In this paper a new framework for problem solving in design is presented that positions the use o... more In this paper a new framework for problem solving in design is presented that positions the use of relationship models, in the context of design strategy, as a tool for the retention of synthetic integrity. A brief overview of complex problems in design with a specific focus on the creative leap from research analysis to design strategy is provided. The paper then introduces the fields of Strategy and Experience Design and demonstrates how, when applied together, they can assist in solving problems in a human-centered manner. Relationship models are then introduced and briefly discussed in context to Customer Relationship Management theory. Lastly, a template for creating experience-led relationship models is presented and exemplified. The example demonstrates how the overall framework presented in this paper ensures the synthetic integrity of the design.
Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management, 2019
Large-scale transformation projects have so far rather consistently embraced a dirigist, technici... more Large-scale transformation projects have so far rather consistently embraced a dirigist, technicistic perspective. Their outcomes are on the other hand meant to be experienced by communities in a direct, engaged manner that is embodied, spatial and temporal. For processes meant to radically transform the lived experience of people, they have so far been strategically unconcerned with any human-centric view
This paper describes the role of information architecture in the design of socially sustainable p... more This paper describes the role of information architecture in the design of socially sustainable pervasive information spaces. The framing of information architecture as an essential part of Design Thinking extends current and historic notions of the field of information architecture. The discussion introduces the notion of the 'contrived ontology' which can be understood as the intentional meaning that design infuses in its artefacts, services and systems. Further, we argue that contrived ontology aligns with central themes within humanistic frameworks which view reality as subjective construct. This forms the central theoretical meditation herein: we contend that while design is always an act of interpreted cultural determination, at the scale of Floridi's infosphere, the immediacy and immersive social reality of technology will become frictionless within our human experience. As this occurs, there is a moral and ethical imperative to ensure social sustainability and to this end that the meanings and intentions that inform the mature design of our human-made world are visible and accountable. It is towards this end that information architecture can make a valuable contribution.
Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Research Conference on South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2015
Industry in South Africa is becoming increasingly aware of the need for user experience design in... more Industry in South Africa is becoming increasingly aware of the need for user experience design in the development of products and services. Problems experienced with usability prevent people from accessing, and eventually adopting technology, and a deep understanding of the users' needs is needed for building a successful service. User experience activities, such as user research, can be used to understand how people live their lives, in order to more effectively respond to user needs with informed, relevant and innovative design solutions. Together with this increased awareness and appetite, is the emergent challenge where those who constitute the field of user experience (practitioners, service providers, content providers, scholars and those requiring user experience services) often understand the field differently and in different ways. The aim of this paper is to describe the current landscape of the field of user experience in South Africa and gain insights into the field's maturity such that further research and recommendations may assist in its positive growth. A survey was used to gather feedback from 105 respondents currently involved in the user experience field in South Africa. The user research methodology focused on: defining the goals of the survey; determining the user profiles; planning the survey; running the survey; analysing and reporting the results. Results provided insights into the demographics, experience, education, job titles, salaries, challenges of user experience practitioners, and the user experience community of practice in South Africa.
Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts o... more Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts of data presents one of the largest challenges to the designer. The complexity presented in understanding, managing and using data as it is discovered, aggregated, mapped, organized, interpreted, synthesized and transformed through human-centered design processes, in the context of the environment of the problem-ecology, requires that the designer has tools that can assist with designing solutions from these large bodies of data. User journeys have become a frequently applied tool for research and design in the practical fields of Design Thinking, Service Design, User Experience Design and Information Architecture Design. In our paper we reposition User Journey Design as both a tool and a rigorous self-reflective, data-driven process through information gathering, synthesis and into design, which assists the designer in navigating the complexities of indeterminate problems. Introduction T...
