I actually think defining problems is one of the hardest parts of design, and this chapter, along with today’s lecture, made that sort of clear. We did an activity where we critiqued our peers’ design paradigms, and I found it difficult to come up with possible problems or issues in their designs. In my experience, it’s easy to jump straight to solutions without fully understanding who the problem is really affecting. I like the idea of using personas and scenarios, but sometimes they can oversimplify real people if you’re not careful. It’s a good reminder that design needs to stay grounded in real experiences, not just fictional summaries of users.

I find this thought process of how most problems not being truly “solvable,” but are instead these tangled “wicked” problems interesting. I somewhat agree with this idea because in real life, solutions usually only fix part of the issue rather than the whole thing. As you work through the process of creating a solution, new problems often appear, which makes it hard to ever fully “solve” anything. You also can’t create a one-size-fits-all solution, so you often end up focusing on one group, which can unintentionally lead to other groups being overlooked.

I feel that the most important thing in determining a good design is how well it serves its purpose and how accessible it is. What I found interesting in this chapter is the realization that design isn’t just about one person as it can affect entire communities and involve issues of fairness and power. Approaches like human-centered design are helpful, but design justice reminds us to consider people who might otherwise be left out.

I really relate to this part because I used to think the exact same thing. The fact that design was mostly about visuals like color and layout. I’ve realized, though, that design goes much deeper and is really about how people interact with and experience a product. This changed my perspective because it made me see that good design isn’t just decoration, it’s about solving problems and making technology more usable and meaningful.