Comments on: SpoolCast: The Josh and Jared Show - Getting into Trouble http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/25/spoolcast-the-josh-and-jared-show-getting-into-trouble/ UIE\'s latest insights on the world of design Fri, 9 Jan 2009 04:16:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Cody Frew http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/25/spoolcast-the-josh-and-jared-show-getting-into-trouble/#comment-83832 Cody Frew Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:15:21 +0000 http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/25/spoolcast-the-josh-and-jared-show-getting-into-trouble/#comment-83832 Jared and Josh, In response to your pondering in the realm of art, and designing purposefully for negative experience, I wanted to rant on a few things: The same rules of design apply to Art just as they do to web applications- albeit at a very high level. I mean, the users are still human, presumably, so there are a lot of assumptions that we can make about how the information will be processed. It doesn't necessarily matter whether the information happens to be a file hierarchy or a Shakespearean story line. Design is so ubiquitous that we take it for granted. What we are really used to calling 'Design' in modern times is simply the realization that it can be more efficient if you rationally plan its elements. 'Good Design' then would be when it is performed intelligently, perhaps with a process and with evidence to back it up. The difference lies in the goals of the user. If I am using a spreadsheet, we can rest assure that my goal is not really to use or appreciate the spreadsheet- even though I may end up really liking to use it. My goal is probably to accomplish some higher-level task. The spreadsheet is simply a tool that enables me to do that. With Art (and many other areas of human life that Design isn't attributed to), the thing that has changed is the user goal (even though it isn't thought about in this way by artists). The user goal now is volatile, primal, and difficult to understand and communicate at a conscious level. It is not to calculate and compare sales trends, but rather to feel emotion. Since the range of emotions is pretty contrasting, we see very different types and expressions of Art. Another thing to note is that the reason why Art is so subjective is probably because most artists are not purposefully designing for an audience. The artist designs for him/herself. This translates into audience members finding their own meaning in it since the artist didn't construct a vehicle to convey the meaning they had in mind. People will use the art to relate to their own emotional states (in a manner similar to metaphors that take on different meanings throughout time and within different subcultures). Think about a hiking trail- one might think that we should design and maintain it in a usable way. We could build walkways with strong visual cues (so as not to get lost!) and railings for user safety. The concrete could be rubberized on the surface to allow for best traction with our boots. The problem is that these additions conflict with most hikers' goals. The hiker wants to experience nature and feel a sense of accomplishment from it. In this case, our features that enhance the usability of the trails are disjointed from the user's goal and end up harming the user experience. Cheers, -Cody Jared and Josh,
In response to your pondering in the realm of art, and designing purposefully for negative experience, I wanted to rant on a few things:
The same rules of design apply to Art just as they do to web applications- albeit at a very high level. I mean, the users are still human, presumably, so there are a lot of assumptions that we can make about how the information will be processed. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether the information happens to be a file hierarchy or a Shakespearean story line. Design is so ubiquitous that we take it for granted. What we are really used to calling ‘Design’ in modern times is simply the realization that it can be more efficient if you rationally plan its elements. ‘Good Design’ then would be when it is performed intelligently, perhaps with a process and with evidence to back it up.

The difference lies in the goals of the user. If I am using a spreadsheet, we can rest assure that my goal is not really to use or appreciate the spreadsheet- even though I may end up really liking to use it. My goal is probably to accomplish some higher-level task. The spreadsheet is simply a tool that enables me to do that.
With Art (and many other areas of human life that Design isn’t attributed to), the thing that has changed is the user goal (even though it isn’t thought about in this way by artists). The user goal now is volatile, primal, and difficult to understand and communicate at a conscious level. It is not to calculate and compare sales trends, but rather to feel emotion. Since the range of emotions is pretty contrasting, we see very different types and expressions of Art.
Another thing to note is that the reason why Art is so subjective is probably because most artists are not purposefully designing for an audience. The artist designs for him/herself. This translates into audience members finding their own meaning in it since the artist didn’t construct a vehicle to convey the meaning they had in mind. People will use the art to relate to their own emotional states (in a manner similar to metaphors that take on different meanings throughout time and within different subcultures).

Think about a hiking trail- one might think that we should design and maintain it in a usable way. We could build walkways with strong visual cues (so as not to get lost!) and railings for user safety. The concrete could be rubberized on the surface to allow for best traction with our boots.
The problem is that these additions conflict with most hikers’ goals. The hiker wants to experience nature and feel a sense of accomplishment from it. In this case, our features that enhance the usability of the trails are disjointed from the user’s goal and end up harming the user experience.

Cheers,
-Cody

]]> By: blog.dsetia.com» Blog Archive » Spoolcast: The Josh and Jared Show - Getting into Trouble http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/25/spoolcast-the-josh-and-jared-show-getting-into-trouble/#comment-81079 blog.dsetia.com» Blog Archive » Spoolcast: The Josh and Jared Show - Getting into Trouble Tue, 26 Jun 2007 04:31:17 +0000 http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/06/25/spoolcast-the-josh-and-jared-show-getting-into-trouble/#comment-81079 [...] Spoolcast: The Josh and Jared Show - Getting into Trouble Recorded: June 19th, 2007 from the studios of UIE Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 45 min | File size: 22 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] This week Josh and I talk about all the […] Source: [Link] [...] [...] Spoolcast: The Josh and Jared Show - Getting into Trouble Recorded: June 19th, 2007 from the studios of UIE Brian Christiansen, UIE Podcast Producer Duration: 45 min | File size: 22 MB [ Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes. This link will launch the iTunes application.] [ Subscribe with other podcast applications.] This week Josh and I talk about all the […] Source: [Link] [...]

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