The proliferation of complex problems in a world of increasing indeterminacy, not least within de... more The proliferation of complex problems in a world of increasing indeterminacy, not least within developing contexts, places new demands on stakeholders, educators, students, practitioners and theorists. A user, or customer, journey is a schematic representation of the path a user will take through lifecycle stages, touchpoints, channels, interaction modes, emotional states, content and functionality. User journeys have become a frequently applied tool for research and design in the practical fields of Design Thinking, Service Design, User Experience Design and Information Architecture Design. In our paper we position User Journey Design as both a tool and a rigorous self-reflective, data-driven process through information gathering, synthesis and into design, which assists the student designer in navigating the complexities of indeterminate problems. Initially the paper present a history and review of the literature, application and limitations of User Journey Design in practice toda...
We live in a world of increasingly complex, interconnected, societal problems. Design Thinking (D... more We live in a world of increasingly complex, interconnected, societal problems. Design Thinking (DT), as an academic concern, and amongst other disciplines, has been grappling with such problems since the 1970s in order to solve the problems facing humanity and the environment. Initially, this paper briefly introduces the discourse of design thinking before describing in reference to selected theory from the field of design thinking a brief account of the characteristics of complexity and indeterminacy within the design phases of researching, ideation and prototyping. This paper then examines the ways in which the practice of information architecture (information architecture, IA) operates in some very similar ways and how this view reframes an understanding of the practice of IA. The paper will then present three 'illusions' embedded in the current view of information architecture that we believe account for its misconception. The reframing of IA presented here has implications for the field of information architecture, its theory, its practice and the teaching thereof, but perhaps more importantly also for other fields of design that stand to gain enormous value from the application of the thinking, tools and techniques of IA to grapple with the complex problems of our time.
Transdisciplinary design practice requires different approaches and different subject to those co... more Transdisciplinary design practice requires different approaches and different subject to those conventions applied to the teaching of traditional discipline-orientated design practice. This paper describes the cognitive requirements of design relative to a range of theoretical frameworks that position design as a transdiscplinary practice. These cognitions are discussed in reference to an account of transdisciplinary research practice. What emerges from the study is the need for explicit cognitive skills that can assist design students in dealing with the complexity that arises from transdisciplinary practice. It is the authors' contention that the field of information architecture design contains many of the cognitive decision making tools required for transdisciplinary design practice.
This paper argues that preparing undergraduate design students for working with complexity, by re... more This paper argues that preparing undergraduate design students for working with complexity, by requiring them to undertake discipline-neutral, indeterminate problems, is altogether manageable, appropriate and additionally, highly impactful on the student's own practice and conceptualization of design. Key theories that will be introduced include Neil Johnson's definition of complexity (2003), Richard Buchannan's description of complexity in design and the corresponding restrictions assumptive design solutions place on innovation (1992), and Barry Wylant's (2008) characteristations of innovative design practice. In order to exemplify the applicability of the theoretical framework this paper reflects on a complex design project that students from the University of Johannesburg's Department of Multimedia undertook from June-September 2012. The design project sought to resolve many of the issues the Johannesburg Art Gallery, a municipal art gallery in downtown Johann...
This thesis describes and reflects on the effectiveness of integrating contextmapping as both a m... more This thesis describes and reflects on the effectiveness of integrating contextmapping as both a methodology and interaction design practice in order to co-design digital products with and for developing communities. A Design as research methodology is applied in this study within the specific contexts of a codesign project involving small-scale urban farmers in Soweto. The final design outcomes of the project are the interaction design documents reflecting the design requirements of a mobile application as well as a low-level prototype demonstrating a number of the identified requirements contained in the documentation. The study assumes a human-centred design ethos that positions problems facing users as contextual, complex and indeterminate and requiring a degree of consideration and understanding by the designer before they can be resolved. The design process applied in this study therefore focused on gaining an understanding of the farmers' life experiences in order to design effective and empathetic technological solutions that will be meaningful and useful to the farmers. For this purpose, contextmapping and interaction design theory, methods and tools were integrated. Examples of this integration include the application of Hassenzahl's Three Level Hierarchy of Needs model to guide the exploration of the farmers' experiences and contexts, the use of contextmapping's Sensitization Phase and generative tools to generate user research data and lastly, contemporary interaction design tools such as problem-ecology maps, personas and user-journey diagrams to develop and communicate design concepts to the farmers. The study concludes that this integration of contextmapping and interaction design is effective, in particular through its enablement of community participation in contributing meaningfully to the codesign process while further ensuring that contributions made by the participants are relevant and actionable to the interaction design.
