"A Personal Design Philosophy". Paper for the I604 course "Design Theory" with Erik Stolterman. The presentation can be seen at http://www.slideshare.net/Tzek/my-design-philosophy.
Presentation for the course "Design Theory" about a personal design philosophy. Prof. Erik Stolterman. By Omar Sosa Tzec. PhD in Informatics. School of Informatics and Computing. Indiana University Bloomington. Fall 2012.
Presentation for the course "Design Theory" about a personal design philosophy. Prof. Erik Stolterman. By Omar Sosa Tzec. PhD in Informatics. School of Informatics and Computing. Indiana University Bloomington. Fall 2012.
This is a presentation made by a group of students at CIC about Deconstructivism style in architecture, i hope you find it useful, if you want to know about this style.
The first prototype of our approaches to move beyond design thinking at DNA. Touching on a number of new tools and techniques as well as theoretical positions from a number of sources. Very much the bleeding edge of our current position.
Introduction to Visual Design for User ExperienceOmar Sosa-Tzec
Lecture slides (teaser) for the summer 2016 class INFO-I 400: Special Topics in Informatics (Visual Design for UX) at Indiana University Bloomington, School of Informatics and Computing.
Visual Design for Interface and Experience DesignOmar Sosa-Tzec
Three key concepts that apply to UI/UX design: contrast, visual hierarchy, and connotation and denotation. Presentation slides of a talk as guest lecturer for the Fall 2015 course INFO-I 300 Human-Computer Interaction/Interaction Design at Indiana University Bloomington, School of Informatics and Computing. Instructor of record: Gopinaath Kannabiran.
This is a presentation made by a group of students at CIC about Deconstructivism style in architecture, i hope you find it useful, if you want to know about this style.
The first prototype of our approaches to move beyond design thinking at DNA. Touching on a number of new tools and techniques as well as theoretical positions from a number of sources. Very much the bleeding edge of our current position.
Introduction to Visual Design for User ExperienceOmar Sosa-Tzec
Lecture slides (teaser) for the summer 2016 class INFO-I 400: Special Topics in Informatics (Visual Design for UX) at Indiana University Bloomington, School of Informatics and Computing.
Visual Design for Interface and Experience DesignOmar Sosa-Tzec
Three key concepts that apply to UI/UX design: contrast, visual hierarchy, and connotation and denotation. Presentation slides of a talk as guest lecturer for the Fall 2015 course INFO-I 300 Human-Computer Interaction/Interaction Design at Indiana University Bloomington, School of Informatics and Computing. Instructor of record: Gopinaath Kannabiran.
Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction and Interaction DesignOmar Sosa-Tzec
Introductory lecture slides for the course INFO-I 300 Human-Computer Interaction/Interaction Design at Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing. Instructor of record: Omar Sosa-Tzec, PhD Candidate in Informatics (HCI Design).
Takeaways from the course Visual Design for User ExperienceOmar Sosa-Tzec
Closing lecture slides of the summer 2016 course INFO-I 400: Special Topics in Informatics (Visual Design for UX) at Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing. Instructor of record and course developer: Omar Sosa-Tzec, PhD Candidate in Informatics (HCI Design) at Indiana University.
Affordances, Constraints, and Feedback in User Experience DesignOmar Sosa-Tzec
Lecture slides on the connection between affordances, constraints, and feedback (audible, tactile, and visual) for the design of interfaces and interactions. Fall 2016 course INFO-I 300: Human-Computer Interaction/Interaction Design. Instructor of record: Omar Sosa-Tzec, PhD Candidate in Informatics (HCI Design). Indiana University Bloomington, School of Informatics and Computing.
User Experience Design, Navigation, and Interaction FlowsOmar Sosa-Tzec
Relation between interaction flows and the three basic questions of information architecture -- Where am I? What can I do here? Where can I go from here? Lecture slides for Fall 2016 course INFO-I 300: Human-Computer Interaction/Interaction Design at Indiana University Bloomington, School of Informatics and Computing. Instructor of record: Omar Sosa-Tzec, PhD Candidate in Informatics (HCI Design).
We all work with information. In our web sites. Our web apps. Print communications. Graphs, and charts. But how exactly do you present information in a way that simplifies the complex, communicates powerfully, and actually delights people?
In this presentation, Travis Isaacs and I share some of our information design secrets. From travel plans to search results to quarterly earnings statements—here's a handful of information design and data visualization case studies, identifying principles that apply to just about any project.
Learn how to identify and group related information, create a visual hierarchy, draw focus to the most important content, use images appropriately, see familiar data in a fresh new way, and much more!
Evolution of Design Competence in UX Practicecolin gray
There has been increasing interest in the adoption of UX within corporate environments, and what competencies translate into effective UX design. This paper addresses the space between pedagogy and UX practice through the lens of competence, with the goal of understanding how students are initiated into the practice community, how their perception of competence shifts over time, and what factors influence this shift. A 12-week longitudinal data collection, including surveys and interviews, documents this shift, with participants beginning internships and full-time positions in UX. Students and early professionals were asked to assess their level of competence and factors that influenced competence. A co-construction of identity between the designer and their environment is proposed, with a variety of factors relating to tool and representational knowledge, complexity, and corporate culture influencing perceptions of competence in UX over time. Opportunities for future research, particularly in building an understanding of competency in UX based on this preliminary framing of early UX practice are addressed.
