Wherever you go, when you see people they are part of many different cultures. Often times, people will use design as part of their cultural expression. Think about yourself. What jewelry do you wear? What kind of backpack did you choose? Why do you ride the bus or drive a car? When you go to a concert are you around people that are like you? Cultures are fascinating expressions of people belonging.
This tool will help us observe various cultures that are right in front of our eyes.
Look around you. What is the context these people inhabit like? Does the context shape the experience?
- Location: What is the location?
- Weather: How’s the weather impacting the experience?
- Laws: How do these impact people when they use a design?
- Hierarchy: Is anything dominating peoples’ attentions?
- Social Norms: What are the acceptable ways of behaving here?
Who is this distinct people group? Do they have a descriptive name? How can you tell them apart from other people who are not in their group?
- Age: How old are these people (an age range is fine)?
- Movements: What gestures do they use that are unique to their culture?
- Relationships: What relationships have they developed?
- Attitude: Are there attitudes they demonstrate toward certain ideas, designs, each other?
- Language: How do they speak to one another? What words do they use? Slang? Do they code shift?
- Culture: How do they express their culture through what they wear, how they act, what they own?
- Mood: What moods can you observe?
What are people using? What are they trying to accomplish with the design? Can you tell if a design is useful, usable, or desirable? Can you tell if a design is failing?
- Style: Is the style popular? What does the style “say” about who made it and who uses it? Why?
- Condition: Is it new? Beat up? Could it be improved?
- Operation: How is the design used? What steps are involved? Does this create problems? Is it complicated?
- Usability: How does the design’s format match people who use it?
- Purpose: What is this design supposed to do? Who decided this?
- Meaning: What does this design mean to the people? A status symbol? Safety?
