Design: Ethnography
This work proposes a hypothetical model based on a shared understanding of design and ethnography that draws on the agency of both disciplines. In particular we explore how ethnography and design can become equal partners in an interaction design context. All too often one side or the other dominates this discussion. When the design view dominates, the ethnography is about providing empirical data to inform the design process. In this context, there is a risk that ethnographic fieldwork is seen simply as an empirically based service to derive data for the designers to work with. However, when ethnography dominates the project focuses on building theory, rather than meeting the brief. In this context, design is viewed as being about aesthetics and layout, and ignores the tools, methods and experiences that designers have in their repertoire to understand the people in context. This down-plays the analytic qualities that ethnography can offer in contributing to knowledge and theory. Thus the paper draws on the research undertaken within an interdisciplinary project involving designers, ethnographers, and technologists concerned with understanding how human-centred design takes place with considerations of how to enact this in the future.
Keywords:
Design, Design Process, Human-Centred, Ethnography, People, Interaction Design
Stream:
Digital, Internet and Multimedia Design
Presentation Type:
30 minute Paper Presentation in English
Paper:
Design Plus People
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Matthew R. Simpson
Associate Lecturer, Information Environments Program
School of ITEE, University of Queensland / ACID
Australia
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Dr. Stephen Viller
Lecturer, Information Environments Program
School of ITEE, University of Queensland / ACID
Australia
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Dr. Laurene Vaughan
Research Leader, RMIT University / ACID
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Laurene Vaughan is Reseach Leader and Postgraduate Coordinator (COmmunication Design) in the School of Applied Communication at RMIT Univesity. She is also a researcher and Project Manager for the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID). Over the past 20years Laurene has worked across the fields of art, design, communication and interaction. She has lectured and given presentations internationally across these fields and publishes regularly. Since 1998 she has been involved in the development of Online teaching programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. She has over 25 research student completions and is actively engaged in the scholarship of research and the pedgagogy of a studio model of knowledge creation and communication.
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Yoko Akama
PhD Student, RMIT University / ACID
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Yoko is finishing her practice-led PhD at RMIT University, School of Applied Communications. Her background is in Communication Design, where she has been practicing for the last 10 years in various locations including London and Melbourne. Her research is situated within the practice of Communication Design, where she is investigating how the designers’ agency, and the agency of other stakeholders are valued to enable a human-centred approach to design projects. Yoko has also been teaching Communication Design for 5 years. She teaches into undergraduate and postgraduate levels into various programs including Industrial Design, Media Studies and Communication Design. In the last year, she has been involved as a researcher in one of the Australian CRC for Interaction Design (ACID) projects. Oh, yes, she's Japanese by the way. And no, she wasn't named after the infamous woman who split up the Beatles…
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Roslyn Cooper
Research Assistant, Information Environments
School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Queensland
Brisbane, Australia, Australia
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Roslyn has an honours degree that focused on Interaction Design and IT from the University of Queensland. Her background is in the health domain with qualifications as an RN and midwife.
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Jeremy Yuille
Senior Lecturer, Program Manager, MCD Studio, ACID Multiuser Environments Program, RMIT University / ACID
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Ref: G07P0026
