Design for the users
Or “know what your job is!”
If you are an architecture student, chances are that in school, you just spend 10% or less of your time and efforts considering the users and learning more about them. That’s how you know it‘; That’s how your professor told you to do it; That’s how Zaha Hadid works! Well, that’s how you will fail!
Design is not an art process!
So, If you are thinking: “I’m inspired by that wooden wall, So I will use it”, You are an artist. Not a designer, an artist. Just to clarify, you don’t want an artist design your building, just like you don’t want a nutritionist have a brain surgery on you! Artists tend to make art like how they like it. But you, as a designer, you are designing for a user. You’re results is going to be actually used! So if it is hard to use, if it is not what the user want, thus your design failed. In fact that’s not what just I am saying, that’s what you job description is, that’s what your client will pay you to do, that’s what you are supposed to do! Please, don’t give me those architecture/god quotes, I live in those! Just this once, use this quote:
Design like you give a damn!
— Cameron Sinclair
furthermore, for more explanation on this one, read my previous post called Design is not a fucking art process!
Designer’s Human model is incomplete!
Now, you are ready to design 100% for the users. Nice ☺! But still there is one problem: You don’t know your users. Jon Lang, on his book “Creating Architectural Theory: The Role of the Behavioral Sciences in Environmental Design” tells us that we don’t know who our actual users are! The traditional approach is that you just look inside, you analyse your own feelings and needs and reactions, and that’s all you need to know about your users. Well, even sheep are different from one another! So what is the solution? Well you can always, do your job and learn psychology! And then analyse your users. However, there is one ultimate method that can help you a lot, and that’s studying human’s respond to already made buildings!
So, now if you have done this, Or you are doing this, I solute you!
Conclusion
Finally, as a designer it is you job to be smart, but you are not a god! Don’t act like it, Don’t even pretend! It’s not nor ethically right, nor the client wants it. Just do your job! And good luck ☺
