Ilja Šmorgun – What are Design Patterns?
Using various digital devices – from smart watches and smartphones to large interactive screens – has become very common. At the same time, the amount of apps that allow us to work on many devices simultaneously has risen as well, notes Ilja Šmorgun, lecturer of interaction design at the TU School of Digital Technologies.
Using various digital devices – from smart watches and smartphones to large interactive screens – has become very common. At the same time, the amount of apps that allow us to work on many devices simultaneously has risen as well, notes Ilja Šmorgun, lecturer of interaction design at the TU School of Digital Technologies.
Because of this, we can share our information on multiple displays or use one device to control another. Imagine using your phone to control your presentation on the big screen, while at the same time seeing the next slide and the duration of your performance. Or using your smart watch to receive a call made to your smartphone. The phone could be in another room and you don’t have to touch it to reply.
Designers often face the challenge of creating applications that would allow various devices to be combined comfortably. Even though there are many universal approaches to this, oftentimes designers create similar applications, which have no knowledge of each other. Today we need to focus on creating apps that connect rather than separate devices.
The main problem with designing applications that work on multiple devices simultaneously is that it is difficult to determine the possibilities these applications may have. Mapping the opportunities takes a lot of preparatory work and going through vast amounts of literature. One could learn from the work of other designers, but the work is generally undocumented.
As a solution, we have come up with the collection of design patterns, which could be used as building blocks in creating inter-device applications. The design pattern will present a working solution to a certain design issue.
A design pattern is composed of a description of an issue, a short summary of the solution, a list of devices the pattern would work on, and drawings or a short introductory video concerning the final solution. The designer must get acquainted with the patterns and find the applicable solution to their issue.
The most difficult way to solve a design issue is starting with a blank page. It is better to see how others have solved similar issues and learn from their experiences. This is where design patterns may save your day!