As Innovators and Designers, we are often faced with the temptation to go through our technical problems from an Ivory tower. More often than not, it is easier for us to do our calculations, simulations and design renderings devoid of any considerations of the humans that use or interact with the systems we work with. While it is true that it is more convenient for us to create self-sustaining automated systems that are able to give us reliable and repeatable results, let us not forget the purpose of technology. Technology, first and foremost is created to improve the quality of life of the human species. It is inevitable that the systems we create will somehow interact with humans. To expand this further, considering the primary purpose of technology, it is to our best interest as designers that our designs also safeguard the interests of the ecology it interacts with as the human species is bound to its ecosystem. It is of utmost peril and stupidity if we ignore the prime purpose of technology.
To avoid this we designers should comprehend the accumulation of knowledge from the people who use and interact with our intended designs. We are to take their stories and translate these into key bits of information and insights we can use in the creation of truly humane technology. Even better if we are able to immerse ourselves into the very context of which the technology is to be used. I remember as a young engineer, when I was tasked to solve complicated problems that spanned different factory types across the supply chain, the best answers came from the insights I learned by spending time with the technicians on the factory floor. By really joining them on the front lines, I really saw what the issues were which could not be seen otherwise from some remote terminal scouring scientific journal. It is the empathy with the users and the affected population that gives potency to an invention. A true designer is first and foremost and observer and the precision of his/her observations determines the effectivity of the technical solution he/she proposes.
Let us therefore remember that the greatness of a design pales in comparison to the greatness of the human behind it.
To avoid this we designers should comprehend the accumulation of knowledge from the people who use and interact with our intended designs. We are to take their stories and translate these into key bits of information and insights we can use in the creation of truly humane technology. Even better if we are able to immerse ourselves into the very context of which the technology is to be used. I remember as a young engineer, when I was tasked to solve complicated problems that spanned different factory types across the supply chain, the best answers came from the insights I learned by spending time with the technicians on the factory floor. By really joining them on the front lines, I really saw what the issues were which could not be seen otherwise from some remote terminal scouring scientific journal. It is the empathy with the users and the affected population that gives potency to an invention. A true designer is first and foremost and observer and the precision of his/her observations determines the effectivity of the technical solution he/she proposes.
Let us therefore remember that the greatness of a design pales in comparison to the greatness of the human behind it.
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