Dictionary defines ‘perception’ as ‘recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory’. Heavy words I must say for a simple concept.
How many times have you read a book, created your dream world of perception of the characters, sets, costumes,etc? Then you go and see the movie adaption and come back irritated because you didn’t like how a certain character didnt match your perceived image of the same.
Perceiving things plays a major role in designer’s life. They might call it design methodology or research methodology but technically they are teaching us to have the right perceived image about something.
A lot of times people mistake perceiving for judging and say its bad. Though both sound similar, the actions that follow are very different. While perceiving something ends up in better understanding of humans or users in designer lingo;judging well as you know ends up with stares, rude comments, taunts,etc.
I would like to introduce everyone to a game I often play while I am travelling alone(which I often am). What I do is I observe people around me and pick up one character out of the lot. Then I start imagining that persons family, home, furniture in it and most importantly the products he must be using. When you become a pro at this you can think of details like colours,models,etc. Its a fun game, try it!!
By doing this I am not stalking that person and definitely not judging him.This is just my effort of understanding that particular human and polishing my skills as a designer understanding that user. After all this, imagine how awesome it feels when that person takes out the exact phone you think he will have or reads the exact newspaper you thought he would read.
Dont forget to respond on how you succeded or failed in this game. Any other responses, comments and suggestions are welcome too….