[Presented at CHI'14, Toronto, ON, Canada]
Visual design is more than styling. It is function. And not only because it communicates, but also because it makes us feel. And between feeling and communication, people find things easier to use.
Inspiration from The Edge: New Patterns for Interface DesignStephen Anderson
(My presentation from the IA Summit 2008)
Want a fresh perspective on UI design? Look around. Not at other web sites or desktop applications but at other interactive media. Tivo, the iPhone, the Wii software interface, the ‘Sugar’ OS for the XO Laptop… there’s a world of new UI inspiration that is already being proven out in other devices.
So much attention is focused on how technology makes us sad, lonely, addicted, lazy, and maybe a little stupid. At the same time, we know that technology is actually making all of us feel smart, whole, and connected. What if we could intentionally design technologies for positive emotions and positive outcomes? This is at the heart of happy design.
Learn how to measure for the one thing that matters - happiness - and how to identify the five elements of positive design.
143 Visuals, Doodles & Sketchnotes to inspireScott Torrance
This is a collection of 143 doodles, sketchnotes and illustrations from over 50 contributors from all over the world all brought together in one place.
A quick guide to sketchnoting for the course INFO I300 Human-Computer Interaction Design. School of Informatics and Computing. Indiana University Bloomington.
Version 1.0: Spring, 2015.
Kaleidoscope Executive Design Director Chris Collins shares Meaningful Aesthetics: Our Ultimate Guide to Getting Comfortable with Uncomfortable Design Decisions
Equip yourself with tips and tools to make decisions that connect with users and ignite growth. Kaleidoscope Design Director Chris Collins shares best practices that will help you discover:
* A deeper understanding of aesthetics and why they matter
* How to embrace the design process to make exceptional design decisions
* Top methods for creating a user lens using Inspirational Design Targets (IDTs), Personas and more
* Actionable step-by-step tips to make informed decisions on behalf of users
d.school Bootcamp Bootleg, as generously created and offered (under Creative Commons license) by the Stanford d.school: http://dschool.typepad.com/news/2009/12/the-bootcamp-bootleg-is-here.html
Slides used by Vincenzo Di Maria, Commonground, during the module "Design Thinking and Design driven approaches for Manufacture 4.0 and Social Innovation" of the course "Design Driven Strategies for manufacture 4.0 and social innovation". The course is promote by the University of Florence DIDA, LAMA Development and Cooperation Agency and CSM Centro Sperimentale del Mobile.
"L'espressione latina dramatis personae, tradotta alla lettera, significa maschere del dramma e quindi è usata per indicare i personaggi."
"In user-centered design and marketing, personas are fictional characters created to represent the different user types that might use a site, brand, or product in a similar way.
Personas are useful in considering the goals, desires, and limitations of brand buyers and users in order to help to guide decisions about a service, product or interaction space such as features, interactions, and visual design of a website. Personas may also be used as part of a user-centered design process for designing software and are also considered a part of interaction design (IxD), having been used in industrial design and more recently for online marketing purposes.
A user persona is a representation of the goals and behavior of a hypothesized group of users. In most cases, personas are synthesized from data collected from interviews with users. They are captured in 1–2 page descriptions that include behavior patterns, goals, skills, attitudes, and environment, with a few fictional personal details to make the persona a realistic character. For each product, more than one persona is usually created, but one persona should always be the primary focus for the design."
(Wikipedia)
How Design Theories Evolved from User-Centered Design to Design Thinking.pdfWorxwideConsulting1
From textiles to architectural drawings to digital devices, every product is created with a function—and a user— in mind. Around mid-twentieth century, designers began considering “human factors” (also called ergonomics) to products, services, and interfaces to address human users’ needs. It has led to the evolution of designing theories and shift in designer’s point of attention.
Let’s see how?!
Design thinking is not “us versus them or us”, but on behalf of them. It’s close to user’s experience and mind. Let’s Design thinking, before development leads to a dead end.
Digital Wellbeing Technology through a Social Semiotic Multimodal Lens: A Cas...Omar Sosa-Tzec
Presentation at the SSA 2022: The 46th Annual Conference of the Semiotic Society of America.
Abstract:
The detrimental effects caused by uncontrolled technology usage and screen time have motivated designers in academia and industry to explore solutions that promote digital well-being. This paper draws on the social semiotic approach to multimodality to examine the semiotic resources applied in designing and presenting one case study concerning such solutions—Little Signals, six artifacts commissioned by Google. An analysis was performed on the project’s website’s content, paying careful attention to an introductory video and artifact gallery. Proximity, distance, focus, and analogy appear as distinctive video storytelling choices. These convey unobtrusiveness, invisibility, ephemerality, intimacy, control, and familiarity. The resources of size, shape, material, color, and motion applied to define the artifacts’ appearance, behavior, and data presentation also help reinforce it. Besides examining the relationship between these meaning potentials, resources, and digital well-being artifacts, this paper also discusses the apparent attempt to give smart-home devices a benign character.
