工业设计专业英语 何人可 16课

Lesson 16

Does Culture Matter for Product Design

By Don Norman

文化是否对产品设计有重要意义

唐·诺曼

Don Norman claims his goals in life are to make a significant difference,but to have fun while doing so. He is both a businessperson (VP at Apple, Executive at HP and a startup) and an academic (Harvard, UC San Diego, Northwestern, KAIST). As co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group he serves on company boards and helps companies make products more enjoyable, understandable, and profitable. He is an IDEO Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He gives frequent keynotes and is known for his many books including “The Design of Everyday Things,”“Emotional Design” and in October, “Living with Complexity,” which argues against simplicity.

唐·诺曼声称，他的目标在生活中是有显着的区别，但这样却很有乐趣。他既是一个商人（苹果公司的副总裁，惠普和一个创业公司的执行官），也是一名学者（哈佛大学，加州大学圣地亚哥分校，美国西北大学，韩国科学技术院）。作为尼尔森·诺曼集团的联合创始人，他在公司董事会服务，帮助公司使产品更加愉快，易于理解和盈利。他是一个IDEO研究员和国家工程学院的成员。他频繁的主题演讲，出过许多著名的书，包括《日常生活的设计》、《情感设计》和10月出版的反对简单生活的《复杂的生活》。

Once upon a time, when I visited other countries, I would head to the department stores so I could experience the wide cultural variations in such things as cookware, cutlery and tools for crafts and gardening · Today, I seldom do this anymore because all the stores look the same. Rice cookers and woks may have originated in Japan and China, but today they can be found in kitchen appliance stores all over the world. Italian, German and American appliances are for sale in Asia. Asian appliances are for sale in Italy, Germany and America. The country of design and manufacture no longer matters much. A television set, automobile, mobile phone, camera or refrigerator looks the same whether made in Asia, North America or Europe.

曾经一段时间，当我访问其他国家，我会去百货公司，所以我可以体验到各种各样的文化变化，如炊具，餐具和工具和园艺工具·今天，我很少这样做，因为所有的商店看起来一样。电饭锅和炒锅可能起源于日本和中国，但今天他们可以在世界各地的厨房电器商店找到。意大利，德国和美国的电器在亚洲出售。亚洲电器在意大利，德国和美国出售。设计和制造的国家不再重要。电视机，汽车，手机，相机或冰箱看起来是相同的，无论是在亚洲，北美或欧洲。

I have a collection of photos taken around the world of stores, restaurants and street scenes. I sometimes use them in my lectures, asking the audience to state where the picture was taken.People respond with great confidence, but they are invariably wrong. Why? In what city-- or country-- was the photograph in Figure 16-1

taken? It could be anywhere. I can find store displays similar to that shown in Figure 16 -1 in Asia, Europe or the United States. Even the language visible in my photographs provides surprisingly little information: Signs in Chinese, English, French, Korean or German are displayed throughout the world. One street scene from Hong Kong shows less Chinese characters than pictures I have taken in San Francisco, New York or London: Most people judge the photos to be from Western Europe. Where did Figure 16-1 come from? A department store in Daejeon, South Korea.

我收集了在世界各地商店，餐馆和街道场景拍的照片。我有时在我的演讲中使用它们，要求观众说明图片的拍摄地点。人们以极大的信心回应，但他们总是错的。为什么？图16-1中的照片拍摄于哪个城市或国家？它可以在任何地方。我可以在亚洲，欧洲或美国找到类似于图16-1所示的商店展示。即使在我的照片中可见的语言提供了令人惊讶的很少的信息，但中文，英语，法语，韩文或德语签名显示在世界各地。香港的一个街景比旧金山，纽约或伦敦拍摄的图片少了很多汉字，于是大多数人认为这些照片来自西欧。图16-1是从哪里来的？是一家在韩国大田的百货公司。

The same lack of diversity extends to the training of designers. When I visit the top design schools across the world, I find that their curricula and methods are similar. I find more differences in the curricula of schools within a country than between the United States, Korea, England and the Netherlands.

