Adapt to Context
Just as humans understand when and how it’s appropriate to communicate with one another in context, technology should respect and adapt to user context.
Humane by Design
Recent content on Humane by Design
Latest posts
Embrace Friction
The right amount of friction helps to prevent errors, avoid unintentional actions, and promote critical thought.
Invisible Until Needed
The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it. Mark Weiser, The Computer for the 21st Century ‘This is the future’ is a common response to any innovative technology, as if there’s nothing that can be done to shape some inevitable reality. The truth is we can, and we should. Research indicates…
The Cost of Personalization
Rethinking Personalization in Tech
The Cost of Personalization
Personalization comes with trade-offs: it’s also used to shape, influence and guide our everyday choices and actions. When algorithms make autonomous decisions on our behalf, the visible options we have are hidden from us and we lose personal agency.
Human in the Loop
We can build a stronger relationship between humans and machines by placing humans in the AI-decision loop and empowering them with the ability to steer the algorithms that shape their experiences. What if social platforms enabled users to fine-tune the algorithm that feeds their experience?
Design with Intentionality
It’s time we expand what it means to create more meaningful relationships between people and technology by considering the intentionality of the products we build. Second-order thinking Second-order thinking applied to Waze use-case An effective method for identifying unintentional impact is through second-order thinking. We can take into account how our design will affect indirect users by…
Design with Intentionality
It’s time we expand what it means to create more meaningful relationships between people and technology by considering the intentionality of the products we build.
Resilient
Best Practices Enable Content Control Enable people to control who has access to their information and the content they share. Enable Community Moderation Community moderation enables people to protect themselves against malicious intent. Focus on the Edge Cases Design for a breadth of scenarios, especially those beyond MVP. Balance Data with Research Quantitative data may tell you what people are…
Resources
Websites Center for Humane Technology Tristan Harris Humanetech.com Ethical Design Resources Lexi Namer ethicaldesignresources.com Principles of Calm Technology Amber Case Calmtech.com Microsoft Inclusive Design Microsoft Microsoft.com Ethical.net Collaborative Ethical.net Dark Patterns Harry Brignull Darkpatterns.org Dark Patterns Tip Line Dark Patterns Tip Line Team
Info
The rapid growth of mobile technology has ushered in an age where time and attention is an increasingly scarce resource. Instead of technology enhancing our abilities as humans, we’ve seen it become a vehicle for extracting our attention, monetizing our personal information, and exploiting our psychological vulnerabilities. As designers, we play a key role in the creation of such technology, and…
Empowering
Best Practices In Control Give people the control they need to manage the algorithms that shape their experiences. Privacy and Anonymity Give people the control they need to manage privacy and anonymity. Invisible Until Needed Technology should augment human ability without disrupting our lives. Promote Awareness Promote usage awareness to encourage healthier digital habits. Human in the Loop…
Finite
Best Practices All Caught Up Use an indicator to inform users when they are caught up to help curb zombie scrolling. Load More A better alternative to infinite scrolling is to provide users a way to explicitly load more content. Autoplay Autoplay videos prevent users from making a conscious choice. A better alternative is to require an explicit action to prevent harmful binge watching.
Inclusive
Best Practices Build Diverse Teams Homogeneous teams create narrow designs; teams with diverse experiences create more inclusive designs. Design for Disabilities First A design solution for the disabled often results in a feature that everyone can benefit from. Give Control It's critical that we provide users control so they can access and interact with content in way that they prefer. Don't…
Intentional
Best Practices Manual Speed Bumps Use confirmation dialogs to help prevent error, avoid unintentional actions, and promote critical thought. Algorithmic Speed Bumps Algorithmic speed bumps help to slow down unintentional consequences and deter bad actors. Embrace Positive Friction Positive friction results in more intentional choices. Encourage Moderation By encouraging moderation, we give people…
Respectful
Best Practices Align Delivery with Urgency Not every notification is an urgent one. The method in which we deliver a notification should align with its importance to minimize distraction. Allow for Personalization Allow users to customize from whom, when and how they can receive notifications to minimize unwanted interruptions. Include Full Text If email notifications are enabled, include the full…
Transparent
Best Practices Right to Know Users have a right to know exactly what they are signing up for when deciding to use a product. Make it clear and specific. Data Transparency Communicate exactly what data is being collected and why it’s being collected. Access to Data Give users access to the data being collected on them and ensure it's easy to find. The Right to be Forgotten Provide users the ability…