As an introductory to a new module (Contextual Studies) I watched Margaret Gould Stewart’s TED Talk concerning Designing for Scale, How giant websites design for you (and a billions others, too). I’ve noted some of the key information presented.
Concerning the difficulties of designing for scale, Stewart stated:
“It’s hard in part because it requires a combination of two things: audacity and humility. Audacity to believe that the thing that you’re making is something that the whole world needs, and humility to understand that as a designer, it’s not about you or your portfolio; it’s about the people you’re designing for, and how your work just might helming them live better lives.”
The big take away from this TED Talk, for me, was to take in mind technological limitations of users. When designing a website that is intended for use for people across the globe, such as Facebook, it has to look good on the oldest possible desktop computer monitor or most basic of smart phones. All elements have to look good and perform well – from the icons to the chosen typeface.
This statement that concerns the user stuck out:
“Designing for low-end cell phones is not glamorous design work, but if you want to design for the whole world, you have to design for where people are, and not where you are.”
Prioritising the user is the right mentality.
I can’t ignore that Stewart, being an employee of Facebook, isn’t going to deliver a talk that is not biased towards the company’s work mentality and ethics. Bias is something to keep in mind when watching, listening to, or reading any media, when it comes to citing such media later on!
I look forward to sharing research and relevant findings on my blog, once I have gotten an idea of what topic I should pursue.
DESIGN WORKS 
TED talks are always interesting, thank you for sharing this one. Im not pro facebook, but, it gives an insight of her perspective and as a consumer, i guess i often don’t even think about what goes into creating a product.
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I don’t touch Facebook, but I can understand the thought, time, and energy that needs to be put into such a global platform. I hope to share more videos, and perhaps extracts from books and other people’s blogs, in the near future as I research!
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