Don't look for the Next but the Else.

During the introduction of the computer into almost everyone’s work environment in the last decade, speculations, hopes and fears were plenty and so were the people making predictions about the the office space to come. One of these predictions was the idea of the “paperless office”. Behold the marvel of entirely digital communication no more need to shred and destroy forests for the mere use of exchanging information…I am certainly not an expert on international office standards, but to me pen and paper is very much still an essential part of my personal office work and process. Does this mean the digital revolution might have failed and the paper prevailed? Or we not using the full potential, sticking to an antique technology? 

If we aim to look into an object and create its next iteration, we might find a new, but not necessarily a good or useful successor. Attaching new functionalities to an existing product, is destined to increase its complexity while decrease its clarity.Instead let’s learn from the existing and understand its history first. Disassemble its parts, question and understand the origins. Look into a very specific detail, evaluate and understand it to reshape it into an object that represents its very essence. What is necessary and what might have become redundant.Human centered design needs to acknowledge that humans are different and face different difficulties in interaction with interfaces and products. It is worth exploring these differences and evaluate them to consider if the existing product is just a compromise to their needs or whether they need a different product all together.Rapid prototyping and made to order manufacturing created tools to rethink products as 100% mass manufactured identical copies. We need to embrace these technologies not only for superficial vanity but to address individual needs and necessities. While already well established for large investment products, such as cars, customization to your personal needs has potential to become a more widely used concept than it is today.In the past products relied on physical stores and in stock availabilities, yet those are no longer contemporary concepts for a large group of every day goods. Admittedly the speed of productions lacks the convenience of next day delivery, but should not stop us from the idea of slimmed down ideas.A potential danger in a customized system might be the conservative thinking of the customer that tend to stay within his or her comfort zone. This will make the introduction of new technologies more difficult, preventing the forced push into the market of new ideas that is used today at times. New standards, inconvenient at the beginning but necessary first steps to move forward. (Thinking about the introduction of USB-C)

replacement thinking

Critical reframing.

Creating alternatives and new parallel existing objects mustn’t mean that prior iterations remain static, it is very much necessary to rethink and reevaluate existing objects if they are supposed to remain a part of a parallel existence. This is the opportunity and pressure to understand and emphasize their actual value and strengths, to engage with a product more critically.

Example:Letters used to be a standard form of communication for a wide range of occasions, but they were neither fast not universal. eMail created a better alternative for a majority of former letter applications. So far that many believed the end of the letter had come. But the letter just needs to reframe itself for its strengths of personality, emotional value and uniqueness!

The frame world of their origin has changed to a new world, and it is up to the designer to reevaluate this new frame set and interpret the product in thisIt is satisfying for designers to dream and think of big objects of weight and impact, but I think the world needs to move more into a world of small objects born from big ideas, a system that truly matches the idea of human centered design. Because humans aren’t a big group but individuals.