Towards user design? On the shift from object to user as the subject of design
Johan Redström
Interactive Institute
If design used to be a matter of physical form, its subject the material object, it now increasingly seems to be about the user and her experiences. A central problem with this development is the confusion between what we are designing and who is going to use it逆he shift towards user design. Trying to optimise fit on basis of knowledge about use and users, we risk trapping people in a situation where the use of our designs has been over-determined and where there is not enough space left to act and improvise.
Keywords: design theory; philosophy of design; technology; user participation
In: Design Studies, Vol. 27, Issue 2, pp. 123-139. Elsevier 2006.
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Winner of the 2006 Design Studies Award.
(The Design Studies Award is made annually, jointly by the Design
Research Society and the journal publishers, Elsevier Science.
It comprises a certificate and a prize of GBP500. The criteria
for the Award, in order of priority, are: contribution to the
development of the field of design research, originality of
research or scholarship, breadth of relevance, and clarity and
style of presentation. Votes for the Award are cast by the
journal Editors and a group of Officers of the DRS.)
© 2006
johan redström