The authors of this paper position pratice-led research (PLR) as an effective agent in the transf... more The authors of this paper position pratice-led research (PLR) as an effective agent in the transformation of the seemingly inherent and natural acts found in casual practice into the formal arrangement of accepted truths and regulated practices of a discipline for user experience design (UXD) and information architecture (IA) communities of practice. The paper does not intend to exhaustively define discourse analysis, discipline practice or pratice-led research per se, but rather to introduce practitioners and the fields ...
When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggl... more When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggle to formulate meaningful and articulate responses to these problems. The cognitive skills required to solve complex problems are often learned only experientially. This paper argues for these latent, yet critical abilities, to be taught explicitly as part of a tertiary design education. This paper initially reviews the theoretical underpinnings of design thinking with a specific focus on the reciprocal relationship of the design problem and the subsequent solution. A range of the formative cognitive requirements needed to solve complex problems situated in broader society and within disciplinary practice are described in reference to the theoretical framework. In the subsequent sections of the essay, approaches to solving design problems are discussed particularly in reference to the theory of cyberdesign. In the concluding section of the paper the authors argue that the theory of cyberdesign may in a practical visual form be used as a tool for the development and representation of cognitive decisions while constructing meaningful design responses to complex problems.
Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts o... more Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts of data presents one of the largest challenges to the designer. The complexity presented in understanding, managing and using data as it is discovered, aggregated, mapped, organized, interpreted, synthesized and transformed through human-centered design processes, in the context of the environment of the problem-ecology, requires that the designer has tools that can assist with designing solutions from these large bodies of data. User journeys have become a frequently applied tool for research and design in the practical fields of Design Thinking, Service Design, User Experience Design and Information Architecture Design. In our paper we reposition User Journey Design as both a tool and a rigorous self-reflective, data-driven process through information gathering, synthesis and into design, which assists the designer in navigating the complexities of indeterminate problems.
In this paper, we position information architecture design and the thinking skills required for i... more In this paper, we position information architecture design and the thinking skills required for its practice as a practical application of the theory of cyberdesign. We further suggest that these thinking skills, while commonly applied to digital domains, transcend the digital because, at the cognitive level, the information architect is dealing, first and foremost with indeterminate problems. We describe how information architecture design involves the process of deconstructing dysfunctional formations (problems) and the characteristics of the design applied in the reformulation of parts into a functional reformulation. The innovation produced through the reformulation of the problem (solutioning) is positioned as an act of composition, where new meanings are created, and the implications of innovation for users (and the design) are then discussed. In conclusion, we hope to have demonstrated that these thinking skills are a meaningful area of further study for their application as teaching techniques to develop in students the necessary abilities required for solving indeterminate problems that they will be required to engage with in their careers as designers.
Applying Generative Tools in the co-design of digital interactive products in development context... more Applying Generative Tools in the co-design of digital interactive products in development contexts. Abstract This paper begins by briefly introducing three key concepts. Firstly, the value of design prototypes within human-centered design practice. Secondly, the difficulties of using design prototypes when designing interactive products with and for developing communities. Thirdly, The value of storytelling as an alternative mode of creating shared understanding between designers and community participants. The paper then proceeds to position Generative Tools, Personas and User-journeys as three design methods that collectively, connectedly and reciprocally utilize storytelling to communicate understanding. By referring to an ongoing co-design project involving farmers from Soweto, the paper then explains how these design methods can communicate, at various times, the contexts of the users and the interpretation of these contexts by the designer in a manner that is accessible and valuable to all participants of the co-design team
When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggl... more When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggle to formulate meaningful and articulate responses to these problems. The cognitive skills required to solve complex problems are often learned only experientially. This paper argues for these latent, yet critical abilities, to be taught explicitly as part of a tertiary design education. This paper initially reviews the theoretical underpinnings of design thinking with a specific focus on the reciprocal relationship of the design problem and the subsequent solution. A range of the formative cognitive requirements needed to solve complex problems situated in broader society and within disciplinary practice are described in reference to the theoretical framework. In the subsequent sections of the essay, approaches to solving design problems are discussed particularly in reference to the theory of cyberdesign. In the concluding section of the paper the authors argue that the theory of cyberdesign may in a practical visual form be used as a tool for the development and representation of cognitive decisions while constructing meaningful design responses to complex problems.
