Branding the Ideal Experience: Participatory Design Research

Branding the Ideal Experience: Participatory Design Research

Monday, October 12, 7:30pm (free/by donation)
Live-streamed for remote participants at http://livestream.com/notanalternative

Join us this Monday as we continue our exploration of symbols, branding and persuasion as they relate to activist and creative practice. This lecture series examines the mechanics of the branding industry; it’s principles, and tricks of the trade. To see what lessons we might learn. How might activists and cultural producers leverage the tools of advertising, marketing, public relations and spectacle production?

For this installment of the series design research expert and consultant JooYoung Oh will offer a lecture and workshop on the techniques of her industry. Participatory design research is a combination of psychology and design. It is about understanding people and their ideal experiences in order to inform and inspire design (of products, systems, environments, and brands). How do you know your brand will resonate with your target audience?

JooYoung will discuss design research theory, and will present a hands-on exercise that will demonstrate methodologies for capturing the current and ideal experience. Come prepared to participate!

HOMEWORK: FOR BONUS POINTS
While it’s not essential, to make the most of the exercise we suggest you print and fill out this diary worksheet to the best of your ability. It will give you a head start on the ideal experience exercise. There will be a limited number of tool kits available for participants on a first come first served basis. Don’t miss this opportunity for a behind the scenes look at the latest tools of the persuasion industry.

ABOUT PARTICIPATORY DESIGN RESEARCH
Participatory design research is a combination of psychology and design. It puts participants into the creator seat, the one that drives the conversation along with the moderator. The stimuli provided to the participants help them to express feelings that may be too personal to share otherwise. Through a Prime, Dream and Create process, participants are encouraged to dream of their ideal solutions, often the impossible solution, to foster a more creative process rather than just a question and answer. This ideal solutions provides designers future framework and a foundation for design language.

ABOUT JOOYOUNG OH
JooYoung is a specialist who provides consumer insights that lead organizations to innovative design strategies. She does this through using tools that help people express their dreams and desires, identifying patterns and insights, and translating those insights into actionable frameworks for concept generation. Through multi-sensory stimuli approach she not only provides companies the understanding of current and ideal experience, but also how the ideal experiences can translate into metaphors and attributes with visual and tangible examples. She teaches these techniques through short and long term training courses and workshops and is a frequent presenter at design conferences and design schools, sharing her knowledge in participatory design methods. Prior to starting her own consultant business in 2009, she was with Lextant where she gained over 5 years of experience leading both domestic and international programs to gain consumer understanding for fortune 500 companies including Samsung mobile communication, Dell, P&G baby care hair care, Cardinal Health, Kohler, Moen, Whirlpool, Kaz, Wilson’s Leather, Ethicon Endo Surgery, Respironics, Cordis, CheckFree, Nationwide Insurance, and Wireless Generation. JooYoung gained her MFA in product design at Savannah College of Art & Design in Savannah, GA, USA and BFA in ceramic arts at Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, Korea.