Why tech products need humanity-centered designers.
Last year saw the continued rise of the “on-demand economy”, and with it the promise of convenience, ease, and a life free of friction. In the decade ahead we’ll witness the growth of automation — from Amazon’s warehouses to Uber’s self-driving vehicles — and for many of us this life of convenience will increasingly become the norm.
But this article isn’t about removing friction; I’m here to urge us all todesign it back in.
I’m not suggesting we add extraneous steps or make our products unusable. I’m talking about intentionally adding the kinds of friction that lead to self-reflection, self-discovery, and personal growth.
With ease and convenience come many benefits, but what about the tradeoffs?
Last year, I urged designers to consider that when we remove all friction, we also remove moments for serendipity and self-reflection. At scale, this can erode our social values and increase our tendency toward intolerance and impatience, leaving us with a lack of resilience and an inability to navigate change.
If you need a reminder of what that dystopian future looks like, just ask Wall-E.
The good news is that there’s something we can do about it.
At Airbnb, we’re reducing the friction for Hosts to list and manage their spaces as well as for Guests to book them. By creating a frictionless online experience, we’re enabling people to experience a different kind of friction that offers something much more meaningful — the friction inherent to travel.
There are many more examples out there, but it may just be that our life of convenience and ease is quickly displacing it.
But if this friction is something we can learn to value, then it’s also something we can learn to work back in.
Which friction is the good friction — the kind that leads to self-discovery and personal growth — and which is the kind that detracts from those discoveries? Below are four strategies for designing friction back into our products and our lives. By keeping these in mind, it’s possible to design an experience that retains its humanity and encourages people to reflect, discover, and grow.
Skill-building is an act of self-discovery. Whether it’s a new ability or an old hobby, the skills we pursue and maintain are reflections of our values — both who we are, and who we want to become.
Services like Blue Apron and Purple Carrot help people develop their culinary skills by removing the logistical friction of cooking. They deliver pre-portioned, high-quality ingredients along with recipes and instructional videos but leave the final step — the friction of making the meal — to you. By intentionally leaving in this friction, they create space for people to discover their culinary talents, or simply enjoy the act of cooking.
因此當自認為自己的含金量還不足以寫出第一篇想法上的抒發來嚇唬人時,從別處偷摘些思想、偷拾些見地出來,整理一番後拿來充實自己,同時也讓更多人看見(只祈禱我的英譯中別太雷),或許是在這階段我所及之事。 Design for Friction 是第一篇系列翻譯(如果還有以後的話),以段落式的對照,同時會加入一些閱讀時的注譯,希望在閱讀時,對於理解背後的脈絡能有所幫助。
Designing for Friction by Steve Selzer Why tech products need humanity-centered designers. Last year saw the continued rise of the “on-demand economy”, and with it the promise of convenience, ease, and a life free of friction. In the decade ahead we’ll witness the growth of automation — from Amazon’s warehouses to Uber’s self-driving vehicles — and for many of us this life of convenience will increasingly become the norm. But this article isn’t about removing friction; I’m here to urge us all todesign it back in. I’m not suggesting we add extraneous steps or make our products unusable. I’m talking about intentionally adding the kinds of friction that lead to self-reflection, self-discovery, and personal growth. 為摩擦而設計 為何科技產品需要基於人性需求而出發的設計師 在去年隨選經濟的持續崛起後,伴隨著的是一個充滿便利、輕鬆、在取得上毫無摩擦的生活方式。從亞馬遜的智慧倉庫到 Uber 的自駕車,可以預想得到在十年之後,我們將看得見自動化技術的蓬勃成長 ,而這種極盡便利的生活方式,也將愈趨普及並成為常態。 然而這篇文章的目的並不是要將這些造成人們不便利的「摩擦」、「阻撓」給移除;相對的,我強烈地認為(要重新思考將這些所謂「摩擦」的意義),並將這些摩擦重新設計進入人們的生活之中。 這並不代表我們應該把繁瑣的、多餘的步驟加入我們的產品中,讓產品變得無法使用。而是要故意地將那些能給帶給人們自我反思、自我探索和個人成長的摩擦,重新帶進人們的生活中。 補充閱讀:It’s time for a Humanity-Centered DesignbyFederico Donelli
The Cost of Convenience With ease and convenience come many benefits, but what about the tradeoffs? Last year, I urged designers to consider that when we remove all friction, we also remove moments for serendipity and self-reflection. At scale, this can erode our social values and increase our tendency toward intolerance and impatience, leaving us with a lack of resilience and an inability to navigate change. If you need a reminder of what that dystopian future looks like, just ask Wall-E. The good news is that there’s something we can do about it. At Airbnb, we’re reducing the friction for Hosts to list and manage their spaces as well as for Guests to book them. By creating a frictionless online experience, we’re enabling people to experience a different kind of friction that offers something much more meaningful — the friction inherent to travel. There are many more examples out there, but it may just be that our life of convenience and ease is quickly displacing it. But if this friction is something we can learn to value, then it’s also something we can learn to work back in. 便利的代價 當便利和輕鬆帶給生活諸多好處時,是否有想過在這過程中被交換掉的是什麼? 在去年,我力勸設計師們必須考慮到當我們將所有的摩擦都移除的同時,我們也移除了那些能讓人們經歷到自我反思(Self-reflection)、意料之外的美好巧合(Serendipity)的時刻。而從更大的面向來看,這將對現有的社會價值造成侵蝕,並同時助長人們對生活「不耐煩」、「無法容忍」的傾向。更甚者將造成人們無法駕馭挑戰,並喪失從挫折中恢復、自癒的能力。 (補充:如果當所需一切是來的那麼簡單、那麼輕鬆、那麼的理所當然。或許我們將面對的是過於嬌生慣養的自尊和被人生挫折一碰即碎的「玻璃心」) 如果你想要知道這樣的未來會是如何,看看瓦力的世界吧!(這裡指的應該是電影 Wall-E 的故事背景,可惡沒看過瓦力,不懂這個梗。) 但好消息是,對於此事我們並不是無能為力。 在 Airbnb 上,我們致力於讓房東輕而易舉的刊登、管理他們的房源;同時讓旅客在訂房的流程中順暢無比。藉由創造一個完全零阻礙的線上體驗,我們讓使用者能夠在其他地方得以體驗這種「有意義」的摩擦。 而這個充斥著摩擦的地方,便是「旅行」。 在我們的生活中便存在著許多例子,然而或多或少都被所謂「便利」、「輕鬆」輕易的取代掉了。 但如果這些摩擦是可以讓我們從中學到某些價值的話,有必要將這些摩擦重新設計入人們的體驗中。
