by georg.kiraly -

How can I affect this situation as a designer?

In general, this topic is ideal for illuminating it from different sides and disciplines. After a short socio-demographic introduction, I will devote myself to the design aspect of this topic. How can I as a designer tackle the problem already described and contribute to a positive change with my skills/mindset?

One of the most famous techniques or tools of Designer is “Design thinking”. It is concerned with solving problems through design. The idea being that the future output of the process will provide a better answer than the one already available or if nothing is available – something entirely new. It is an unconstrained methodology where it is possible that the designer (or design team) will work on many possible solutions at once. It enables designers to consider the problem in many different ways and speculate on both the past and future of the problem too. This is in contrast to the scientific method of problem solving which requires a highly-defined problem which focuses on delivering a single solution.
So design has moved more into the problem solving space. It’s not like designers weren’t solving problems before, but this was limited to “design problems”. Design problems are problems one would traditionally call a designer to solve: graphic design, interface design, interaction design, industrial design, architectural design. I don’t want to over-generalize, but the focus had been on solving problems around form, esthetics, interaction, space. Design thinking created an opening for designers to move from the more esthetically focused space to the problem solving space. Designer solve problems in a certain way and that way could now be transported to other fields of problem solving.

The famous double diamond shows the a general technique of adressing issues.

So whatever the outcome might be, I’m aware that there can be various solutions – analogue and digital – for this problem. This research is the start of a maybe even bigger project. So I’ll try to articulate a vision. An answer to the question: “Why am I working on this topic?” My response would be:

“I want to find a way to strengthen the awareness of younger people to politics and their democratic environment.“

But let’s focus again on the research. What are similar projects that already worked on that topic? You can read about that in my next blog post.

Source: https://medium.com/design-leadership-notebook/design-is-more-than-problem-solving-7e290535927c

by yao.sossou1 -

What is interaction design?

Also regarded as the design of the interaction between users and products, Interaction design is a multidisciplinary area that focuses on designing user-friendly goods, services, and systems. It integrates design, psychology, and technological principles to develop user interfaces that are intuitive and efficient. Interaction designers take a user-centered approach to design, which means they begin by learning about the wants, goals, and behaviors of the people who will use the product or service. They then apply this knowledge to design interfaces and interactions that are specific to the user’s wants and preferences.

Websites, mobile apps, consumer gadgets, autos, and even physical venues like museums and public transportation all benefit from interaction design. Interaction designers produce effective interfaces using a range of techniques such as wireframing, prototyping, and user testing. To produce unified and polished products, they often cooperate with other design and development experts such as graphic designers, engineers, and user researchers.

As new technologies and design trends arise, the discipline of interaction design is continually evolving. To build interfaces that are both useful and appealing, interaction designers must keep up with the newest design tools, technologies, and best practices.

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

Interaction design is a field that integrates design, psychology, and technological concepts to produce user-friendly products and services. As Steve Jobs noted, design is about more than just how something looks; it is also about how it operates. Interaction designers utilize a user-centered design approach to create interfaces that are intuitive and efficient for users. This implies that they begin by gaining an understanding of the objectives, goals, and behaviors of the people who will be using the product or service, and then utilize that information to build interfaces that are personalized to the user’s wants and preferences. In other words, design the experiences people want next.

“Design is not just about aesthetics, it’s about problem-solving” – Jared Spool

“Design should never say, ‘Look at me.’ It should always say, ‘Look at this'” – David Craib

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” – Steve Jobs

“Design is not just an aesthetic decision, it’s a strategic decision” – Marty Neumeier

“Design is not a thing you do, it’s a thing you are” – Paul Rand

“Design is thinking made visible” -Saul Bass

“Design is not for philosophy, it’s for life” – Issey Miyake

These statements underline the importance of design is about more than simply the visual, as well as functionality, and issue resolution, as well as a strategic and comprehensive approach to the design process. Interaction design is an ever-changing subject, and interaction designers must keep up with the newest design tools, technologies, and best practices in order to develop interfaces that are both useful and beautiful.