For this task I have chosen to research the topic of ‘Presenting as a Designerly Act’ focusing on the topic from the vantage point of two designers from varying fields of design – that is, from the point of view of an architect and from the point of view of a video game designer. I will compare the similarities and contrast how these designers use ‘presenting’. I will also add my own thoughts and viewpoints to the topic throughout.
It is important that we understand what ‘Presenting’ means before we start to think about what it might mean in terms of a ‘designerly’ act. After looking at a few definitions, presenting can basically be defined as the process of showing and explaining the content of a topic to an audience. ‘Presenting as a Designerly Act’ maybe summarised as: the way in which designers display their design to others.
Presentation skills are vital for collaboration between designers; and between designers and clients. If a designer is unable to present his or her ideas or intentions successfully to his or her colleagues or clients, they could be misunderstood. This could lead to unexpected or poor outcomes. Some presentation factors that could lead to poor outcomes include:
- Unclear explanations
- Complicated models or diagrams
- Lack of visual aids
- Vagueness
- Language barriers
- Cultural barriers
- Distance barriers
As a result of the research for my first assignment for this course, I discovered that design and the process of design is different for every designer. Here is an extract from a paper written by Petra Falin that summarises this notion. “The term design covers a broad field of activities from systematic processes of engineering to the artistic processes of haute couture. There are elements of design that are common to all or most of the fields of design but still we cannot assume that the term would denote equal meaning to all designers.” [2](Petra Falin 2007)
This same principle applies for presenting. There is no definitive way to present and everyone expresses themselves and their ideas differently. However, some methods of presenting can be more desirable or suitable for certain situations. In Architecture for example, 3D rendered concept images of a building maybe more desirable or suitable than an artist’s drawing in some situations. In some cases a scale model might be even more desirable or suitable.
In relation to presenting in video game design, a concept artist’s drawing of a character could be more useful than a written description of a character; or a 3D modeller being more forceful and immediately understood.
Presentation is probably one of the most important factors in determining whether a concept/thing will be accepted. Although there are numerous ways and mediums in which an idea can be presented, there are some notions and strategies that can be applied to any presentation. There are skills that an individual can acquire that can improve their presentation skills as a whole. The most important attribute a presenter can have is confidence. Successful salespeople are those who are very confident and bestow confidence into their client leading to a sale. Confidence comes naturally for some people, but not for all. The best way to feel confident about presenting something is to know a lot about it. Knowledge can be achieved through research and practice.
Another useful presentation technique is the ability to listen to, get feedback and read your audience. Alan Pease is his book about body language [reference 1] talks about how to read other peoples’ thoughts and feelings through their gestures and body language.
Pease “addressed a series of meetings in New Zealand, where the audience comprised of about 100 managers and 500 sales people. A highly controversial issue was being discussed”. During this study, Pease found that at certain points during the meeting, when the salesperson was discussing the performance of members of the audience, several people took a “defence pose” – their legs and arms crossed; perhaps showing that they felt threatened or disagreed with what the salesperson was saying. Pease then noticed a loosening up in the audiences’ seating pose and body language when the topic of discussion changed.
Pease states that “in a selling situation it would be unwise to attempt to close the sale and ask for the order when the buyer takes this [defensive] position. The salesperson would need to use an open appeal, leaning forward with palms up and saying, ‘I can see that you have some ideas on this. I’d be interested in your opinion’, and then sit back to signify that it is the buyer’s turn to speak. This gives the buyer an opportunity to tell you his or her opinion.” And for you to get feedback! It seems that observation and interpretation of responses can be just as important as the presentation itself.
Simplicity and visual aids are often beneficial when presenting. Summarisation of points, images, charts and diagrams for example, are often very useful in ensuring that your ideas are understood by your audience. Re-iteration of key points is also very useful.
Another pointer from Alan Pease’s book is about how to control your audience’s gaze. Pease states that “Research shows that of the information relayed to a person’s brain, 87% comes via the eyes, 9% via the ears, and 4% via the other senses. If, for example, the person is looking at your visual aid as you are speaking, he or she will absorb as little as 9% of your message if the message is not directly related to what he or she sees. If the message is related to the visual aid, he or she will absorb only 25% – 30% of your message if he or she is looking at the visual aid.” Pease suggests using a pointer to control the audience’s gaze. This theory could be applied to other mediums such as text, by using bold or larger fonts or by using bright colours to highlight.
