大数据需要好设计

    数据不会为了你而自动创新。数据可以展现某些模式，帮助我们预测结果，也可以帮助我们验证理论。但是当研发某些全新事物时，光靠数据无法催生出下一代的“杀手级”产品。如果美剧《双峰镇》（Twin Peaks）的编剧或加拿大太阳马戏团（Cirque de Soleil）的老板当初只在数据的预测范围内考虑问题的话，那么观众的欣赏偏好数据可能会显示《双峰镇》的品味太古怪了，另外的数据则会显示，在日益低迷的马戏市场上开办一家新的马戏团是件多么疯狂的事。

    对于从事“创新”业务的企业来说，好的设计是成功的关键因素之一。设计师可以帮助企业设想它们的业务定位，或者对现有的业务进行重新设想。创意是发明创造的关键，而对于创造性的突破来说，数据仍然非常重要——尤其是当它和人类独有的想象力和直觉结合在一起的时候。

    大企业传统上喜欢让咨询顾问来告诉他们如何利用数据来为企业服务，以提高公司业务的效率，同时更好地进行实时决策。而技术人员则喜欢以灵活的方式构建数据。它们会对数据进行分析组合和交叉引用，以使它更加高效和智能。

    Data will not innovate on your behalf. Data can show patterns and help predict outcomes, and it can also help validate theories. But when working on something entirely new, data alone is unlikely to lead to the next killer product. As some others have observed, the world would not have experienced Twin Peaks or Cirque de Soleil if the creators had worked within the boundaries of data-validated predictability. The audience preference data would have shown that Twin Peaks is too weird, and data would also have shown that it would be crazy to start a new venture in the declining circus market.

    For companies in the business of "new," good design is a key ingredient. Designers can help organizations imagine where their business could be or reimagine an existing business. Creativity is a crucial component of invention. For creative breakthroughs, data can still be very powerful -- if it's coupled up with the uniquely human traits of imagination and intuition.

    Traditionally, large organizations tend to work with business consultants to help them understand how to use data to their benefit -- to become more efficient and to make better real-time decisions. Technologists on the other hand, tend to try to structure data in a flexible way. They analyze it, dashboard it, and cross-reference it to make it more efficient and intelligent.

    设计师则喜欢从一个全然不同的角度利用数据。他们会直观地思考对于终端用户和活生生的人来说，怎样才能从数据中获益。设计师有一个根深蒂固的想法，就是关注怎样把事情简单化，唯一的目的是取悦终端用户，不管这些用户是企业用户还是普通消费者。设计师们知道如何把复杂、分散的数据变得形象化，变得易于理解，更重要的是变得更加人性化。在如何让数据适应我们纷繁复杂的生活和现实世界的问题上，设计可以扮演一个关键的角色。我们生活的方方面面都需要依赖于种种数据服务，而设计师可以给这些服务带来故事情节和人情味。

    对于屏幕上的体验来说，尤其是对于移动设备的屏幕体验，简洁已经成了一个口号。如果一家公司希望用更智能的方式来利用数据造福用户，服务的设计可以给他们最重要的服务带来简洁的特性。下面几个例子就说明了以设计为导向的数据使用可以产生的力量。

    The designer tends to approach data from a completely different angle. They will intuitively think about the end user and how real people can benefit from the data. Designers have it ingrained to focus on simplicity and bring a singular focus to delighting the end user -- regardless of whether they are a business user or consumer. Designers know how to take complex or disparate information and make it tangible, understandable, and importantly, more human. Design can play a key role to make digital data adapt to our messy lives and the real world. Designers can bring stories and humanity back into the digital services we increasingly rely on for all aspects of our lives.

    For onscreen experiences, simplicity has become a watchword, especially for mobile devices. Service design can bring simplicity to the forefront for a company wanting to use data in smarter ways to benefit the user. Here are a few examples that illustrate the power of a design-led approach to data: