On 20 May 2014, at 10:00 am, Klaus Krippendorff <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> so, i agree, the last word is not that of the market but i suggest it is of the network of stakeholders that connects multiple perspectives and resources in support or opposition of a design.
I would love to agree, but I don't. I don't think there is a last word. There is just an endless stream of human activity in which some designs survive, mutate, transform, or just get abandoned and die. Some designs are used in ways that nobody anticipated. Some are not even used for their original purpose. Stakeholders shift and change, and literally lose their interest. But there is no final word.
Most of the designs we work with that achieve the outcomes we wanted, rarely do so for any prolonged period of time. In the monitoring stage we have found that the usability of the design can deteriorate significantly after only six months. As most designers do not include monitoring in their projects, they just don't know what happens to their designs once they are implemented. And I would never expect them to have a useful opinion on who has the last word.
As a final footnote to my own contribution on this thread [but not a final word on this subject] Klaus and Ken's off the top of their heads description of the institutional context in which medicine is used, miss an extremely important point which arises from the EVIDENCE of medicine use. The vast majority of medicine use (approximately 80%) occurs outside the institutionalised context of health professionals. Most medicine use is self medication. Moreover, in large parts of the world you can buy any medicine you can name, without a prescription, and without any medical advice or help. All you need is the location of your nearest medicine seller and money.
In that context, the label may well be the only thing between the user and death. With that in mind, I take our testing of the label's usability very seriously, even if it is not the last word.
Best wishes to all from the first wintery day in Melbourne
blog: http://communication.org.au/blog/
web: http://communication.org.au
Professor David Sless BA MSc FRSA
CEO • Communication Research Institute •
• helping people communicate with people •
Mobile: +61 (0)412 356 795
Phone: +61 (0)3 9005 5903
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60 Park Street • Fitzroy North • Melbourne • Australia • 3068
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