Design vision
From WikID
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This article is part of the Bachelor design guide; the original version can be found at page 106. |
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What is a vision?
According to the description in the Dutch dictionary Van Dale vision means 'The way someone judges, considers matters (or things) → consideration, view, opinion'.
A vision in the context of product design provides us with a personal, inspiring image of a future situation created by a designer or a group of designers and/or other professionals. This future situation can concern directly the new product itself (features, functions etc.), but also the domain and context where the product will be used, the user(s), the usage (or interaction) of the user(s) with the product, the business or other aspects related to the product design. A strong, convincing vision is often well founded by arguments based on theories and facts and is communicated effectively by using images, text and other presentation techniques.
When can you use a design vision?
An explicit vision on the product (to be designed) supports the designer during his/her search for ideas and the final design. It provides a design direction and thus helps to steer the product design process (supported by many aspects influenced by for instance the meaning of clients, users, team members, producers etc.). Therefore a vision (on something (to be specified)) should be created in an early stage of the design process.
How to develop a design vision?
A design vision does not usually ‘come falling out of thin air’, but is a result of thorough analysis, creative thoughts and personal experiences in design but also experiences in life in general. The elective course ViP (ID5161) of the IDE master provides a specific approach for it. A vision development approach is also incorporated in the 2nd year bachelor course 'Fuzzy Front End' (PO3, IO2010), Strategic Product Innovation (SPI, IO2030), and in the 1st year Master Design for Interaction project “Exploring Interactions” (ID4250), there specified as an interaction vision.
Tips and concerns
As beginning bachelor students do not have much experience in design, some design researchers and tutors state that we cannot expect strong design visions from beginners and therefore not ask them to create a vision in the early bachelor years. This can be contradicted by the argument that young people do have opinions and that by not supporting them in learning to think reflectively and critically about them, we miss a chance to link general design knowledge and skills to the personal motivation of people. This thought is based on the notion that people learn more effectively if there is a bond between their external en internal world (the person itself).
Since there are so many aspects involved in the creation of a vision it should be clear in advance on what the designer gives his or her vision.
