Design Patterns
From IEOR 170 Spring 2007
Required Readings
- Design Pattern Languages, Jan Bochers, A Pattern Approach to Interaction Design, Chap 2. Wiley.
Related Resources
- The Interaction Design Patterns Page
- Patterns in Interaction Design
- A Summary of Alexander's Architectural Patterns
- Yahoo Design Pattern Library
Discussions
Please post your critiques/commments on the required readings below. To do that, first login by using your user name and password, then click the "edit" tab on the top part of this page (between the "discussion" page and the "history" page), New to wikis? Read the Wiki editing guide. . Hint - Please put a whole line == ~~~~ == at the beginning of your submitted critique, so the wiki system will index, sign and date your submission automatically.
[edit] Brian Loo 22:25, 22 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages” This was a great read as it discusses how architecture and buildings play a role and can influence people’s actions and lives. I really think this aspect of architecture and city planning is fascinating as it plays such a major role in the atmosphere and life of a city. The concept that a building is not just a building, but a place that can shape the community and can interact with people amazes me. Two examples discussed in the reading about the interaction with it location and atmosphere is the idea of a street café and a bench wall. In both examples, the article discusses how their design influences users and the overall atmosphere they are located in from inviting people and promoting a social environment. These examples are written using Alexander’s pattern format, which introduces the problem, solves it, illustrates it, and explains how different elements play a role in the experience. In addition, this format is written in plain simple non-technical form so that all readers can understand the concepts and influence building process. I thought this was the best format discussed and used among the three in the reading. The rest of the article talked about the future progress timeline of pattern language such as with software programming (Gamma) and user interface design (Tidwell), which wasn’t as interesting. But it discussed the pros and cons of each type and how they attempt to fulfill the requirement of readability and uniform formatting while building on top of each other, which is a design improvement in itself.
[edit] Patrick Liu 11:34, 24 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This article details the design pattern languages. The author starts out by discussing the design pattern languages in architecture. Alexander’s series, A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction, embodies architectural patterns. The structure of patterns consists of the introductory part: name, ranking, picture, and context. The central part consists of the problem statement and problem description. Finally the Alexander uses the solution, diagram, and references to complete the closing part. Alexander was able to maintain the pattern implicitly by some rules of typography. The author goes on to explain pattern languages in software programming. This part of the article really confused me because the author begins using very technical terms such as “object-oriented programming” and “design metaphors.” Also the author states that “software patterns are not for users,” and I cannot seem to find the relevance between our class and software design patterns, because the author explicitly states that software design processes are only useful for software programmers. I find HCI patterns to be a little more relevant to our class, because the patterns model time as well as space, and the patterns are more natural than software patterns. The article concludes by detailing the specifics of many different design patterns and the requirements to implement them.
[edit] Onyi Lam 15:04, 24 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
This is an interesting read in which the author discusses design patterns in three disciplines, namely architecture, software engineering and user interface. I found the section in architecture especially interesting and the street cafe example that Alexander uses to demonstrate a design patten that caters to peoples' social and interaction habit is also inspirising. The last section of the article: design pattern languages in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) very much aligns with what we have been studying in class. In this section, the author notes that HCI design patterns differ from that of architecture in one important way: time is an essential component and the pattern is more dynamic and the system changes frequently over time. The author then concludes that a interdisciplinary pattern language framework is needed to fill the gap between different disciplines and the functions that it should have.
[edit] Andrew prasetyo 16:34, 24 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This article is very amusing. It explains three languages of design pattern, i.e. in architecture, in software engineering, and in human computer interaction (HCI). However, the article merges all these three design patterns into one common goal, i.e. making a user-friendly design while achieving the intended design purposes. The older pattern language of architecture is the most interesting issue in this article, especially after the author provides two examples of architectural design that considers user-interaction, i.e. the café layout and the sitting wall. I also like the four concepts showed in the HCI pattern, i.e. how the user experience environment, how the user change the environment, how the environment evolves, and how the environment develops over time. It is interesting to note that every design pattern has an impact on environment, and over time, this design pattern will shape the environment. I believe it is up to the designer to influence this development into a more positive or negative direction.
[edit] Timothy Manglicmot 19:53, 24 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
The beginning of this article was very interesting as it explains how cleverly designed architecture and city sites can be designed in a way to influence the designers desired interaction for the site and how the designer wants the community to use it. The two examples discussed in the reading are the street café and the sitting wall and in each the author describes how each can be designed in a way to promote a more social atmosphere, drawing people into its space. Prior to reading this article I never sat and thought about how things in the city are designed; but after going out and noticing different places I can definitely see how places are designed to invite people in and to promote social gatherings. It’s definitely very interesting to see how this plays out in real life situations. Also, the use of Alexander’s uniform pattern structure seems very easy to use and follow; I liked his format more than the others discussed in the reading. Later in the article, the author describes pattern languages as it applies to software engineering and in HCI. Although this section was very informative, because it’s not directly related to my field of study or everyday life I did not enjoy reading these sections as much.
