User Centered Designer
By: Sydney Sebastian
Introduce the designer selected and the reason for selection:
I have selected Lisa Bambach as my user-centered designer because although she is fairly young for the design industry, she has been a part of a multitude of community involvement focused designs. She graduated from DAAP for Communication Design in 2012, and seeing all the work she has accomplished after being in the same situation as me is incredibly inspiring and motivating. He work isn’t exclusive to certain design needs, and her portfolio is expansive in facilitating a better community. She is still actively in the design field and is my typography II professor, giving insight to the realm of typography and beyond.
Describe a project in which they practiced user-centered design
A project in which Lisa practiced user-centered design was in the creation of the Oakley Transit Center shelter. She helped to design this shelter by maintaining brand identity and creating a space that is eye catching for those who rely on public transit. An 18 foot tall sign was created to catch the eye of public transit users, as the buildings surrounding the shelter are tall in comparison to the mere space created. The sign illuminates at night, providing clarity and readability for all users. Lisa was also a part of a wayfinding project of clearing and marking pathways that is set in Over-the-Rhine and Mount Auburn in Cincinnati, Ohio to bring about visibility and ease to pedestrians. She designed street markers in association with Spring in Our Steps (SiOS), a nonprofit organization aiming to provide better infrastructure.
What user-centered design principles and methods did the designer utilize?
The principles and methods that Lisa utilized in her projects include usability. In both examples I have given above, Lisa actively used usability for communication with her desired audience. In her project with Metro creating the Oakley Transit Center shelter, she took into account her surroundings and put herself in the target audience’s shoes to pinpoint how she could make the situation an easier and better experience, especially with the crucial need for easy readability for transportation. In her project centered on pedestrian use of pathways, Lisa utilizes the user-centered design principle of usability as well, for she helped to clear paths and facilitate an easier and more enjoyable experience for bikers and pedestrians in Over-the-Rhine and Mount Auburn. Her signage is legible and creates easier readability in communication with her audience.
Whom are the designers target audience? What was their gender, generation, culture, and profession?
Since Lisa’s two projects took place in Cincinnati, the target audience are local Cincinnatians who rely on public signage for information and user needs. In her project dealing with the Metro shelter, she designed the space for those who heavily rely on Cincinnati public transport in the Oakley area and need clarity in where to go. In her project in accordance with Spring in Our Steps, Lisa’s main target audience was very broad but also was limited to the area she was planning. She was designing for a wayfinding project and needed to think about who would be actively using the trails. Lisa had to make sure she was creating signage that would make sense to locals and visitors, designing straightforward markers that described areas of Over-the-Rhine and Mount Auburn.
How did practicing user-centered design add value to the project as a whole?
Practicing user-centered design added value to Lisa’s projects because without it, the end results would not have been nearly as successful as they potentially could have been. Without user-centered design in the Metro station project, public transit users could have easily missed the signage and thus ended up missing their bus. For the public staircase signage in Mount Auburn and Over-the-Rhine, without creating a wayfinding project that clearly marks pathways, pedestrians could have easily gotten lost on their route. Since user-centered design was used, there is nothing to worry about. The community is now efficiently working while still providing integral design.
What are the key takeaways from this assignment?
My takeaways of this project are that design always has a meaning and there is more to design than just making something look good. One must take the user into account while creating a piece made for multiple audiences and users needs. To put yourself in your desired audience’s shoes is ideal in creating a successful design, and all perspectives are necessary to cover to complete a project dealing with readability and visibility.
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