{"id":537922,"date":"2010-04-21T18:25:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T22:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/37signals.com\/svn\/posts\/2294-designing-with-forces-how-to-apply-christopher-alexander-in-everyday-work"},"modified":"2010-04-21T18:25:00","modified_gmt":"2010-04-21T22:25:00","slug":"designing-with-forces-%e2%80%93-how-to-apply-christopher-alexander-in-everyday-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/537922","title":{"rendered":"“Designing with Forces” \u2013 How to apply Christopher Alexander in everyday work"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple weeks ago I gave a talk at the MFA<\/span> in Interaction Design<\/a> program at the School of Visual Arts in NYC<\/span>. The video for the talk and Q&A session is online now. When Liz Danzico<\/a> invited me to speak at the SVA<\/span>, I thought it would fit the university setting to share some theory behind our design process at 37signals.<\/p>\n

One book that heavily influenced my approach to design is Christopher Alexander’s Notes on the Synthesis of Form<\/i><\/a>. Many designers cite the book as an influence, but few really explain what it’s about or teach how to apply the ideas in everyday work. So I took the opportunity to explain the key points of the book and show how we use Alexander’s model to do design at 37signals.<\/p>\n

Here’s the video of the talk:<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Some of the screenshots are hard to see around 38:30. Check the images below if you’d like to see those screens more clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Highrise history<\/small><\/td>\nOptions behind a link<\/small><\/td>\nA new link to notify<\/small><\/td>\nEmbedded notification form<\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The talk was followed by a Q&A session. The Q&A touches on customer feedback, design vs. evolutionary selection and trusting your intuition.<\/p>\n

<\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Here are some things to check out if you liked the talk.<\/p>\n