I think the key definitional issue here is what is meant by 'design'. Design encompasses many activities and serves
many purposes. Clearly the design of pharmaceutical packaging is highly functional and has clearly definable
objectives - objectives that can be empirically tested against. I'm not sure that the same can be said of a video clip, or
titles sequence, or book jacket design.
Design functions on many levels including emotional and phenomenological. Personally, I don't think any amount of
empirical research into these area will deliver more useful information than that which can be supplied by the designer
herself.
Audience research also assumes that audiences consciously know and can articulate their responses to a design
outcome - and that they know this better than the designer. I don't think this is always the case.
Of course all the above assumes that the designer in question has skill, modesty, experience and sensitivity. Clearly this
is not always the case either!
> -------Original Message-------
> From: Swanson, Gunnar <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: testing vs creative control
> Sent: 10 Mar '09 22:39
>
> Chris Rust sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 5:00 PM
>
> > So we have two questions. What do we mean by evaluation? and what do
> > we mean by creative control. If evaluation involves some kind of reductive
> > third party testing, like a lot of work with eye tracking, then I'm with
> > Gunnar as it almost always misses the point. If it is a tool that helps
> > the designer to see their work in its context I suggest it's
> > increasingly necessary. Similarly with "creative control" if that's
> > shorthand for "nobody interferes with my work, I'm the creative genius
> > round here" then I am deeply suspicious. If it means allowing respect
> > and a proper role for the judgement and experience of the designer I'm
> > with you all the way.
>
> Chris,
>
> We generally agree but I'd argue that by most definitions, evaluation reduces creative control. The big questions
for me are who should have control and how much. A reduction in creative control might be an experiential problem
for the designer but it isn't a particularly bad thing from several perspectives.
>
> What I left out before is that ongoing evaluation can be a creative inspiration. Even then, it is a reduction of
creative control unless somehow the designer's creative impulses are all aligned with the results being tested. That's an
ideal that's fairly unlikely for many of us to reach.
>
> Gunnar
> ----------
> Gunnar Swanson Design Office
> 1901 East 6th Street
> Greenville, North Carolina 27858
>
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> +1 252 258 7006
>
> at East Carolina University:
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>
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