Delft Design Guide | Part 1 | Emerging Design Methods | The ZEN Design method – 1.7 1.7 Emerging Design Methods The ZEN Design Method The basic principle of the ‘ZEN’ design method is: ‘Do not focus on the desired product for quite some time’. The primary focus should be on desired qualities, both in a material sense and in a social interaction sense. Thereafter, it is time to start thinking about problem solving, but only after moving the design brief away from the actual required product to a more abstract level. At this point it is good to identify the user ritual involved, for which a newer and richer scenario can be developed. Testing the validity of this “new” ritual can be done by acting it out, using existing products. Now that the whole context of the desired product(s) in terms of its desired qualities (material(s) and interactions) is established, it is time to design the product(s) involved. This is done using the basic design process, but with the information one has acquired this process takes place on a different level of experience. It has moved away from practical level to a more philosophical level: The quality domain. Finally, after completing the design process, it is time to build models. The validity of the new ritual and its product(s) can now be tested by actually performing the ritual, using the products. A more detailed explanation of the ZEN method Ask a designer to design a toothbrush and you will end up ... getting a toothbrush. Usually the designer will first try to collect as much information as can be found about toothbrushes. Some research may be done about the desired quality of the brush and the ideal procedure of the brushing process. Collages with toothbrushes and happy smiling white toothed people may support this process. But soon, even after a vibrant ideation- and conceptualization phase, the designer will end up with concepts of ... toothbrushes. Now, ask a designer to design a way to clean your teeth. The first question that comes to the mind may be: Why not a toothbrush? But soon the designer will get the hang of it and will come up with very unique and special ways to clean teeth. Who needs a brush? Why not a water jet? Or something you can chew on? Here, at this more abstract level of approach of the actual problem - sticky teeth - there is more room for innovation. The outcome may still be something like a toothbrush, but this time the whole concept will be based on a more solid foundation. And indeed, innovation as such (something totally new and desirable) may have a bigger chance. VISUAL DOMAIN CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN CONTEXT Design brief The actual user ritial involved List of required products Concepts of final product complement Ritual put into effect Desired product Basic scenario / storyboard of the ritual Synthesis Prototypes of final product complement Desired qualities Desired quality of meterial interactions Desired quality of social interactions Program of functional requirements Minimalistic aesthetic references (other) cultural references Aesthetic ZEN principles Realisation Realisation Meme collages emotive references FOCUS ON PRESENTATION FOCUS ON SYNTHESIS FOCUS ON RITUAL AND QUALITY DO NOT FOCUS ON PRODUCT fig. 1.20 The ZEN design method (Bruens, 2nd ed. expected 2011)
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Delft Design Guide | Part 1 | Emerging Design Methods | The ZEN Design method – 1.7
1.7 EmergingDesignMethods
TheZENDesignMethod
The basic principle of the ‘ZEN’ design method is:
‘Do not focus on the desired product for quite
some time’. The primary focus should be on desired
qualities, both in a material sense and in a social
interaction sense. Thereafter, it is time to start
thinking about problem solving, but only after moving
the design brief away from the actual required
product to a more abstract level. At this point it is
good to identify the user ritual involved, for which a
newer and richer scenario can be developed. Testing
the validity of this “new” ritual can be done by acting
it out, using existing products.
Now that the whole context of the desired product(s)
in terms of its desired qualities (material(s) and
interactions) is established, it is time to design the
product(s) involved.
This is done using the basic design process, but with
the information one has acquired this process takes
place on a different level of experience. It has moved
away from practical level to a more philosophical
level: The quality domain.
Finally, after completing the design process, it is time
to build models. The validity of the new ritual and its
product(s) can now be tested by actually performing
the ritual, using the products.
A more detailed explanation of the ZEN method
Ask a designer to design a toothbrush and you will
end up ... getting a toothbrush. Usually the designer
will first try to collect as much information as can be
found about toothbrushes. Some research may be
done about the desired quality of the brush and the
ideal procedure of the brushing process. Collages
with toothbrushes and happy smiling white toothed
people may support this process. But soon, even after
a vibrant ideation- and conceptualization phase, the
designer will end up with concepts of ... toothbrushes.
