Psychology and the perfect design

Joe Leech @mrjoeWebdagene , Oslo, October 2014

Hello, I’m @mrjoe but you can call me

Joe.I’ve been doing UX for 10 years

I work with people like Disney, Marriott & theTrainline.

I studied Neuroscience, which was really hard.MSc Human Communication and computing, more on that later.

£5.3 billion

goes through the stuff I designed every year. (scary).

PsychologyForDesigners.com

‘perfect design’

I want to talk about the perfect design.

Here is what you get if you type perfect design into Google image search.

Not what I’d call the perfect design

#p4d @mrjoe

Today I’m going to talk to you about the brain.

Specifically three parts of it and how if we talk to each we can create the perfect design.

anybody recognise this city? I want to tell you a story about Buenos Aires. I have been twice.

This is the machine. it ate my card.

The second time it happened. I also took a photo. What I didn’t realise until I was putting this talk together. It’s same damn ATM!

I thought, how can I use psychology to understand why this happened and to stop it happening again.

Get Cash

Enter Card

Remove Card

Enter PIN

Select amount

This is order of steps for an ATM in the UK.

Get Cash

This is the thing we start with in our head. One this is done the task is over.

Get Cash

Enter Card

Remove Card

Enter PIN

Select amount

Here’s the flow for an ATM in Argentina.

Get Cash

Enter Card

Remove Card

Enter PIN

Select amount

Enter Card

Remove Card

Get Cash

Enter PIN

Select amount

Compared to a UK one, see the problem. The Goal State is reached before the end of the process. Therefore my brain tells me that we have reached the end, I can leave now, and I do but without my card.

We build Mental Models

of how the world works and apply them

to new situations

Enter Card

Remove Card

Get Cash

Enter PIN

Select amount

Enter Card

Remove Card

Get Cash

Enter PIN

Select amount

Enter Card

Remove Card

Get Cash

Enter PIN

Select amount

Enter Card

Remove Card

Get Cash

Enter PIN

Select amount

ATMS work differently across the world. But notice the commonality. The Goal State is at the end of the process. Meaning bad errors are avoided, it does make the the process different and we can’t use the ATM on autopilot

Cruising.So how does this relate to digital design I hear you ask. We don’t design ATMs.

I worked for Saga holiday, vacations for the over 60s. In this case ocean cruising.

This was the online flow SAGA had before we started.

We did some research and watched how these people would book a cruise holiday. (and yes that is a wig, but not the actual people we spoke to)

We spent a few days listening to calls and customer service issues.

We spent time trying understand the order of steps, and information needed at each each step to reach the Goal State

Remember that line at the top, how the website worked. Well after the research we talked to SAGA about how it did work, and…

This was how people were using the current website. Jumping backwards and forwards, and almost always having to pick up the phone to ask a question, the result, very few online bookings. Web analytics might spot this..

The next bit was the easy bit. We took what we new and showed each step and the information required to move to the next step. Easy if you have done the research, if you have the data. Web analytics will never give you this.

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Thinking (cognition)

This is the part of the brain we use when we think.

The Cerebral cortex. Used for thinking, learning, processing

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There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking. Thomas Edison

27

Or people are fundamentally lazy.

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the brain uses 20%

of total energy

£40K transactionthe largest transaction through something I’ve designed

(scary).

The result…

1. Match the mental model.

The perfect design

This paper, from 2000. ATM experiment.

The same interaction, two scenarios. One plain green text on black screen. One with a layer of design. The designed version was perceived as being easier to use.

This is beautiful one believe it or not (it’s in Hebrew)

Another project I’ve worked on for Ritz Carlton. What an image.

beauty evokes

emotion

Watch the sun setting beyond the Indian Ocean from the

comfort of your own roof top balcony

words evoke

emotion

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Thinking (cognition)

Emotion

This is the amygdala part of the Limbic System, it controls Emotion

It has deeper more profound effect on us. It’s connections and hormones permeate throughout the brain, having an effect on everything we are doing.

Emotion effects everything we do, both positive and negative.

1. Match the mental model

2. Evoke emotion

The perfect design

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Thinking (cognition)

Instinct

EmotionInstinct:

The Hypothalamus & Brain stem.

They control: Breathing, eating, sleeping, heart rate, sexual arousal = Instinct, we are unaware of it

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Let me tell you a story, recognise this movie?

I was good at computers, kids at school, the Johnson Gang, asked me to help them hack ATMs. Needless to say, I was useless at it.

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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/05/17/article-2145759-1321F42E000005DC-318_634x531.jpg

Here’s what happened. They couldn’t hack the ATM so they just stole it.

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Thinking (cognition)

Emotion

Fusiform Gyrus

Instinct

#p4d @mrjoe http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X07000116

A study, if you want to know how to read an academic paper, buy my book.

#p4d @mrjoe http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0018506X07000116

So what did the paper show?

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Men spent more time, and had a higher probability of, looking at female faces.

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had more first looks towards, spent more time, & had a higher probability of, looking at

Women

genitals.

#p4d @mrjoe

#p4d @mrjoe

Thinking (cognition)

Emotion

Instinct

Here’s the thing. Designing for the instinctual part of the brain is almost impossible. Adding pictures of faces, genitals or anything to try to nudge or persuade is not going to get you very far.

1. Match the mental model.2. Evoke emotion.

The perfect design

3. Ummm...

Do steps one and two and you’ll have a great design. As for persuasive design, nudging, gamification and other trickery, let me call bullshit on that. If you have to use those theories to sell an average product. You’ll be better improving the product that trying to trick. You might get tiny incremental improvements but it won’t get you a perfect design.

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PsychologyForDesigners.com