacturers through software development companies to the service industries. Central to many of these activities is the practice of 'design ethnography'. Ethnography is the study and representation of people acting in their cultural settings. It relies on social research methods such as observations and interviews in 'the field'. Design ethnography draws on and adapts these techniques to gather and represent data and insights on design requirements and to leverage these within design and business contexts.

Career ProspectsProspects for graduates exist across a variety of settings. Typical graduate roles might include: design ethnographer, user research specialist, design strategist, design researcher, user experience specialist, usability analyst, or market researcher. Typical employers might include:

• Design agencies• Market research firms• Manufacturing industry• IT companies• The media• Financial and other services• User experience research consultancies• Government and NGOs exploring e.g. e-citizenship, e-health, etc.

MSc/Diploma Design EthnographyThe University of Dundee

“For most companies, understanding the complex web of relationships between people, technology and design - the 'user experience' - can be vital in acquiring the competitive edge necessary in today's market place”.

Key Aspects

• 8 Tutorials/ tutors

• Blackboard

• Library subject guides

• TED Talks

• Newspaper

• Design Blogs

Lectures

• 9 talks - from research perspectives

• 12.30 to 1.30 PM

• Monday

• Discussion in class the week after

• Attendance (apologies to be registered)

OK I am going to get wired up!

Do you go get the content? or

Does it come to you?

Newsgator, Netnewswire, Google Reader

blobject

(BLAWB.jekt) n. An object with a curvilinear, flowing design, such as the Apple iMac computer and the Volkswagen Beetle; an object with a dull or unremarkable design.

Example Citation:"Apple's designs, envisioned by Jonathon Ive, Apple's lead designer, have not only changed the look of computing but spilled out into the rest of society, almost single-handedly starting the 'blobject' craze for curvy, organic items."—Chris Allbritton, "MAC-stravaganza: Apple's new product line is more polished than ever," , July 23, 2000