Aaron McAlinden

FOR THE LOVE OF UX, WRITE CLEAR COPY!

The wailing sirens of the closing crossroad gates cut through the brisk morning air as a stampede of commuters herded themselves through the station doors onto a crowded platform. As the blue and yellow metal carriage ground itself to a screeching halt, the bustling flock flowed inward through the carriage doors, like a stream of white water crashing over the rocks. 

All of the herd but one commuter, a lone student stood idly by like a lost sheep. In a panicked hurry he tore upstream back towards the conductors stall. “I asked for a ticket to Belfast” he bleated. “That’s what you have” groaned the conductor in a depleted tone. He was no stranger to this exact circumstance. “But this says Lanyon Place...”

About a year ago I recall encountering the exact same wave of confusion washing over me when I looked at my ticket. “Lanyon place?” “Where on earth is that?” “I’ve never heard of such a place.” Even though I passed through it’s doors every single day without fail. 

It’s hard to know exactly what brainwave led to Translink’s decision to name it’s long time titled, “Belfast Central Station” to the obscure “Lanyon Place”. I suppose they thought it sounded more grand, or perhaps they were hoping to reconvene with the cultural roots of the station’s location. But I bet they hadn’t accounted for the loss of time and added frustration of both their passengers as they attempted to flock to work and their staff who would have to herd the surge of lost and confused commuters in the correct direction.

But what does this have to do with UX I hear you mutter internally to yourself? Well if you ever recall landing on a web page or a screen in a site or an app with the intent to perform a certain action, only to be met with ambiguous calls to actions, poor UX copy or an unclear hierarchy. You will fully understand this frustrating confusion. Particularly when it comes to command copy, a button that you’re afraid to click because it say’s something overly generic like “Next” or overly whimsical like “Sounds cool!”. 

Product designers often fall into these traps when architecting their interfaces, they either keep things too simple and generic or try to inject too much personality that the all direction and instruction is lost. The moral of this story is to always consider your user’s and the use case when writing UX copy. When submitting information to a form consider a button that says “Submit” as opposed to “Continue” or “Next”. When filling out an application for an account on an over 80s dating site perhaps “Finito!” is not the correct choice of words to signify completion or submission. 

Sense is, or was a sleep optimising product comprised of two connected devices a home device to be placed in your bedroom that monitors conditions such as light, temperature and sound and informs of the best conditions for optimal sleep. The pillow “pill” monitors activity at night and through the companion app gives you insights into how you slept. Based on these results the product suggest changes you should make to optimise sleep and rest. The product also wakes you up at the optimal time in your sleep cycle so you wake feeling more rested.

Sense allows users to set a time that they need to be awake for and will wake the user up at the correct time in their natural sleep cycle accordingly. This is perhaps the most useful feature of the product as it allows users to wake feeling more refreshed and less groggy. It is a feature that I could perhaps emulate in my own connected device product, with automated dawn simulation personalised for the user’s specific sleep cycle and routine.

This product is beautifully designed with a beautiful memorable brand and beautiful product design. It addresses  a vert relevant problem that many of people face and would love to see a viable solution for. By providing insights into the user’s sleep quality and ambient conditions, it allows the user to better understand their sleep habits. However it fails to give the user any actionable solution to fix the problem, and serves largely as an information/reporting product as opposed to a solution driven product.

Design

The branding for sense’s parent company “Hello” is beautiful, designed and executed by illustrious brand designer Mackey Saturday. The design of the sense product compliments the brand design, with a beautiful minimal spherical form. Equipped with ambient lights that communicate information to the user.

I think both the branding and the product design for Sense is beautiful and works really well. The sleek, minimal stylish design of the product is important for a home device intended to fit in a wide variety of interior designs and furnishings. The white colour bright and airy with an air of elegance synonymous with connected tech.

I like the products spherical form, it is unobtrusive and fits in in almost any environment, the spherical shape has an almost calming affect, which could be useful for a product which manages mental health issues such as anxiety. I also find the use of lighting both aesthetically pleasing and functionally appropriate, preventing the overburdening of the product’s aesthetic design with cumbersome interfaces. This use of visual communication through light signals gives the product good glanceability; saving the user time and effort, preventing any unnecessary cognitive effort involved with processing literary and other content.

Concluding Thoughts

There are many key takeaways from this project however. The kickstarter for this product raised over $2,000,000 far exceeding their $100,000 goal. The success of this campaign illustrates the immense power of beautiful product design. It proves that there is an interest in this type of product and that there is a problem people want solved.

