User and Society
The user, whether it be human or non-human, is central to the design process. The ultimate goal of a designer is to have a positive impact upon this group, and improve their current state. Hence it is vital to understand the user and the context around them, in order to make the most effective design.
Cultural Probes
The project which displays this best was the research I helped conduct on football fan culture. This was done for “Design <> Research” a course that centralizes on one of the initial phases of the design process, understanding the user. Football fans were selected as it is a prevalent part of Dutch culture, where many people devote time and money to following a particular team. Coincidently, Eindhoven is home to one of the ‘biggest’ teams within the Netherlands, PSV, making our access to this community quite easy. So the group devised a collection of cultural probes, a qualitative research method consisting of a variety of distinct artifacts, that aim to answer our research question. The results of this experiment were quite consistent throughout every participant, to be a fan you need to be passionate and feel with the club. Sharing those moments with those close to you is really what creates and strengthens those bonds. Furthermore, jerseys or even a particular color scheme goes a long way in first establishing a unity within the fandom. This is relevant for future designers as if they are able to curate the experience of matchdays and exaggerate the emotional pull fans feel, financial success for these clubs would then logically follow.
Cultural probes that developed through this project.
Carmex acronym that carputers our stance.
Rights of Nature Manifesto
The skill of understanding what you are designing for should also apply for non-humans, which are becoming increasingly relevant in the current climate crisis. ‘Rights of Nature’ was a module of the ‘Sustainability and Design’ course, tasked us to look at marginalized objects and develop a manifesto around them which reflects current environmental issues from the object's perspective. An object that falls within this criteria is CARMEX, a common chapstick brand, that is there to be used and thrown away. In addition, even though chapstick is constantly used it is never treated with care or respect for that matter. The manifesto attempts to stand for this object, and treat it as more than what it is. Our vision centers around an acronym, I AM MORE, as it encapsulates our stance on how this object should be treated.
Manifesto summarized within a video format.