Steve Jobs proposed that design should not only have to deal with how something looks, but also how it feels. “Design thinking” is applied in many projects and organizations to create high-level products that have purpose. I can’t necessarily say that each of these products have impact however. This concept is often applied in such a manner that the brand that is creating it receives the most benefit rather than the people. For example, Debbie Levitt’s article states that “The median household income for Black residents of Gainesville’s county is $26,561.” In order to tackle the issue of income disparity and low graduation rates, various initiatives were taken. And may design thinking approaches later, they still failed the address the issue. A huge part of this method not working is the lack of human-centered thinking.
That is why I think CS177 is so valuable. This class takes into account why significant problems in cities and health organizations exist. Human-centered product management allows us to pinpoint what is wrong (in this case, design thinking) and what can be done to make things right. A great part of it has to do with human-centered products. Instead of creating a design that sells a fantasy, people want to see real, tangible impact on their lives. I hope to witness this in future of design as well.
