Craigslist Redesign

Four Approaches to Design

User Centered Desgn (UCD)

-Focuses on user needs and goals
-Summarized by "User Knows Best"
-The user plays an active part in the design process
-One thing the designer keeps in mind is that "the designer is NOT the user"
-Fits products to people

Activity Centered Design (ACD)

-F0cuses on the behavior surrounding tasks
-Deals with Activity Theory which states that people create tools as a result of "exteriorized" mental processes
-The activity and tools needed to support it are the focus, NOT the user
-"You will get a different result if you set out to design a vase instead of something to hold flowers"

Systems Design

-An analytical approach to design
-The user is de-emphasized in favor of context
-With a goal in mind, the system is designed to check whether that goal is reached or not, as well as including tasks used in order to achieve that goal.

Genius Design

-Relies almost solely on wisdom and experience of the designer to make design decisions