同样缺乏多样性也延伸到设计师的培训。当我访问世界各地的顶级设计学校时，我发现他们的课程和方法是类似的。我发现在一个国家内的学校课程比在美国，韩国，英国和荷兰之间有更大的差异。

You can see this in mobile phones. Traditional phones varied in Size and appearance across the world, so that phones for teen-age Japanese girls were different than the ones for Japanese salarymen, which in turn were different than the Blackberry loved by Western business and financial workers. But all the phones were similar in the features they provided and the way they operated. Today, with the advent of smartphones, there are only three major manufacturers of the operating systems: Google (Android), Apple (iOS) and Microsoft (Windows Phone). The iPhone and iPad are unchanged to reflect culture except for language, yet they are incredibly popular allaround the world. Android phones are available from handset providers in Europe, Asia and the United States. These are all independent of culture. The same story applies for phones running Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 and 8: They are independent of culture whether the handset comesfrom Europe or Asia.

你可以在手机上看到这个。传统手机在世界各地的尺寸和外观各不相同，因此，青少年日本女孩的手机不同于日本上班族的手机，这反过来不同于西方商业和金融工作者喜欢的黑莓手机。但所有的手机提供的功能和操作方式是相似的。今天，随着智能手机的出现，只有三个主要的操作系统制造商：谷歌（Android），苹果（iOS）和微软（Windows Phone）。iPhone和iPad对文化的反应，除了语言，都保持不变，但他们是非常受欢迎的世界各地。Android手机可从欧洲，亚洲和美国的手机提供商获得。这些都是独立于文化。同样的故事适用于运行微软

Windows Phone 7.5和8的手机：他们独立于文化，无论手机来自欧洲还是亚洲。

Does culture matter for product design? The examples I just talked about would seem to indicate that for the world of mass-produced products--that is, for the world of industrial design -- culture might be far less important than we might have expected. Is this really true, and if so, is this a positive or negative finding?

文化对产品设计是否重要？我刚才谈到的例子似乎表明，对于大规模生产产品的世界，即对于工业设计世界而言，文化可能远不如我们预期的那么重要。这是真的吗？如果是，这是一个积极的还是消极的发现？

Implications for Design 对设计的影响

A few decades ago, I believed that cultural differences were fundamental. Moreover, they were exciting and interesting. Today, I believe that cultural differences are still just as fundamental and exciting but they primarily exist in governing social interaction, the types of foods that are eaten and stylistic preferences. Modern products are designed to support particular activities, so that it is the activity itself that controls how they should be designed and used. Traditional activities are heavily determined by culture, but modern office practices, manufacturing, communication, financial accounts and transportation are dominated by the technology used to accomplish them, or in the cases of financial accounts, by world-wide standards intended to make transactions and accounting uniform. As a result, many of our activities are determined by the technologies we use, such as the automobile, computer, cellphone, train or airplane, or by the need to interact smoothly with other countries and cultures across the world. Once the technology determines the activity, the influence of culture dissipates.

几十年前，我认为文化差异是根本性的。此外，他们是令人兴奋和有趣。今天，我认为文化差异仍然同样基本和令人兴奋，但他们主要存在于治理社会互动，食物的类型和风格偏好。现代产品旨在支持特定的活动，因此活动本身控制着如何设计和使用它们。传统活动在很大程度上由文化决定，但是现代办公室的做法，制造，通信，财务账户和运输由用于完成它们的技术支配，或者在金融账户的情况下，由世界范围内旨在进行交易和会计的标准制服。因此，我们的许多活动都取决于我们使用的技术，如汽车，计算机，手机，火车或飞机，或者需要与世界各地的其他国家和文化交互。一旦技术决定了活动，文化的影响就消失了。

These observations have important implications for design. Modern products are driven by technology, which in turn dictates the activity. Designers talk a lot about Human-Centered Design where it is important to design for the needs of the person. Well, this doesn't work when the goal is millions of people all across the world. Computers and software, phones and applications, automobiles, kitchen appliances and housewares are intended for consumption by millions. Human-Centered Design can no longer apply: what does it mean to discover the precise needs of millions of people? Instead, I have argued for Activity-Centered Design, where the activity dictates the design. (See my papers on this topic

referenced at the end of this essay.)

