Worth-Focused Design, Book 1: Balance, Integration, and Generosity (Synthesis Lectures on Human-centered Informatics)

This book develops an appropriate common language for truly interdisciplinary teams involved in design. Design now has many meanings. For some, it is the creation of value. For others, it is the conception and creation of artefacts. For still others, it is fitting things to people. These differences reflect disciplinary values that both overlap and diverge. All involve artefacts: we always design things. Each definition considers people and purpose in some way. Each handles evaluation differently, measuring against aesthetics, craft standards, specifications, sales, usage experiences, or usage outcomes. There are both merits and risks in these differences, without an appropriate balance. Poor balance can result from professions claiming the centre of design for their discipline, marginalising others. Process can also cause imbalance when allocating resources to scheduled stages. Balance is promoted by replacing power centres with power sharing, and divisive processes with integrative progressions. A focus on worth guides design towards worthwhile experiences and outcomes that generously exceed expectations.

This book places worth focus (Wo-Fo) into the context of design progressions that are balanced, integrated, and generous (BIG). BIG and Wo-Fo are symbiotic. Worth provides a focus for generosity. Effective Wo-Fo needs BIG practices. The companion book Worth-Focused Design, Book 2: Approaches, Contexts, and Case Studies (Cockton, 2020b) relates the concept of worth to experiences and outcomes based on a number of practical case studies.