[edit] Michael Toulouse 20:45, 24 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
Pattern language, in the way the article made it out to be, seems to be a way of sorting through and itemizing previous solutions to design problems, by observing what worked well and appeared often in the past, and describing exactly what problem the pattern solved, and what the compulsions towards different designs are, and why (like making something taller/shorter). It also applies to greater patterns and the smaller ones within them. I noticed that in some ways the description of the pattern languages seemed to resemble elements of the structure class in C, and more generally that of object oriented programming. In the next section, the focus turns to software engineering, and generally validated that observation. Both software design and user interface design are discussed. The article ends with an assertion that it might be beneficial to try and develop a pattern language framework that could apply to all these fields.
[edit] Esha Datta 11:40, 25 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
This article was about design patterns, but I was unable to get a good sense of how a design principle would be used in practice in a typical project. I got the impression that design patterns were similar to design principles, or rules of thumb which have been known to provide good solutions in past experiences. I think that these design patterns could be very useful, but I also wonder if they may sometimes constrain the designer. It seems that by following design patterns, designers may default into following precedent instead of coming up with new and innovative solutions.
[edit] Urvashi 13:17, 25 February 2007 (PST)
This article discusses design patterns in several other fields apart from product design which we have been reading about all along. He shows us how it influences architecture and how people like to have a much bigger say in this particular process as they "live" it much more than say designs of a particular prodcut. In both architecture and HCI, there are the similarities that have been pointed out. They are how users experience an environment, how the environment influences an individual, how single environments integrate into a larger context and the evolution of these environments over time. The stark differences between interaction design and architecture that were pointed out were that HCI is more dynamic and also much more natural than software patterns. There has been a gradually changing approach to design as shown in the table on page 24 and shows how the same principles of design that were originally used in architecture can also be applied to modern day requirements like software packages and even user interface design. Overall this article wasn't a very easy read but gave some very useful insights into the evolution of design.
[edit] Siu Pan Lam 18:07, 25 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This chapter begins with a discussion of pattern languages in architecture, and then continues the discussion of the same concept in software engineering, human-computer interaction (HCI), and other disciplines. The constituents of a pattern include name, context, problem, solution, examples, diagrams, and cross references. The central theme surrounding pattern languages is active user participation. In other words, inhabitants or users, not architects or designers, are actively involved in the design of their environments. I think that this is a different view on designs comparing to the ones that we have been exposed to previously in the readings in that it takes on the perspective of the users of the design instead of the designers themselves in determining the outcome of a design. However, the validity of this argument is well justified by the street café example in which the author discusses how things as simple as the design of the café terrace is substantial enough to affect users and their social interactions among one another.
[edit] Umber Masood 17:59, 25 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
Bochers focuses on Christopher Alexander’s work throughout the reading. She writes that buildings and towns are formed by a process of piecemeal growth, which is an iterative technique. Iteration seems to be a common and important theme of design. I liked reading the excerpts of Alexander’s work. He is an excellent writer, and his style is one to learn from. I thought it was interesting to want to make a barrier that is also a seam: a wall to sit on. For example, many public fountains have a sitting wall. Fountains are a point of interest and including a sitting wall in their design also makes them a resting place. I like that Alexander thought of architecture from a design point of view (with the users in mind) and that his designs (sitting wall, street cafe) encouraged community building. Bochers outlines Alexander’s writing pattern and I think she did so to give an example of how to write a design idea. I thought Alexander’s concept of forces and the need to balance those forces was interesting.
This reading was different from others in the past. It focused less on the user and more on the designer. It was fascinating to read about Alexander’s work and his influence on other fields besides architecture, especially because the other fields are very different in nature from architecture. There are interesting parallels in the design and planning phases of architecture, software engineering, and human-computer interaction because of Alexander’s work.
This reading was less instructive in nature than previous readings have been. Other readings have focused more on how to improve designs with the user in mind. Also, other readings have focused on obtaining user feedback, while this reading centered more on the designer and making patterns for the designer, not the user. While keeping end users in mind in important, it is also important to develop patterns for designers to implement and follow. It was nice reading about patterns and designs from the designer’s point of view, instead of the user’s point of view.
[edit] Anar Joshi 18:24, 25 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
This article looked at the patterns in the people’s behavior that influence the design of architecture, software development, and user interface. I found the section about the work of Christopher Alexander in architecture to be the most interesting. Alexander had completed a research project with students from the University of Oregon to redesign the on-campus cafes. He had realized that street cafes in Europe were places that provided the social glue for a community and a place where people could sit by themselves in public for hours. This same principle could be applied to the campus cafes especially since students had identified informal activities (“going out for a beer”, “grabbing a cup of coffee”) contributing as much to their growth as formal education did. This example reminds me of the redesign of the Unit 3 DC, which was fully refurbished in order to decrease the stress placed on the resources at Crossroads. The designers added features that they thought would attract more students and encourage them to eat at their dining commons.