Wicked problems are wicked because, amongst other things, understanding problems as existing in s... more Wicked problems are wicked because, amongst other things, understanding problems as existing in society, at the intersection of many possible points of views held by a variety of potential stakeholders introduces indeterminacy. Ethical frameworks in this context may also be multiple and may exist in harmony or dis-harmony alongside each other. In this paper, we argue for an acknowledgement of this complexity. This acknowledgement includes recognizing a distinction between successful and good design; that design, when considering the best course of action in an ethical and pragmatic sense needs to look beyond the business and consumer dichotomy; that ethical pluralism can exist across multiple stakeholders in an ecosystem; and that our ethical judgements need to be considered within the context of socio-cultural change. This paper concludes by suggesting a range of interventions and tools that could be incorporated into design curriculum to assist design students with understanding and navigating ethical complexity.
Human-Centered Design (HCD) methods have been identified as valuable and effective approaches to ... more Human-Centered Design (HCD) methods have been identified as valuable and effective approaches to designing with and for people, but is also due to complexity and indeterminacy, often difficult to practice. With the popularisation of HCD in contemporary design education, and the subsequent emphasis of human-centered research an ethical question arises as to whether design students are adequately prepared to engage with the type of research that more and more they are expected to conduct. This paper engages with this concern by presenting an approach, which utilises Marc Hassenzahl's Three-level Hierarchy of Needs model to conceive and design a human-centered research plan. The approach described in the paper is first introduced from a theoretical perspective, and then illustrated as applied in a design project.
In this paper a new framework for problem solving in design is presented that positions the use o... more In this paper a new framework for problem solving in design is presented that positions the use of relationship models, in the context of design strategy, as a tool for the retention of synthetic integrity. A brief overview of complex problems in design with a specific focus on the creative leap from research analysis to design strategy is provided. The paper then introduces the fields of Strategy and Experience Design and demonstrates how, when applied together, they can assist in solving problems in a human-centered manner. Relationship models are then introduced and briefly discussed in context to Customer Relationship Management theory. Lastly, a template for creating experience-led relationship models is presented and exemplified. The example demonstrates how the overall framework presented in this paper ensures the synthetic integrity of the design.
Conference Proceedings of the Academy for Design Innovation Management, 2019
Large-scale transformation projects have so far rather consistently embraced a dirigist, technici... more Large-scale transformation projects have so far rather consistently embraced a dirigist, technicistic perspective. Their outcomes are on the other hand meant to be experienced by communities in a direct, engaged manner that is embodied, spatial and temporal. For processes meant to radically transform the lived experience of people, they have so far been strategically unconcerned with any human-centric view
This paper describes the role of information architecture in the design of socially sustainable p... more This paper describes the role of information architecture in the design of socially sustainable pervasive information spaces. The framing of information architecture as an essential part of Design Thinking extends current and historic notions of the field of information architecture. The discussion introduces the notion of the 'contrived ontology' which can be understood as the intentional meaning that design infuses in its artefacts, services and systems. Further, we argue that contrived ontology aligns with central themes within humanistic frameworks which view reality as subjective construct. This forms the central theoretical meditation herein: we contend that while design is always an act of interpreted cultural determination, at the scale of Floridi's infosphere, the immediacy and immersive social reality of technology will become frictionless within our human experience. As this occurs, there is a moral and ethical imperative to ensure social sustainability and to this end that the meanings and intentions that inform the mature design of our human-made world are visible and accountable. It is towards this end that information architecture can make a valuable contribution.
Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Research Conference on South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, 2015
Industry in South Africa is becoming increasingly aware of the need for user experience design in... more Industry in South Africa is becoming increasingly aware of the need for user experience design in the development of products and services. Problems experienced with usability prevent people from accessing, and eventually adopting technology, and a deep understanding of the users' needs is needed for building a successful service. User experience activities, such as user research, can be used to understand how people live their lives, in order to more effectively respond to user needs with informed, relevant and innovative design solutions. Together with this increased awareness and appetite, is the emergent challenge where those who constitute the field of user experience (practitioners, service providers, content providers, scholars and those requiring user experience services) often understand the field differently and in different ways. The aim of this paper is to describe the current landscape of the field of user experience in South Africa and gain insights into the field's maturity such that further research and recommendations may assist in its positive growth. A survey was used to gather feedback from 105 respondents currently involved in the user experience field in South Africa. The user research methodology focused on: defining the goals of the survey; determining the user profiles; planning the survey; running the survey; analysing and reporting the results. Results provided insights into the demographics, experience, education, job titles, salaries, challenges of user experience practitioners, and the user experience community of practice in South Africa.
Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts o... more Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts of data presents one of the largest challenges to the designer. The complexity presented in understanding, managing and using data as it is discovered, aggregated, mapped, organized, interpreted, synthesized and transformed through human-centered design processes, in the context of the environment of the problem-ecology, requires that the designer has tools that can assist with designing solutions from these large bodies of data. User journeys have become a frequently applied tool for research and design in the practical fields of Design Thinking, Service Design, User Experience Design and Information Architecture Design. In our paper we reposition User Journey Design as both a tool and a rigorous self-reflective, data-driven process through information gathering, synthesis and into design, which assists the designer in navigating the complexities of indeterminate problems. Introduction T...
The proliferation of complex problems in a world of increasing indeterminacy, not least within de... more The proliferation of complex problems in a world of increasing indeterminacy, not least within developing contexts, places new demands on stakeholders, educators, students, practitioners and theorists. A user, or customer, journey is a schematic representation of the path a user will take through lifecycle stages, touchpoints, channels, interaction modes, emotional states, content and functionality. User journeys have become a frequently applied tool for research and design in the practical fields of Design Thinking, Service Design, User Experience Design and Information Architecture Design. In our paper we position User Journey Design as both a tool and a rigorous self-reflective, data-driven process through information gathering, synthesis and into design, which assists the student designer in navigating the complexities of indeterminate problems. Initially the paper present a history and review of the literature, application and limitations of User Journey Design in practice toda...
We live in a world of increasingly complex, interconnected, societal problems. Design Thinking (D... more We live in a world of increasingly complex, interconnected, societal problems. Design Thinking (DT), as an academic concern, and amongst other disciplines, has been grappling with such problems since the 1970s in order to solve the problems facing humanity and the environment. Initially, this paper briefly introduces the discourse of design thinking before describing in reference to selected theory from the field of design thinking a brief account of the characteristics of complexity and indeterminacy within the design phases of researching, ideation and prototyping. This paper then examines the ways in which the practice of information architecture (information architecture, IA) operates in some very similar ways and how this view reframes an understanding of the practice of IA. The paper will then present three 'illusions' embedded in the current view of information architecture that we believe account for its misconception. The reframing of IA presented here has implications for the field of information architecture, its theory, its practice and the teaching thereof, but perhaps more importantly also for other fields of design that stand to gain enormous value from the application of the thinking, tools and techniques of IA to grapple with the complex problems of our time.
Transdisciplinary design practice requires different approaches and different subject to those co... more Transdisciplinary design practice requires different approaches and different subject to those conventions applied to the teaching of traditional discipline-orientated design practice. This paper describes the cognitive requirements of design relative to a range of theoretical frameworks that position design as a transdiscplinary practice. These cognitions are discussed in reference to an account of transdisciplinary research practice. What emerges from the study is the need for explicit cognitive skills that can assist design students in dealing with the complexity that arises from transdisciplinary practice. It is the authors' contention that the field of information architecture design contains many of the cognitive decision making tools required for transdisciplinary design practice.
This paper argues that preparing undergraduate design students for working with complexity, by re... more This paper argues that preparing undergraduate design students for working with complexity, by requiring them to undertake discipline-neutral, indeterminate problems, is altogether manageable, appropriate and additionally, highly impactful on the student's own practice and conceptualization of design. Key theories that will be introduced include Neil Johnson's definition of complexity (2003), Richard Buchannan's description of complexity in design and the corresponding restrictions assumptive design solutions place on innovation (1992), and Barry Wylant's (2008) characteristations of innovative design practice. In order to exemplify the applicability of the theoretical framework this paper reflects on a complex design project that students from the University of Johannesburg's Department of Multimedia undertook from June-September 2012. The design project sought to resolve many of the issues the Johannesburg Art Gallery, a municipal art gallery in downtown Johann...
This thesis describes and reflects on the effectiveness of integrating contextmapping as both a m... more This thesis describes and reflects on the effectiveness of integrating contextmapping as both a methodology and interaction design practice in order to co-design digital products with and for developing communities. A Design as research methodology is applied in this study within the specific contexts of a codesign project involving small-scale urban farmers in Soweto. The final design outcomes of the project are the interaction design documents reflecting the design requirements of a mobile application as well as a low-level prototype demonstrating a number of the identified requirements contained in the documentation. The study assumes a human-centred design ethos that positions problems facing users as contextual, complex and indeterminate and requiring a degree of consideration and understanding by the designer before they can be resolved. The design process applied in this study therefore focused on gaining an understanding of the farmers' life experiences in order to design effective and empathetic technological solutions that will be meaningful and useful to the farmers. For this purpose, contextmapping and interaction design theory, methods and tools were integrated. Examples of this integration include the application of Hassenzahl's Three Level Hierarchy of Needs model to guide the exploration of the farmers' experiences and contexts, the use of contextmapping's Sensitization Phase and generative tools to generate user research data and lastly, contemporary interaction design tools such as problem-ecology maps, personas and user-journey diagrams to develop and communicate design concepts to the farmers. The study concludes that this integration of contextmapping and interaction design is effective, in particular through its enablement of community participation in contributing meaningfully to the codesign process while further ensuring that contributions made by the participants are relevant and actionable to the interaction design.
The authors of this paper position pratice-led research (PLR) as an effective agent in the transf... more The authors of this paper position pratice-led research (PLR) as an effective agent in the transformation of the seemingly inherent and natural acts found in casual practice into the formal arrangement of accepted truths and regulated practices of a discipline for user experience design (UXD) and information architecture (IA) communities of practice. The paper does not intend to exhaustively define discourse analysis, discipline practice or pratice-led research per se, but rather to introduce practitioners and the fields ...
When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggl... more When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggle to formulate meaningful and articulate responses to these problems. The cognitive skills required to solve complex problems are often learned only experientially. This paper argues for these latent, yet critical abilities, to be taught explicitly as part of a tertiary design education. This paper initially reviews the theoretical underpinnings of design thinking with a specific focus on the reciprocal relationship of the design problem and the subsequent solution. A range of the formative cognitive requirements needed to solve complex problems situated in broader society and within disciplinary practice are described in reference to the theoretical framework. In the subsequent sections of the essay, approaches to solving design problems are discussed particularly in reference to the theory of cyberdesign. In the concluding section of the paper the authors argue that the theory of cyberdesign may in a practical visual form be used as a tool for the development and representation of cognitive decisions while constructing meaningful design responses to complex problems.
Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts o... more Of the defining characteristics of indeterminate problems, the presence of overwhelming amounts of data presents one of the largest challenges to the designer. The complexity presented in understanding, managing and using data as it is discovered, aggregated, mapped, organized, interpreted, synthesized and transformed through human-centered design processes, in the context of the environment of the problem-ecology, requires that the designer has tools that can assist with designing solutions from these large bodies of data. User journeys have become a frequently applied tool for research and design in the practical fields of Design Thinking, Service Design, User Experience Design and Information Architecture Design. In our paper we reposition User Journey Design as both a tool and a rigorous self-reflective, data-driven process through information gathering, synthesis and into design, which assists the designer in navigating the complexities of indeterminate problems.
