Dear Maria and all,
I am sorry I was catching up the discussion on 'empathy' very late due to
workload and other factors..
Empathy is a topic that has been of very much interest to me...
I started thinking about it when I found that students as well as young
designers working on project were not properly adressing the need of a
user. At first I thougnt it could be a lack of proper application of design
process. Designers were sincere and hard working and trying their best. And
for all purpose showed applcation of Design process. They were very happy
with the solution they could arrive at.
But the solution though often did take into consideration the actual needs,
somehow missed the user's perspective. Students even when asked to go
through the process again could not understand the reason why the solution
offered by them does not meet the requirements of the user. The solutions
did address the brief, but were not the best and did not take into proper
consideration of the end user. Many a time the clients and end users were
different. The clients often did express the shortcomings of the solution.
But when the solution was a product/process to be used by another set of
people, the difference in understanding was obvious.
At first I thought this was problem of lack of communication and research.
But closer observation made me realise that it is much more than the
absence of communication or lack of opportunity for communication.
There is a clear lack in understanding the problem, whether properly
expressed or not..
I have a feeling that this could be due to lack of empathy.
In a country like India often the profile of the end user may not match
with the profile of the Designer oin terms of social, ecenomic,political
and cultural aspects. In such situations, I find that there is a clear lack
of understanding about the behaviour patterns of the end user. This lack of
understanding comes from lack of empathy and not lack of communication.
What is communicated is often lost and not understood. What is researched
and collected as data does not reflect in the process.
I am a fiction writer and filmmaker and for us empathy is part of the core
process, the foundation on which we build our work. Perhaps that could be
one reason I am too conscious of it..
I know that empathy plays a similar role in Design process. But there are
other questions also.
How much does the capabilty to understand the other, influence the results
of a Desgn process.?
Do Designers need the same level of empathy that is supposed to be there
for the artists and writers?
How do we cultivate that as part of the learning process?
I would like to hear from others as I am trying to work on this subject...
Regards,
*Leenus L K,*
Associate Faculty,
Kerala State Institute of Design,
Chandanthope, Kollam-691014.
Kerala,India.
Ph: 9447708592
On Fri, Jan 12, 2018 at 12:39 PM, Burcak Altay <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear Maria,
> I have been working on design with empathy particularly within the context
> of inclusive architectural and interior design education. Although not
> specifically focused on precedents of design without empathy, the following
> articles may be of interest on empathic design education methods and
> outcomes.
>
> Best,
> Burçak
>
>
> Altay, Burçak, “Multisensory Inclusive Design Education: A 3D Experience,”
> The Design Journal, 20(6), 821-846, 2017.
>
> Altay, Burçak , “Developing empathy towards older adults in design,”
> Educational Gerontology, 43(4), 198-208, 2017.
>
> Altay, B., G. Ballice, E. Bengisu, S. Alkan and E. Paykoç. “Embracing User
> Experience in Inclusive Design Education through Learner-Centered
> Instruction”, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12(11), 2016:
> 1123-1141. DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2016.1155662.
>
> Altay, Burçak and Halime Demirkan. “Inclusive Design: Developing Students'
> Knowledge and Attitude Through Empathic Modeling”, International Journal of
> Inclusive Education,19(2), 2014: 196-217. DOI:10.1080/13603116.2013.764
> 933
>
>
> ---
> Dr. Burçak Altay
> Assist. Prof. of Practice
>
> Bilkent University
> Faculty of Art, Design, and Architecture
> Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design
> 06800 Bilkent/Ankara TURKEY
> Phone: +90-312-2902651
> e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>
> -------------
> Maria Miller wrote:
>
> -snip-
>
> My name is Maria Miller, Visiting Assistant Professor of Design at The Ohio
> State University and I am interested in better understanding the value of
> empathy in design. This is my first post.
>
> -snip-
>
>
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