[edit] Megan Whittey 19:25, 25 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
I found this article pretty amusing to read. It talked about the different design pattern designers use when talking about or designing architecture around cities, software development, and user interface. The last two sections, software development, and user interface, weren't as interesting to read and didn't grab my attention as much. I really enjoyed reading the part about the architecture by Christopher Alexander and reading his exerpts from his book. I never realized how much the environment affected people and the architecture around them. For example, how important it is to design an outdoor cafe and how much it benefits the community. After reading that part though I realized how much I do really enjoy the relaxation of outdoor cafes and how enticing they are. They are much more prevelant in Europe though than the U.S., but when I was in Europe with my dad we sat at many outdoor cafes enjoying the scenery, and atmosphere that it created. I also found the architecture 'pattern' the easiest and most basic out the three patterns described and seems to be the one we are kind of following for our class assignments.
[edit] Nicolas Suryono 21:34, 25 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Patter Languages"
I think this article uncover something really simple about design that we don't realize in our daily life. It talked about the pattern in the design on architecture, cafe, house, software development, and user interface. Christopher Alexander makes it really clear for the reader that the design around us affect us. As an example, he stated on how important it is to have a street cafe, sitting wall and window place. Those place serves not only as a relaxation place but also as a crucial public gathering place.
[edit] Asmita Karandikar 00:32, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
This paper discusses pattern languages, which are made up of many small-scale design patterns. Design patterns are used to solve problems of conflicting forces and interests, and the design is dependent on the types of actions that take place in that environment. The beginning of the paper focuses on design patterns in architecture, primarily those of Christopher Alexander. The reading then gives Alexander’s examples of a café and a sitting wall. These examples were my favorite part of the reading because they were clear, descriptive, and interesting to read. It is apparent that Alexander put a lot of thought into these because they are quite detailed and involve many different aspects (or forces) that must be taken into account. Reading this section made me realize how many conflicting interests arise when designing a new construction project, and how it is important that the solution balances all of them. For example, in one of my classes last semester, we studied the new Underhill Parking Structure and Recreational Field. It was important that the site still provided recreational space to students, as well as a place for people to park their cars. That is why the design combines both of these activities, and the playing field is located on top of the parking structure. The article continues with the pattern languages used in software engineering and HCI, which I did not find to be as interesting.
[edit] Rey Doctora 00:38, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
I found this article very interesting to read, especially the portion related to Christopher Alexander and architecture. The article begins by introducing several design patterns that designers use in various fields including architecture within cities, software engineering, human-computer interaction (HCI) interfaces, and even extending design patterns to businesses to aid in early system definition and conceptual design. What caught my attention in this article was the early section on city architecture by Christopher Alexander. My cousin is an architect who has shown me some of her projects for her work and I have noticed that it is indeed true that the environment in which we design has an intrinsic art built into it. She lives in Nevada, home to luxury hotels, casinos, and tourist attractions and so everything she works on must somehow “fit-in” or blend into the existing environment. One of her projects, a Playboy Store in a mall, is beautiful; it is an example of how she used larger-scale patterns (for example, the choice of tiles, wall color, etc.) to create something that belongs in the context of everything else that already exists in the mall.
[edit] Erin Palermo 00:40, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages
Using the environment to influence design was an interesting concept. Alexander did interesting work with 'design pattern languages.' I liked reading about his projects in the cafe using the walking space as well as the available dining space to really enhance the community environment. Designers have a great opportunity to utilize their environmo software design, because they emphasized that this would be a difficult task, and is not easily generalized. But I agree that this is difficult, because the concept focuses on users designing their own environment, and this is difficult from a software perspective. Users must be familiar with code and computer languages, but this is not generally the case. Though the takeaway from Alexander's approach for the user interface aspect is that design is different from architecture. For a user to experience a design, the architecture must be seamless, but not necessarily visible.
[edit] Rakesh Vij 12:55, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages:
This reading is about design pattern languages. The first place where design patterns were seen was in renaissance architecture. There Giorgio developed documents that created the first design pattern. Alexander is the next architect that notices that certain patterns lead to better buildings and cities. He found that patterns are for users and that when put together they form a language. In 1977 Alexander published a text that included 253 design patterns of "user-friendly" solutions to architectural problems. The examples that this reading includes is one of the street cafe and the sitting wall. Looking at design pattern languages means looking at the patterns that users enjoy and replicating it to make a great cafe. The sitting wall example tells of what to do to make better sitting walls. The reading then does into the structure of pattern languages, which include the name, ranking, picture, context, solution, diagram, and references of each design. The reading then goes into pattern languages in software engineering, explaining in detail the Collect Low-Level Protocol pattern. Then a table is presented that shows the gradually changing approach to architectural design, which can also be applied to software packaging design. Despite being a hard reading this reading was very informative.
[edit] ChuiShan Wong 02:59, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Language"
In this chapter, it explains three languages of design pattern, they are in architecture, in software engineering, in Human Computer Interaction(HCL), and other disciplines. And, it talked about the pattern of the design on architecture, café, house, software development, and user interfaces. I think the most interesting part is in architecture pattern, there are two examples, street café, and the sitting wall, are given in the reading. It talks about how the design influences users in daily lives. After that, it talks about the elements of a pattern include name, context, problem statement, problem description, solution, examples, diagrams, and references In the last part, it gives a comparison of pattern languages from different domains to show the structural similarity across domains, and show HCK pattern to mature.
