This blog provides a forum for students, instructors and others to share information and ideas about the Spring Thesis Program at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City.
You need to define what you mean by "bad" and "good" -- it is not a universal condition that everyone would agree with. Articulate the value that you are trying to give your work and the value that you are trying to discourage. (Is bad wasteful? Unattractive? Expensive? Round? Is good inviting? Intuitive? Sustainable? Functional? Blue? You need to tell us, not have us interpret.)
Do not consider a "do you like my design" Q&A a user test. DO not wait to find out what people think of models before making full scale details. Make these details now... argue for why they are "good".
David, I agree with some of Patty's comments, but I also think that there is validity in the kind of testing you are doing, given your working assumptions for the thesis. You have set out to produce a furniture line that is specific to a particular place. That is, you are trying to figure out the essence of "Jackson-ness", so that your final design will capture that spirit. However, I don't think that you are saying that this furniture will be only marketed to Jackson residents (that would be a bad business decision). So, while it is relevant to ask residents about their taste in wood finishes, for example, it is also important to make clear that you are asking this question to help you refine your understanding of what a Jackson-ish table should look. But, as a design and business strategy, it's hard to understand how simply asking local people their opinion really qualifies as design research, so in that respect, I agree with Patty. Let's talk about how to refocus your design research so that you will achieve more meaningful results, which will help you to improve your design in a cyclical process. steven
2 comments:
You need to define what you mean by "bad" and "good" -- it is not a universal condition that everyone would agree with. Articulate the value that you are trying to give your work and the value that you are trying to discourage. (Is bad wasteful? Unattractive? Expensive? Round? Is good inviting? Intuitive? Sustainable? Functional? Blue? You need to tell us, not have us interpret.)
Do not consider a "do you like my design" Q&A a user test. DO not wait to find out what people think of models before making full scale details. Make these details now... argue for why they are "good".
David,
I agree with some of Patty's comments, but I also think that there is validity in the kind of testing you are doing, given your working assumptions for the thesis. You have set out to produce a furniture line that is specific to a particular place. That is, you are trying to figure out the essence of "Jackson-ness", so that your final design will capture that spirit. However, I don't think that you are saying that this furniture will be only marketed to Jackson residents (that would be a bad business decision). So, while it is relevant to ask residents about their taste in wood finishes, for example, it is also important to make clear that you are asking this question to help you refine your understanding of what a Jackson-ish table should look. But, as a design and business strategy, it's hard to understand how simply asking local people their opinion really qualifies as design research, so in that respect, I agree with Patty.
Let's talk about how to refocus your design research so that you will achieve more meaningful results, which will help you to improve your design in a cyclical process.
steven
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