On April 28th our San Francisco studio was able to showcase the new event space in our SF studio when we hosted the IIDA San Francisco City Center’s panel discussion on Human Centered Design. The event was organized & MC’d by Stephen Kolacki (Designer, Rapt Studio), and moderated by Louis Schump (Account Executive, Rapt Studio). The panel consisted of: Elizabeth Freer, Principal at Oppenheim Lewis, and client rep for the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, Joseph White, Director of Workplace Strategy + Design + Management for Herman Miller, and Dido Tsigaridi, Senior Design Experience Researcher for Autodesk.
Louis began the discussion with E.O. Wilson’s explanation of Biophilia, which is defined as a love of life or living systems. He also referenced IDEOs definition of Human Centered Design – a process that starts with the people you’re designing for and ends with new solutions that are tailor made to suit their needs. The conversation focused on the many facets of creating successful design; be it physical space, software, product, industrial design, a process or an experience, and advancing design solutions beyond surface level beauty to understand and exceed client expectations.
Elizabeth reinforced that designing for all senses is crucial for success, as users of any space, object, or interaction will have a unique perspective. Dido mentioned the human propensity to anthropomorphize can cause people to consider technology a life form and reinforced the importance of getting to “The Why” of a problem/solution. Joseph helped to tie these concepts together by highlighting the need to providing tools that allow people to build empathy.
Shortly before the discussion was shifted to the audience for a Q+A session, Louis brought the conversation full circle when he said, “the challenge was neither incorporating biophilia nor adhering to the tenants of Human Centered Design, rather, successful design is one that allows people to experience their humanity, or enhances the human experience.”
We want to thank everyone in attendance, especially our wonderful panelists.
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