NextD Journal I ReReThinking Design Special Issue, April 2007
Beautiful Diversion
Act III (1997 – 2007) When the Internet arrived at the gates of the D/design kingdom, it brought with it an entirely new revolution. With computing and communications and connectivity tools now available, people who had never conceived of writing code found themselves thinking about how information should be structured, how humans and computer interacted, and how people naturally thought about and did things. “Experience” became a business term, and “d” again became “D.” Instead of knowing in advance what “worked,” these designers would find out what worked by first asking questions. A third kind of designer had entered the kingdom: the user-centric designer, and for the first time designers thought that they might have something to learn from their “users.” The kings were beside themselves. Designers who aren’t arrogant? Designers who didn’t already know what worked and what the people wanted? How could a great design be created that wasn’t based on expert knowledge and experience? “Ah,” replied the newly branded UE, UI and IA designers, “our designs are based on expert knowledge and experience… only it isn’t ours, it’s the knowledge and experience of our users.” Act IV (2007 – ? ) With Web 2.0, yet another kind of designer has arrived: the social-centric. Less concerned with typefaces than the kings, less enamored with technology than the digerati, less concerned with user-needs than the UI’s, this new breed believes that she can change the world with a wiki or blow away the establishment with a blog. Perhaps she is right. Only time will tell… at least until the next revolution.
The moral of the story: design comes and Design goes, but people’s desire to share grows. Sometimes we share because we know we’re right, sometimes we share because (OMG) we can, sometimes we share because that’s what our users demand, and sometimes we share because everybody is now listening. How will we share next? A whole new breed of designer is waiting in the wings, and we can’t even imagine the tools, the voice, and the stage she will have.
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