The 5th stage in the book was a very informative reading. Within this stage of design, it is crucial for designers to understand the idea of what your design is all about and how it will handle in the real world. The book explained this idea of a hierarchy system when planning out the needs of any design. The most important step was functionality. Everything that has been designed into the world was not created equal. It seems that something may look like it functions on the outside, but the interior can tell a whole other story. I have come across lots of things that didn't function like they were supposed to and that is something that the book explains right away which is important for us beginning designers.
Reliability was the next step in the needs of a design. So maybe something works right but can't depend on it for very long. I thought of a motor vehicle in this sense. No, I don't have any bad experiences with cars but you always hear those stories about cars that aren't reliable or last very long before they start giving you problems. The next step was Usability, I thought up of many things that I have come in contact with that were not easy to use. it seems many designers simply ignored it. For example, I remember going to a relatives house and I was going to use their microwave. Well, the microwave itself looked like one should, but it was not an easy one to use like a person would expect it to. I remember going through the various buttons, all of which were labeled with strange symbols and numbers that didnt mean seconds or minutes. I was like, wow, how about just getting a start button and going from there? Once i figured it out, the next thing was the microwave door wouldnt open until the timer ended. So the poor frozen pizza literally melted right before my eyes. It was a mess for sure...
Proficiency was the next step and this one was a very interesting step to read. A design that can actually improve the users lives whether its in learning ability or experiences. Computers, smart phones, software, video games, all of these things have improved the minds of the users in some way. It was also inspirational to read the example the book had which was on a OLPC laptop which is being used all around the world for an economically affordable price and and is environmentally efficient since it is meant for non industrialized areas of the world. Finally, Creativity is the last step but one of the most crucial. In this step is where innovation of the design and how it changes the world comes into place. Whether its a technique or new skill that the designers learned during the process, this can be applied to the design and things like efficiency take place.
In terms of modeling, there was some simple guides given to insure great modeling techniques. I liked how the book explained that modeling doesn't have to mean this huge project within a project type attitude. Modeling can be as simple as a detailed sketch that shows the basic physical idea of the design. I assume that when I hear or see this word that it means a lot of work. Scale was also explained and its important to know that accuracy of scale is important for both the client and yourself in understanding the size and dimensions. Time management was also touched upon and the author made it very clear to not spend so much time with modeling that it takes away from the overall design. Modeling is something that can be updated and edited, it doesn't have to be one final piece of work before your actual design is produced. I think this stage actually made more sense to me than the previous one. Defining things and what purpose these things have in real world situations is what Im all about and if there isn't clarity, I find myself struggling real quick, so it was nice to read this part of the book.
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