这些观察对设计有重要的影响。现代产品由技术驱动，这反过来决定了活动。设计师们谈到很多关于以人为中心的设计，其中重要的是设计为人的需要。嗯，当目标是世界各地的数百万人时，这不工作。计算机和软件，手机和应用程序，汽车，厨房用具和家庭用品旨在消费数百万。以人为中心的设计不再适用：发现数百万人的确切需求是什么意思？相反，我主张以活动为中心的设计，活动决定了设计。（见我在本文结尾处提到的关于这个主题的论文。）

Technology dictates the activity. In turn, the activity dictates the design. When the design is appropriate for the technology, people accept it, regardless of culture. Consider musical instruments as a good example. Many are difficult to learn, such as the violin that requires an awkward, injury-prone posture and hand configuration. Consider the awkward fingering of musical instruments across the world. People learn these with incredible skill, not because they fit the body, but because the designs seem quite appropriate to the technology, and therefore to the activity.

技术决定了活动。反过来，活动决定了设计。当设计适合于该技术时，人们接受它，而不管文化。考虑乐器是一个很好的例子。许多是很难学习的，例如小提琴，需要一个尴尬，容易受伤的姿势和手的配置。考虑世界各地乐器的尴尬指法。人们以不可思议的技能学习这些，不是因为他们适合身体，而是因为设计看起来相当适合于技术，因此对活动。

There are regional differences. Food and eating provide dramatic contrasts with different cultures adopting very different behavior. Some use silverware, some chopsticks, and some use fingers or bread. Some cultures prefer more ornamentation than others, so that, for example, products intended for East Asia display decorative scrolls and artwork. When the same products are sold elsewhere in the world, they are often identical except for the removal of the ornamentation. Style differences? Yes. Fundamental differences? No.

有区域差异。食物和饮食提供了与采用非常不同的行为的不同文化的显着对比。有些使用银器，有些筷子，有些使用手指或面包。一些文化比其他文化喜欢更多的装饰，例如，旨在为东亚的产品显示装饰卷轴和艺术品。当相同的产品在世界上其它地方销售时，它们通常是完全相同的，除了去除的装饰品。样式不同？是的。根本性不同？不是。

People drive very differently in different parts of the world, from safety-conscious, law-abiding drivers in the United States, Japan, and parts of Europe, to the free-wheeling driving style of other countries, where the death and injury rates soar. But the design and control of the cars themselves are still done the same way, whether the cars are used in Delhi or Milan, London or Saigon.

在世界不同地区，人们的行动方式截然不同，从美国，日本和欧洲部分地区的安全意识，遵守法律的司机，到其他国家的自由驾驶风格，死亡和受伤率飙升。但汽车本身的设计和控制仍然是一样的，无论这些汽车是在德里还是米兰，伦敦或西贡使用。

The ways in which people interact differs considerably around the world, so much so that the traveling businessperson is often advised to take a quick course on proper etiquette for the countries to be visited. Nonetheless, the technologies that support the interaction are the same: telephones, e-mail and text messages, business cards, and the importance of business meals. Behavior differs, but the products are similar.

人们在世界各地进行互动的方式差别很大，以至于旅行商经常被建议为参观的国家采取一个快速适当的礼节。然而，支持交互的技术是相同的：电话，电子邮件和短信，名片和商务餐的重要性。行为不同，但产品类似。

Responses from the Design Community 设计社区的反馈

I posted an early version of the above argument to the e-mail discussion list \I received an enormous number of responses, many of which were extremely long, thoughtful and detailed.

