Meeting people where they are

ABSTRACT

Human-centered design research methods serve two vital purposes in the world of design. The first is educational. At the graduate level, methods and techniques for engaging the world as it is are fundamental to good design pedagogy. The notion of the designer as a Great Man (or Woman) still haunts the ethos of design, 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 new designers. Who are these people for and with whom we design? The computer game industry provides an interesting example of how designing for oneself may reach a certain audience, but will be thwarted in its ability to move beyond its own narcissistic gaze until some Other audience -- along with designers willing and able to understand it -- comes into view. Students who comprehend the diversity of human qualities and situated contexts that their work may engage emerge from the educational process with the informed intuition of a good designer and with the means to inquire of the world as they move through their careers. For the working designer, human-centered design research is the principal means of educating oneself about the people for whom one designs and the situated contexts in which one's work will be encountered.