While listening to episode #1132 of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast a conversation between guest Kyle Kingsbury and host Joe Rogan caught my attention. They discussed the prevalence of depression along with the lifestyle and environmental factors that influence mood and depression. One particular environmental factor that peaked my curiosity was sunlight exposure. During my initial research I learned that Iceland closely followed by Ireland had some of the highest rates of depression in Europe. With Iceland leading the world in antidepressant consumption. A glaring characteristic that both of these countries share is sunlight exposure and poor weather conditions. Iceland and Ireland have some of lowest sunshine hours per year and it is believed that Iceland’s high rates of depression are attributed to a lack of sunlight caused by poor weather conditions and latitudinal location.

As far back as I can remember I have experienced periods of lethargy and low mood during the winter months of the year. A total contrast to the elevated mood and vitality I would experience during the long summer days. However it wasn’t until I was in my twenties that discovered the phenomenon of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Seasonal affective disorder is a state of low mood or depression associated with late autumn and winter; It is thought to be caused by a lack of sunlight. I decided to investigate this correlation between mental wellbeing and seasonal conditions.

A study commissioned by the weather channel and YouGov has found that 1 in 3 adults in the UK suffers from Seasonal Affective disorder. Accounting for 30% of the UK’s adult population, approximately 16 million people. 57% of adults say their overall mood is worse in the winter compared to summer, while 40% suffer from fatigue in the winter months. These statistics show a glaringly evident epidemic of poor mood and mental wellbeing occurring in the UK directly induced by seasonal factors. They bring to light (no pun intended) the significant effect that the seasonal factors have on mental health and wellbeing; in particular sunlight exposure.

On the back of this second hand research I decided to carry out my own research to further investigate the matter.

Research Survey

I created a research survey on Survey Monkey to find out first hand if this epidemic was as prevalent as my secondary research suggested. Of those who participated 44% were female while 56% were male. 51% were aged 18 to 24, 33% were 25–34, 3% were 35–44, 5% were aged 55–64 and 3% were aged 65–74.

sWhen asked if they experience or have ever experienced lower than usual mood during autumn and winter months, 69% answered yes while 31% said no.

When asked if they experience or have ever experienced lower than usual energy, increased tiredness or lethargy during autumn or winter months. Again 69% answered yes while 31% said no.

When asked if they live in a country that experiences shorter than usual days and longer than usual nights during autumn and winter months. 79% answered yes while 21% said no.

When asked if they have a job or academic career that requires them to spend a significant amount of daylight hours indoors. 85% answered yes while 15% said no.

When asked if their work environment was well lit by natural light / daylight during work hours? (from windows, skylights or other). 41% answered no while 59% said yes.

These findings supported my hypothesis that seasonal factors such as light exposure play a significant role in regulating mood and mental wellbeing.

Light and mental wellbeing

Sunlight is thought to increase the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain of humans. Serotonin is believed to play a role in the regulation of mood and social behaviour, appetite and digestion, sleep, memory, and sexual desire and function. When short, high energy wavelengths of light (blue light) that are present in daylight enter the eye, optic ganglion cells are stimulated to transmit information to an area in the hypothalamus called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN transmits information to a cluster of nuclei found in the brainstem called the raphe nuclei, stimulating the secretion of serotonin.

The lack of exposure to sunlight like that experienced during late autumn and winter can cause reduced levels of serotonin in the brain. The deficiency of this neurotransmitter affects how signals are transmitted in the brain and can affect mental function, including those relating to mood and depression. Additionally the absence of light brought about by early sunsets in winter months can trigger the production of the sleep regulating hormone melatonin. This can cause day time sleepiness and low energy during winter months.

Hypothesis

Rise

Rise is a wireless lamp by product design studio Nolli which aims to keep both you and your phone charged throughout the day. Rise can be programmed to simiulate sunrise, waking the user naturally and can be set to emit different spectrums of light throughout.

Rise is a great concept which taps into the ever growing consciousness of the unnatural environmental conditions we subject ourselves to as a part of a modern lifestyle. Dawn simulation is an excellent alternative to alarm clocks to naturally wake users feeling more rested, and help jumpstart the mental function for the day. The ability to change the intensity and spectrum of light emitted by the device is an excellent feature as this allows the user to control their exposure to different types of light for different purposes or times of day. Rise display / interface is minimal and communicates the necessary information with lights, minimising cognitive effort and unnecessary processing while simple touch gestures allow the user to control the the lamp.

Design

Rise is a beautifully designed homeware product and light, emitting an air of luxury and modernism, the minimal design truly envisages what homeware products of the future might look like. Rise’s organic, flowing form emanates an air of naturalism and calm. The metallic base and interface / display grounds it securely in the future, communicating it’s digital capabilities without excess. The frosted glass exterior creates a beautiful ambient glow, furthering the sense of calm and aesthetic appeal.

