Howdy! Welcome to this week’s Whiteboard Roundup.
I’m pretty much recovered from my encounter with a kidney stone, so that’s nice. I’m working through some pretty hefty changes at The User Story which I hope to share soon, and I’ve just taken a new voluntary role as Chair of the Board of Trustees at the Pavilion Theatre in Gorleston which I’m really excited to share more about soon too.
I’ve found myself reading a bit more about the fall of UX recently and one of the better op eds is in here, so I’d be really interested to see what you think. Have a great weekend.
Cheers.
Tom Haczewski
Director, The User Story
News
Gamification in UX
It’s one of those things that lots of executives like to talk about as a buzzword, because it feels like one of those magic things you can implement which just generates cash. That’s not quite how it works, it’s a little more difficult and nuanced than that (who knew?) and certainly not every product is suitable to be ‘gamified’. But it’s always good to know about it so when you do come across a good moment to use it, you’ll know what to do.
Check out this article by Jon Upshaw on how gamification works and some neat examples.
The Human AI Pin is a bit rubbish
When our mouths fell agape at the new AI wearable, the Humane Pin, we were hoping that this would usher in a new revolution of no-mobile-needed computing that could mean an absence of screens and more interaction with the world around us.
Yeah, that’s not really what’s happened.
The Verge, amongst others, has been checking out the AI Pin and in short, it’s pretty crap.
I’m not saying that I’m regretting my quick-fire Rabbit R1 purchase, but I’m not not saying that either.
What do you reckon? Wearable AI the next big thing, or a Star Trek Communicator gone stupid?
The sky is falling for digital design
Now this is a fascinating one.
After several weeks sharing articles about what’s going wrong in the design world, and where things could be moving, this nice opinion piece by Jan Takacs ruminates on what’s actually going on with UX, and where we could be moving to.
He argues that designers need to be more business-centric - a notion I don’t disagree with, but often the issue with good product design is that it concentrates only on the ‘needs of the business’ - which I would suggest is essentially pointless, as without user needs being fulfilled with a product that matches, you have no business at all and actually, the rest of business should become more design-oriented - but that’s a much bigger and more difficult argument to have, of course.
Anyway, have a read, and I’d love to hear what you think, too.
What we’re up to.
💥 Design Magic - shaping behaviour with psychology
The fabulous Katie Fisher will be at Norfolk Network next week with a small group, introducing behavioural psychology to create better business outcomes. It’s full, but you can join the waitlist and we’ll let you know when the next one is.
Join the waitlist
Check out our previous videos
If you missed my last videos, you can see them all here. Have a look. They’re fun!
Replays
Thanks for reading.
I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to sunnier days and warmer evenings.
As you’re here to the end, here’s my thought for the week to leave you on:
Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future.
- Robert L Peters
See you next time, friends!