HXD 2019

Great design begins with deep understanding of and empathy for people’s lived experiences. It requires an ability to put yourself in the shoes of the people who will interact with the solutions you create.
People are complex — and unpredictable. They may demonstrate a specific set of personality traits that drive their behavior. But their behavior is also shaped by external stressors and situations.
Designers have long used personas to construct “user profiles” to inform their work. However, we’ve observed a few problems with the way personas are created. In some cases, the process is a time, labor, and resource-intensive endeavor. In others, it’s a quick, off-the-cuff jam session that results in stereotyped caricatures based on designers’ personal beliefs, biases, and assumptions. And both of these approaches can lead to static personas that aren’t flexible enough to be used for future design work.

Whether we work on consumer apps or enterprise software, the choices we make as designers directly affect the physical, mental, social, and professional health of our users. So how do we design for values that promote a culture of health? This session will look at the legacy of persuasive design philosophy that has led to our current, coercive technology present, and explore a vision for an alternate design future, including practical examples and decision-making approaches to support values that promote long-term user and product health.