Delight in the User Experience: Form and PlaceOmar Sosa-Tzec
This paper elaborates on delight in UX by drawing on existing knowledge and theory on emotion and experience. The multiple formulations and discussions of delight in UX demonstrate its significance for the UX design community. However, it appears unclear what delight specifically is and how it particularly differs from pleasure, which designers use interchangeably with delight. This paper argues that pleasure and delight are distinct, and posits delight as the combination of joy with surprise or captivation, which leads the user to experience a wow! or yay! moment, respectively. The paper also posits that a designer’s intended delight—how she envisions the product causing delight—may differ from the user’s experienced delight—the wow! and yay! moments—during the UX as such delight is assimilated by the user and affects her expectations concerning the delightfulness of using interactive products. Nevertheless, this same assimilated delight encourages continuous use of such products.
Delight by Motion: Investigating the Role of Animation in MicrointeractionsOmar Sosa-Tzec
This paper focuses on the role of animation in making microinteractions delightful. We first draw on customer experience literature to propose that a microinteraction is delightful when it surprises, captivates, and communicates need fulfillment. Following this notion and drawing on social semiotics, we analyze a collection of examples of microinteractions posted on dribbble.com. Observations derived from this analysis show that animation contributes to a microinteraction’s delightfulness by contextualizing, clarifying, metaphorizing, and creating a micro-narrative around its purpose, development, or outcome. A microinteraction’s animation has the power to produce “aha! moments,” in which the user notices something meaningful concerning her goals, actions, and expectations, and about the context of use. As microinteractions seriously influence the user experience, it becomes imperative to promote motion design literacy, including identifying strategies and tropes for user interface animation, among UI/UX designers.
Paper presented in MoDE 21 Motion Design Education Summit (online conference) on June 11, 2021
Critical Design Research and Constructive Research Outcomes as ArgumentsOmar Sosa-Tzec
Presentation for the workshop "Let’s Get Divorced: Constructing Knowledge Outcomes for Critical Design and Constructive Design Research” at DIS 2018, the ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems. Hong Kong. June 9, 2018
Creative Data and Information Visualization: Reflections on Two Pedagogical A...Omar Sosa-Tzec
Presentation of case study on teaching creative representations of data and information at the SIGDOC 2019 The ACM conference on Communication Design. October 5, 2019. Portland, OR.
Student work by BA/BFA in Art and Design, and MDes in Integrative Design at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Teaching Design, Information, and Interaction: Reflections, Foundations, and ...Omar Sosa-Tzec
Presentation as a discussant in the panel "Teaching Design in an Age of Interaction" organized by Brandon Waybright. CAA 2020 Annual Conference. February 14, 2020. Chicago, IL.
Visualizing Data Trails: Metaphors and a Symbolic Language for InterfacesOmar Sosa-Tzec
Position paper for the CHI 2020 Workshop "Speculative Designs for Emergent Personal Data Trails: Signs, Signals and Signifiers."
This paper starts by presenting four mobile interface design concepts to make personal data trails visible. Frosted screen, rainbow heatmap, hungry zombie, and data current are the labels given to these concepts. After reflecting on these concepts, the paper focuses on some elements of personal data trails, and explores a visual system of icons to indicate the user the possible use and abuse of the data they produce during the UX. The elements proposed by this paper are surveillance, commodification, data aggregation, data input, affect and arousal, preferences, and community.
Communicating design-related intellectual influence: towards visual referencesOmar Sosa-Tzec
Prototype-driven design research often involves collecting and analyzing designed artifacts in annotated portfolios and design workbooks. These collections constitute important sources of intellectual influence for researchers, yet communicating this influence presents unique challenges, such as the difficulty of translating the aesthetic, material, or interactive qualities of a designed artifact into written text. Building on discourses of visual thinking and visual imagery in science communication and HCI research, this paper introduces, and elaborates, a novel research communication design concept called "visual references," which combine bibliographic information with photographic images, textual annotations, and diagrammatic annotations in order to communicate design-related intellectual influence.
Design tensions: Interaction Criticism on Instagram’s Mobile InterfaceOmar Sosa-Tzec
User interfaces are continually evolving. Contemporary interfaces, particularly mobile interfaces, have developed their own design language as they have discarded skeuomorphs and metaphorical representations to support their design and introduced features not available before in desktop interfaces. Despite the pervasiveness of mobile interfaces, researchers have neglected the development of theory that accounts for how they still connect with or deviate from early interface design constructs. This paper adapts the notion of metaphorical tension to formulate and explore a new construct, design tension, which scopes an exercise of interaction criticism on Instagram's interface. As a result, this paper argues that design tension is useful to account for how interface components introduce features that are discordant to interface standards and best practices, things from the real world, and the user's belief system. It also suggests that both the method and construct can be applied to other communication design artifacts distinct from interfaces to produce intermediate-level knowledge.
