Video Reflections 4: Paul Bennet - Design is in the Details

This video captured my attention right from the beginning when Paul Bennett stated that there is this threat that we are doing things to satisfy the big companies while smaller things such as the individual are left out. So what he wants is for the individuals to facilitate the big companies thus satisfying both.

His one example to show the big companies what really happens with the individual that experiences their environment. The video showed what the patient sees while in a hospital bed and it was just a 6 minute video of the ceiling. This was a good example of how design was made to satisfy the big companies but not for the individual who has to actually use the room. His solutions were to simply make the place more interactical for everybody. Make the patient feel like he has his own space and that people will talk to him there.

His second set of slides showed how people's experiences can lead to a new design such as just simplifying things with a whole lot of boxes becoming just one crate. Another point of design that he states that people design things through their own experience. They don't have to be designers to do that because its just human instinct. We follow a line on the ground when we walk, if there is a knob then we would most likely try to turn it so it is all just subconscious instincts that people do which lead to designs of new products.

He then went to talk about we could also put that same philosophy to children. They also have natural instincts to their environment so if we were to put ourselves in their shoes, we could get a better idea of what they would be feeling. Somethings that we personally would not think is practical may be ingenious to another so designing in consideration for the individual would help the product become more successful than people would think.

In the end, its about picking your battles. Picking specific products that you can handle but designing it so that it would make a big enough impact on individuals.