Designing the Friction Back In Which friction is the good friction — the kind that leads to self-discovery and personal growth — and which is the kind that detracts from those discoveries? Below are four strategies for designing friction back into our products and our lives. By keeping these in mind, it’s possible to design an experience that retains its humanity and encourages people to reflect, discover, and grow. 將有意義的摩擦,設計回生活的體驗當中 那什麼樣的摩擦才算是好的、有意義的摩擦呢?是那種能夠帶領我們自我探索、自我成長,但卻在探尋的過程中被人為抹去的。接下來我將介紹四種設計策略來讓有這些意義的摩擦重新進入我們的產品、我們的生活中。藉由讓摩擦的進入,重新形塑一個帶有人性的體驗,同時能鼓舞人們反思、自我探索以及成長。
Design for Skill-Building Skill-building is an act of self-discovery. Whether it’s a new ability or an old hobby, the skills we pursue and maintain are reflections of our values — both who we are, and who we want to become. Services like Blue Apron and Purple Carrot help people develop their culinary skills by removing the logistical friction of cooking. They deliver pre-portioned, high-quality ingredients along with recipes and instructional videos but leave the final step — the friction of making the meal — to you. By intentionally leaving in this friction, they create space for people to discover their culinary talents, or simply enjoy the act of cooking.
While self-reflection can be considered a skill in and of itself, it’s worth calling out as a separate strategy because it’s a more overt path to self-discovery and personal growth.
Take Unstuck app, for example, which helps people understand why they’re feeling “stuck” through a series of exercises designed to make the friction of self-reflection less daunting. Inspired by cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness, the product helps people toward self-discovery in a non-judgmental way by showing them the archetypes that reflect their current attitudes and behaviors. Armed with this understanding, a person can begin to unravel the steps they need to take to feel “unstuck”.
Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, introduced the idea of encouraging “collisions” between people with the launch of his Downtown Project in Las Vegas. Hsieh believes that most innovation happens as a result of random conversations and ideas that arise when people serendipitously collide. He and his team of private investors have gone so far as to develop a business metric so they can be held accountable for how effective they are at creating these collisions.
UberPool and Lyft Line are other examples where logistical friction has been removed to allow for more enriching offline interactions. These carpooling services are not only more affordable and better for the environment, they also create opportunities for people to interact with others in their community.
為碰撞而設計
Zappos 的執行長 — Tony Hsieh 在啟動他的Downtown Project - Las Vegas 時,談到如何將人與人之間的「碰撞」,帶入這個專案中。Hsieh 相信大多數的創新想法會在人與人間不經意的談話,以及不期而遇的巧合碰撞時,迸發出火花。他和他的私人投資團隊目前已經發展出一個商業評估標準,來評估如何有效的打造「人際間的碰撞」。
在移除繁瑣管理、物流上的過程,並專注讓使用者更豐富的人與人的線下互動上,UberPool 和 Lyft Line 是另外兩個非常好的案例。這一類的共乘服務並不只是強調在價格上會更有競爭力,還是對於環境而言會更友善,而是希望可以大幅度的爭取人們在所屬的社區中,更多互動的機會。
Design for Confrontation
The last strategy I’ll propose for designing the friction back in is to “design for confrontation.” While confrontation might sound like a bad thing, it can also be a positive catalyst in the sense that growth is often the result of confronting something uncomfortable or challenging, and working through it.
Let’s look at an example from Airbnb.
Last fall, our team ran an experiment to change the “Contact” page for Guests with upcoming or current reservations. We wanted to understand whether Guests could get solid, timely support from their Hosts, and understand how those Hosts would feel about answering questions from their Guests. The results were generally positive.
We found that Guests were just as satisfied with the support they received from their Hosts as the support they received from our Customer Service team. We also found that Hosts felt just as satisfied with the interactions they had with Guests who reached out for support as with those who didn’t. But one finding really stood out among the rest: Guests who received help directly from their Host reported higher overall trip satisfaction than those who didn’t.
While it may seem like more friction to confront your Host when you have an issue, overcoming this friction seems to lead to higher satisfaction, and maybe even a strengthened sense of community.
So if you’re a designer, engineer, product manager or CEO and your product doesn’t naturally lend itself to this type of friction, try this thought exercise and let me know what you come up with:
Imagine a world entirely free of friction. Things aren’t just easy, they’re effortless. They’re not just on-demand, they’re instant.
What’s the one thing you would bring back?
The friction you choose may be key to maintaining our collective values and sense of self in the not-so-distant, otherwise frictionless future.