EPIC 2007

This year’s EPIC (Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference) covered a lot of topics relevant to I543 including, among other things, novel methods for probing user experience, the role of ethnography within the design process (and design research), distinctions between design ethnography and traditional anthropological ethnography, and translating ethnographic insights into valuable business considerations. I uploaded a variety of different papers from the EPIC 2007 proceedings preview to the I543 course resources on OnCourse. It’s evident that, now more than ever, understanding and designing for user experience is becoming the focal point of industry research. EPIC is growing quickly and will be an important venue for industry and academia alike to keep their finger on the pulse of ethnography’s shifting role within design research. For a more in depth description, I suggest you check Jeff’s perspective on EPIC 2007.

What I learned in Design School

Design stretches across a wide variety of disciplines. While the design materials, outcomes, and metrics for success vary quite a bit, there are many similarities in the way practitioners conceptualize design and the process through which it occurs. Likewise, approaches to design education across schools and institutes reveal many similarities in how students learn to design and the principles that guide this process. While this discussion of knowledge learned in design school comes from a fine arts perspective, it offers key insight applicable to students in all design programs. While a bit less passionate and encompassing, this post details many of the skills that students develop while in the HCID program here.

the trials of being a design student

Being a design student, it is but natural to be ‘aware’ of your surroundings…there’s so much information relevant to hci and design that sometimes its just too overwhelming! There are just so many interesting things to know, learn and go through, that most times we have to stop somewhere when it comes to exploring the field of design, cuz the constraints of project deadlines are always looming ’round the corner.

I always have this mental conflict as to what to choose between ‘exploring the plethora of resources ‘ and ‘concentrating on the curriculum projects’…

May be the mentors and AIs could guide us as to how to strike a balance among both alluring and both equally important and learning processes. Any suggestions ???

a future for HCI

60 minutes recently ran a segment on the problematic lack of usability in the digital products that increasingly surround us in our daily lives. This piece helps partially contextualize the problems that we’re addressing in this course. They interview Don Norman and other notables.

…and while not related to usability, this segment (which aired last year) provides a startling glimpse into the unintended consequences of design. you’ll hear more about these issues in Eli’s class next semester…

HCI / D Evaluation Methods

This blog will be updated with insight and advice on evaluation methods for HCI /Design.  Information from class discussions will be posted and students can feel free to post questions here, however participation here it is not required.