Many designers talk about user-centred design. But design approaches alone aren’t sufficient to ensure we are human-centred. Design approaches can be used carelessly — or even maliciously — to centre the designer and sideline the user. Read full article
CommentArchive — User-centred design
Why content is more important than code
...and what I don’t mean by that. Read full article
3 commentsBeginner’s guide to content design
Many people are intrigued by content design but unsure if it's the right fit for them. So here is my beginner's guide to being a content designer. Find out why it might be a better fit for you than you might think — and why it might not be. Read full article
CommentService design and the Mario complex
At Service Design in Government, I discovered that service designers see themselves as Mario. But that is an unrealistic model for what service design should be. Read full article
11 commentsView from Service Design in Government 2020
Last week I attended the Service Design in Government conference, held here in Edinburgh. It was a hugely thought-provoking event. Almost every session I attended was excellent, sparking new ideas and thoughts that I am still getting to grips with almost a week on. Read full article
4 commentsTypes of design focus —
Useful definitions outlining the differences between user-centred design, person-centred design and human-centred design.
If user-centred design is more functional in terms of understanding and meeting needs. Person-centred design is more holistic. This means that it’s more focussed on emotional needs and goals. Human-centred design is then about thinking beyond individual needs and more towards the collective needs of a system, place, or community.
The return on investment of design-led change — — FutureGov
How design can be used instead of traditional change management methods.
In the same way that design-led change isn’t just about hiring designers, it also shouldn’t be thought of as a specialist or localised resource (like a design team). Creativity and thinking about design as a state of mind is more a competence that should be part of the fabric of every 21st-century organisation.
My thinking on this has changed a lot over the years. In the past I might have thought that having a strong design team was the way forward. But that’s just creating another silo.
Now I see the real job as finding ways to empower the entire organisation to think like a designer, and help them make the right decisions for the right reasons.
Comparing service design and business design —
Business design can be very different to service design if it’s focused on the wrong things. But Ben Holliday notes:
Service design is business design when we focus on and care about designing for both internal staff and external user experience together as front and back stage of how a service works.
All too often business design is narrowly self-serving. If it’s not focused on ultimately improving things for your users or customers, it will do damage in the long run.
The limitations of the phrase user experience
The meaning of user experience has changed over time. While it can still be a useful phrase, its limitations are becoming problematic. Read full article
CommentThe hunt for missing expectations
The hunt for missing expectations
Jared Spool tells the story of a bookkeeper who became frustrated using Google Sheets because it didn’t have a double underline function.
To keep [usability] testing simple and under control, we often define the outcomes we want. For example, in testing Google Spreadsheet, we might have a profit and loss statement we’d want participants to make. To make it clear what we were expecting, we might show the final report we’d like them to make.
Since we never thought about the importance of double underlines, our sample final report wouldn’t have them. Our participant, wanting to do what we’ve asked of her, would unlikely add double underlines in. Our bias is reflected in the test results and we won’t uncover the missing expectation.
He suggests interview-based task design as a way of finding these missing expectations. Start a session with an interview to discover these expectations. Then construct a usability test task based on that.
I recently ran hybrid interviews and usability tests. That was for expediency. I didn’t base tasks on what I’d found in the interview. But it’s good to know I wasn’t completely barking up the wrong tree. I plan to use this approach in future.
GDPR is the bible of customer-centricity
GDPR is the bible of customer-centricity
An enjoyable take on why marketing professionals should be loving GDPR.
Alongside accountability, transparency is the second pillar of GDPR. This is where marketers should get excited. After all, getting our message through should be what we do best.
Top trolling.
When user-centred design of public services is a risk
When user-centred design of public services is a risk
An exploration of the risks surrounding undertaking user-centred design. For me, the lesson is to put the same sort of effort into designing your research and your interactions with your users as you would into the product your research is for.
Make me think!
A provocative piece on “the problem with “user centered” design”.
Whenever we are about to substitute a laborious activity such as learning a language, cooking a meal, or tending to plants with a — deceptively — simple solution, we might always ask ourselves: Should the technology grow — or the person using it?
A good companion to the idea that “computers are setting us up for disaster”.
Avoiding bias in design
One of the biggest challenges designers face is avoiding bias. We all have perspectives that subconsciously affect our decisions. In the case of design, those choices we don't even realise we are making can have big consequences. Read full article
CommentIs the Register right about Gov.uk and the Government Digital Service?
Gov.uk is the darling of the digital profession. But now it has been described as the most hated website of all time. So what's going on? Read full article
7 commentsWeb designers need to have an invisible hand
Why user-centred design is like a trade. Read full article
CommentHow studying social science made me a better web designer
I thought I had joined the many people who don't use their degrees in their careers. But I have come to realise that my degree in social science has been absolutely vital to my web design work. Read full article
4 comments