Research vs Design

I responded the other day to a post on the Interaction Design Association message board (ixda.org), entitled "Say No to Genius Design."

Referring a perfectly cogent interview with Dan Saffer in 2006 the poster noted that "some newbie designers take it as the secret path to grand design success, which is not a good thing from my understanding."

This reminds me of a debate I used to have about instructional design. My friend liked to contrast the "scientific" approach, based on research, with the "intuitive" approach, based on... well, he would said nothing but instinct. I would say that while the scientific approach breaks everything down into individually verifiable tidbits, the intuitive approach makes a many - just as rational - decisions at once.

Of course, the catch is that the results are good only when the person making the intuitive design decisions is really smart, understands technology constraints, and has a great instinct for users as well. When Steve Jobs does it, it usually comes out pretty well (ipod) but not always (Newton - or was he gone then?)! Anyway, good designers do have - or develop - a reliable intuitive sense of what works and what doesn't.

BTW another factor in the Jobs/iPod success is that the designer was the CEO! He had the power to see the concept through to complete expression in all aspects and at all levels; many great product concepts get compromised or destroyed through bureaucratic compromise, turf wars, etc.

Sure, some testing is better than no testing, and before release is better than after, but keep in mind some critical limitations of testing:

- Testing is not design. Testing reveals problems, but simply reversing the condition you tested is seldom the best design solution. Usually there are clusters of related issues. To address them all well takes creative design, which always involves some degree of "intuition" or "genius."

- You can't test everything. During development, you can test the bit you're unsure about and improve them, but some aspect you thought was a no-brainer could turn out to be the most problematic for users (or buyers).

- Don't forget the factor of fashion! Sometimes the market likes something that doesn't make a lot of sense but just seems new and fresh. These market hits seldom come out of research!

In short, a bit of research never hurts, but it's no substitute for creative design.

Traveling in "Airplane Mode"

+ I fly a lot and can't help noticing certain changes and trends in the experience, including the little speeches given by flight attendants. For one thing, I've noticed they have started to say when you can use your device is "airplane mode." As far as I know, only the iPhone has something called "airplane mode," so I take this as another index of the product's popularity.
+ (I love my iPhone, by the way, by I have no idea exactly what gets turned off in airplane mode. Apple doesn't explain it, but that's because the folks at Apple are so convinced that their products are easy to use that they never explain anything. They are easy, of course, but a few hints on some points would be nice.)
+ I still don't understand why my iPhone has to actually be off during take-off and landing. What I like to do is crosswords - they are not sending or receiving radio waves. Can it be that filling out a crossword cause interference with air traffic control? Somehow I doubt it.
+ Lately I've noticed another warning - you are not supposed to leave your cell phone, PDA or Other Electronic Device loose on the seat next to you! I'm guessing this has nothing to do with radio interference but with the danger of small object flying through the air and hitting people in the head. So be it, but then where is the proscription against untethered tomes by Stephanie Meyer or Peter Drucker? Surely, a flying 500-page book can do more damage than a PDA!
+ Ah the mysteries of modern life. Perhaps someday all will be revealed.

What happened with the TV

In the end, I gave up trying to select a TV through research. The are so many models on the market, and so many features to compare - I just selected Sony as a reliable brand and picked out a model whose physical design I liked.
Then, as I was ordering it through a mail order place, the agent told me that was last year's model, and this year's had better specs, so I bought that one instead.
I'm happy with picture quality, but this new one came with a goofy physical design element - a little strip of clear plastic at the bottom, which offers a splendid view of nothing more appealing than the cables running out the back! In addition I wish it had a few more "wide" picture formats, like the Philips sets I used to work on. Also, it seems to take 5-6 seconds to tune from one HD channel to the next. But aside from those complaints, it's fine!