As Petra Falin stated, there is no definitive right or wrong way of a design process. However, there seems to be three major stages during any design process:
Concept; Development; Product
Concept: The idea, purpose or reason for the design and what it aims to achieve.
Development: Creation of a working model, testing and modification.
Product: The final outcome.
It is quite possible that the two designers from architecture and video game design disciplines would have different approaches to ‘Presenting as a Designerly Act’. Furthermore, they will utilise different presentation techniques and media in accordance to whom they are presenting – for example, their boss, team members or clients. Similarly, they will use different presentation techniques and media in accordance to what they are presenting – i.e. concept, working model, final product.
All design starts off as a big picture whether we are talking about an architect designing a block of units or a video game designer designing a new game. Through the stages of concept, development to final product, designers will have to show different sides of their design to different audiences.
Take for example when an architect is trying to get approval to build. He or she will have to present a concept and detailed drawings and models that comply with council regulations. When he or she presents to prospective buyers however, he or she has to show a different side of the design – one which will encourage buyers to buy.
Another key point to remember is that the two disciplines I am discussing here are not singular professions. A completed video game is the product of many designers – character designers, background/stage designers, sound designers, 3D model designers, storyboard designers, scoring system designers and so on. Likewise, an architect will often work with artists, 3D modellers, builders, plumbers, carpenters, interior designers, landscape designers and so on. Therefore, presentations that would be made to skilled audiences working on the project and those to the final audience vary in that the technical stage is presented to the former rather than the final product.
‘Presenting as a designerly act’ embraces the different audiences that are offered the design at its various stages. In these two disciplines there is some overlap in audience and the technology that would be utilised. For example: both disciplines present concepts in a similar way utilising artist’s drawings, 3D modelling and scale models. This is the beginning of the designerly act for both. Both disciplines have a technical stage. For the architect there are plans and scale drawings to presented to relevant authorities for approval as well as to the proposed builder for cost estimation. For the video game design the storyboard, artist drawings, sound library, 3D modelling is presented to the programmers who will actually write the software for the game.
Throughout the development stage there is further modelling, testing and modification of the design and this is presented to other audiences. For the architect this may be for the bankers who will finance the project, the marketers who will design a marketing plan, the real estate agents who will sell the building and the buyers who are the end users. For the video game designer similarly the game will be presented to game testers, marketers and retailers of the game.
Another finding from my research for this assignment that I believe is important is whether modern technology and tools are altering or determining the way in which designers design. In terms of video game design, it is quite clear. As the video game consoles, technology, software and hardware improve so does the ability to create more impressive games. The aforementioned also limit what can and can’t be created. In architecture however, the widespread usage of software such as ‘ArchiCAD’ may be altering or determining what architects are designing. In previous times, an architect would sketch ideas in a sketchbook or on scraps of paper. Often nowadays, this process is skipped and architects start ‘sketching’ and designing in the software. This raises some interesting topics of speculation and debate:
- Does the software determine how and what the architect will draw?
- Will it alter what will ultimately be created by the architect?
- Is this a good thing or bad thing?
- Is this improving the design of buildings?
Usually a design’s scope and limitations are determined by the client, available resources and the skills of the designer. Is the widespread use of software like ‘ArchiCAD’ becoming another limitation or is it just another medium for presenting ideas?
From my research, I have found that presentation is very important in design. It is the way in which designers communicate ideas and intentions to colleagues and clients. I found that poor presentation leads to misunderstanding which can lead to unexpected and poor results.
From Assignment 1, I found that there is no definitive way to design. Through my research for this Assignment, I found that there is no definitive way to present but, there are some strategies and tools which one can consider to improve presentation.
These include things like confidence; reading, listening to and gathering feedback from an audience; simplicity of presentation through summarisation, visual aids and re-iteration of key points; and controlling the audience’s gaze.
I also found that even though my two researched design fields, Architecture and Video Game Design, both completely different, had a similarity in terms of presenting. Various sides and parts of designs had to be presented to different audiences at different times. Finally, some interesting points of further discussion and speculation arose, such as: Does modern technology like ‘ArchiCAD’ affect and alter the way in which designers design? Hopefully what I have learned from doing this assignment well help improve my presentation skills and my design thinking.
References
[1] Body Language (1981) by Alan Pease
[2] The Social Dimension in Construction of Designerly Knowing in Design Enquiries 2007 University of Lapland, Faculty of Art & Design, Design Connections Graduate School (2007) by Petra Falin
