Dear Karel
Where is the writing-designing-testing working and where is it less
effective, or is it not possible to discuss it here just via cyber
conversation? Will you share how/what your value of testing was? Your
audience mentioned that a good designer would have predicted most of those
test results beforehand, does that mean you do not need to test? I am
curious how you check if one makes any progress - even though they confirm
your assumptions are correct. If they question your testing, on what
grounds then do they confirm?
Your reaction might have been different on your quote below, as the word
'testing' will trigger reversion with some designers or technicians. ---
*If I had introduced it as “Designers need to meet the people they design
for”, in stead of “Testing is essential to find out if something works”,
the reactions might have been different?*
Regards
Verdian
_______________
*Verdian Coetzee *
+973 35031645
P.O. Box 37400 Riffa
Kingdom of Bahrain
Skype: verdian007
On 4 December 2014 at 13:00, Karel van der Waarde <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> David,
>
> Yep, we’re all Irish fools starting from the wrong point, asking the wrong
> questions.
>
> I gave a ‘faculty-lunch lecture’ yesterday in Basel at the School of
> Design. Very enjoyable.
>
> I showed a few medicine boxes and explained where the
> writing-designing-testing works, and where it is less effective. One of the
> reactions afterwards questioned the value of testing, by stating: “A good
> designer would have predicted most of those test results beforehand. Those
> results are not very surprising.” My answer was of course fairly standard:
> ’They probably are not surprising, but they provide quantifiable results
> about some of the tasks. Those responses are vital to check if you make any
> progress. And they confirm that the assumptions are correct.’
>
> Looking at some of my recent testing, it seems that ‘getting in direct
> contact with the people who are obliged to use my designs’ is probably just
> as important as the test results. It might be just an ‘aversion’ against
> the word ’testing’.
>
> If I had introduced it as “Designers need to meet the people they design
> for”, in stead of “Testing is essential to find out if something works”,
> the reactions might have been different?
>
> I’ve got to be a bit more careful when I introduce testing to make sure
> that it is not seen as a replacement of good design, but as an essential
> support to confirm and question assumptions.
>
> [For this talk, I had scanned about 100 books on typography, and about 100
> on ‘visual communication’. Most of these books don’t mention ‘readers’ at
> all. If they do, it is in very vague terms, and very very few suggest that
> it is actually possible to meet ‘those people who are obliged to interpret
> designs’.]
>
> Kind regards,
> Karel.
> [log in to unmask]
>
> >>>
>
>
> > On 4 Dec 2014, at 00:10, David Sless <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> >
> > Well Terry, I suppose that is that! It’s been an interesting thread. I
> have particularly enjoyed Karel’s, Ken’s and Gunnar’s contributions. They
> reminded me of an old Irish joke which contains one of the most profound
> punch lines masquerading as foolishness.
> >
> >> A tourist visiting Ireland stops a local old man and asks him:
> >> “Could you tell me how to get from here to Cork”?
> >> The old man thought about it for a moment and then said:
> >> “Well. if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here”
> >
> > It seems to me that we are all wise old Irish fools.
> >
> > David
> > --
> >
> > blog: http://communication.org.au/blog/ <
> http://communication.org.au/blog/>
> > web: http://communication.org.au <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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