10/17/18 10/17/18

Keeping UX Design Human

UX (User Experience) Design is one of the fastest growing fields in graphic design. The change in growth was more than 15% from 2010 to 2016, close to double the national average. The field is exciting, new, and still emerging. In 2016, UX/UI job postings comprised 28% of the list.Roles on a UX team change and overlap. It's also a place where today's graphic designers are likely to find work and a career. Eventually their role may fall under the category of visual designer, however the field is so new that we don't know yet what other job titles will emerge. The State of UX in 2018 by UX Trends discusses what some of the associated areas that designers are venturing into. AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality), motion design, prototyping, and product design are just some of the places. No matter what the job title, all involve engaging the end user and ultimately, creating their experience.Creating a user's experience is exciting, and full of responsibility. The line between authentic persuasion and manipulation is not a strong one. Ethical issues come into play in every aspect. How often a user waits, the imagery and colors used to engage them, the size of the elements along their path, are all design decisions that have ethical implications.In his Podcast, How Technology is Hijacking Your Mind, former Google ethicist Tristan Harris, discusses the ways in which tech designers use techniques like intermittent variable rewards, the number one psychological ingredient in slot machines. In the 1950s BF Skinner researched this concept and how effective unpredictable rewards are in keeping behavior going. FOMS (Fear of Missing Something) is another technique used by designers along with social Approval and social Reciprocity.Human-centered design expert Don Norman recently wrote an article for Fast Company, The Myth of Human-Centered Design, where he says that we design for "technology first" rather than putting the user first. Studies show us that users will adapt to these conditions and their behavior will be formed by technological advances, rather than a human-centered approach. Norman raises many questions about how experiences are created, including what defines the truth if anything can be simulated. Norman states that it's now time to produce a more sophisticated view of human-centered design, not just responding to what technology can do and what users crave.Graphic designers need to include what is in the best interest of the human race, rather than responding to technological advances. In this way, they will truly be participating in human-centered design.Sources:https://www.fastcompany.com/90208681/the-myth-of-human-centered-design https://medium.muz.li/2018s-ux-designer-salary-forecast-32ccc1dfcd5f https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/home.htm https://designation.io/blog/now-is-the-time-for-ux-ui https://trends.uxdesign.cc/https://medium.com/thrive-global/how-technology-hijacks-peoples-minds-from-a-magician-and-google-s-design-ethicist-56d62ef5edf3

6/6/17 6/6/17

Online Engagement (aka Designing a Slot Machine)

Making an impact online is all about engagement. According to Kara Swisher of "Recode Decode," it's often assumed that making an impact is positive. In an interview with Tristan Harris, Swisher says that in her experience, many of those involved in designing online engagement don't give much thought to what type of impact they are making.Tristan Harris left his job as a Design Ethicist at Google to lead Time Well Spent, a non-profit movement with the mission of "reclaiming our minds from the race for attention. Their goal is to look at how business models, user habits, and design can be changed to measure success by how much engagement benefits people's lives, rather than just how much engagement is generated. The question for all involved in creating online engagement should be, "How do you ethically shape the thoughts and actions that will appear in a billion people's minds today?"Harris talks about how the experience of checking our phone is akin to playing a slot machine. The randomness and timing of what appears in our social media and news feed are deliberate to keep us hooked—just like those who are hooked on playing the slots. Research about addiction to gambling focuses on the psychological, biological, and morality of gambling addicts—but some studies have shown that the real problem may be the slot machines themselves. Contrary to what we may think about the allure of the thrill and risk associated with gambling, slot machines provide people with a false sense of safety and security. According to Harris, our experience with our apps is not much different—giving us a false sense of safety and security while presenting us with a multitude of opportunities to squander both time and money.Graphic designers bear much of the responsibility for the design of our online experiences, and subsequently, also the consequences. We need to look at all the implications of our designs, and in the process, aim to answer some of Harris' questions:

How do we make sure designers use the wisest moral operating system when making choices on our behalf?
How do they distinguish between what’s good for business and what’s good for society – or even navigate these situations clearly?
How do we align their design goals with our goals for how we want to live life?
How do they catch and minimize unintended negative social and behavioral externalities?
How do we hold designers accountable for their influence over people’s choices?

Sources:http://www.tristanharris.com/the-need-for-a-new-design-ethics/http://www.timewellspent.io/https://www.recode.net/2017/2/7/14542504/recode-decode-transcript-time-well-spent-founder-tristan-harris https://newrepublic.com/article/115838/gambling-addiction-why-are-slot-machines-so-addictive http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Slot-Machine-Win-Game-Play-Casino-Gambling-602976