Interacciones Encantadoras: Interfaces de Usuario desde una Perspectiva Semió...Omar Sosa-Tzec
Presentación de la charla para Contraste Colectivo (Congreso de Diseño Gráfico de la FADU AUT en México) acerca de mi investigación en interfaces encantadoras (delightful interfaces) desde una perspectiva teórica basada en semiótica y retórica.
My fascination with the visual: meaning, persuasion, and delightOmar Sosa-Tzec
Presentation for a "Wonderful Wednesday" at Stamps School of Art and Design, University of Michigan. It includes some of my visual work and and overview of my research on the application of rhetoric to human-computer interaction.
Presentation for the Indiana University's Graphic Design Club 2016 Speakers Series. A quick review of my journey to become a designer, work experiences, graphic passions, and current research at IU Bloomington (Human-Computer Interaction).
Indiana University Bloomington. April 23, 2016.
Principios de Diseño Visual para Interacción Humano-ComputadoraOmar Sosa-Tzec
Borrador del capítulo para el libro “La Interacción Humano-Computadora en México”
Referencia en formato APA:
Sosa-Tzec, O., & Siegel, M.A. (2014). Principios de Diseño Visual para IHC. Muñoz Arteaga, J., González Calleros, J.M., & Sánchez Huitrón, A. (Eds.) La Interacción Humano-Computadora en México. México: Pearson.
Advances of research on Interaction Design Rhetoric - HCI Rhetoric - UX Rhetoric.
INFO I609: Advanced Seminar I in Informatics. Indiana University Bloomington. School of Informatics and Computing. Fall 2015.
Exploration of Rhetorical Appeals, Operations and Figures in UI/UX DesignOmar Sosa-Tzec
Conference Paper presented in LearnxDesign 2015, the 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers
Abstract.
In this paper, we introduce a first pass of a rhetorical handbook intended for UI/UX designers. This handbook is based on an earlier version for graphic designers, introduced by Ehses & Lupton in 1988, in which diverse rhetorical concepts are illustrated through graphic work. For the UI/UX version, we examined desktop, web and mobile interfaces in order to illustrate the same concepts. In this first pass, we observe that the three modes of appeal (i.e., pathos, ethos and logos) fluctuate throughout the user experience. Additionally, we learned that rhetorical operations aid describing the adjustments made on an interface to work in different platforms. Further, the rhetorical figures (tropes and schemes) help to describe conceptually the interface’s composition and interactions. The concepts presented in the handbook provide a framework to examine and critique user interfaces, through which the disciplines of user experience and rhetoric connect.
Gaza Everywhere: exploring the applicability of a rhetorical lens in HCIOmar Sosa-Tzec
Slides of the paper presented in "Critical Alternatives 2015" the 5th Decennial Aaarhus Conference, held on August 17 to 21, 2015, in Aarhus, Denmark.
Paper abstract:
By examining application software as a type of rhetorical artifact, it is possible to highlight its social, ethical and moral implications. In this paper, we explore one possibility for such a lens: application software functioning as a visual enthymeme. To explore the applicability of that concept in HCI, we analyze one web application as a first step. In our analysis, we observe that interaction and usability are two features that support an application in functioning as a visual enthymeme. Also, online sharing could help the user take the role of the arguer. Our analysis allows us to outline the elements of a user-centric persuasive experience and shows promise for further explorations regarding the applicability of rhetoric in HCI.
In this workshop paper, I propose a theoretical account and procedure for performing interaction criticism called pentadic interac- tion criticism. This theoretical sketch is based on concepts from Kenneth Burke’s dramatism and rhetoric. Through these concepts, I begin to formulate an account of interac- tion criticism as a process of identification between the crit- ic, the designer, the user, and the client and the stakehold- ers. Then, I propose a five-step procedure for PIC to make it approachable to scholars, pedagogues and HCI/UX de- signers not familiar with interaction criticism.
Exploration of Rhetorical Appeals, Operations and Figures in UI/UX DesignOmar Sosa-Tzec
Slides of the paper presented in "LearnxDesign" 3d 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers and PreK-16 Design Educators, held in Chicago, IL at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
=== Abstract ==
In this paper, we introduce a first pass of a rhetorical handbook intended for UI/UX designers. This handbook is based on an earlier version for graphic designers, introduced by Ehses & Lupton in 1988, in which diverse rhetorical concepts are illustrated through graphic work. For the UI/UX version, we examined desktop, web and mobile interfaces in order to illustrate the same concepts. In this first pass, we observe that the three modes of appeal (i.e., pathos, ethos and logos) fluctuate throughout the user experience. Additionally, we learned that rhetorical operations aid describing the adjustments made on an interface to work in different platforms. Further, the rhetorical figures (tropes and schemes) help to describe conceptually the interface’s composition and interactions. The concepts presented in the handbook provide a framework to examine and critique user interfaces, through which the disciplines of user experience and rhetoric connect.
