David Kelley - Human Centred Design

After watching this video it has helped to create an insight into the industrial design industry and the connections between people and the products and environments with which they interact. I believe the main focus of this video was to show that for a product to truly be successful all aspects of the product need to be addressed not just function and aesthetics. David Kelley talks of how design used to be entirely focused on the products, objects and prototypes, where as now it is moving towards a human centred approach to design which focuses on designing behaviours and personalities in the products. Also the way of presenting the products and ideas have developed from 3D models and 3D rendering to getting the actual products in motion, showing how they will actually be used, which creates an experience prototype that shows the connections between man and machine.

David Kelley shows various innovative technologically advanced products and environments developed by industrial designers using this new method of human centred design. His work on the Prada shop in New York is a prime example of this, were he has taken the shopping experience to an entire new level. He has enhanced every aspect of the shop from the changing rooms with liquid crystal glass doors and a magic mirror with a 3 second time delay to see the back of the outfit to the staff’s scanner which ultimately makes the job easier for both the staff and clients. He has created a new technological culture.

The design I was most inspired by was created by Dr Martin Fisher, from Approtec, which was a deep well, low cost, manual pump that has been used in Kenya. It address the need that they previously couldn’t grow crops in the off season, they could only grow them in the rainy season. By actually interacting with the people in Kenya and visiting and experiencing their environment they have been able to manufacture these products tailored to their needs and have developed over 19,000 companies and created over 30,000 job opportunities for the people in this disadvantaged country.

This video reinforces the fact that it is very important for designers to keep up to date with the every changing advancements in technology. Also that designers’ should be aware of the needs and interactions that the consumers and clients have with a product or an environment.