White 1

Aerial White Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 9.16.13 The Underestimated Power of Design here are onl! a "e# things in this li"e that are ine$itable% an& encountering the po#er o" &esign is one o" them. Although it is one o" the last things that people thin' about% &esign surroun&s us in e$er! aspect o" our li"e. We see it e$er!&a!% #e eat it% #e &rin' it% #e sleep on it% #e listen to it% #e #ear it% #e pla! #ith it% #e are consume& b! it% an& #e &o not e$en reali(e it. he more I learn about &esign% the more intrigue& I become. )omething about a goo& &esign seems so magical. As I began m! &i$e into #hat goo& &esign entails% I "oun& a lot o" interesting "acts about #hat happens behin& the scenes in our &esign*centere& #orl&. M! e!es #ere opene& to see ho# in &epth an& ho# intricate some o" the most common &esigns are. I began to see ho# &esign is something that not onl! has elegance% but also possesses so much po#er. Think Smart - Design Thinking I" !ou ta'e an! time hanging aroun& the &esign communit!% !ou #ill probabl! hear the term +esign hin'ing being thro#n aroun& a lot. Although the i&ea o" +esign hin'ing has been aroun& since the earl! ,0-s mentione& in .obert Mc/im-s boo' Experiences in Visual Thinking, the i&ea o" &esign as a #a! o" thought continues to be re"ine& to&a!. im 0ro#n% CE1 an& presi&ent o" I+E1 re"ers to &esign as 23a human*centere& approach to inno$ation that &ra#s "rom the &esigners- tool'it to integrate the nee&s o" people #ith the possibilities o" technolog!% an& the $iabilities o" econom! an& culture.4 )o in other #or&s% +esign hin'ing ta'es the human nee& an& changes that nee& into a &eman&. With this min&set% #e can begin to $isuali(e the

White 2

importance o" &esign an& ho# it pla!s such a huge role in ho# #e e5perience our e$er!&a! li$es in our in&ustrial #orl&. o implement &esign thin'ing% &esigners use a s!stem calle& the 6uman Centere& +esign process to enable them to create a "irm "oun&ation "or their &esign be"ore an!thing is e$en create&. his process inclu&es si5 steps. 6o#e$er% &esigners ma! spen& a lot o" time in one area or e$en start the c!cle o$er &uring their in$estigations. 1. Empathi(e Creating empath! is huge #hen it comes to &esign7 it is the center o" the 6uman Centere& +esign process. +esigners nee& to ha$e a clear un&erstan&ing o" the people the! are &esigning "or an& #hat is important to their users. o spar' empath!% &esigners obser$e the users an& their beha$iors% engage an& interact #ith users in their en$ironment% an& immerse themsel$es b! being "orce& to e5perience #hat their users e5perience. 2. +e"ine an& .esearch At this time% &esigners are beha$ing more as in$estigators rather than creati$e artists. +esigners ta'e their empath! "in&ings an& stu&! all their insights to &e"ine #hat is the problem that users are "acing. Accor&ing to 8ohn +e#e!% 2A problem #ell state& is hal" sol$e&.4 +uring this time% &esigners #ill "in& that smaller issues that seem insigni"icant o"ten &isguise the true problems being "ace& b! the users. 3. I&eate his is the part in the s!stem #here &esign can become humorous. +esigners clan together to brainstorm i&eas an& "orm a range o" possible solutions "or creation. he brainstorming sessions ma! seem $er! #il& an& chaotic% but unrealistic i&eas are the secret ingre&ient to "orming i&eas that are 9ust cra(! enough to #or'.

White 3

:. ;rotot!pe ;rotot!ping is the stage #here &esigners can "ull! e5perience their ne# i&eas out o" their hea&s an& into the ph!sical #orl&. +esigners #ant to be able to promote interaction #ith the protot!pes so the! can see i" their i&eas can be possible solutions. <. esting

esting the ne# solutions pla!s a crucial role in "ine*tuning i&eas. +esigners ma'e sure to protot!pe as i" the! are right% an& test as i" the! are #rong. his pro$i&es the &esigners #ith as close to a real #orl& e5perience an& encounter #ith their pro&uct so the! can re"ine it to the best o" their abilities. 6. =ee&bac' Although this is the "inal step in the process% "ee&bac' o"ten causes &esigners to re$ert bac' to the &ra#ing boar& to c!cle through the steps again. >ot al#a!s &oes the i&ea ha$e to start "rom scratch% but o"ten the i&ea nee&s more researching "or better re"inement. he 6uman Centere& +esign process enables &esigners to reall! &ig &eep an& trul! un&erstan& their sub9ects so that the! can tailor a &esign that #ill best suit speci"ic nee&s. +esigns that ha$e un&ergone this process greatl! succee& &esigns that #ere merel! thought up an& imme&iatel! mass*pro&uce&. .esearch an& empath! are the core components o" #hat ma'es goo& &esign. Neuromarking A New Way of Seeing We all ha$e hear& o" the "amous testing ;epsi $s. Co'e% but recentl! a ne# stu&! has emerge& pro$i&ing a ne# scienti"ic spin on classic taste test. As $olunteers line up "or their M.I scanners% the! are blin&l! o""ere& either a Co'e or ;epsi. When $olunteers &i& not 'no# #hich &rin' the! ha&% areas o" the brain associate& #ith re#ar& lighte& up on the screen #hen &rin'ing

White :

;epsi. When o""ere& Co'e% the results #ere remar'abl! less. When $olunteers 'ne# that the! #ere &rin'ing Co'e% areas o" re#ar&% moti$ation% an& a person-s sense o" sel" appeare& on the screen. Interestingl! enough% no such responses appeare& #hen the test sub9ects 'ne# the! #ere &rin'ing ;epsi. his goes to sho# that the bran& itsel"% not the taste% pla!s a more prominent role in the #a! a consumer respon&s an& interacts #ith the pro&uct. +esign itsel" contains a lot more po#er than #hat #e reali(e. We o"ten 9u&ge the success o" a pro&uct base& on the ph!sical item% #hen in actualit!% the &esign an& bran&ing has more o" an e""ect on the user. his is because &esign is more than creating something ne# an& cool% but goo& &esign means using har& &ata an& e5perience to create something meaning"ul an& speci"icall! tailore& to the nee&s o" the user. +esign that has a "oun&ation o" empath! is a &esign that #ill be success"ul% no matter the ob9ect or i&ea. I belie$e that people are no# starting to reali(e that &esign is more than #hat meets the e!e.

White <