Donnorman's 21st century of design
Crafted by Sowbarnika
DON NORMAN AND THE NEW WORLD DESIGN
Don Norman is a well-known personality in user-centered design. He is the co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group and the director of the Design Lab at the University of California, San Diego. He has worked with Apple for a few years and went on to revolutionize the world of design with his thoughts and teachings. Here is an excerpt from one of his Masterclasses provided by the Interaction Design Foundation, an online institute that has connections around the globe on the need of a new model of teaching design.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN:
Don Norman opines that designers all over the world must be authoritative. He means this well, as Norman thinks that the designers are not educated well. In order to explain this, he takes the example of the UN’s agenda. The UN has some 17 issues to eradicate in the world. Norman, with this in mind, says that a single team can not eradicate an issue by incorporating new ideas. He adds that the UN or anyone who strives to solve a problem must think of a community. Norman suggests a community, as it has a group of people who are like-minded. Again, the community will consist of people who have actually undergone the issues that the UN is resolved to eradicate. When the designers are roped in to solve a problem, they will be able to understand the root cause of the problem, thereby, the future does not resemble the past. Norman though has this solution in mind, he tends to go back to the first thing that one sees at the beginning of the paragraph.
Norman thinks that industries or society as a whole, do not allow designers to design a product that is really good, which stands the test of time. He complains that this poses a major obstacle to achieving sustainability. Norman does not aim at the marketing or chief executives of industry, who ask the designers to come up with a product. Rather, he thinks that the influential persons of a company must provide designers freedom. Freedom to have a say in the products designed for the company. Norman thinks that this will produce products, good products which function for a really long time in the market. Most of the products or even designs that evolve in the consumer market are made in cheaper quality so that the company keeps going, so that people survive. Norman wants to break this chain. He wants the designers to come out of their cocoon and take the issues at their hands. Through this, the market will have quality products and designs. As a result, the burden on the environment and society will be reduced.
THE NORMAN WAY:
The designers or anyone for that matter is not allowed to look at a problem from various perspectives. While elaborating on this, Norman is of the opinion that designers at the Art Schools must be taught to possess more than one perspective. He thinks that this might come handy when the designers try to solve problems in the real world when one solution turns out ineffective. Norman argues that the teaching of design must change.
Don Norman VS Climate change
The designers ought to consider people. People who use their products. People who get benefited from the products they design. Norman wants people to have a wide range of knowledge. He wants the designers to be efficient in more than one domain other than design. “This way, the designers understand the existing problems, so that those can be solved,” says he. To cap it all, Norman wants people to be educated, in a way that they get to know what’s happening out there. To make a life that is worth living.
Through this, designers from anywhere can do their bit in bringing a change in society. The link to join the community is given below.
— -To hear as podcast:shorturl.at/jmFJQ
— -To Read in English :shorturl.at/lDLST
