Prof. Jeremy Myerson from the RCA Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design speaking at NTU described ‘empathy and experiment’ as key attributes for designers working with people (not doing things to them but with them) – at all scales. He identified Henry Dreyfuss as the original people-centred design pioneer – suggesting we need to inhabit the mindset of users (eg farmers not wishing to walk their muddy boots over the plush carpets laid out by RKO cinemas in the mid-west). He quoted Alan Fletcher (twice): “artists solve their own problems, designers solve other people’s:” what designers need to do is to solve the right problem. Thus Jens Bernsen’s exhibition was called ‘Design – the Problem comes First’ – suggesting a good problem is a gift for a designer. He quoted the following “double diamond model” from the UK Design Council.
He described the community architecture movement of the ‘70s as having developed a poor reputation due to its participants’ beards and sandals, but argues that ‘design is not watered down by user participation but the opposite’. Design skills need to include an ability to get people to participate, to become active participants in the process; unfortunately, designers have a tendency to look for negatives, things that need to be ‘fixed’ (eg graffiti, hoodies, derelict buildings), rather than engaging in more positive ‘asset-mapping’ – as done in the Kentish Town Forum consultation exercise: a circle is drawn, and specific spaces, groups of people, etc are located nearer or further away from the centre (which represents where the power lies). The participatory mindset demands a focus upon what the real problems are: for example, the SHPARCED project for Kensington High Street was not welcomed by locals (demanding kerbs as ‘sight lines’), although it was much loved by CABE. He mentioned ‘levels of user involvement’ (see reference to Sherry Arnstein below) and Alan Fletcher's THIS WAY UP (upside-down) / DOWN WITH DOGMA
When testing what elderly people want in terms of remote-access sensors, it was found that they would be happy for sensors to be located on the TV/stairlift / kettle / thermometer / microwave, but not on WC-flushes nor for room-use: ‘we all want inclusive environments, but do we know who’s being included?’ Iain MacD declared at the end “in the commercial sector, consultation is a luxury”. The response was that you don’t need huge population studies (eg ethnographic survey) to undertake a design study – just pick a group fo participants and run a ‘day in the life of...’ study.