[edit] Michael Chen 08:50, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
One thing that I really found funny was the phrase "Quality Without a Name" that kept popping up in the beginning to demonstrate the effect of pattern language in architecture. The phrase is very reminiscent of the French phrase "Je nous se quas," which is literally translated: "I don't know what." It's used in exactly the same way that Quality Without a Name is used, when you have some point that you're trying to make, and, when you really think about it, don't really know what the hell it is. Really though, the point is actually given by a later quote: "The language... merely release the fundamental order that is native within us." The thinking goes that design is inherent in all of us, and so closely tied to our subconscious, rather than conscious, activities, that we often overlook the obvious motivators to design. The effect of a pattern language is to bring those motivations, (or in this case, forces) to the forefront. The organization of the chapter was good in that it introduced architectural pattern language first, and later introduced HCI patterning. The architectural pattern concept is far easier to grasp, and gives a good sense of what HCI patterning is trying to convey. At the same time, though, I didn't really 'get it' until the examples of architectural patterning were given. For 8 pages, I had no idea what it was.
[edit] Ricky Surachman 09:07, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
Although the article is a little bit difficult to read because of some scanning problem, the content of the article itself is really interesting. In this article, we learn how to use pattern languages and how to implement it. The first part about this article talks about the pattern language in architecture. One intersting idea in this part is about how good spatial patterns in a building is not created by the architects but by the people who live and use the building. This shows that sometimes a designer can miss several important facts in their design because he/she is not the one who uses the design. This also suggests that to get the best design we can not forget about the users. The next part in this article discusses about pattern language in software engineering, especially HCI. One intersting thing about this article is about the difference between interaction design and architecture, which is the importance of time in interaction (interaction is more dynamic and often changes), compares to the architecture.
[edit] Connie Ko 09:10, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
This article described how design pattern languages could be developed in architecture, software, human-computer interaction, and all other disciplines. The easiest part of the article to understand and relate to was the first part with Alexander's example of how "the sitting wall" is a design pattern that can be used across many environments. His theory of pattern languages influenced the software engineering and user interface design environments to adapt his theories into their worlds. The article mainly focused on these three environments, but these practices can be applied to many different disciplines. I thought it was interesting that in HCI, they have to take into account time as an issue that architecture did not.
[edit] Johannesleholm 12:03, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages
The article begins by describing how Christopher Alexander developed a new theory of architecture, building and planning using pattern languages. Pattern languages are mediums in which design patterns, solutions to problems in a certain context, are effectively communicated. This allows lay users of products into the design process. Alexander points out that recently in architecture and urban planning, the user has largely been omitted from the design process; the architects and planners who design homes, buildings, and towns often never interact with the finished product. This is silly since the users are the ones who interact with the design and create their environments by using natural design patterns. Alexander explains that a town is given its character by the events that take place; it’s not the design, but how the users interact with the design. Alexander provides a structured format to express design pattern in Architecture and gives the example of a café. This pattern language is extended to software design and human computer interaction (HCL). While difference like time dynamics crop up with HCL compared to architecture, the language allows users and learners to enter the field and communicate design patterns.
[edit] Christine Shih 12:06, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages This article talks about different design patterns in architecture, software engineering, and HCI (human computer interaction). I found the beginning portion related to architecture interesting to read- especially the parts about the "sitting wall" and the "cafe". It made sense how in the "Sitting wall" example you would need something to divide two spaces like a garden and a street and how in the "cafe" example, people like the street cafes so they can people watch- without feeling like they are loitering. The rest of the article wasn't as interesting to me for some reason... i liked how they pointed out that sometimes in software engineering it's not good for new users to design their own architecture but to follow existing ones, which i think is true.
[edit] Patricia Wang 12:30, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This article discusses the patterns in spatial design and the positive effect they have on user satisfaction. I found it interesting that by documenting the design patterns of past projects, architects can more fully understand what exactly its users would want. This seems to be yet another way to place the designer closer to the user, elucidating the user’s needs and preferences. The definition of a pattern language is the hierarchical structure that results from appropriate applications of small scale solutions to larger scale patterns. Alexander, the creator of pattern languages, emphasizes that this method is used only to account for environmental factors, after which it is no longer necessary in the design process. In his second volume, Alexander describes 253 design patterns which served as solutions to recurring architectural problems. It was strikingly useful that the design patterns all had a uniform structure, which would ultimately serve to more explicitly uncover how the pattern could solve a different problem. I also really enjoyed that this method was not just limited to physical architecture but could be applied to the design of software structure.
[edit] Shilpi Verma 14:06, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
In this article the author discusses the principle of design pattern in three different aspects: architecture, software engineering, and Human Computer Interaction (HCI). I found the portion on architecture the most interesting. The paper mostly focuses on the architectural designs of Christopher Alexander, in particular the street cafes and sitting wall examples. These examples clearly depicted how important design patterns are in architecture. I really liked this first section because I liked how Alexander thought of architecture from a design point of view. Keeping the users in mind is extremely important, and there have been places where the architecture of the place did not keep the users in mind. Eventually the article moves on to discuss design pattern languages in software engineering and HCI. Overall, the article was a pretty informative and interesting, even though it was a hard read.
