Utopian Entreprenuer and Other Readings

This week’s readings gave special attention to the idea of culture work and being a culture worker. Brenda Laurel explains this concept in her piece, “Utopian Entrepreneur.” I’ve become a fan of Laurel’s over the course of this class. She has a casual writing style, that is easy to read and to understand, but her advice and information is still very valid and useful. In the beginning of “Utopian Entrepreneur” Laurel discusses the notion of artist vs. culture worker. She notes the distinction between the two, claiming that an artist works in the realm of the art world, where as a culture worker works in the popular world. This idea goes back to one of our early discussions (when we were still discussing in the wiki) about the designer vs. the artist. What’s the distinction, if there is one? But all of these are labels that we clammer to, as unnecessary as we often find them to be. Laurel says that “culture work excites the will to action” (p. 11). I don’t think that concept is unique to culture workers, but can also be applied to artists and designers in general. But these definitions are not where I’d like to focus.

Laurel discusses throughout “Utopian Entrepreneur” her experiences with her company Purple-Moon, a company that focused on appealing the gaming world to girls. I’ll be honest, when she talked about the “death” of Rockett and the heartbreak of the girls who couldn’t say goodbye to their online friends when the website was abruptly shutdown, I felt tears forming. This was a surprise even to myself as I sat in the middle of a crowded Starbucks. Laurel, and the rest of her team, felt a passion for what they were doing. They were making an impact on young girls who had been overlooked in the gaming world. I think Laurel is right to call her self a culture worker.

Storytelling played a very important role within Purple-Moon and within the other designs mentioned in “Social Impact by Design” (Darion Rapza), “Researching America’s Army” (Margaret Davis), “A Virtual Walk on the Moon” (Bruce Damer), and “Mobium” (Jin Hyun Park). All of these essay explained designs that incorporated storytelling to impact the participant. Their executions varied, from single player gaming, to multiplayer installation, to museum exhibition, but the key component of them all was the art of storytelling. Through this, as Damer writes, they were able to create “a profound sense of contact and presence” (p. 282). That’s all culture workers, artists, and designers can really hope for.

Research Proposal

My current research proposal is posted on the page entitled, “Research.”  I need to make some additions to the current proposal, which I will be working on.  I will post a more thorough and updated proposal soon.

Methodology

This week’s readings seemed to place heavy focus on the actual design process. Dorothy Deasy’s essay “Non-Assumptive Research” describes the entire design process from the beginning, with emphasis on starting with a clean slate, all the way to the end in which an analysis is conducted. She talks about starting a research project free of assumptions. This is much more difficult than it sounds. When we think of what it is we want to research we often associate solutions with those questions. We quickly jump to assumptions about our subject and our subject’s needs and wants. This will only hinder our design process and will stifle any breakthrough ideas. Deasy explains that we need to closely examine our assumptions about our subject and about the research itself. She suggests including other people in the brainstorming process who can help pinpoint assumptions.

Eric Zimmerman’s article “Creating a Culture of Design Research” discusses ways in which designers and researchers can create an environment and lifestyle that will promote inspiration for their projects. He places emphasis on looking to the outside world for ideas and insights, while looking beyond the immediate concerns of the project. By creating a work environment that encourages design research, attending outside events relevant to one’s work, teaching others, and partaking in side projects, a designer has more to draw upon for inspiration which can lead breakthrough ideas.

I was particularly interested in Zimmerman’s statement and follow-up question: “Design shapes our world: Shouldn’t we let the world shape our design? (pg. 192).” This question harpers back to Deasy’s essay in which she talks about the importance of becoming a “learner.” She encourages researchers to seek out as many different avenues as possible that relate to the given topic. These different avenues can include movies, poetry, and the Web. Seeking out various types of sources will allow “the world to shape our design.”

The other articles in this week’s readings focus on more specific aspects of the design process and offer various types of processes and design techniques. Darrel Rhea’s essay “Bringing Clarity to the Fuzzy Front End” discusses the beginning stages of design and the “Innovation Process.” She discusses the importance of the design process, which is often overlooked by senior management who are only interested in the final product. But the process, Rhea explains, can lead to breakthrough ideas. She also describes an “Outside-In” design approach that places emphasis on the user or customer to provide inspiration for innovation.

Experience design and immersion investigation discussed by Nathan Shedoff (“Research Methods for Designing Effective Experiences”) and Sean Donahue (“Enabling Design”) respectively, places focus on experiential, social, and human data, rather than technological. Both Shedoff and Donahue’s methods require direct interaction with the subject to reach a new way of understanding the audience in which they are designing for. Donahue suggests that immersion investigation allows the designer to correct his/her own misconceptions about the subject while also building understanding and empathy for the users.

The methodologies one can use when conducting research seem endless. While no method should be considered wrong, it’s important to find the methodologies that are best suited for your needs and the needs of the people you are designing for. Two things seem clear though: Throw away your assumptions and keep an open mind to the world around you.