A quick introduction to visual design for presentations. Slides of Friday GISA's talk-- Graduate Informatics Student Association. School of Informatics and Computing. Indiana University Bloomington.
Dive into the innovative world of smart garages with our insightful presentation, "Exploring the Future of Smart Garages." This comprehensive guide covers the latest advancements in garage technology, including automated systems, smart security features, energy efficiency solutions, and seamless integration with smart home ecosystems. Learn how these technologies are transforming traditional garages into high-tech, efficient spaces that enhance convenience, safety, and sustainability.
Ideal for homeowners, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals, this presentation provides valuable insights into the trends, benefits, and future developments in smart garage technology. Stay ahead of the curve with our expert analysis and practical tips on implementing smart garage solutions.
White wonder, Work developed by Eva TschoppMansi Shah
White Wonder by Eva Tschopp
A tale about our culture around the use of fertilizers and pesticides visiting small farms around Ahmedabad in Matar and Shilaj.
Expert Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Drafting ServicesResDraft
Whether you’re looking to create a guest house, a rental unit, or a private retreat, our experienced team will design a space that complements your existing home and maximizes your investment. We provide personalized, comprehensive expert accessory dwelling unit (ADU)drafting solutions tailored to your needs, ensuring a seamless process from concept to completion.
You could be a professional graphic designer and still make mistakes. There is always the possibility of human error. On the other hand if you’re not a designer, the chances of making some common graphic design mistakes are even higher. Because you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s where this blog comes in. To make your job easier and help you create better designs, we have put together a list of common graphic design mistakes that you need to avoid.
Top 5 Indian Style Modular Kitchen DesignsFinzo Kitchens
Get the perfect modular kitchen in Gurgaon at Finzo! We offer high-quality, custom-designed kitchens at the best prices. Wardrobes and home & office furniture are also available. Free consultation! Best Quality Luxury Modular kitchen in Gurgaon available at best price. All types of Modular Kitchens are available U Shaped Modular kitchens, L Shaped Modular Kitchen, G Shaped Modular Kitchens, Inline Modular Kitchens and Italian Modular Kitchen.
Can AI do good? at 'offtheCanvas' India HCI preludeAlan Dix
Invited talk at 'offtheCanvas' IndiaHCI prelude, 29th June 2024.
https://www.alandix.com/academic/talks/offtheCanvas-IndiaHCI2024/
The world is being changed fundamentally by AI and we are constantly faced with newspaper headlines about its harmful effects. However, there is also the potential to both ameliorate theses harms and use the new abilities of AI to transform society for the good. Can you make the difference?
Book Formatting: Quality Control Checks for DesignersConfidence Ago
This presentation was made to help designers who work in publishing houses or format books for printing ensure quality.
Quality control is vital to every industry. This is why every department in a company need create a method they use in ensuring quality. This, perhaps, will not only improve the quality of products and bring errors to the barest minimum, but take it to a near perfect finish.
It is beyond a moot point that a good book will somewhat be judged by its cover, but the content of the book remains king. No matter how beautiful the cover, if the quality of writing or presentation is off, that will be a reason for readers not to come back to the book or recommend it.
So, this presentation points designers to some important things that may be missed by an editor that they could eventually discover and call the attention of the editor.
1. A Personal
Design Philosophy
Omar Sosa Tzec
Design Theory I604.
Prof. Erik Stolterman
University of Indiana Bloomington
Fall 2012
design postulates and principles
If we listen to a statement affirming that design is everywhere, we would
make a quick reflection without externalizing any agreement or rejection
about this idea. Probably, it might be some room for doubt before answering.
Additionally, we could try to find a particular situation that would work as a
counterexample. This little exercise will probably cause to start recognizing
the plethora of artifacts surrounding us. All of them designed by humans.
Design results to be a familiar concept to everyone. However, it might be
complicated to define what design is. Commonly, we understand design as the
materialization of an idea. We center our attention on the characteristics of
the materials, and their quality in relation of what we understand as valuable
according our economical and social scales. As we can notice, this perspective
doesn’t take in count the process of design. It focuses on the result. Therefore,
this scope may be considered as limited.
We face design by using these artifacts in order to achieve a goal or to
accomplish a certain task. Under this consideration, we determine the quality
and value of design in terms of how functional the object is. In other words, it
is during the action of use when we can specify if an artifact is well designed
or not. Then, a communication bridge is established between the user and the
1. In word of Clarisse de
Souza (2005), the design designer1 during this stage. Because the needs a user have when facing a
works as the designer’s deputy. problem, the artifact of choice will reveal the designer’s understanding about
the situation and needs. At the same time, it will reveal how the designer
understands the user and the possible context of use, constrained by other
factors such as the designer’s knowledge itself, desires and aims from the client
and stakeholders, financial or technological limitations, among others. Thus,
this bridge allows also the transit of knowledge and hence, design relies in a
perspective that goes further than thinking in the artifact itself.
