Design Ethanography - Brian Loranger

Brian Loranger specialises in methods to find out what people do, how they do it, and, perhaps most importantly, why they do it.

Brian proposed the "top-down" approach to design process. He has an understanding of how a minute problem with a design can compound in to a larger problem, affecting the success of the design. This seemed to me to be the best approach to product design, and although Brian only broached the tip of the iceberg as far as the subject is concerned, I found it very useful.

So what methods can we use to achieve this? Anthropologists often embed themselves in a culture to learn about it, perhaps going to live for months or years with a South American tribe. Designers don't really have time for this, so we have to find other approaches. One vital point is that people's behaviour is changed by your presence - people are not going to behave normally if you sit in the corner of a room with a notebook and record all their actions.

A good example is empathetic development, or putting yourself in the user's situation. Designers at Ford used a suit - developed by anthropologists - to simulate old age, allowing them to better understand how this affects their interaction with a car.

This reminded me of a presentation by Seymour Powell, who showed how they developed products. Rather than asking or interviewing people, they watched them using things. Ask someone if there is anything wrong with their iron, for example, and they will probably say no. But watch them trying to use one, and watch them struggle to fill it up with water through the stupid little hole that all irons seem to have for no discernible reason. Seymour Powell discovered this through observation and designed a product to suit.

But sometimes, interview is the only option available. Brian talked about "grounded theory" and how to use it to get the most from an interview. The idea is to go in to the field without much knowledge - that way you don't develop any preconceived ideas. Go out, observe and then develop focus questions. The idea is to ask only a few generalised questions - open, not closed, to get a wholistic viewpoint. Minimise note taking as well - use recording technology so you can focus on interviewing rather than writing. 

I found Brian's lecture very interesting and will no doubt find his methods useful now and in future projects.