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In Part 1, “Why do design research: Deconstructing the excuses,” we examined the reasons people often give for eliminating design research from product development when budgets and schedules get tight. We’ve hopefully shown you why those reasons are flawed and why design research is a critical step in the process. However, knowing the criticality of […]

It happens. A project has a tight budget or schedule or (gasp) both and the team decides something has to go. Design research is often that something. On the surface, eliminating research is easy to justify: We’re the experts in what we do! After so many years in our space, we already know our users […]

My posts always argue that as designers (and engineers, manufacturers, etc), we have a responsibility to create smart, beautiful, and useful products for our users. But lately, I’ve realized that users have a responsibility, too. As an OmniPod user, I failed at mine. Recently Insulet Corporation and Abbott Diabetes Care issued a recall of the […]

The other night I was peacefully asleep, enjoying a pleasant dream, when suddenly…. After a few confusing seconds, I realized it wasn’t my alarm clock. It was my Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) gently reminding me to test my blood sugar. Yes, I was expecting it, but, no … that didn’t make me any less annoyed. That’s what […]

“So, you really think we need to talk to them [users]?” – Anonymous client As a product design firm, Daedalus advocates understanding the users of the products we design and develop. Truly understanding them. Without an accurate and complete understanding of the user, how can a company design a product that will fulfill their users’ […]

I am a constant face-to-face networker and also an avid user of social media. In May I started an experiment to better help me understand: 1. The comparative strengths and weaknesses of face-to-face and social media while better understanding how they work together and apart. 2. Combating the feelings of “alone-in-a-crowd” inherent in our constant […]

This April, Daedalus will feature an article in Horizons the award-winning publication from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). Our article, Avoiding Conflicting Requirements in the Development of Home Healthcare Devices through an Interdisciplinary Approach, written by Carolynn Johnson and Craig Campbell, details a process to streamline the development of devices intended […]

Carolynn Johnson, Daedalus Research Manager, recently presented Management System for a Pediatric Heart Pump: A Design Research Case Study at the 2013 International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care: Advancing the Cause. This year’s topics was “Advancing the Cause,” and presenters were asked to extend their message beyond “incorporate human factors” and […]

My mom is barely old enough to remember a world without color television. As far as I remember, we’ve always had a computer in the house, and my younger brother never knew the pre-internet world. Technology, its advances and accessibility, revolutionizes the way we live. Because designers play a key role in the way transforming […]

With the thrilling sword and sorcery drama Game of Thrones returning to HBO for a second season, we thought that there was no time like the present to run a little study. We partnered with Cleveland insurance broker Insuranteed to explore how people assess the likelihood of two very hypothetical risks. It was meant to […]