[edit] Michael Lovejoy 14:23, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This article was pretty interesting because it applied some of the ideas we have learned already (e.g. people take the path of least resistance, design for what people do – not what they should do) to architecture. It talks about Christopher Alexander’s beliefs that people’s actions should be noted and buildings should be redesigned taking those actions into account. The idea of architecture relating to human nature is interesting to me because I took an American cultural landscapes course (Geog C160A) that addressed the interaction between people and their built environment. I studied the history of this interaction and how it has developed and adapted itself over the years. However, this article strayed from that general historical aspect and started giving specific examples of how to diagram and describe specific interactions. When it began examining the history of pattern languages in software programming, it lost me a little bit and became much more dull. However, I did appreciate how the article mentioned the importance of cross-disciplinary readability, which emphasizes how patterns are applicable to many different professions. Overall, this article offered an interesting perspective on a somewhat dull subject.
[edit] Bryan Boling14:25, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This article was about design patterns, and was focused on three design pattern languages covering architecture, software design, and HCI. Due to the fact that I have very little interest or experience in software design or human computer interface, I found these sections hard to follow, and didn’t really understand everything being presented there. However, I did enjoy the section on design patterns in architecture, and found the examples of the café and sitting wall very helpful in understanding what a design pattern was. Although I’ve never really used the term design pattern when thinking about my own designs, I can see how using the Alexandrian model would be beneficial in most design applications, and I feel I’ve implemented most of these principles naturally when working on a design project. On the down side though, I feel that having to follow a design pattern could restrict creative thought to some extent, which would be counterproductive in product design.
[edit] Fenelia Kosasih 15:05, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
This article shows the application of design pattern languages in three different design scopes - architecture, software engineering and HCI (Human-Computer Interaction). Previous articles has touched on the design aspects in various softwares and user interfaces, but I am most intrigued by the application of design pattern languages in the field of architecture. As the author illustrates this application in Alexander's design of Cafe and sitting wall, it is interesting to see the parallel in the design process to the design of a software, and the same emphasis on user integration in the design cycle. Eventually, these design patterns will be integral in shaping the environments and affecting the events around it, just like how the street cafe and the sitting wall is designed to create a social and inviting environment and will eventually affect the events that take place around them. After touching on the design pattern in architecture, the author went on to show this same application in software engineering and HCI.
[edit] Raymond Kim 14:36, 26 February 2007 (PST)
The first section of this article was a very interesting read. The writer reveals the various design patterns used in architecture and how the spatial environment has a tremendous effect on what the user can and can't do. Successful design patterns in architecture also have the potential to create an entirely unique atmosphere that specically suits the user as shown in the "sitting wall" and cafe examples. By choosing the proper design elements, a successful designer can create a world that blends into the context or stands on its own. The second half of this article went into detail about design patterns in computer software. Unfortunately, the material was a bit dense and not as easy to relate to as the first. It is interesting however to see how design principles can cross boundaries from artistic forms (architecture) into science.
[edit] Ryan Panchadsaram 14:39, 26 February 2007 (PST)
This article was an interesting read because it related to my research into web programming languages. I was looking into Ruby on Rails, which is a very patterns oriented programming language. The author Bochers is difficult to read, but gets his point across. We are humans and we deal with things in patterns. Since the dawn of time we have used patterns to make designing easier. There is a source named Alexander who is quoted frequently who relates programming and HCI patterns to patterns in architecture. It is a great analogy, because when you are building a city it is made up of components that interact with people. When you design an application, it is made up of parts like a city is. Each part can be described as a pattern. The author makes an interesting point about using patterns in HCI versus programming. He says that it is more natural to use patterns in HCI because it fits the field better. Components of user design patterns are: name, examples, context, problem, forces, solution, diagram, resulting context, and notes.
[edit] Monica Tanza 14:48, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages
This article started with describing pattern languages in architecture, using the specific example of Alexander's work. It showed a couple of his patterns, for a cafe and sitting wall. I found it interesting that they found this link between architecture and design, this same problem with how to include the users in the design process. I did think Alexander's approach was a bit. It seems so specific and limiting, and also a bit presumptuous, as if his solutions are the only solutions to these issues. It was also hard for me to follow the link between Alexander's design patterns and it's application to HCI. I think this article might have been trying to make the point that design patterns for HCI should be created, however, I do not know if I feel that is true, since design patterns seem limiting.
[edit] Yang Hung 15:09, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This reading talks about the influence of how city planning, architecture, and interior design can play a role in influencing people's lives and actions. Then it expands the topic of design pattern into software engineering and human computer interaction. The section about software engineering resonated with me personally because in high school I was first exposed to object oriented programming and how to write "elegant" code. I never realized how useful the design pattern framework in solving problems ranging from designing cafes to programming code. The reading also touches a little on the theme of iterative design and improvement so that it is a continuous loop of design influencing the environment and the environment influencing design.