In this paper, we position information architecture design and the thinking skills required for i... more In this paper, we position information architecture design and the thinking skills required for its practice as a practical application of the theory of cyberdesign. We further suggest that these thinking skills, while commonly applied to digital domains, transcend the digital because, at the cognitive level, the information architect is dealing, first and foremost with indeterminate problems. We describe how information architecture design involves the process of deconstructing dysfunctional formations (problems) and the characteristics of the design applied in the reformulation of parts into a functional reformulation. The innovation produced through the reformulation of the problem (solutioning) is positioned as an act of composition, where new meanings are created, and the implications of innovation for users (and the design) are then discussed. In conclusion, we hope to have demonstrated that these thinking skills are a meaningful area of further study for their application as teaching techniques to develop in students the necessary abilities required for solving indeterminate problems that they will be required to engage with in their careers as designers.
Applying Generative Tools in the co-design of digital interactive products in development context... more Applying Generative Tools in the co-design of digital interactive products in development contexts. Abstract This paper begins by briefly introducing three key concepts. Firstly, the value of design prototypes within human-centered design practice. Secondly, the difficulties of using design prototypes when designing interactive products with and for developing communities. Thirdly, The value of storytelling as an alternative mode of creating shared understanding between designers and community participants. The paper then proceeds to position Generative Tools, Personas and User-journeys as three design methods that collectively, connectedly and reciprocally utilize storytelling to communicate understanding. By referring to an ongoing co-design project involving farmers from Soweto, the paper then explains how these design methods can communicate, at various times, the contexts of the users and the interpretation of these contexts by the designer in a manner that is accessible and valuable to all participants of the co-design team
When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggl... more When faced with complex problems that are situated in social reality many design students struggle to formulate meaningful and articulate responses to these problems. The cognitive skills required to solve complex problems are often learned only experientially. This paper argues for these latent, yet critical abilities, to be taught explicitly as part of a tertiary design education. This paper initially reviews the theoretical underpinnings of design thinking with a specific focus on the reciprocal relationship of the design problem and the subsequent solution. A range of the formative cognitive requirements needed to solve complex problems situated in broader society and within disciplinary practice are described in reference to the theoretical framework. In the subsequent sections of the essay, approaches to solving design problems are discussed particularly in reference to the theory of cyberdesign. In the concluding section of the paper the authors argue that the theory of cyberdesign may in a practical visual form be used as a tool for the development and representation of cognitive decisions while constructing meaningful design responses to complex problems.
Wicked problems are wicked because, amongst other things, understanding problems as existing in s... more Wicked problems are wicked because, amongst other things, understanding problems as existing in society, at the intersection of many possible points of views held by a variety of potential stakeholders introduces indeterminacy. Ethical frameworks in this context may also be multiple and may exist in harmony or dis-harmony alongside each other. In this paper, we argue for an acknowledgement of this complexity. This acknowledgement includes recognizing a distinction between successful and good design; that design, when considering the best course of action in an ethical and pragmatic sense needs to look beyond the business and consumer dichotomy; that ethical pluralism can exist across multiple stakeholders in an ecosystem; and that our ethical judgements need to be considered within the context of socio-cultural change. This paper concludes by suggesting a range of interventions and tools that could be incorporated into design curriculum to assist design students with understanding and navigating ethical complexity.
Human-Centered Design (HCD) methods have been identified as valuable and effective approaches to ... more Human-Centered Design (HCD) methods have been identified as valuable and effective approaches to designing with and for people, but is also due to complexity and indeterminacy, often difficult to practice. With the popularisation of HCD in contemporary design education, and the subsequent emphasis of human-centered research an ethical question arises as to whether design students are adequately prepared to engage with the type of research that more and more they are expected to conduct. This paper engages with this concern by presenting an approach, which utilises Marc Hassenzahl's Three-level Hierarchy of Needs model to conceive and design a human-centered research plan. The approach described in the paper is first introduced from a theoretical perspective, and then illustrated as applied in a design project.
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Papers by Terence Fenn