David Kelly- Human Centred Design

Video Reflection

From what I’ve learned from David Kelly’s ‘Human centred design’ is that product design has gradually evolved to become much less about the hardware but rather about the user experience. Human centred design is an approach to design that involves designing behaviours and personality into products. The creation and process of making the product becomes thoroughly more enjoyable, thus making the job more enjoyable as well.

Kelly describes how time has expanded or knowledge on technology, giving a greater opportunity for designers to expand and delve deeper to in the creation process to allow more sensual pleasures from these products. He describes how technology has furthered the relationship and interaction applied with technology. Through the interaction of video, as the viewer we our able to observe how human centred design can be aesthetically appealing and approachable.

The Prada product, was especially interesting to watch the process of interaction found with retail consumerism and technology. Through use of custom technology, the store became unique, from being just retail one to become one with a cultural role. The RF tags broadens the consumers choices in selection of colour, size and how it would appear on a model. This presentation becomes appealing through interaction and enjoyable.  Through technology advances the process of changing/trying/showing becomes more simpler through liquid crystal displays in the change room. It gets customers questioning ‘is it possible to get changed here?’ but pressing the button we are able to see the instant approval as the panels go from clear to dark. Whilst the ‘Magic Mirror’ that has a 3 second delay, allowing the customer to observe their backside.

Making these products is not just about its purpose but also to appear appealing and enjoyable to part of the experience. Technology initiates interaction as shown this Scuba diving, called 'Spyfish' which provides the beneficials of scuba diving without getting wet. This product is about the experience and the feeling created through this journey. There were two aims in this project, to create a consumer product but not a research tool. By including personalities, behaviours designing through technology and interaction enables consumers to forgot the hardware and appreciate the aesthetics and experience of what the product can bring.