[Sigia-l] Human-Centered Design 99% bad

[Eric Scheid]

On 28/7/05 12:44 PM, "Alexander Johannesen" <alexander.johannesen at gmail.com>
wrote:

> He challenges us with this: "Show me an instance of a major technology
> that was developed according to principles of human-centred design
> [...]" The space-suit, the chair, the bed, the house, my underwear ...

Regarding the chair - they are often built to suit particular purposes ...
the office chair, the lounge chair, the bar stool, the dining table chair,
etc etc ... which makes them more activity centred designs, rather than
human centred design. When was the last time you saw a bunch of big fat
overstuffed lounge chairs arranged around a dining table? They sure are
designed to be extra comfy to humans, but I'm sure someone could design even
*more* comfy chairs, perfectly attuned to the needs of humans sitting in
them (eg. cup holders in the arm rests ... which reminds me of the car that
homer designed, another parable of human vs activity centred design).
Arranging those chairs around a dining table would make even less sense.

(all the above assuming eating at a dining table is an inviolate given,
which it isn't, so don't start ;-)

e.