The user’s action by employing the artifact, her reactions, and how reality is
affected as consequence, constitute a particular experience within an interval
of time. Hence, design is about the conformation of stories. These stories
transit in the communication bridge as well. On one hand, the stories allow
the user to construct her understanding about what design is and how to
characterize it. In the other, stories work as a husk that encapsulates several
aspects and factors present when user appropriates the artifact herself, which
helps the designer to understand who is the user and what are her needs.
As we can notice, design, as a process, is neither linear nor static, and any
materialization of an idea doesn’t imply an end point.
Design, as those externalizations of ideas regarding the solution of problems
and fulfillment of the associated needs, is embedded in people’s everyday
1
2. stories. Consequently, design is everywhere. Thus, we can synthesize the
concept of design as follows:
Design is about projecting solutions. First, it starts as a process,
both cognitive and personal, that requires engaging with people’s
needs given a certain problem in a certain context. In the middle,
it involves a communication process, with sharing of knowledge,
values, perspectives, desires, and aims.
At the end, it concludes with the externalization of an idea, either for
immediate use or as a basis for further design. Even more, within a
social context, any projected solution and its materialization involve the
conformation of stories in people’s everyday.
This human-centered definition allow us to formulate the following postulates
about design:
1. Design is about projecting solutions. If the idea for solving a
problem and helping to fulfill people’s need is not externalized and put
onto some physical form that conveys the solution, we cannot talk about
design and a design solution.
2. Design is a cognitive process. Besides the cognitive processes such
as memory, decision-making, reasoning, or learning, design also involves
a distributed cognition (Holland et al., 2000) due to its social nature, the
employment of external elements for its conduction, and the evolving
manner in which a design problem is setting through time.
3. Design is a personal process. Design is a transformational process
(Siegel & Stolterman, 2008) that occurs during the practice of design
itself. Every experience the designer lives affects the way a designer comes
up with a solution. The inner appreciation of people, society, culture,
live, dreams, and reality, in addition to the design practice, shape the
designer’s repertoire (Schön, 1987) and causes the evolution and maturity on
the designer’s judgments and character (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012). Of
course, this personal process becomes into a particular piece during the
distributed cognition while a design problem is being attacked. Especially,
when the designer is working in a team.
4. Design is about people’s needs. One fundamental consequence
of design is that any result affects people’s life. Thus, the designer seeks
for satisfying what people really needs. Nevertheless, we should remark
there are different levels of these needs. Depending on the level, the
repercussions of the design result change. In the lower levels, the design is
associated with a low profile claim and its scope is definitively narrowed.
Conversely, in the higher levels any design decision could have a big social
or economical impact.
5. Design is specific to a certain problem within a certain
context. Any design solution applies only to a certain context and profile
of users, and it looks for meeting the specific needs generated by the
design problem. Even more, the nature of this problem is characterized
as wicked (Rittel, 1973). Some solutions might look universal; nevertheless,
this implies the design problem is well delimited in such manner that the
solution, seen as an ultimate particular (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012),
2
3. has the quality of being durable while the conditions associated with the
design problem remain equal.
6. Design is about communication. During all the design process,
there is an exchange of information between the designer, client,
stakeholders, and the potential user. Either from gathering information,
conducting research, sketching and prototyping, or testing solutions, the
design process entails a variety of communication instances through the
use of different media. Consequently, the designer should be prepared to
be a facilitator of information and understanding throughout the process,
regardless whether she is present or not. The latter implies that the design
solution works as the designer’s deputy (de Souza, 2005) in front of its user.
7. Design is about sharing knowledge. Connecting what we
mentioned so far, we distinguish that design is not merely about problem
solving. Whereas it is about communication, all the participants also
exchange knowledge that helps the design at the end in understanding how
to set the design problem and hence, to come up with the design solution.
The designer acts like a processor of this knowledge with the subsequent
intention of redirecting it to the user through the materialization of the
design solution.
8. Design is about sharing values, perspectives, desires, and
aims. During the design process the designer, client, and stakeholders
exchange their own perspectives about the problem, the user’s needs, and
other relevant matters. Additionally, the designer should act as the user’s
deputy in this case, by bringing into discussion the values, desires and aims
of the users in contrast with those from the client and stakeholders.
9. Design is equivalent to stories in people’s everyday. During
the use of the designed artifact, there is always a story in the user’s life.
The designer, as composer of experiences, incorporates her understanding
on narrative to figure how the design solutions can improve or enhance
people’s life in an effective and aesthetic fashion.
In turn, design should obey to the following core principles (Fig. 1):
1. Design must be human-centered. The first intention of any
designed artifact is to support people in the achievement of a certain goal
or the accomplishment of certain task.
2. Design must be functional. Any designed artifact should fulfill the
functional requirements that made its creation necessary.
3. Design must be aesthetic. Besides the functionality, both the
solution and the experience of use itself should transmit qualities that
cause heightened impressions in terms of beauty. Moreover, the designed
artifact should convey a dramatic impact to its users.
