Human Centred Design
Professor Joseph Giacomin, 2008
Ask a any selected person on the street what is meant by good design and the response will very likely involve tables or chairs. With luck, the respondent may prove more engaging and may articulate a point of view which is based on concepts such as "form", "function" or "emotion". And yet, even such an articulate passer-by would still be missing the point, because such a response is more typical of the 20th century than of the 21st.
So what's up? Where is design headed in the 21st century? A first clue on the trail to an answer lies in two recent paradigms which appear set to dominate the stage in the coming years. These obtain nightly coverage of one form or other in the news media in discussions of architecture, product design, or the services offered by the business community or by government. These new ways forward which are transforming the very machinery of our creative economy are Sustainable Design and Human Centred Design.
The first paradigm is the unavoidable result of our recent industrial and political success. The deployment of industrial methods on a vast scale to the benefit of large sections of society has lead to great pressures on the natural world. Through the eyes of the citizens of the industrialised nations it is difficult not to notice the drawbacks associated with the use of vast amounts of energy in the service of people, and it is hard to avoid concluding that more attention needs to be paid to how we use materials and energy. Put bluntly, this first paradigm is about saving our planet, an unavoidable requirement until such time as we have somewhere else to go.
In many ways the second paradigm is even more focused than the first, and, basically, is about us. Human Centred Design is about looking at the world through the eyes of people. Sometimes referred to as People Centred Design or User Centred Design it is a multidisciplinary field which is a the point of contact between the business, design, manufacturing and scientific communities. In fact, HCD is more than just a trend or a point of view, it is the systematic gathering and deployment of knowledge about humans from the Arts, Humanities and Sciences. HCD combines knowledge and technologies from many fields to achieve products and services which are physically, cognitively and emotionally intuitive to their users, with intuitive being the key to success. Yes, we can read the manual and learn to use the device, and yes we can attend the training session and learn to follow that rule, but are the devices are rules intuitive? Are the things around us a pleasure or a nightmare? HCD is as simple as asking these questions and looking in the right places for answers, and when it is deployed with skill it achieves products and services which improve our quality-of- life at work and in the home. Simple, right?
Not so fast. So what information and skills does a human centred designer actually have? A simple answer to this question might be that such a designer makes regular use of information coming from fields including anthropometrics, arts, branding, emotional design, engineering entrepreneurship, ergonomics, inclusive design, information architecture, perception, philosophy and psychology. An even more worrying answer might be that HCD includes all elements of knowledge which are required to design products or services which are physically, cognitively and emotionally intuitive to their users. Oh dear.
Defining Human Centred Design would seem to lead to the inevitable conclusion that 21st century design will be a more complex and all-encompassing activity than its 20th century predecessor. For those who do not already feel this pressure it should be sufficient to stop and consider how the general public has upped the ante on us designers. From banks to broadcast media, and from iPhones to eyecare, a quick look around confirms the vast improvements in design which have been achieved in recent years. Brand and brand identity now permeate our environment, both functionally and emotionally, manifesting themselves in a bewildering range of sophisticated products and services which meet people's needs. We are today surrounded by the semiotics of humanity. Well known brands such as Apple, Alessi, BMW, Google, Ferrari, Nokia and Virgin have led the way. The key to their success has been their human centred focus, whether it be their internal organisation as companies or the look and feel of their products and services. Choosing and rescaling technologies to fit people's needs has been the trick in many cases such as Apple, while focusing on emotional engagement has made companies like Alessi a household name. The feel of a button, the simplicity of a menu, the elegance of a solution to a problem are all issues which can be understood and often even quantified by means of Human Centred Design methods.
Being familiar with such a vast range of human thoughts and abilities is a very demanding challenge indeed, and only the best designers will become proficient at more than the basic methods, but as the many recent success stories confirm HCD is a deeply rewarding activity and possibly the only way forward for the development of new products and services in the coming century.
Designers be warned. Much, much, more is now expected of you, and we are definitely at the start of a very busy century.
Joseph is co-director of the Human Centred Design Institute at Brunel University.