Now, ask a designer to design a way to clean your
teeth. The first question that comes to the mind may
be: Why not a toothbrush? But soon the designer will
get the hang of it and will come up with very unique
and special ways to clean teeth. Who needs a brush?
Why not a water jet? Or something you can chew on?
Here, at this more abstract level of approach of the
actual problem - sticky teeth - there is more room
for innovation. The outcome may still be something
like a toothbrush, but this time the whole concept will
be based on a more solid foundation. And indeed,
innovation as such (something totally new and
desirable) may have a bigger chance.
VISUAL DOMAIN
CONCEPTUAL DOMAIN
CONTEXT
Design brief
The actual user ritial involved
List of required products
Concepts of final product complement
Ritual put into effect
Desired product
Basic scenario /storyboard of
the ritual
Synthesis
Prototypes of final product complement
Desired qualities
Desired quality of meterial interactions
Desired quality of social
interactions
Program of functional
requirements
Minimalistic aesthetic
references
(other) cultural references
Aesthetic ZEN principles
RealisationRealisationMeme collages
emotive references
FO
CU
S O
N P
RESEN
TAT
ION
FO
CU
S O
N S
YN
TH
ESI
S
FOC
US
ON
RIT
UA
L A
ND
QU
ALI
TY
DO
NO
T F
OC
US
ON
PR
OD
UC
T
fig. 1.20
The ZEN design method
(Bruens, 2nd ed. expected
2011)
Delft Design Guide | Part 1 | Emerging Design Methods – The ZEN Design method – 1.7
Besides all these, there is one very important aspect
that the ZEN design approach takes into account: The
‘quality of the moment’.
The following example illustrates that our present
wealth is also our poverty. We are used to getting
a cup of coffee at work in the morning, spit out by
some buzzing machine. We hear some clicks and
some howling, and then a spur of hot coffee hits
the plastic or paper cup, milk and sugar included at
our desire. If we are lucky, the cup is printed with
some memory of Grandma’s teacups instead of a
commercial advertisement. And after the absent
minded drinking of the coffee during a phone
conversation, we throw the cup away, never to relive
that moment again
What are the qualities that are lost here? Earlier,
there used to be a rich ritual around coffee drinking.
There were porcelain cups involved, silver spoons, a
sugar bowl, a wooden tray and a special tin canister
with the smell and sound of real coffee beans. There
was the grinding of the coffee by hand, the boiling
of the water in a kettle on a stove accompanied by
the anticipation due to the aroma of fresh coffee.
The sharing of such an experience in the company of
some nice people - enhancing social interactions - has
been lost completely in the solo coffee machine ritual
and what remains of the original ritual is hardly gives
satisfaction. It is like taking a medicine.
Rituals
All of us have small daily rituals that guide our
existence. The way one gets out of bed, followed
by the way one takes a shower, the coffee break
at work, the cigarette after sex, the exchange of
presents during Christmas, the eating of a biscuit
with sugar sprinkled over when a child has been
born (which is a typical Dutch ritual), all those short
or longer rituals can make a moment more special.
Routine is broken, social interactions are guided; the
sheer quality of existence is enhanced.
There are many fields where we have lost the basic
qualities of life, too hasty as we are to live it. Think
of the consuming of fast food instead of a meal of
fresh ingredients at a well-laid table, think of playing
computer games instead of board games. Think of
emails instead of hand written letters in colourful
envelopes, think of preparing your own jam or
smoking your own fish instead of buying it. And how
about baking your own bread?
Many qualities have been lost and perhaps, it is
time to treat the lost accompanying rituals like we
treat endangered species! We ourselves are the
endangered species in this respect.
Why is it called the ZEN design method? Has it
got something to do with Buddhism?