4. Design must empower communication. A designed artifact
allows its user to be capable of communicating her desire, attitude,
intentions, and anticipated results in regards with the problem she is
currently facing.
5. Design must empower understanding. Through the use of the
3
4. designed artifact, the user can characterize the current state of the world
and reflect why she wants to change it, and what would the consequences
of such change. Furthermore, the designed artifact must facilitate the
reflection-on-action (Schön, 1987) once it has been used.
6. Design must empower transformation. The designed artifact
should allow the user to be capable to succeed in her intention of
transforming or changing the current state of reality.
7. Design must be thoughtful. The designed artifact has to be a
consequence of reasoning and reflection-in-action (Schön, 1987), in addition
of interiorizing and being sensitive to people, needs, reality and the
implications of creating and embedding the artificial (Simon, 1996) into
reality.
8. Design must be sustainable. The designed artifact considers the
limitation of resources available in the context of use, and it derives from
the optimization of these without compromising the fulfillment of user’s
needs.
9. Design must be useful. Within an interval of time, for the specific
context of use and the current problem, the designed artifact should be
considered as the best solution for meeting user’s needs.
10. Design must be rich. Every designed artifact should reveal
explicitly or implicitly all the core principles to the user. Either before,
during, or after the experience of use. The richness of a designed artifact
is independent of the form as such. It is more related with the subjective
impression the user has in regards with the intention of achieving a goal or
accomplishing a certain task.
Fig. 1. Core principles
of design.
4
5. design process
Our design process can be seen as a line segment where one extreme
corresponds to the starting point, denominated engagement, and the other one
corresponds to the end of the deployment stage, denominated in turn as
embedment. Therefore, the design process starts in the realm of the ideas and
it ends with the incursion of an ultimate particular (Nelson & Stolterman, 2012)
into reality. Nevertheless, we cannot affirm that design solutions cover all the
space of reality as such. Instead, we consider that the designed artifacts live
in a subset of the artificial (Simon, 1996) –subset of reality itself– where the
materiality and the imaginary of a society overlap (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Design process.
The engagement is the first stage for our design process. In this stage
the designer faces the problem –and the client– for the very first time.
Consequently, the designer establishes her first framing about the problem.
Once this activity happened, the designer might accept or not to be involved.
If the designer decides to accept the challenge, this stage ends when the
designer has collected enough information from the client and other
resources to frame –and hence, to understand– the problem, in such manner
she is confident to start with the creativity stage.
Once the engagement stage has passed, the designer falls in a creation
loop that consists in three intertwined stages: ideation, exploration, and
materialization. The ideation and exploration correspond to the stages
when the designer starts using her imagination to figure about possible
scenarios related with vague ideas about possible solutions. By recalling cases
from the past, the designer tries to find some analogies or differences that help
her to understand the current situation. Together with these activities, the
designer employs three types of thinking: analytic, synthetic, and abductive (Kolko,
2011). Additionally, it is during the transition from the stage of exploration to
the stage of materialization, that the designer engages herself into reflection-in-
action (Schön, 1987). The materialization reaches its peak when the designer
comes up with a schema, sketch, or prototype. Once the intent of solution is
obtained, the designer backs to have a dialog with herself, either verbalizing
or not, but indeed having a reflection-on-action (Schön, 1987). Consequently,
the designer might or might not go back to repeat the loop depending on the
constraints at that particular time.
5
6. Afterward the creation loop, the designer seeks for a refinement stage.
Depending on the user’s needs and the constraints of the problem, the
designer has to determine how complex and iterative this stage will be.
The refinement stage includes both types of evaluation, quantitative and
qualitative. In turn, the qualitative spectrum includes discussion sessions with
the clients or potential users, and critiques from colleagues and authorities
in the context where the problem is situated. As result of this stage, the
designer reframes the problem and then decides if she could go back to the
creation loop. Again, her decision will be influenced by all the constraints given
in the problem and the ability of the designer for managing time, client,
stakeholders, and resources. The duple of the creation loop-refinement can be
repeated many times if necessary. Of course, the latter will depend on the
same constraints and relevant factors mentioned before.
Finally, the stage of embedment comes. This stage implies the
administrative and logistic work to embed de design solution in its context
of use. Depending on what was agreed in the engagement stage, the designer
would be or not ahead of the full stage. In such occasions, the nature of the
designed artifact involves the client or any other stakeholder to be ahead of
this stage, particularly in the final steps. Sometimes in this stage, the designer
is required to communicate how the process was conducted, or to indicate
the characteristics and features of the solution. The latter for completing the
deployment or for functioning as reference for future design work. Once the
solution is embedded in the realm of the artificial within reality, the client
or another stakeholder can require going back to the refinement stage. This
happens when the conditions or boundaries of the design problem have
change in such manner that the way the designer framed the problem just
before the embedment is not working anymore. At this point the client or any
other stakeholder, and maybe the same designer, would determine depending
on the current conditions, if some modifications (i.e. going back to the duple
creative loop-refinement) or a complete redesign (i.e. going back to the engagement
stage) is needed.
stage activities and tasks
Table 1. Activities and task Engagement • Interview
for each stage of the design • Framing
process.
