Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Human-Centered Design


Human-centered Design by Mike Cooley, so far seems to fit my experiences and best meet my design needs. The requirements for any information design system is that it must possess the nine characteristics of a successful system which are: Coherence, Inclusiveness, Malleability, Engagement, Ownership, Responsiveness, Purpose, Panoramic and Transcendence.

The goal in HSD is for the end user to be able to immediately comprehend the built environment by its coherence, engagement, responsiveness and purpose. These characteristics help to decide whether information will be successfully employed or not. It is paramount for information providing devices to be immediately understandable and provide the exact information requested so as not to take unnecessary time to decipher what is being presented. A user must be engaged so as to enjoy the process and want to return next time information is sought and to spread the word as to how enjoyable the experience was. The system must be responsive so to accurately gauge the purpose of the information to provide the best information for the task at hand.

The drawbacks to Mr. Cooley’s approach to Information Design is that it is limited to interactive media because it would be difficult for an end-user to modify a map, pamphlet or other printed media. The ability for this media to engage with its user and have a responsiveness to their changing needs may also limit its effectiveness.   

Unfortunately as I have explained this system wasn’t designed for a format such as Blogging because it is a one-way delivery system of information which is unable to properly interact and respond to its users. Other than taking my readers criticisms and modifying my blog to better meet their expectations I could not implement this system to its full potential. However I could use Brenda Dervin’s Sense-making philosophy and ask myself “What additional information would my readers wish to have about the current topic?” and then provide them links to further discussions on the subject.

6 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading your post , I agree with what you pointed out about The Human-Centered Design theory, ‘about the end user should be able to immediately comprehend the built environment and also that only the information that is needed should be available so as not to confuse or take extra time in deciphering what the design is about.’ Also in my opinion, the most important point you brought up is that, ‘the user is engaged so that they enjoy the process and will return the next time information is given and to spread the word as to how enjoyable the process was’. This last statement is key to all information design in my opinion. If the user is satisfied with what he sees, reads and interacts with then the design was successful.

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  2. Human-centered systems aim to enhance human skills through the use of technology. This method stirs the imagination considering most technological advancements aim at diminishing the need for human interaction. Human centered design is appealing on many levels. What catches my attention is that it is based on communicating, interacting, and stimulating the users. Sounds like an effective way to disseminate information.

    I am currently in need for my human skills to be enhanced. I am having trouble proving to your blog that I am not a robot...

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  3. Human Centered Design is definitely something that I would find very useful. As Dan states I am pretty sure I am a robot or perhaps the hour of day is working against me as well. Scott you have a layout that is very calming and peaceful. I chose the same background and it is interesting how the color choices present a very different effect. Janice Szalkowski

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  4. I like how there are nine characteristics that make it easier to understand. I also like how it is based around the human itself and you use the human's abilities to understand and work with information design. You can also apply these characteristics to other theories and make it into one big theory, but that might be stepping on toes.

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  5. I don't know if it really fits but this article I read on wired about the fuel saving app Automatic made me think of human centered design. The app was created so as to keep driver distraction (the human part) at a minimum but still relay all the valid potential fuel saving opportunities to the user through three distinct audio tones. Sounds human centered to me with a side of highway safety added for good measure.

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  6. http://www.wired.com/design/2013/12/automatic-app/

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