CHI 2004 Notes: Tim Brown on the Design of Experiences

The concluding talk on CHI 2004 has been held by Tim Brown (IDEO). His main point, as I understood it, was: Designers will design less products, but more and more experiences. Brown presents example for this from IDEOs work. For example, the Prada Epicenter Store in New York where RFID technology is tested in order to change the shopping experience. Another one: The vodafone headquarters in Lissabon. Visitors can use their cell phones (or installed terminals) to control the displays on a big cube in front of the building.

Brown distinguishes two different approaches in experience design. On one hand, the “Top-Down” method, e.g, used by Apple for the iPod/iTunes Service or by Disney for its Parks. Top-Down requires a high amount of control over the execution, combined with big financial investment. On the ther hand, there is the “Bottom-Up” approach with eBay as one example. Typical Bottom-Up design means focus on platforms and splitting a complex problem into chunks.

This concept reminds me of the analogy of “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, as depicted in Eric S. Raymond’s book, although Raymond refers to software development. Raymond also sees the level of control as one of the major differences between Open Source and closed source software development.