Design, at its heart, should be about making things better.
The thing is, Im just not sure thats the case any longer.
I wanted to find out if this was true, or if Im spouting nonsense.
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
I put the question straight to Chang: does she think design is less user focused?
Its not that simple, she told me.
Instead, Chang thinks the industry has shifted and now its focused more on userexperience.
The difference is designers create a throw in of experience and incentivize certain types of behavior.
Take social media apps for instance.
Here, the focus is on making the experience addictive, rather than the users wellbeing.
And is indicative of the shift that has undertaken big tech design.
Two ears and one mouth
I asked Chang how design can evolve beyond creating addictive products.
Her answer was simple: listen.
Chang believes many companies approach a product with the assumption they know what users want.
In other words, they hear what they want to hear without ever really listening.
But, Chang continued, listening is unimportant if you arent asking the right questions.
Beyond listening, Chang expanded upon what big tech design can learn from sex toy makers.
She said one of the key elements is respecting that peoples experiences vary wildly.
Designers need to jettison the idea that just because something works for them, itll work for everyone.
This simply isnt the case.
All experiences are equally right, she told me.
Someone can have the same ethnicity, culture, and education, yet have completely different views and lifestyles.
And it all comes back to listening.
Unfortunately, if big tech is listening, its definitely not taking what users are saying into account.
And what better place is there to learn that than from designers in the sex toy industry?
I doubt thats gonna happen though theres more money in keeping us addicted.
Update: Ti Chang is speaking atTNW Conference 2021 on September 30th and October 1st.
