Contact:cdent@burningchrome.com
Referring to:
Passini, R. (1999). Sign-posting information design. In R. Jacobson
(Ed.), _Information design_ (p. 83-98). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 01:23:51 -0500 (EST)
From: cdent@burningchrome.com
To: ejacob_597ia_fall01@indiana.edu
Subject: Passini v. HCI
Passini states:
In fact, a strong argument can be made that design solutions can
only be properly assessed by potential users--regardless of how
confident the designer is about the proposed design.
but then goes on to say:
There is also a danger, however, in relying solely on assessment
research to build a discipline: it tends to be conservative. Although
it produces improvements on present conventions, it is not
particularly well suited for generating new ideas and questioning
existing assumptions and practices.
To me this suggests that the HCI discpline is, at its core, rather
conservative. I think this is generally supported by the literature:
user testing is used to create systems which perform according to
expectations. Rare is the intentional disturbance of patterns of
behavior resulting in revolutionary new ways of doing things (the
distinction between revolution and evolution is important here).
A damn shame, I say. I want to see technology help rip me free of
hackneyed ideas and behaviors. Why do current interfaces on many
computers attempt to suggest a desktop, as if sitting at a desk were
actually a good thing?
I think, as Passini suggests, there must be an edge where new things
happen. Not everyone will want to be out there on the edge, but
somebody needs to do it.
e-yawning...,
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