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The human variable in Design
A lesson about what we have in common and how we can use this knowledge in design.
If you are reading this text, you are probably a human, and if you have ever felt sleepy in your life, there is something in you that is similar to many other people.
Fundamentals We all have differences, but we also have common traits, often identical ones. After all, as far as anyone can tell, we are the same species. I learned that there are a few fundamentals that guide each element in building the artifacts I work with. Some of these fundamentals I learned in academia, others through experience, and others were taught to me by great professionals. The main thing I sought to develop was simplicity and efficiency. Considering that human beings have limited cognitive resources, I sought to create interfaces that explained the obvious, that were familiar and minimalist. That is why understanding mental and physiological patterns can help develop new ideas.
It all starts with a problem A problem is identified, and when that problem is recognized as something relevant to solve, we designers have work ahead. I won't go into specific processes, older or more recent, like Lean UX or Product Discovery, but I bring in the concept of the scientific method, the same one taught in universities for decades. The method consists of investigating the problem and the people involved, looking for evidence, formulating hypotheses, investigating further, raising assumptions, identifying which assumptions we should dig into, and developing a proposed solution, and this solution must be tested with people. Then we collect data, analyze and improve. And obviously, we are trying to solve human problems, and this variable is truly fantastic.
The fantastic variable From my experience, I can say that designing for one person can be surprising and challenging. Try finding out from someone you are very close to what they want to eat for dinner, then cook for them. You will see in this process of discovery, building and delivery that it is not trivial, and that even doing everything right they may not like it. We must always keep in mind that we are working for human beings and all their complexity. When we bring this into Design, which must solve problems for thousands of people, the challenge is proportional, and so, however much research and experimentation we can do, there are a few premises that can help us. The first is that we humans are always wanting something, and trying to solve some task, but we don't want the task, we want its result. In these situations, we release anxiety hormones like cortisol, or pleasure hormones like endorphin, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. When we finish the task and get the reward, the hormones start to drop in the body and we feel relieved, or we go on with life as if nothing had happened. This result may seem strange, but it is like in those movies where people smoke after sex. That said, it becomes evident that we cannot design experiences. As the researcher Walter Cybis said, in his book Ergonomia e Usabilidade, Conhecimentos, Métodos e Aplicações(2010), user experience is individual, that is, if you give the same cake to two people, they may have totally different sensations. But if we can't design experiences, at least we can design contexts, and satisfy, to different degrees, percentages of a given audience, and that is the challenge.
If we understand what the audience we are trying to help has in common, we can reach an interesting level of assertiveness. Another thing we have in common is that whenever we are forced to spend energy, we get frustrated, because our body doesn't want that, like when we want to see the sink clean, with no dirty dishes. We must strive to make every task simpler, cheaper in effort and even pleasant, and, looking at it from a positive perspective, people will be able to use the time saved on tasks that make them feel better. Think about what your life would be like without the washing machine.
Personally, I think the artifact is just a means for the human being to complete a task more efficiently, and if we make these artifacts easier to learn, easier to use, and help reduce working time, through a simple means that awakens the feeling… “hmm, I know it's there, but I didn't even notice”.
The human variable is what justifies the existence of Design. And the more we understand about how we ourselves work, the greater the probability that we will develop solutions that truly make sense and generate the expected impact.