Rise’s features are excellent and a massive step forward in the direction of mental health and wellbeing conscious, human centred product design. The aesthetic is minimal and elegant, it conveys a sense of luxury and aesthetic appeal that you would expect in a homeware product; while maintaining a futuristic, digital tech product feel.

Rise is relatively large for a digital product, and while it’s form and frosted glass finish is undoubtedly very stylish and attractive, it serves best for a stationary home device. This may be the intended purpose for this particular product, however it neglects the full potential of the products light spectrum control features by constraining itself to a single room / location.

Furthermore I feel that the lamp could further it’s digital capabilities by affording the user some autonomous features, such as automatic light intensity and spectrum adaption.

Concluding thoughts

Oxygem is a wearable smart ring that allows people with sickle cell disease to monitor the levels of oxygen in their blood by using infrared and red light. Similar to the method by which the Apple watch measures heart rhythm.

This awesome concept design features a beautifully elegant, minimal design. The ring’s interface changes colour from blue to red to indicate the amount of oxygen saturation in the blood and displays updates on the ring’s corresponding mobile app.

Design

The design of the of the Oxygem wearable smart ring is excellent, a beautifully minimal and elegant. Designed to be discreet so as not to identify the user as someone with a disease, Oxygem easily passes for a fashionable piece of jewellery. While maintaining a luxury, hi-tech aesthetic on further inspection

Oxygem has expertly harnessed glanceability, explicitly communicating the relevant information to the user with the use of colour and light. The lighting features of the ring spark fantastical visions of both Middle Earth and Tron, furthering the ring’s futuristic aesthetic and appeal.

Oxygem comes in a range of colours and finishes, catering to all ages and genders. By doing this the designers of the Oxygem smart ring appeal to the fashion and style drives of users, while allowing the opportunity for individuality and expression.

Concluding Thoughts

I came across this landing page by @defects while trailing through Instagram in search of inspiration.

While extremely minimal this product landing page immediately caught my eye. With big visuals and the product in use as the centrepoint it immediately immersed the viewer into the product use case. Showcasing both the beautiful product design tied with a enviable scene. This clever imagery ties relaxation, luxury and happiness to the product.

This is a good example of how minimal design can be extremely effective. A picture is worth a thousand words, and sometimes good imagery can do all the work for you. Particularly where beautifully designer products are concerned.

My only criticism of this composition is the focal point being on the user in the imagery. While important to create this connection with the viewer the focal point of this design in my opinion should be the product itself.

I had the good fortune of attending the UXDX (user experience, developer experience) conference at the Royal Dublin Society in October (4th & 5th).

User experience is commonly defined as the overall experience of a user when using a product. UX design is predominantly concerned with creating products so that they are easy and pleasing to use. With the overall goal of attracting and retaining users.

The conference featured a broad array of speakers from across the globe. Among the many benefits of attending the event it gave me the opportunity to gain key insights into the working process of design teams large and small. From monumental tech titans such as Google, to more compact design teams such as that of the US Air Force's Project Kessel Run.

Early into the first day of UXDX I noticed a fundamental notion being reverberated consistently throughout the duration of the conference. “Jobs to be done”. The jobs to be done school of thought encourages designers to empathise with users. Foremostly considering the jobs that users hire products to complete. Teams are encouraged to question “what job is the user is trying to complete?” and “How can I help them do this better?” Rather than “How can I make this product better?” Employing the jobs to be done framework allows product designers to build their products around the problem at hand. With the understanding that at a high level, a user does not buy a product, rather they employ a product or service to get a job done. As technology improves jobs to be done remain the same it is the solutions that change and improve.

“Fall in love with the problem, not the solution” - Uri Levine, Co Founder of Waze

Often people’s notion of UX is primarily associated, perhaps even confined to user interface design. The practice of designing interfaces to create accessible, digital products that are easy and pleasing to use. Great user interface design certainly can make a significant contribution to a great user experience when applied to a useful product. However before concerning ourselves with the experience of using the product, first consider the job that the product is being hired for. The bulk of the UX and product design process should be focused on understanding the user’s needs or, defining the problem. During his talk Val Scholz, head of engagement, growth at Revolut, emphasised the pitfalls many teams face by rushing ahead with assumed solutions. “Two thirds of product decisions do not help to meet the goals of the product.” His team spends 80% of their time analysing the problem before considering execution. This allows teams to better align with the user and in itself employing this process is a form of risk mitigation.

An intense focus on the jobs we employ products to complete, allows teams to understand how best to meet the user’s needs and solve problems more efficiently. This should be the initial focus in the user experience design process, which should inform every decision in the product design process. A deep understanding of the user, their needs and the jobs to be done should be nurtured through user research; by employing iterative design processes and methods such as the agile design method and lean UX.

