Invited Technical Speaker Brenda Laurel: Tools for Change: Human-Centered Design Research

From Anita Borg Institute Wiki

Brenda Laurel, Professor and Chair Graduate Program in Design California College of the Arts

Human-centered design research methods serve two vital purposes in the world of design. The first has to do with the ethos of the designer. The notion of the designer as a Great Man (or Woman) still haunts the design field, even though we have largely passed into an era of collaboration – primarily because of the increasingly transdisciplinary nature of design work. A degree of humility and a great deal of curiosity are required of today’s designers. Who are these people for and with whom we design?

The second vital purpose of human-centered design research lies in our ability to change human attitudes and behaviors by understanding people well enough to “meet them where they are” with design interventions. Whether direct or indirect, such design interventions are unapologetically aimed at changing values, actions, or social norms in areas of concern to us as citizen designers today.

Designers bear responsibility for the effects of their work, from the social, environmental, and economic effects of its life cycle to the changes in the world it may produce. An open, inquisitive mind and the methodologies of human-centered design research empower designers to step up to a critical, ethical, and active engagement with the world.

Links:

Blog post from attendee: http://brendal-blog.blogspot.com/2009/10/ghc09-tools-for-change-human-centered.html