Introduction to Design Methodology
Being part of the ZHdK Interaction Design studies, the module Design Methodology will be about deconstructing and analyzing the designing process and it’s different phases.
Reflecting on previous work
Taking a project that was done as part of the Digital Fabrication module as a starting point to reflect on the designing process, the following was observed: Using the classic method of the mindmap our team started out with a big sheet in the middle of the table. After throwing everything together that came to mind we proceeded to narrowing the project down to a few different – but still very wide-spread – aspects of cellular growth. At this point every team member, by him or herself started thinking deeper into one of the aspects. We then came back together and decided on a road to follow. Since we had a vague plan, we could now split the work into parts and assigning it to groups of two. That way one group could focus on creating algorithms while the other group focused on material research and physical fabrication techniques. Even though it was not so obvious during the process, we realized trough the reflection that we were iterating all the time. We went forth and back again and again pretty much during the whole process. This led to a very satisfying end result.
Excursive Method
On the subject of iteration, the design process can be split up into the following steps. It’s important to understand that these steps are not in any way meant to be followed in a chronological order but are indeed meant to be repeated and mixed. This is called the Excursive Method:
- Investigation - Background, Research, Inspiration, Inputs, Talking to experts
- Play - Prototyping, Experimenting
- Everyday - Context, Cultural influences, User studies
- Tensions - Decisions, Teamwork, Critical rewatch
- Enactment - Workshops, Blog, Presentation
- Dissemination - Sharing knowledge, Presentation