[edit] Richard Chen 15:32, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
While most parts of this reading was a bit hard for me to follow, I really enjoyed the part where the author talks about how he worked on a project for the University of Oregon, where he found out that that informal activities of shops and cafes actually contribute substantially to the emotional and mental growth of the students. To me, that example goes to show how important design is in our everyday lives—and it’s really easy to forget about the fact that a design as simple as a room can have amplified consequences in how humans would potentially interact in that room. This example also brings up something that I’ve experienced as a student on this campus, in how I tend to avoid studying with friends in rooms that don’t provide a whole lot of interaction. That would be a possible reason behind why so many students prefer to work on group projects in cafes and other areas that have a “inviting feel” to it—and not one that would close off all social interactions. Furthermore, this article also brings up another piece of literature that I remember reading about how specific buildings—either in the corporate world or academic setting—were designed specifically with the end users in mind. I remember the enormous amount of input the architects and designers were soliciting from my laboratory teammates (during my summer internship at a biotech firm) on the design of their future lab buildings. This goes to show how important it is to incorporate elements of how users experience an environment and, conversely, how an environment influences their users’ behaviors.
[edit] Minhaaj Khan 15:21, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages
Although we get a disproportionate amount of reading in this class, I have to admit that much of it is very interesting and certainly applicable to the subject matter. As I was reading the first few pages I realized that I’m drawn to places with certain architectural designs and tend to subconsciously stay away from public place that don’t exhibit those same designs. The whole idea of design patters wasn’t entirely new considering what we’ve learned up till now; it stresses importance on stating a name, context, problem, solution, examples, diagrams, and cross-references for each design pattern. A lot of these are tools that we’ve been taught to identify during the design process. It was also funny when the author noted that Christopher Alexander’s ides weren’t received to well from is architect colleagues because it “empowered the inhabitants” and supplied them with “more ways to influence the building process” thus taking power out of the hands of professionals. In our design class, from the designer as oppose to an architectural perspective, we’re taught exactly what Alexander is arguing; basically the importance of incorporating users (or for architects the inhabitants) into our design and that by giving up some of our designing power to users, our final design is much better for it. The section on human-computer interaction (HCI) was interesting but mostly stuff we’ve already learned stated differently. The Pattern Languages in Software Engineering section was a little boring.
[edit] Katherine Tong 15:34, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
At first I thought it was a little strange reading about architecture because our subjects of discussion have recently been operational electronic interfaces. Initially I thought this type of design would tie into the subject matter describing the psychology associated with certain colors and shapes, and how specific patterns may persuade a user to want or not want to do something. That's why I was surprised when Alexander's work was used as a framework for instructional patterns rather, but this makes sense. Children learn through repetition and pattern, which is why people are so used to following examples and patterns. This seems especially helpful in computer human interface (CHI) because with every new software or computer program users need to learn a new type of interaction. If there are specific patterns for them to follow or learn from, the CHI process becomes less combersome.
[edit] Karey Park 15:28, 26 February 2007 (PST)
This was an intersting article, discussing the use of patterns in many different disciplines. It embodied many of the values and guiding principles of Christopher Alexander, and as such, focused the pinnacle of the discussion on how patterns relate to architecture. It wasn't too difficult to apply this perspective to other disciplines, and the authors did so pretty smoothly, including research from HCI that referenced Alexander's writings. The depth of the article was a little bit limited, however. The scope was a little overly ambitious, for just a single chapter. The only exception was the subsection on architectural pattern examples, which showed several illustrations, though pretty low-quality pictures, and provided detailed examples.
[edit] Joshua Funamura 15:31, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
Observing patterns and documenting them in a structured, uniform format seems like a useful way of documenting and preserving observations. I especially like Alexander's quote, "If you can't draw a diagram of it, it isn't a pattern" which underscores the importance of sketching and bringing abstract concepts into more concrete form during the design process. The pattern language approach though, in execution in a global sense seems rather bothersome. Applying Alexander's concept of pattern language to software engineering and interface design in such a structured, universal, and complete way seems like a great challenge, not so much in producing the case studies and patterns, but for aggregating, organizing, and accessing the information. Overall though, it's application to human-computer interaction design seems very beneficial, as it brings the designer closer to the user, which we learned is beneficial from doing our contextual inquiry, and streamlines the design process by enabling designers to save time by reusing good ideas and avoiding bad ideas.
[edit] Hong How Quek 15:40, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
The article introduces the concept of design patterns in various domains such as architecture, software development and user interface design. I totally agree with the motivation behind design patterns in architecture-- that because architects/designers are not closely related to future inhabitants, we have to engage users and apply patterns to change existing quality. I remember reading an architectural design book that described how the goal of every architect is not just to create living environments that fit the user, but more importantly to give the environment he creates a timeless quality that will endure through the ages. Hence, it was really interesting for me to see how formulated design patterns are a means, and a common language that help architects to achieve that timeless quality. It is indeed important for designers to establish a common vocabulary through design patterns, that are useful more so for the laymen who need that extra bit of guidance. In addition, I found the analysis of street cafes extremely engaging, and it will be a useful model for me to rely on in future analysis I make for my design project.
[edit] HAK-SEUNG KIM 15:44, 26 February 2007 (PST)
In this article, the author demonstrates the patterns of design. I also believe that any design must have a certain way of pattern, so that the user can easily use the product. Moreover, the author shows several examples to support his assertion such as architecture (Alexander), software development (Ganuna), and user interface design (Tidwell). Especially, I strongly agree with one of the component of the software development, the applicability. There is no program needed if it does not apply to the certain job or work. Over all, I like this article and agree many aspects of the author's assertions.