我在电子邮件讨论列表“PhD设计”中发布了上述参数的早期版本。我收到了大量的回应，其中许多都是非常长，周到和详细的。

Many of the objections to my conclusions came from the design research community. This community has been heavily influenced by anthropology, and one of its core beliefs is that understanding and respecting cultural differences is of critical importance. Peoples' activities are highly determined by culture, they argued, so that even when people use similar products, they create very different experiences out of them. The design researchers pointed out that different people used the same products in many different ways, attempting to fit them into their real needs. If designers could convince companies to focus upon what people actually do with the products availab1e to them, they could produce products better attuned to real needs.

许多对我的结论的反对意见来自设计研究界。这个社区受到人类学的重大影响，其核心信念之一是理解和尊重文化差异至关重要。他们认为，人们的活动是由文化决定的，所以即使人们使用类似的产品，他们也会从中产生不同的经历。设计研究人员指出，不同的人以不同的方式使用相同的产品，试图使它们符合他们的真实需求。如果设计师可以说服公司专注于人们实际使用产品的方式，他们可以生产更好地适应真实需求的产品。

One set of critiques pointed out that although the products might be similar there often were variations tuned to cultural sensitivities. Moreover, if I were to go into homes and observe how the products were used, I would detect great variability in how they were used and the kinds of modifications (workarounds) people construct to make the products fit their needs.

一组批评指出，虽然产品可能是相似的，但经常有文化敏感性的变化。此外，如果我进入家庭并观察产品的使用情况，我会发现它们的使用方式和人们为了满足他们的需要所做的修改（解决方法）的巨大差异。

A more forceful critique emphasized that my interpretations reflect my very Western, science -- and business-based education and background. Thus, as Francois Nsenga explained in a long, thoughtful note, because of my\and context of up-bringing, education, professional practice, and socialization, together with the resultant mindset, all these cultural factors do not predispose\\reality of concern.\Those who come from very different cultural backgrounds see the phenomena quite differently. This critique ended by pointing out that \detrimental effects caused by 'homogenization' of artifacts, neither at the individual level, nor at levels of regions and of the entire planet.\cultural diversity should be compared with the loss of biological diversity.

一个更有力的批评强调，我的解释反映了我的西方，科学和基于商业的教育和背景。因此，正如Francois Nsenga在一个长期周到的说明中解释的那样，由于我的地位和语境的上升，教育，专业实践和社会化，以及由此产生的心态，所有这些文化因素都不会使我理解“关注的文化现实”。那些来自不同文化背景的人看到的现象完全不同。这个批评的结尾是指出“没有人知道，在个人层面，在地区层面和整个地球层面上，人工制品的‘同质化’造成的潜在有害和有害影响的确切数量和程度。”换句话说，文化多样性的丧失应与生物多样性的丧失相比较。

Conclusion 总结

I submit that my argument for the lack of cultural diversity in both mass-produced products and the education of industrial designers is accurate, but it can lead to two different interpretations.

我认为我对批量生产产品和对工业设计师的教育中缺乏文化多样性的论点是准确的，但它可以导致两种不同的解释。

One is that standardization of many aspects of life across the different cultures of the world is valuable. It brings all the peoples of the earth together, enabling better interaction ， communications and understanding. This is the traditional Western, technological view of the role of technology, industrialization, and the future.

一个是在世界的不同文化的生活的许多方面的标准化是有价值的。它使地球上所有的人民团结在一起，使得更好的互动，沟通和理解。这是传统的西方，技术的角色，技术，工业化和未来。

A second interpretation is that the homogenization is disturbing. It diminishes the richness of life, the importance of historical roots, ritual and custom. Cultural diversity is a powerful, positive influence and we ， as responsible designers, should pay much attention to how people behave in their environments ， supporting the richness of cultural diversity. It is not the product that is important ： It is how it is used, in context.

