On 17 May 2014, at 11:28 am, Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> David Sless is correct in arguing that testing and evidence help us to choose among better and worse design solutions before implementing them.
>
> Design thinking is one kind of design process. Evidence-based testing is another.
Ken,
Thank you for elaborating the point. I have little to add but a couple of footnotes.
1. I see testing as part of design thinking not as a separate process. This is clearly spelt out in a number of recent publications.
• http://communication.org.au/product/usable-medicines-information/
• http://communication.org.au/product/information-design-an-overview/.
Another part of this process is what we describe as the scoping stage, in which boundary shifting and redefining of the problem space occur. Again, this is spelt out in the above publications.
2. I welcome your elaboration of our work on medicines information, but would suggest that this work is partially market driven. Less obviously so, and more challenging is the work we have done for government on forms and letter design. Poor forms and letters lead to huge inequities and there is little market incentive to bring about change, particularly in government where citizens' interests take a secondary position to that of the bureaucracy. Here too, some of our published work gives an insight into this.
• SLESS D. 1999. Public forms: designing and evaluating forms in large organisations, in H.Z., T. Boersema & H. C. M. Hoonhout (ed.) Visual Information for Everyday Use: Design and Research Perspectives: 135-153. Taylor & Francis.
• http://communication.org.au/product/forms-of-control/
Finally, my thanks also to Ranjan for making the Ulm material generally available. It provides an opportunity for us all to revisit this work. I will certainly do so and discover whether the younger me was mistaken.
David
--
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
Skype: davidsless
60 Park Street • Fitzroy North • Melbourne • Australia • 3068
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