[edit] Shwan Kazzaz 15:45, 26 February 2007 (PST)
This article honestly did not clearly express the point it was trying to make. But after reading the first few pages twice over, I realized that the point it was trying to make was that a new theme in design erupted in the 1970s that was built around a thorough understanding of the patters that would occur within architecture. To me, this is the essence of good design, and to say that this did not exist before then, would seem to me to say that design did not exist. I thought the examination of the street cafe as a patternable location was very interesting, thorough, and insightful.
[edit] YeeWan Cheung 15:49, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
The article discusses Alexander’s concept and properties of patterns in great details. He argues that even though every inhabitant has his own design pattern in his minds, it is the designers’ job to support the users’ patterns of habits in an ideal way. I appreciated his works after read the sitting wall example because he generalized the problem, and put it with the solutions in a very simple and logical way for the reader to follow his logic. I especially like Alexander give ranking to each problem that gives readers a clue about the author’s confident level has in the design pattern. After talking about pattern languages in architecture, this idea is also extended to software engineering. Comparing the architecture part, this section is much harder to follow due to the lack of familiar example. One special character of patterns for software programming is that it is applying for the communication between software designers, instead of users. Later on in the chapter, the author also talks about pattern languages in HCI and other disciplines, along with the requirements needed for an interdisciplinary pattern language framework. For an example, design dimension coverage that allow the pattern to cover all dimensions of the diciplines. I really like the article offers keyword summary on the side of every paragraph, which is can help me to stay focus.
[edit] Tawan Udtamadilok 15:58, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
The article was a quick read. The introduction on the nature of descriptions of architectural designs was excellent. The connection of the users with the space/object was very clear and detailed; it was easy to support the design. However, I felt that the overall article did not have good flow. It was difficult to anticipate what the author was describing after his section on architecture. I understand that his need was to show the progression of how software was presented to the public. By focusing on the interaction between the user and the user interface, users can provide feedback and be more integrated into the design process.
[edit] Christopher Ling 16:07, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages:
This article describes the process of pattern languages and how they provide a structured manner of organizing a design. The author first defined the term design pattern as a design that was displayed by a sketch with supporting textual analysis. Next the author introduced pattern languages, stating that contemporary design patterns have “become lost in today’s society”, where the tasks of the design are now left to the architects and designers to build instead of the everyday people. One point that I found interesting was the author’s statement that these patterns are all linked together. For example, you could decompose a pattern of a room and these basic pieces can be applied to the entire room, neighborhood, and then city. The outline form of how to describe your pattern was extremely organized, such as with the implied design, ranking, and picture paragraphs. I got the overall idea that the author was trying to stress the community effort in keeping the ultimate user in mind, such as designing a product has multiple uses.
[edit] Justin Hsu 16:13, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
The article "Design Pattern Languages" was an interesting read that focused on the how human interactions and behaviors can influence the overall design of things. The author examined the several instances of this: the design of architecture, software, and graphical user interfaces. This article reminded me of the contextual inquiry articles in the sense that in both instances, designers observed the behavior of potential users and catered their designs to these observations. A great example of this was the story about how Christopher Alexander's research made it clear that the street cafes were essentially social hubs that were a large part of the community's social fabric. It was even more fascinating that his concepts were widely applied to seemingly unrelated fields like software development and graphical user interface design. Keeping this in mind, designers can really improve the overall appeal and community feeling throughout a wide range of products because Alexander's points are very fundamental in the sense that they easily transcend just architectural boundaries. I enjoyed the article because it in addition to the framework that was discussed, it included a background story about the development of those ideas which was quite interesting. It brought a "personal revelation" touch to the article. I enjoyed this article because it really opened my mind about how and where inspiration for design can come from.
[edit] Marshall Anderson 16:13, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
The idea of seeing patterns in design is an interesting idea but I did not enjoy this reading because it was not as “how-to” or straight forward as some of the other readings. It seems to me that Alexander and these other researchers are trying to create some grand theory be bringing an objective understanding to a subjective and chaotically complex environment. The whole basis of pattern identification introduces generalization in some form or the other and as we learned from before, generalization can result in an unsuccessful design. The one thing I did like about the paper is using patterns to enhance communication between designers. I believe that using patterns in communication is a good way to get a common understanding and I believe that it is practiced day-to-day but I think that using patterns in design can be treacherous unless the target audience is large and diverse....then it would be an useful tool.
[edit] James ChunJye Tong 16:35, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages” The author introduces the design patterns in architecture, software development, and user interface design. I think the examples of street café and sitting wall are interesting. It shows how these designs can make the city be more attractive and will promote a better social environment. The same principle applies to the design of software and human computer interaction, HCI. In the designing of HCI, it is important for the designers to understand the users’ experience, behavior, and environment. I think it is interesting that the design pattern can be used in different disciplines. Even though the methods are varied somehow, however, they have one common goal, that is, to incoporate the designers' ideas to solve problems.
