People learn not only lessons from history, but also experiences and thoughts. Throughout history, we may have a thorough understanding of the process of constructing each area or object in the past, and be imaginative and creative about the future. “Man is the measure of all things”, the statement by the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras proposed forth in the early ancient Greek Age stimulated the burst of Renaissance Humanism which was also called the age of Enlightenment. Around that moment, Leonardo Da Vinci presented the drawing “Virtuvian Man” to the world, which was the earliest representation of human ergonomics. Humanism and ergonomics have genuinely been taken into consideration and have been integrated in a variety of fields since then, such as technology, art, architecture, etc. In addition, under the impact of cultural diversity, an increasing number of books and works were made available to human beings by the invention of the Movable Typing Press. Until now, we still strive for a people-oriented environment based on the techniques created in the past. Working on Humanism mainly can be interpreted into two parts: one is observing and concerning the interactions between humans and other systems. The other is considering the methods of applying and incorporating things to humans. As interaction designers, our roles are not restricted and confined to individual tastes or preferences, but are driven by broader users’ needs through communication and research.
I like your idea that interaction designers need to consider more than just the interaction between people and objects. We must also consider how to apply more physical objects to humans. Success is to have certain requirements for the broadness of the designer’s thinking.
It’s a good point to discuss designers’ roles in a people-oriented environment, which has so many clues in human history. Totally agree with you that interaction designers should focus on broader users’ needs. Our role is to create the modern“Virtuvian Man”.