Spatial design, fighting short-termism, and friction

📰 3 DESIGN ARTICLES 

DESIGNING FOR A NEW REALITY: PREPARING YOUR SPATIAL DESIGN PORTFOLIO

• Bezel’s CEO, Julian Park, discusses how Apple’s recent unveiling of the Vision Pro presents a wealth of opportunities–and challenges—for designers who are looking to get into the AR/VR space.
• One of the greatest challenges to date has been the fact that designers work in 2D tools—like Figma—followed by extensive developer support to move the designs into a 3D environment.
• “There are new design challenges that need to be solved, making this one of the best possible times to get into a space like this, to build your career.”

DOES YOUR PRODUCT HAVE A FUTURE? 

• From cost-cutting to layoffs, many companies have embraced short-termism as a way to survive the challenges of today’s economy, but the future of your product depends on design teams having the freedom to prioritize innovation and envision potential scenarios for rebuilding communities, products, and services.
• By collecting data and insights from existing customers, product teams can begin to craft more innovative solutions that deliver a better experience—and ensure that your product remains relevant. 
• “Short-termism is limiting and only considers what your org needs/wants. We need to be allies for users and help them imagine new possibilities.”

USING FRICTION TO SUPPORT USER EXPERIENCE

• User friction, which hinders users from achieving their goals, can be a positive or negative experience. Good friction can be used to help users absorb information, and optimized through data analysis and strategies like self-service support, gamification, personalization, guided user assistance, and informative in-product content.
• The opportunity for good friction can be found in the IKEA effect, a cognitive bias where people tend to place a higher value on things they have a hand in making. For product onboarding, this can include tasks and activities that engage users and make them feel more involved in their own experiences.
• “Good user friction slows users down temporarily to help them speed up in the future.”

PORTFOLIO INSPIRATION 💜

Minjoo Kim, a UX Academy graduate, maintains a balance between a warm, casual personality and a very professional portfolio with easy navigation throughout.

Got a portfolio you love that you’d like to share with our audience? Email your suggestions to hello@designlab.com.

INTERESTING STUFF ...

• What science says about group brainstorm sessions (hint: it’s not that good)
• The 1950’s printmaking collective that influenced generations of designers
• Data science effectiveness = a UX problem
• Adobe & the psychology of user offboarding
• The 🤩 design of the Paris 2024 games torch

TODAY'S QUOTE

"Some people say give the customers what they want, but that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do."

Steve Jobs

FROM THE LAB

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