7x109 REASONS WE NEED TO STOP D E S I G N I N G F O R O U R S E L V E S
BY MEGAN KIERSTEAD WWW.SOCIALERGONOMICS.COM @MEGKIERSTEAD
A CHANGE IN MINDSET
MEGAN – UX DESIGNER Age: Upper 20’s Languages spoken: English, sarcasm Education: Graduate school Web skill: Expert/addicted Job: Social Ergonomics
Goals: spread design gospel, make the world a better place, improve technology
Frustrations: lazy design, bad interfaces
Tech owned: Apple laptop, iPad, Android phone, Kindle
THE WORLD IS COMPLEX, SO STOP OVERSIMPLIFYING
DESIGN IS A BALANCE BETWEEN LIMITS & FREEDOM
DESIGN REQUIRES EMPATHY
SOCIAL ERGONOMICS: DESIGN TO FIT PEOPLE
EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, SO WE’RE ALL THE SAME
• Motivations/goals – power user vs. novice, risk aversion, willingness to explore
• Gender • Race • Age • Physical differences • Socioeconomic Status • Social network
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT GOALS
• Motivations/goals • Gender • Race • Age • Physical differences • Socioeconomic Status • Social network
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Why?!
GENDER & ORIENTATION: LIVING IN THE DARK AGES
Better …
Best?
• Motivations/goals • Gender • Race • Age • Physical differences • Socioeconomic Status • Social network
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
RACE IN THE UNITED STATES
• Motivations/goals • Gender • Race • Age • Physical differences • Socioeconomic Status • Social network
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
AGE IS MORE THAN JUST A NUMBER
• Motivations/goals • Gender • Race • Age • Physical differences • Socioeconomic Status • Social network
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
BAD NEWS – YOUR ICONS ARE PROBABLY TOO SMALL
• Motivations/goals • Gender • Race • Age • Physical differences • Socioeconomic Status • Social network
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
EDUCATION != INTELLIGENCE
• Motivations/goals • Gender • Race • Age • Physical differences • Socioeconomic Status • Social network – affects learning, awareness, adoption
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
CLIQUES AREN’T ONLY FOR HIGH SCHOOL
WHAT CAN I DO?
Develop Your Empathetic Brain by Exposing Yourself to People & Situations Outside Your Comfort Zone
Don’t Assume You Know the Answer… Iterate and Listen
Support Different Interaction Styles
THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE & MEANING
CULTURE SHAPES MEANING
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN COLOR MEANING
http://visual.ly/what-colors-mean-different-cultures
EVEN IF SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS SOMETHING, THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DISCOVER IT
http://visual.ly/understanding-illiteracy
LITERACY – SOME DESPRESSING NUMBERS
http://read-able.com/
Make Your Content Understandable by EVERYONE
WHAT CAN I DO?
Understand how content will be understood by different types of people
Use content that is familiar and consistent
Resist the urge to coin new terms
IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY
DISABILITIES
http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility
W3C Accessibility Standards
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/complete.html
Visual Blindness, color deficiency Speech Stuttering, muteness Cognitive/Neurological Learning disabilities, memory issues Physical Arthritis, amputation Auditory Deafness, hard of hearing
Tools:
NORMAL VISION
DEUTERANOPIA – ~5% MALES GREEN DEFICIENCY
TRITANOPIA – ~0.5% MALES BLUE DEFICIENCY
http://visual.ly/understanding-illiteracy
COLORBLINDNESS CAN DESTROY MEANING
NORMAL VISION COLOR DEFICIENT VISION
Color Oracle
Sim Daltonism
Color Brewer
WHAT CAN I DO?
Make accessibility an explicit part of your process
TECHNOLOGY ACCESS & LITERACY: NO, EVERYONE DOES NOT HAVE AN IPHONE
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/01/09/the-fastest-and-slowest-internet-speeds-in-america/
UNEQUAL INTERNET ACCESS
SMARTPHONES AREN’T EVERYWHERE YET
WHAT CAN I DO?
Think outside your own devices – do without
DO YOU MAKE DESIGN INCLUSIVE OR DIVERSE?
DESIGN IS A MORAL ENDEAVOR
DESIGN FOR EVERYONE ISN’T JUST RIGHT IT’S A GOOD IDEA
SOCIAL ERGONOMICS WWW.SOCIALERGONOMICS.COM [email protected] @MEGKIERSTEAD