Design Research Consumer Insight Human Centered Design
Mt. Rainier
Gabriel Maricich
gabriel@maricich.org www.gabrielmaricich.com
Education
Masters of Industrial Design Graduate Valedictorian
The University of the Arts, Philadelphia PA Sept. 2008 – May 2010
Bachelors of Music
Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at Catholic University of America, Washington DC May 2005 Experience
Sales and Product Expert Recreational Equipment Inc (REI) Seattle WA 2005-2008 Freelance voice-over artist and musician 2000-present, Worldwide
What is ‘Design Research’? Design Research can be thought of as a combination of: consumer insight, human centered design and design thinking. This way of working brings together a broad range of multi-disciplinary tools that originate in the fields of anthropology, psychology, cognitive science, music and engineering, to name a few. It focuses very specifically on qualitative first person research and developing actionable insight. This is not academic research, this is action research.
Leuven, Belgium
What is this not? This is not a replacement for field-testing, market research, designers or talented teams. These concepts and methods build upon previous work, further inform intuition and supplement existing information. In other words, this is created specifically to save time and money, so that existing resources can be leveraged towards greater opportunities.
Kent, WA
Why is this necessary? The following concepts and tools can be used to supplement quantitative research and discover unmet customer desires. These methods are particularly valuable for uncovering and refining opportunities for design and concept innovation. One key element that elevates this mode of working, is that it points towards opportunity. It questions what could be and what might be, rather than what already is.
Blackcomb, BC
What are some key concepts? Direct Perception is our innate ability to perceive our physical environment. This includes our ability to make rapid judgments about space, timing, speed and distance. Emotional Intelligence allows us to make very rapid preference–directed judgements. The basis of this is to allow us to make important and lifesaving decisions in a split second with a very high degree of success. Affordances are sometimes called thoughtless acts. But they’re not exactly thoughtless. They are the output of very rapid perception and are intrinsic to how we understand and interpret our environment.
Mt. Rainier
So, what are we really talking about? We’re talking about people. Understanding people. Discovering unmet, even unknown, needs and desires. And acknowledging that by helping to provide the means and assisting in the creation of authentic experiences, we have the opportunity to enrich and bring joy to peoples lives throughout the world.
Anacortes, WA
Where do these concepts come from? These concepts stem from cognitive science, industrial psychology, anthropology, engineering, design and performing arts. Let’s take a brief look at some of the tools used in design research today. Hopefully this will help spark some ideas about how these concepts, tools and methods can be valuable to you.
Molokai, HI
Seattle, WA Observing
Observation, or ethnographic analysis, is often considered to be one of the central tools used in design research. Observation can identify the problems and opportunities that arise when people interact with products, services and environments.
i.3
Pittsburgh, PA
Probortunity
problem
opportunity
Probortunity is often seen as a key indicator for a design opportunity. Identifying ‘probortunities’ can help us ask the right questions and begin refining the strategy of our approach. Named ‘thoughtless acts’ by some and affordances by others, regardless what you call it, they are clear opportunities for design.
Boston, MA Interviewing
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What is an interview? A structured conversation. An opportunity to learn about someone, a way to gather deep insight and discover unmet needs and opportunities. People love to share their thoughts and dreams with a good listener, especially when they feel like they matter.
Int
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Interviews can happen in formal environments or informally, sitting on a chair lift, standing at a trail head, or handing out water during the STP (Seattle-to-Portland ride).
Philadelphia, PA
Mapping can be used to help us understand the many pieces of complex and divergent information. These techniques can help us refine our understanding of exactly what is happening and where key opportunities await. Visually arranging information allows the viewer to capture insight and understand both the process and the goal.
Scenario Building
Fun, sure. Cute, maybe. Meaningful to someone, certainly. Understanding the context, and using it to create meaningful scenarios, is often the difference between simply making a product or creating a memorable experience. Scenarios help you develop ideas that involve interactions with multiple users over a period of time.
i.7 Mercer Island, WA
Philadelphia, PA Character Profiles
Developing and referring to character profiles during the design process will inspire ideas and aid decision-making. Flesh out characters by giving them names and imagining how they live their lives. Include their goals and challenges. Besides creating characters that represent the average user, invent extreme ones as well (statistical outliers).
Joe
Alexandria, VA Empathy
Scenarios can be used to help understand the user, so we can become the customer. This in turn helps to develop empathy which is critical in solving perceived or unnoticed needs of the user. Empathy gives you a deeper understanding of your users’ wants and needs and therefore clarifies your goals. By putting yourself in the user’s situation for a couple of hours, a day or even a week, you can perform the tasks as they would in their normal environment and develop a greater understanding of their needs and desires.
Moorestown, NJ
Visualizing ideas will make them easier to understand and modify. This in turn will help stimulate new ideas. Visualizing is critical to sharing ideas in ways that are understandable and help trigger further development.
Philadelphia, PA Common Threads
Notes
Notes
Notes
When analyzing many pieces of information it’s not always obvious where to start. Sometimes getting everything up and in order is a useful way to begin looking for common threads.
Philadelphia, PA Analysis
Using an agreed upon assessment criteria is useful for taking into account the concerns of multiple groups and selecting ideas. This criteria should be structured enough to encourage individuals to consider outside or stakeholder perspective, yet flexible enough to encourage new ideas and innovation.
Design Research Okay, so there are lots of tools and methods that can be employed to aid design research. But what is its value? It’s about working with people to develop a shared understanding from which actionable research and design concepts can be drawn. These concepts can help uncover critical and exciting insight very rapidly.
Consumer Insight The convergence of digital and physical communities. Nike+ to stay involved with her digital running community. No headphones so she can stay engaged with her physical running partners. User-customized experience – design opportunity?
Human Centered Design People want to do the right thing, they want to create and offer quality things, they want to do good in the world, and if you give them the opportunity and the resources to do so, they will shine.
Might this be the next step in design innovation? I believe it is.
Thank you Gabriel Maricich www.gabrielmaricich.com Molokai, HI