In our last class, we talked about affordances. When I was listening to the lecture on the design and human condition course my mind goes back to the 3rd-semester course of Sir amir where we have given this assignment of affordances and we have to find 50 ways of affordances of sitting, eating, and sleeping. The majority of the students were able to find 50 affordances of sitting. In each student’s affordances list there were many innovative ideas. When I Was doing this assignment I felt like why am I doing this? What is the reason behind this activity. I feel so confused. At that time I started realizing that I am the only student who is not getting the interaction design assignment because first Sir Amir gave us an assignment of good conductors and bad conductors in which we have to take pictures of things which can be pushed, pulled, flip, twist, scroll and many more options. At that time this assignment we all are considering is not of use but we realize it when our teacher told us that why he had given us this assignment to understand each action, As we have to use this in our work which came after affordance where we have to design the radio which you can update or the thing you think you can improve or make an invention. At that time I started understanding the concept of these assignments. But later on, I started realizing that I have very little knowledge of devices and gadgets So I decided to improve my knowledge on vacation which I did. I read Don Norman book
“Design of everyday life”.After reading the book I started understanding that I was not only the One who doesn’t understand complex things many people are like me. In this book, Norman explains that it is not your mistake that you are not understanding the things it is the mistake of designers, design, and maybe technology. Consider if you are seeing an object for the first time you’ll not be able to use it because you never seen it you don’t know how to interact with this object because the designer must explain the design by themselves. He says that start observing things. I understand many things from these things he mentions that technology changes rapidly and human slowly because human psychology changes with society and culture, that is why human beings take time.
He explains that human psychology plays an important role in these things. The whole system is based upon an understanding of human psychology while reading this book many things were been cleared to me. Because of that, I Understand that Good designs are not being created if bad design is not present because good design is a reciprocal of a bad design. In his book, he also clarified that the invisible design which we never notice is considered as good design. The complex design needs an understanding but the simple design does not. He explains that never solved the problem but we have to understand the problem the question which makes the affordance confused, he explains that starts seeing an object from a different perspective then you will able to design something creative. He mentions that a design that was used by everybody comfortably is considered good design. When we were in the foundation year, we were given an assignment to design furniture so I decided to make an abstract cube while making that cube. It turns into many things. When I started moving that cube in a different position it turned into a stool, chair, rocking chair, table, rack, and sculpture. I Haven’t put that in mind that I have to create many things but I keep in mind that I have to create something simple which could be turned into different things, I mention the wood assignment because as don norman said you have to create simple things with knowledge when you able to do it then that objects were itself turn into different functions which you also not think. After reading these books I understand many things many clarifications have been made by this book and it takes us to the write path to think, observe, and interact.
In class, the last thing which happened was that we all were divided into groups and then each group was given the affordances of each area. My group got an office and we have to find the functions of affordances we were creating that but the zoom meeting was not responding correctly, Our group board points were erased by someone and then they all writing things which were not related to the course and then we all were blank because from everyone boards many things were been erased.
