People First Design

So this week I embarked upon a new journey in my HCI/d education in Indiana University’s Master’s program.  The ship I am on is called Interaction Culture, and it is headed by Captain Jeffrey Bardzell.  In this class we will look at how theories in the humanities, specifically aesthetics and critical theory can be applied to the field of HCI/d.  Looking at  literature and drawing upon the wealth of philosophical debate and experience in the arts brings up the obvious question:  How does this apply to HCI/d practice?  This can be quickly followed with thoughts such as “I am a practitioner so I have no use for theory,” and “While you are theorizing I will be busy actually designing stuff.”

While those are admittedly straw-man statements, I feel that they do have a hint of truth in the field of HCI.  I myself feel that way at times, but I am beginning to understand what I will gain from a deep study of aesthetics and critical theory.  The goal isn’t to replace all of the inspirational pictures on the walls of the design space with academic papers, but to provide me (the designer) with new perspectives to view those pictures through.  By that I mean that the point of this approach (and of this class) isn’t to turn me into a philosophy-spewing humanities fueled machine, but to internalize some of the material so that I cultivate better designerly judgment.