It’s kind of funny, but in a way what are we reading should be common sense; the people making the product and the experience should turn to the people buying the product. This idea is not that common, and some companies get lost in the corporate board lead consumer products. When an executive makes a choice for something without ever knowing the need of the customer, chances are the something will fail. As a designer, we come in as the middle bridge and make this product fit more for what the user may need.
Taking that sort of abstract look at things, and go further to where empathy is included with looking to the user’s needs we get into products and experiences that are exceptional. A company is only as good as its loyal customers, and customers build their trust in a company that puts out products that relate to them and are made for their needs. A company like Apple would not be as big if they didn’t hold the level of quality very high, have great warranty programs, and make the experience of having their products so amazing. The customer knows when they see an apple on a product that they don’t have to question anything, and that idea is almost in the design of Apple.
The article Building a Design Driven Culture brings up an idea that could speed up the communication between parts of the project, like engineering and design, by getting them all in one room for a day to all work together. This is great because we can teach about design and they can teach us about engineering, which will only make this group stronger because they have more knowledge about more things. This idea can also be taken into the customer space, and have a room where customers come in and work with these teams to get more involved in company.
In a more people focused approach, the article Design for Social Innovation is saying that designers work for the people first, then the products. We design for people and fill their needs, and from that comes a product. Instead of looking for problems to be solved, talking and connecting with people will illuminate a need that maybe they didn’t even know they needed. People centered design is a very apt name.
SOURCES:
Killian, Jennifer, et al. “Building a Design-Driven Culture.” McKinsey & Company, Sept. 2015, http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/building-a-design-driven-culture.
Srinivasa, Suraj. “Design for Social Innovation.” UX Collective, UX Collective, 1 Oct. 2018, uxdesign.cc/design-in-social-innovation-488f210e487d.
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