Artefacts to create knowledge.
How different externalisation method through a design process enables different insights.
Design is at its core about creating the non-existing and explore how ideas can take shape in a possible future. Most design projects are usually too complex for one person to solve. This makes the design process a social process where a various range of actors need to communicate and shape the ideas of the non- existing. In order to communicate the ideas, they need to be externalized. This can be done by having a dialogue, drawing a sketch or making an artefact. However, if these ideas remain in the mind it is hard to align people’s ideas and spot incoherencies. (Löwgren & Stolterman, 2004)The externalizing of ideas is not only to communicate with others. It is also a way for the designer to help communication with themself. In this paper we will look at how the making of artefacts across the design process can help designers refine the design ideas.
Artefacts to inspire
The design probe is one type of artefact a designer can use. The probe is intended to provoke new ideas and inspire rather than capture what is. (Boehner, Gaver, & Boucher, 2012) Probes are normally distributed with a short introduction and afterward the probe lives alone with the participant. For the probe to work it is important for it to be inspiring enough for the participant to interact with. This is important in order to generate insights to inspire the design process. A good experience will help the participant to find joy in using the probe rather than it being a chore. (Buchenau & Suri, 2000)
Artefacts to explore
Prototypes are a common design artefact used to generate knowledge. Prototypes come in many shapes, fidelities, focus and intentions. A defined focus let designers build the right prototype to understand and communicate their designs. (Houde & Hill, 1997)
By choosing an individual focus for the prototypes and defining the audience, the designers can use the economic principle of prototyping. This allows to make the best prototype in the simplest and most efficient way. (Lim & Stolterman, 2008) As seen on figure 3, extremely simple artefacts can be used to explore interaction properties when the audience is the internal design team. Such simple explorations can often be done with everyday objects by exploring material properties through Material explorations (Karana, Giaccardi, Stamhuis, & Goossensen, 2016) or rethinking interactions with an interaction relabelling exercise. (Djajadiningrat, Gaver, & Frens, 2000)
Artefacts to test
In early periods of testing it can be beneficial to keep the prototype rude. It takes less time and allows for building more iterations. (Lim & Stolterman, 2008) By keeping it rude it is also easier to discard non-great ideas because the designer has not yet invested too much time.
Presenting for an outside audience it makes sense to create an integrated prototype where all perceived elements is together in their highest possible fidelity and resolution. (Houde & Hill, 1997)
Experienced Interactions > Imagined Interactions
This allows for the participants to give feedback on the experience instead of having to fill in blanks and give feedback on a somewhat imagined interaction. However, an artefact can be faked in the certain functions to create a high- fidelity experience meanwhile keeping the developing cost down.
However, faked prototypes have their limits. If a prototype only works when a designer is nearby it limits the test to being in a simulated environment. In order to leave the simulated environment these prototypes much achieve enough sturdiness and liability to be able to function on their own.
Artefacts to convey knowledge
Lastly, artefacts can also be used as a vessel for design ideas. This is known from design disciplines such as speculative design where the final outcome is an artefact with the purpose to make people think about a proposed idea or scenario. (Dunne & Raby, 2013)
Conclusion
Design artefacts are not limited to a useability test of a concept. They span the entire design process and enables designers to think, explore, make decisions and convey design ideas. To create these artefacts is an essential part of doing design. It is important not to lose the craftmanship of the designer in order not to limit the designer’s ability to do design. When ‘making’ to design it is important not to forget methods such as analogue modelmaking and bodystorming. It has never been easier to mock-up a beautiful app using the software available today. Software contains the danger of confining designers to only build a certain type of artefacts. It is therefore important for designers to be mindful of the tools and techniques they use to make their design artefacts and training the crafts in order to design better.
Boehner, K., Gaver, W., & Boucher, A. (2012). Probes.
Buchenau, M., & Suri, J. F. (2000). Experience Prototyping. DIS, 424–433.
Djajadiningrat, J. P., Gaver, W. W., & Frens, J. W. (2000). Interaction Relabelling and Extreme Characters: Methods for Exploring Aesthetic Interactions. DIS, 66–71.
Dunne, A., & Raby, F. (2013). Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT press.
Houde, S., & Hill, C. (1997). What Does Prototypes Prototype?
Karana, E., Giaccardi, E., Stamhuis, N., & Goossensen, J. (2016). The Tuning of
Materials: A Designer’s Journey. DIS, 619–631.
Lim, Y.-K., & Stolterman, E. (2008). The Anatomy of Prototypes: Prototypes as Filters, Prototypes as Manifestations of Design Ideas. Computer-Human Interaction, Vol. 15 no.2, Article 7.
Löwgren, J., & Stolterman, E. (2004). Thoughtful Interaction Design. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Original written in 2020 in the course ‘Situating Interactions’ as part of my masters at the Copenhagen IT University
