The difference between industrial and interaction design has never been more simultaneously apparent and blurry than at the start of this project.
I came into this wanting to do “a strict industrial design project” – something that I really haven’t done since Studio I – just user research, ideation & sketching, creating a product, then making a model. I consider this different than an “interaction design project” in which there would be loads of contextual and quantitative research, a concentration on synthesis, and a system or idea created to address the opportunities found in the research.
A few things happened. Tom said I needed to back up from my proposal to do more research and let that be the driver the project. I said I wanted to come into the class with a solid direction so I could start developing a product right away in order to have as much time as possible to create a fully functional prototype.
So now I’m torn. I have backed up and I am doing more research, both secondary (blogs, forums, newspapers, crime statistics, video documentaries) and primary in which I’ll go speak to some area experts (police, security, bike shops, thieves and users). I love research. I would just do this for most of the quarter, which is what I’m afraid of. If I don’t get right into development there won’t be any time for prototyping.
But this research is revealing so many new opportunities I honestly don’t think another product is going to be the answer. Like most of the other projects I feel like the product is just another band-aid to slow the festering of a larger problem.
Serveral accounts state that bike theft is part of a vicious cycle that enables junkies and drug rings, and is therefore a crime of opportunity and necessity for a fix. In Portland,
“Bikes are one of the four commodities of the street — cash, drugs, sex, and bikes…You can virtually exchange one for another."
This leads one to believe that something more important than another bike lock must be created to solve this problem. To break a cycle that affects all major cities in the US and is too small to be addressed by police or government will require a systematic approach to service, community and culture.
I a way this is exactly what I was trying to avoid. It’s good, it’s familiar and it’s exciting. The think I consider myself weakest at is my ability to synthesize research into viable design opportunities that can be translated into tangible solutions. So now I’m one week in and I don’t know what I’ll be making but I know it will be good.
Remedy anyone?
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1 comment:
On "I feel like the product is just another band-aid to slow the festering of a larger problem."
The last time i checked band-aids were a good thing. They keep out harmful bacteria so your wound can heal properly so you don't end up loosing a limb over a mild scratch.
No doubt there are lot's of ways for solving one particular problem, and even more opinions for each idea. The variations are often extreme depending on the different disciplines involved and the context of the problem. Is bike theft the same in New York City as it is in Tokyo compared with a NY city official or a Swiss designer?
I think that "zooming out" doesn't necessarily mean you won't end up designing a band-aid, but it allows you to see, if only a bit more clearly, how your product fits into the landscape of the problem. It allows you not only to explain what you're doing, but also what you choose NOT to do, and why. Research isn't done only to inform creation it's done to inform NOT creating, perhaps even the need for destruction.
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