All,
There has been some discussion on the list lately on the value of designers
participating in the experiences of user groups as a form of research.
While I endorse the value of getting first-hand knowledge of situations as
generally a 'good thing' I would like to sound a note of caution here.
List members might like to consider the position taken by some radical
disability campaigners who are very much opposed to the kind of experiment
in which an able-bodied person tries by various devices to 'live' the
experience of some particular disadvantaged group, the blind, the
wheelchair user, or in an example referred to in a recent post, the aged.
As I understand it the argument is not that the knowledge gained is of no
use, but covers several epistemological points: a) That it is an approach
characteristic of an unconsciously patronising and authoritarian attitude:
"I will descend from my superior state to your inferior one in order to
find out what is good for you". b) it encourages the delusion in the mind
of the investigator that they are experiencing what their 'subjects'
experience. Even the most realistic simulation or the most total immersion
has an endpoint -the researcher knows that their 'sentence' is determinate.
The experience, attitudes and interpretations of someone for whom it is a
permanent way of life are potentially quite different. This criticism of
course would apply to any such 'immersion' research -even that quoted of
'shop-floor' experience for designers.
I am afraid I cannot furnish references here, but I am sure that a search
on radical disability rights organisations and campaigners would unearth
the original sources of this critique. I hope I have represented it
accurately from memory.
Incidentally, the problem of how to draw more 'real-world' information into
the design process was the starting point for the life-work of John-Chris
Jones as I am sure many of you will know. His solution was summed up in a
phrase which I find very resonant: 'depending on everybody'. Those wanting
an immediate introduction to his work could try the reviews on my website,
URL below.
Regards
Andrew
Andrew J King
<http://www.ajking.dircon.co.uk>
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design craft theory criticism education on-line
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