[edit] Rabia Siddiqi 16:19, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages
Most of this article was very interesting and well-written. It discussed the use of design pattern language in architecture, software design and human computer interaction. I found the section on architecture to easiest to understand. The examples of the cafe and sitting wall were very well thought out and considerate of the users. Alexander took into consideration all the forces that are invoved when a person chooses a sitting place. I think its sad that his ideas were not well received by architects because more involvement of the user can be beneficial for the design process. The software and HCI sections became a bit harder to follow. It seems like understanding the pattern language of software design is something meant for a professional programmer rather than the general population. The central issues of HCI were listed as how the user experiences the environment, how the environment influences the user, how the environments integrate into the larger context, and how the environments develop over time. Patterns which describe relationships between "physical elements and the events that happen there" can be used to clarify these issues and solve design problems.
[edit] Ryan Jue 16:21, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Design Pattern Languages
This article focus on design patterns and how they can be incorporated into designs from a designer's point of view for the intended users. As an EECS major, I found the design patterns with the human computer interfaces interesting but common. The article seemed to over generalize the patterns and make it harder to understand the concepts. For example, an issue in HCI was "how single environments integrate into larger context". This is pretty much just he basic principle of an operating system where the programs that run on it are coded for the desktop environment that the operating system provides.
[edit] Jason Hu 16:30, 26 February 2007 (PST)
Like everyone, else I particularly enjoyed the portion of this reading that applied pattern language theory to the field of architecture. It demonstrated the hidden patterns within patterns that comprise our social and physical society. The examples of cafes and sitting walls, written by Chirstopher Alexander in his book, “The Timeless Way of Building” were told in a friendly, storytelling style and were particularly instructive. It actually makes me quite interested in reading his book. I particularly appreciated Alexander’s description of building not as a process of combining preformed parts, but of unfolding a space, differentiating it into a complex solution. It makes me think of architectural design not in terms of arranging objects in space, and more in terms of the arranging the space with objects. It is, after all, the space itself that is important. That’s where people will move and flow and interact and live. Hopefully, it's there that human nature will find harmony with intent. It’s very Zen. I like it.
[edit] Aubuchon 16:45, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This article addresses the idea that places are defined most prominently by the type of events that occur there, and by the frequency of those events. Design pattern language basically is a way of thinking about designing a place around such events, and not by some other criteria. “A building or town is given its character, essentially, by those events that keep on happening there most often.” The author sites a number of “forces” that can go into design consideration, such as physical, economic, social, or natural. One such example is that people are provoked by “forces” that encourage them to sit down while they are waiting for something. They also like to be near light sources. This translates to the design of a room with seating by the window as opposed to in the center of the room. The author also suggests that Pattern Languages can in this method design larger environments, piece at a time. For instance, one can examine the relevant forces in designing a room. Then one can place a number of rooms (while considering the associated relevant forces) to create a building. Then in this way, buildings can create blocks, can create towns, etc. I was not quite clear how the 3 approaches the author mentioned really differed all that much. They all seemed to do the same basic steps of structuring texts and diagrams to illustrate problems and solutions. Overall, this was a quick read.
[edit] Sumeet Patel 16:46, 26 February 2007 (PST)
"Design Pattern Languages"
This article was very interesting because it talked about how patterns are formed from design in environment. The beginning of the article talks about patterns in architectural design. The most important aspect from this section was that the environment, which uses the design, actually designs the product. I liked how he talks about new developers not interacting with their design and how incorporating design with patterns that evolve from use can lead to better design. The example about the café was especially interesting because of the fact that the designer got past the obvious design of getting coffee and focused on what people used café’s for. People go to café’s to have a comfortable place to go alone in public and by taking that into consideration, a good design can be constructed. Overall this article was good because it steered away from conventional design tactics and focused more on sociology and psychology.
[edit] Luciana Cook 16:49, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
From the three different topics in this article: architecture, software engineering and user interface, the most interesting was the part about architecture. It is extremely true what the article says that architecture can inspire people to act a certain way. Depending on where you locate places and how you design it, it will give people a feel of the atmosphere. The examples Alexander used were really interesting. It made me think of the immediate community around campus. Everything around here has the "college feel". It might be that a place is locates 5 blocks from campus but yet it has that college feel. It is dominated by the bigger structures of the city, Campus itself.
[edit] Royapakzad 16:52, 26 February 2007 (PST)
“Design Pattern Languages”
This article was, in my opinion, vague and hard to follow, since the thesis and the main point are not stated clearly at the beginning, however after reading the two examples of pattern language provided by Alexander: The Street Café, and The Sitting Wall, it became more understandable. In particular, the Street Café example showed how the environment and the inhabitants had to do with the design of the café and how to make it an intimate and comfortable place where people can sit and watch the world go by. The street café is then used to further elaborate the larger-scale pattern of an identifiable neighborhood. It was interesting to learn that pattern language is basically the idea of participatory design, which aims to actively involve end users in all stages of the software development cycle. The different components of the pattern structure also made me realize the large appeal of the pattern concept, which is partly due to the fact that patterns might be a particularly effective way to organize complex information in general. It was very interesting to find out the importance of pattern language in other disciplines as well, such as software projects. In general I understood that pattern language is a way of communication between the builder and the user and it makes the design process more organized and less complicated.