• Research
• Benchmarking
Creation Loop • Analysis
• Ideation • Synthesis
• Exploration • Abduction
•Materialization • Reflection
• Verbalizing
• Sketching
• Prototyping
Refinement • Revision
• Testing
• Discussion
• Critique
Embedment • Deployment
• Documentation
6
7. design as a discourse and the design outcome
As we mentioned before, design is about communication. Moreover, because
the process is being constructed, determined, transmitted, and applied by
humans, it is in fact a communication process itself. The design seeks for
communicating a statement to reality by intentionally embedding a new
element in the real of the artificial (Simon, 1996). Hence, the designed
artifact is a consequence of a communication process.
On another hand, the designed artifact is needed but it wasn’t existent
before. It might result strange for its own user. Nevertheless, the designed
artifact must appeal its users to employ it for achieving that desired goal or
for accomplishing that crucial task. Under this perspective, the designer is a
speaker and the designed artifact is a discourse or speech. The rhetorical intention
of this discourse is that its user takes action on transforming reality through the use of
the artificial. Consequently, each designed artifact can be seen as speech that
results from combining the three modes of appeal (Ehses, 1989) that the art
of rhetoric employs: logos, ethos, and pathos (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3. The design as dis-
course or speech pondered
by the rhetorical modes of
appeal.
The logos includes all the logical and functional considerations and
understanding the designer has in relation with the design problem. The
ethos corresponds to all the designerly qualities that can be attributed to the
artifact, and they are more related with the result (i.e. the form). These
qualities are closely linked to what the designer considers as good design in
terms of form, and what is needed for achieving that result.
The pathos is about everything attributed to the designed artifact that
facilitates an emotional connection between the artifact and its user.
Moreover, this connection involves transformation. On one side, the designed
artifact transforms the user’s close reality by providing certain characteristics
that engage this user into an aesthetical experience. On the other, the
user transforms the meaning of the designed artifact by making it hers.
Customization is the common manifestation of this transformation in this
direction. As consequence, the designed artifact is not another cold, abstract,
or fuzzy element in the realm of the artificial. It becomes part of some
personal identity.
The designer’s purpose is to equipoise the weight of logos, ethos, and pathos
within the designed artifact. The weighing that will characterize the designed
artifact depends on the designer’s character and judgments (Nelson & Stolterman,
2012) in combination with her design competency sets (Nelson & Stolterman,
2012) at the time when she faces the design problem. Conceptually, the
7
8. design competency sets –the mindset, knowledge set, skill set, and tool set–
encapsulates the designer’s discourse (Fig. 4) in order to constitute the design outcome.
Fig. 4. The design compe-
tency sets encapsulating the
design discourse (artifact).
Finally, we should remark the design outcome under this conceptual vision
based on rhetoric, embraces all the previous ideas mentioned previously. This
outcome is dogmatically taken as a result of following the stages of engagement,
ideation, exploration, materialization, refinement, and embedment. In turn, this process
fosters the accomplishment of the ten design principles introduced before.
Therefore, the design outcome can be perceive as a rich and complex
communication unit –a discourse that appeals for taking action– that conveys
both the principles and competences of the designer within (Fig. 5). Even
more, the characteristics of the design problem –time, context, people, and
all the constraints– make the design outcome unique and unrepeatable. This
communication unit is indeed an ultimate particular (Nelson & Stolterman,
2012) that is valid, valuable, and appreciated, depending on all the other
materialized elements that reflect the humankind’s imaginary and materiality,
all of them in the realm of the artificial, all of them in the realm of those
things that are intentionally created to change the reality.
Fig. 5. The design outcome
as an ultimate particular em-
beded into the realm of the
artificial, which carries the
persuasive discourse from
the designer and the core
principles of design.
8
9. references
De Souza, C. S. (2005). The semiotic engineering of human-computer interaction.
Cambridge: MIT Press.
Ehses, H. H. (1989). Design and rhetoric: An analysis of theatre posters. Design
Division, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
Hollan, J., Hutchins, E., & Kirsh, D. (2000). Distributed cognition: toward a
new foundation for human-computer interaction research. ACM Transactions
on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 7(2), 174-196.
Kolko, J. (2011). Exposing the Magic of Design: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Methods
and Theory of Synthesis. New York: Oxford University Press.
Nelson, H. G., & Stolterman, E. (2012). The Design Way: Intentional Change in an
Unpredictable World. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Rittel, Horst W. J., and Webber, Melvin M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general
theory of planning. Policy Sciences. 4 (2), 155-169.
Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Siegel, M. A., & Stolterman, E. (2008). Metamorphosis: Transforming Non-
designers into Designers. In Undisciplined! Design Research Society Conference 2008.
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Simon, H. A. (1996). The sciences of the artificial. Cambridge: MIT press.
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