Lately there has been a resurgence in the discussion over using design for the greater good. From using design principles at the boardroom table, to solving third world problems with better interaction design. Who are we really kidding!
While the concepts are very noble and I can see how it can be done. There really needs to be a dose of reality in all this.
The overriding principle is that we can change the world through design. We do this by influencing everything we design. Such that we are producing high quality products that take into account sustainability, inclusivity and still focus on the business and audiences at hand.
During the week the general terms of User Experience and Usability become interchangeable. Huh?
Well the ISO standard ISO 13407 – the International Standard for Human Centred Design (gets a new number too! – ISO 9241-210) is being side shuffled it seems. Now it’s a standard for User Experience. Is this a good thing?
What is User Experience, really! Well for me it’s all the aspect of the front end user interaction, the emotional response to use the page, the effective usefulness, the accessibility, the audience’s perception of credibility of the site and the directive of the user towards the site’s goal. Usability (ISO 9241-11: Guidance on Usability) on the other hand is just an narrow aspect of this entire user experience
