diversification of minds - conversation in processes
design for communities
Tokyo, 07.10 - 09.10 1999
moderated by Lynn Shade, Adobe Systems, Palo Alto, USA
Information and Interface design projects depend on the collaboration of a whole team of talents, including production engineers as well as information architects. Todayıs designer must design across multiple media, a challenge more intimidating in theory than in practice.
In this session, three design professionals discuss issues of collaborative environments in the process of information and interface design development.
Maria Giudice, The process of collaborative thinking.
One of the most significant changes affecting today's graphic designer is how the designer relates to the other people involved in a team project. Collaborative thinking in an environment where many people play different roles and have different opinions is a challenge. To succeed, it is critical for team members to understand each person's role, know who owns which phase of the project, and agree to what needs to be delivered and when. And perhaps most importantly, everyone involved with the project has to feel like they've added value.
Lynn Shade, The process of user-centered cross-cultural user interface design.
User interface designers have the opportunity to start the design process by collaborating with overseas users to "hear" articulated and unarticulated needs for the product. This kind of participatory interaction is particularly important in Japan where cultural factors can impact the emotional experience of a product.
Izumi Tanaka, The process of Interface design in software development.
Understanding all possible criteria, but especially those related to engineering issues, is very important for the design development process. Designers need to fully comprehend the technical requirements of the production in order to translate them into creative solutions. Real world prototyping of design proposals is indispensable. Successful communication with engineers not only leads to a satisfying collaboration between engineers and designers, but also helps the designers to develop appropriate user interface solutions.
searching the vp7 database, you may find more about Lynn Shade:
The vp7 site database contains not only all published material related to the conference but as well an extensive list of references to issues of information design.
download the vp7 Sherlock PlugIn for MacOS 8.5x.