第二个解释是均匀化是令人不安的。它减少了生命的丰富性，历史根源的重要性，仪式和习俗。文化多样性是一个强大的，积极的影响，我们作为负责任的

设计师，应该注意人们在自己的环境中如何行为，支持文化多样性的丰富性。它不是产品是重要的：它是如何使用，在上下文。

Design education may be the same across the world because many design professors are trained in the same few universities across the world. They all belong to what one might call \design-education establishment\of people who share similar design philosophies, heavily influenced by western traditions of mass-production and the requirements of large, multinational firms. This is especially true at the PhD level, given the limited number of institutions offering PhDs in design.

世界各地的设计教育可能是一样的，因为许多设计教授都在世界上相同的几所大学接受培训。它们都属于人们所谓的“设计教育机构”，他们拥有类似的设计哲学，受西方大规模生产传统和大型跨国公司的要求的影响。在博士阶段尤其如此，鉴于提供设计博士的机构数量有限。

It is important to distinguish mass-produced, industrial design from crafts .Crafts reflect centuries or millennia of customs and behavior, and as a result, items produced by craftspeople are apt to be close fits to the demands of the culture. But the subtitle of the marvelous book by Ranjan and Ranjan of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, Crafts of India: Handmade in India, indicates the reason for this distinction. The critical word is \Handmade crafts reflect the needs of the people for whom they are crafted. Mass-produced products are intended for use by millions of people around the world.

将大量生产的工业设计与工艺品区分开是很重要的。工艺品反映了几个世纪或几千年的习俗和行为，因此，工匠们生产的物品很容易与文化的需求紧密相连。但是，印度艾哈迈达巴德国家设计研究所的Ranjan和Ranjan的精彩图书的副标题，印度的手工艺品：手工制作在印度，表明了这种区别的原因。关键词是“手工制作”。手工制作的工艺品反映了他们所制作的人们的需要。批量生产的产品旨在供全世界数百万人使用。提出修改建议

But just because design training is similar across the world does not mean that the results should be the same. After all, modern design education emphasizes the need to design for the needs of people. Students are increasingly being trained in observational skills, design research methods, and rapid prototyping and refinement. These could be considered to be refinements on the informal ways by which people have refined craft products over the millennia. These methods should enhance sensitivity to cultural variations and people's needs.

但只是因为设计培训在全世界是类似的并不意味着结果应该是一样的。毕竟，现代设计教育强调需要为人们的需要进行设计。学生越来越多地接受观察技能，设计研究方法，快速原型设计和精细化培训。这些可以被认为是对人们在几千年内精制工艺品的非正式方式的改进。这些方法应该增强对文化差异和人们需求的敏感性。

Note that the arguments of this essay are specifically relevant to industrial and

interaction designers. So even is one to accept that the impact of culture upon mass-produced products is minimal, other areas of design are apt to be far more sensitive to culture .Because social interaction is still the major source of cultural variation, I would expect service design to vary considerably from culture to culture .As social networks pervade the communication and Internet space, they too will vary with culture. Other areas of design will have their own special sensitivities to culture.

请注意，本文的论点与工业和交互设计师特别相关。因此，即使是人们接受文化对大规模生产产品的影响也是最小的，其他设计领域对文化的敏感度也会更高。因为社会互动仍然是文化差异的主要来源，我期望服务设计从文化到文化的差别很大。随着社交网络渗透了通信和互联网空间，它们也随文化而变化。其他设计领域将有自己对文化的特殊敏感性。

Finally, how much of this argument derives from my own cultural biases? I've been educated in the West with a technical and scientific education. I've been a faculty member of major research universities in departments of psychology and cognitive science, electrical engineering and computer science, and industrial design. My experiences in business include positions as senior executive at large, multinational consumer electronic companies. Would someone with a very different background and education have reached the same conclusions?

最后，这个论点有多少来自我自己的文化偏见？我在西方接受过技术和科学教育。我是心理学和认知科学，电气工程和计算机科学以及工业设计部门的主要研究型大学的教师。我在商业方面的经验包括担任高级行政总裁，跨国消费电子公司。有不同背景和教育的人是否得出相同的结论？

I conclude with the same question with which I started: How much should culture matter for product design?

我结束与我开始同样的问题：文化应该多少产品设计的重要？

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