This design method has been developed by Ger
Bruens, over a period of 15 years during the Master
elective course called `ZEN’ (working title). The full
name of the elective is: ‘ZEN and the art of design’,
and it refers to the book by Robert Persig (1974):
‘Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’. This
philosophical book was a cult book in the seventies
as it sold over 4 million copies in 27 languages. The
story is about a man on a motorbike trip through
different states of the USA with his young son on
the back seat. He is searching for the meaning
and concept of quality. The book is filled with
philosophical observations related to mechanical
problems that occur during the trip. It is a great book
which talks about a personal crisis, the search for
truth and the meaning of quality. As the search for
quality is the main focus of the elective too, quoting
the title of the book for both the elective and the
method developed there, seems appropriate.
When do you apply the ZEN method, is it
suitable for solving all design problems?
According to our experience, the ZEN design
method is applicable for all kind of design briefs.
Even a mechanical designer building a bridge may
find it useful, as a bridge does not only facilitate
efficient passage from A to B but it also touches our
imagination and experience on other levels. Colour
and material contribute to that. The desired quality of
the bridge to be built is more than what can be
fig. 1.21 Zaha Hadid Architects’ proposal for a Bridge
Pavilion, Zaragossa, 2008
captured in a list of requirements. To handle this
design process, the ZEN method holds a promise.
In short:
The ZEN design method with its primary focus on
rituals and qualities may be the preferred method
for designers who would like to achieve innovation in
terms of functionality, culture and social interaction.
References and Further Reading
Bruens, G. N. (2007) Form/Color Anatomy, Den Haag NL:
Lemma Publishers.
Persig, R. M. (1974) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, New York, USA: William
Morrow & Company.
See for more examples http://blackboard.tudelft.nl
The elective course ‘Formstudy 4’ in ‘Course Documents’.
Delft Design Guide | Part 1 | Emerging Design Methods | The ZEN Design method – 1.7
Delft Design Guide | Part 1 |
Delft Design Guide | Part 1 | Emerging Design Methods | Multi Senfory Desing – 1.7
Designers who intentionally try to create specific
experiences for people, such as delight, trust or the
feeling of being cared for, are more likely to succeed
if they are aware of the messages conveyed by the
different sensory channels and of their contribution to
the overall experience. Such a multisensory approach
enriches the product experience, avoids unwanted
conflicting messages, and results in products that
are also comprehensible for users with sensory
impairments.
Each sensory modality is sensitive to a different
type of energy and is stimulated by different product
properties. As a consequence, the modalities usually
provide different pieces of product information, which
may or may not overlap (Schifferstein & Spence,
2008).
For instance, a bus stop may look attractive and
welcoming, but leave the waiting passenger standing
in a cold breeze, next to a smelly trashcan, or with
a lot of traffic noise. On the other hand, the colour,
taste, and texture of ice cream, the look and feel
of its- package, and the crispiness of the biscuit
may all contribute to being completely immerged in
savouring it. Therefore, the main challenge in Multi
Sensory Design (MSD) projects is to come up with an
integrated design, in which all sensory impressions
support the expression of the product.
Hendrik Schifferstein initiated the development of
the MSD approach at TU Delft. He developed the
first MSD elective course for Master students in
cooperation with Marieke Sonneveld and Geke Ludden
in 2004. Since 2008 the MSD approach is also being
used in projects for industrial companies
Outline of the MSD approach
1. Selecting the target expression
MSD takes the expression of the object (e.g.,
eagerness, cheerfulness, innocence) as the design
starting point (Sonneveld et al., 2008). In a business
context, the target expression may be provided by
the marketing department on the basis of consumer
research. Alternatively, you may start out from the
effect you want to achieve among future users (e.g.,
feeling safe, inspire), and determine which object
and interaction qualities are needed to achieve the
desired effect.
2. Conceptual exploration
After the target expression has been selected, you
need to develop an understanding of this expression.
You may start out by writing down the associations
that come to mind when thinking about this
expression. Making a collage can support this process.
What does the expression make you think of?
3. Sensory exploration
Subsequently, you collect samples that seem to evoke
the target expression (figure 1) for different sensory