Question

Describe the four major types of design for technology policy and discuss their implications for promoting innovation to address a particular environmental issue you choose in a few pages.

Answer 1

Technology design is the practice of creating technology products, services and environments. This is not a single practice but is rather a collection of design practices that include:

Product Design

The design of products and services is typically viewed as a process of innovation and development. The objective is to design products and services that customers view as valuable based on their needs, preferences and perceptions. Product design is often a multidisciplinary initiative that may include elements of marketing, engineering and operations.

Visual Design

Visual design including the look and feel of products, user interfaces, brand symbols and packaging.

User Experience

The end-to-end experience of using a technology from the perspective of customers. This is typically focused on user interface design but can also include any element of a design that impacts customer needs and perceptions. For example, the form and weight of a mobile device may greatly influence the user experience.

Software Architecture

The structural design of software. Software can be extremely complex such that it is designed both at the structural and detailed level. This is analogous to an architect designing the structure of a building with interior designers planning the rooms. The practice of planning software. Requires the talent of experienced software developers who can map out components, layers, interfaces, algorithms and data that meet a set of requirements in a reasonably efficient and resilient way.

Engineering

The application of math and science to the design of things. There is often some overlap between software design and engineering and they share approaches in areas such as reliability engineering.

Designing a user interface that considers the user’s aims, whether vast or few, and offers the simplest means of achieving these goals, is the height of design sophistication. Simplicity in design isn’t just about the minimal colors you use or the whitespace you include, it’s about going deep into your user’s minds and using that understanding to design a product that rids itself of inconsequential elements and closes the gap between the user’s goals and the means to achieve those goals through your system.