designing with empathy [from the front 2013]
DESCRIPTION
Every decision we make affects the way real people experience our products. We've all heard the rallying cry for user-centered design, but even those of us who ascribe to that ideal often fall back on our own biases and instincts when it comes to making decisions about how people experience our content and our services. Sadly, this often means we make decisions we think will be good for our "users" - that anonymous, faceless crowd - rather than actually trying to understand the perspectives, surroundings, capabilities, and disadvantages of the actual people who we are here to serve. In this session, Aaron will explore why empathy is a good thing, how empathy empowers creativity, and how we, as a community, can inject more empathy into our work.TRANSCRIPT
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Photo Credit: Stuck in Customs
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Designing Empathywith
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Design ≠ Art _
Photo Credit: faith gobleImage Credit: L.e.e
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Art serves the Artist
Photo Credit: Abby Lanes
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I’ve been amazed at how often those outside the discipline of design assume that what designers do is decoration—likely because so much bad design simply is decoration. Good design isn’t. Good design is problem solving.” – Jeffrey Veen
“
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de·sign /dəˈzīn/
To devise for a specific function or end
Classical: To indicate
Medieval Latin: designare, to mark out
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David Carsonhas been called“the most influential graphic designer of our times”
Photo Credit: © Marc Eckardt for FontShop, Berlin.
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It was Art
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It was Ego
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subjective, personal, and self-indulgent”
Photo Credit: © Marc Eckardt for FontShop, Berlin.
“
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Your ego is a bad designer.” – Christopher Butler
“
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http://demo.northkingdom.com/ihuvudetpatoyota/index_en.html
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http://demo.northkingdom.com/ihuvudetpatoyota/index_en.html
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http://demo.northkingdom.com/ihuvudetpatoyota/index_en.html
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Just because you can doesn’t mean you should
Photo Credit: harald walker
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Designisn’t about showing off
Photo Credit: Laurence & Annie
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communicatenot alienate
Design toPhoto Credit: altemark
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Design = Creativity for Communication
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Designing Empathywith
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em·pa·thy/ˈem-pə-thē/
From the Greek empathia meaning “state of emotion”
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em·pa·thy/ˈem-pə-thē/
The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another … without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
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Meet Charlie
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andJack
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Photo Credit: [phil h]
Empathy requiresus to observe
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Photo Credit: [phil h]
Empathy requiresus to ask questions
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Empathy requiresus to listen
Photo Credit: [phil h]
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Empathy requiresus to use our intuition
Photo Credit: [phil h]
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Empathy requiresus to be patient
Photo Credit: [phil h]
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Perspectiveis everything
Photo Credit: ZeroOne
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Empathy is about showing solidarity with others who have a one and only life on this planet.”
– Jeremy Rifkin
“
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Solidarity requirescommunication
Photo Credit: LeonArts.at
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Tribes
Religious Groups
Nation States
Global Community
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Photo Credit: United Nations Development Programme
Global response within 3 hours
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em·pa·thy/ˈem-pə-thē/
The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another … without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
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em·pa·thy/ˈem-pə-thē/
The action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another … without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
Also: the capacity for this
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John Rawls1921-2002
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Selfishness is a survival instinct
Photo Credit: Malingering
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Photo Credit: Stuck in Customs
We are able to empathize by seeing ourselvesin others.
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In UX, we use personas to
help us empathize
Personas foster empathy
Credit: Kevin O’Connor
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They also frequently devolveinto another name for“the user”
Photo Credit: Tinker*Tailor loves Lalka
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Personas need tobe real.
They need to be
human.
Photo Credit: code poet
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User Scenarios =situational empathy
Photo Credit: Sergiu Bacioiu
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User scenarios = situational empathy
Kitty: Sergiu Bacioiu; Fire: Mr. Theklan
User Scenarios =situational empathy
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a
Design isproblem
solving
Photo Credit: Unhindered by Talent
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F R O N T A L
L O
B EP A R I E T A L L O B E
T E M P O R A L L O B E
OCCIPITALLOBE
CENT
RAL
F.
OCCIPITAL F.
SYLVIAN F. EXOOCCIPITAL FF.
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F R O N T A L
L O
B EP A R I E T A L L O B E
T E M P O R A L L O B E
OCCIPITALLOBE
CENT
RAL
F.
OCCIPITAL F.
SYLVIAN F. EXOOCCIPITAL FF.
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F R O N T A L
L O
B EP A R I E T A L L O B E
T E M P O R A L L O B E
OCCIPITALLOBE
CENT
RAL
F.
OCCIPITAL F.
SYLVIAN F. EXOOCCIPITAL FF.
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Call out the relevant facts:
Bob is a mechanic
He is left- handed
He wants to look up parts info (and possibly order a replacement part) while under a car
Photo Credit: Neil. Moralee
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We only need enough detail to be able to put ourselves in his shoes.
Who caresabout hismacchiatoaddiction?
Photo Credit: Frisno
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We want info on his• goals,
• needs,
• circumstances,
• outside influences,
• distractions, and
• limitations.
Photo Credit: Neil. Moralee
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User scenarios help us empathize in a productive way
Photo Credit: Chris Garrison
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Photo Credit: Horia Varlan
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Set a performance budget
Photo Credit: Gunnar Ries
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Photo Credit: schoschie
Author appropriate content
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Photo Credit: lastquest
Consider physical limitations
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Photo Credit: CaptPiper
Facilitate satisfaction
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Photo Credit: andrechinn
Don’t create unnecessary barriers
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Considerindirectusers
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Considerindirectusers
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Support common assistive technology
Credit: windsordi
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Help users learn to accomplish complex tasks and rewardthem fordoing so.
Credit: pasukaru76
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Progressive Reduction
http://layervault.tumblr.com/post/42361566927/progressive-reduction
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Progressive Reduction
http://layervault.tumblr.com/post/42361566927/progressive-reduction
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Progressive Reduction
http://layervault.tumblr.com/post/42361566927/progressive-reduction
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What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the entire law; all the rest is commentary.
–Judaism
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
–Christianity
No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.
–Islam
The Golden Rule
Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find harmful.
–Buddhism
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[Progressive enhancement] keeps the design open to the possibilities of sexiness in opportune contexts, rather than starting with the ‘whole’ experience that must be compromised.”
– Ben Hoh
“
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EgalitarianismEquality of opportunity,not equality of outcome
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Designing Empathywith
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Thank youFurther reading: http://is.gd/readlist_empathySlides: http://slideshare.net/AaronGustafson
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Designing with Empathyby Aaron Gustafson@AaronGustafson
Further reading:http://is.gd/readlist_empathyhttp://adaptivewebdesign.infohttp://blog.easy-designs.net
Slides available athttp://slideshare.net/AaronGustafson
This presentation is licensed underCreative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0except where otherwise noted
flickr Photo Creditshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/aarongustafson/galleries/72157633153882514/http://www.flickr.com/photos/aarongustafson/galleries/72157633161513316/