The agile design method considers the process of product design a continual, iterative and incremental one; as opposed to a one time, linear process. By employing an agile methodology in the design and development of products, teams can gain a better understanding of the user’s needs. By analysing if a product completes the user’s jobs to be done, teams can continue to ideate, design and test methods to more efficiently complete the task at hand. Agile strategies can be implemented in the product design process through frameworks such as lean UX.

Lean UX is a rapid and iterative method of designing and testing, whereby a design team will address a problem, create a hypothesis then produce a minimum viable product (MVP). An MVP is a version of a product that allows a team to collect the maximum amount of learning from customers with minimum effort. The MVP is released to users under observation, this allows design teams to analyse whether the product addresses the problem correctly and efficiently.

A user persona is a fictional representation and distilled essence of potential users of a product or service. They give us an insight into the lives and motivations of our users and help us empathise and create better user experiences. 

User personas allow us to craft user stories which presents us with a user and situational context and an end goal or expected outcome. It allows us to develop a rich story to understand and communicate the value of a product to a customer. However perhaps more importantly when designing products we should consider job stories. People use products to complete a task, to get a job done. When designing products we should concern ourselves with job stories using the “Jobs to be done” philosophy. i.e “When______ , I want to ________  So I can ________.”

Hello: Sense - Branding and Product Design

The Hello brand is beautiful. A combination of a brand mark and word mark that communicates the company’s culture and attitude immediately and effectively. The brand is memorable and timeless, indicative of a young, fun and disruptive silicon valley tech startup. 

Meet Sense - Sleep Tracker

Sense is, or was a sleep optimising product comprised of two connected devices a home device to be placed in your bedroom that monitors conditions such as light, temperature and sound and informs of the best conditions for optimal sleep. The pillow “pill” monitors your activity at night and through the companion app gives you insights into how you slept. Based on these results the product suggest changes you should make to optimise sleep and rest. The product also wakes you up at the optimal time in your sleep cycle so you wake feeling more rested. 

This product is beautifully designed with a beautiful memorable brand and beautiful product design. It addressed a relevant issue and problem that many of us would love to see a solution to, restfulness. However this was a classic example of silicon valley over engineering. While the product gave insights, it could give any accurate information grounded in fact or offer any real tangible, viable solution to the problem. Alas the resulting product, an over-engineered alarm clock. Perhaps the most useful thing this product did was wake the user at the optimal time in their sleep cycle, but there are certainly much cheaper ways to do this. 

There are many key takeaways from this project however. The kickstarter for this product raised over $2,000,000 far exceeding their $100,000 goal. It proves that there is an interest in this type of product and that there is a problem people want solved. It also reflects the successful marketing and design of the product, the public’s fascination with gadgetry and connected devices.

Lean UX is a process of design whereby teams rapidly prototype and or building a minimum viable product and getting it to market as soon as possible. Rather than spending large amounts of time in the research and development stage. This way teams can get products into users hands asap to gain critical insights into the usability and problems of a product. Teams can then quickly review, rinse and repeat, iterating on products quickly until they get it right. 

The world of design, most specifically digital design has become crowded with ambiguous buzzwords. With terms such as user experience, interaction design, user interface design, customer experience, product design it is becoming increasingly more difficult to define your title and what it is that you do. It seems that nobody is able to give a succinct explanation or definition terms.

For a time user experience has been a catchall umbrella term under which all of the the former titles and buzzwords fell. Enter Human Experience. A buzzword to rule them all, a buzzword to find them, a buzzword to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. This term has gained some traction of late and in my opinion it transcends User experience as the ultimate umbrella term under which all facets digital product design should fall.

From the beginning user experience designers concerned themselves with empathising with the users of digital products and services, with the goal of creating products that were easier to use. This resulted in a wealth of more usable and appealing digital products. Then there was customer experience, after all not all users are customers, and it’s the customer who foots the bill. While both UX and CX design might result in products that are easier to use, they have one inherent flaw in that they view humans as users and customers of products. This gave rise to the dark side of UX with dark patterns with pre selected checkboxes and other dark patterns. 

Design thinking is a philosophy and method to create meaningful solutions to problems through a deep understanding of the user and their problems. Defined by Tim Brown, President and CEO of IDEO it is “a human-centred approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”

In short design thinking describes the strategic part of the design process, prior to execution. It obsesses over the problem so as to provide the best possible solution. So why the fancy new buzzword? Over the years Design has been stereotyped as the sprinkles on the cake. You can imagine my dismay when half a year into a product design internship I found myself being referred to as the guy who “makes things look cool”. While aesthetic appeal is of course a fundamental component of visual design, a facet of the design process; and an important one at that. It is but one tool in the toolkit of the design process.