Design Thinking Digest

New content on brainstorming, interaction design and user observation

Technorati Tags: Innovation,interaction design,IxD,IxDA,brainstorming,user observation,Institute of Design

I've been dusting off some of my previous work on these three subjects in preparation for some workshops that I'm going to be doing in a few weeks. I've created a presentation for each topic and posted to www.slideshare.net/chrisbernard.

The topics are:

Innovation and interaction design. This gives a high-level overview of the processes and techniques that commonly used to design digital experiences today. However, I'll caveat thought and say I don't think the processes described can account for the impact we're seeing social media and it's inherent network effects reflected in the planning process. Something that we probably need to solidify a bit. Plus, I think this way of working (and the inherent artifact porn that is generated) is fundamentally too slow and far removed from the digital software and interfaces we build. We need to define new standards and demand more of our tools to become more effective and productive in this area.

Brainstorming. A simple overview of the concepts and techniques where I discuss the default method we used at the Institute of Design. It's doubtful you'll have tremendous success doing this the first time without a little help and alot of planning but once you can put a core team through this exercise a dozen or so times on different problems you'll find your design team becoming like an improv theatre group.

User Research. An overview of methods and a case study from work I did at the Institute of Design. Not a how to for collecting the information as much as instruction on what designers do WITH the collected information and why it's valuable. Slight tangent here. Agile methods and IxD are a hot topic these days and I think this presentation covers some of the value-adding components of design. Enjoy.

IxDA Interaction08 Revisited

Technorati Tags: Chris Bernard,IxDA,Dan Saffer,David Armano,David Malouf,Jared Spool,Bill Buxton,SCAD

 

IxDA's first conference in Savannah was one of the most interesting conferences I've been to in the past 12 months. More than just about any other event I've attending recently I found folks here to be the most closely aligned to much of my thinking on design as it related to technology and the crafting of experiences. Just a few of the highlights included getting to spend some quality time with Bill Buxton and learn that Jared Spool, in addition to being an expert on usability is also accomplished with the art of the card trick (In the picture above he's showing David Armano a few tricks worthy of Ricky Jay).

From a social perspective the highlight of the event was a party that was sponsored by Microsoft on Saturday evening at the Savannah College of Design Gulf Center. A working production studio for the school it provided perfect mix of fun and design inspiration.

Finally, I think the organizers of this event are to be commended for their commitment to sharing the good words and thoughts of all the speakers at the event by posting videos in less than a week after the conclusion of the event (a model that all conferences should follow).

You can actually see some of the sessions for yourself.

There are many faces that were behind this successful event but special recognition should go to Dave Malouf and Dan Saffer for making this happen and getting all the right folks in place, they were supported by a great IxDA Board Membership (Most of whom I also got to spend quite a bit of time with) and I hope to see IxDA conferences become a regular occurrence.

Here's some of the sessions that are being hosted over at Brightcove.

Cinematic Interaction Design, Sarah Allen

The Design Ecosystem, Bill Buxton

Design for Flow, Dave Cronin

Device Art, Regine Debatty

Conversations with Everyday Objects, Bill DeRouchey

Hit It with the Pretty Stick, Jenny Lam

Don't Make Me Click, Aza Raskin

Concept Ideation and IxD, Gretchen Anderson

Experience Design, Convergence + The Digital Agency, David Armano

Effective Prototyping Methods, Jonathan Arnowitz

Classic Design Movements and IxD: Kissing Cousins?, Chris Bernard

Help Me! A New Approach to Support Interactions, Doug Bolin

Concept Models: A Tool for Planning Interaction, Dan Brown

An Insurgency of Quality, Alan Cooper

IxD for Community Empowerment, Carl DiSalvo

Self-Conscious Gaming, Andrew Hieronymi

Designing for the Other 99%, Morten Hjerde

Designing for SpaceTime, Building in No-Time, Matt Jones

Redesigning Sony-Ericsson's Product Catalog, Saskia Idzerda

Intervention-Interaction, Sigi Moeslinger

New Interaction Model for a Modular Personal Infotainment System, Sajid Saiyed

Strategic Boredom, Molly Wright Steenson

Interaction Across Disciplines, Michele Tepper

Ethics of Everyday Design, Gabriel White

User Interface Design in an Agile Environment: Enter the Design Studio, Jeff White and Jim Unger

Fieldwork and Sketching: Translating Research Themes into Conceptual Designs, Susan Wyche

Chris Bernard is speaking at IxDA Interaction 08

So this is the conference I've been most interested in all year. It's got an absolutely outstanding line-up of speakers and I'm humbled to be one of them.

Interaction 08 will be held from February 8-10, 2008 in historic and festive Savannah, Georgia, on the campus of The Savannah College of Art and Design. Join several hundred Interaction Designers from around the world as we address the design of interactive systems of all types: applications (web and desktop), mobile, consumer electronics, digitally enhanced environments, and more. Start your year off with stimulating talk, fun parties, and smart discussions about our growing field.

On Sunday I'll present a lightning round of a longer talk I gave at Web Master Jams last December, those of you that know me well will recognize that this subject is one of my passions and it should be interesting too as many of the contemporary luminaries that I call out will actually be at the event!

Classic Design Movements and IxD: Kissing Cousins?

De Stijl, Bauhaus, Futurism. The short history of design is filled with a lexicon of terms and movements that inspire designers of today. What do these classic movements in design history have to do with User Experience and Interaction Design in the creation of software, Web sites, products and services design?

See how much our past is influencing present and future conventions around form, function and simplicity in design and how and why you should incorporate these principals into your own work. This session will highlight the most influential design movements that impact our work and give a foundation of the language and patterns that emerged from these movements.

Belated sharing: Webmaster Jams

At the Webmaster Jams conference back in September I gave a talk on how classic design movements influence Web design. I've posted the presentation on SlideShare and I'm working on getting a version annotated with audio so it makes a bit more sense.

But I'll take this opportunity to say that I'll be presented another version of this presentation at the IxDA conference that is focused on how classic design influences our practice of interaction design.

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Learn more about the great line up at the IxDA conference by visiting:

http://interaction08.ixda.org/

My IxDA talk will focus on this:

Classic Design Movements and IxD: Kissing Cousins?

De Stijl, Bauhaus, Futurism. The short history of design is filled with a lexicon of terms and movements that inspire designers of today. What do these classic movements in design history have to do with User Experience and Interaction Design in the creation of software, Web sites, products and services design?

See how much our past is influencing present and future conventions around form, function and simplicity in design and how and why you should incorporate these principals into your own work. This session will highlight the most influential design movements that impact our work and give a foundation of the language and patterns that emerged from these movements.

Bio

For 15 years Chris has worked in motion graphics, interactive, application and Web design. Currently a User Experience Evangelist for Microsoft, Chris previously was a Creative Director for the Centers for e-business Innovation at IBM. Clients have included CNBC, Hilton, Gatorade, The NCAA, Cranbrook and Target. Chris received a masters in marketing from the Illinois Institute of Technology and in design from the Institute of Design.

A passionate advocate for the practice and discipline of design Chris has been published in International Design Magazine and serves as an Adjunct lecturer and expert on cross-disciplinary teaming at The Institute of Design.