Reviewing Popular Design Books: Part 3
Game UX Designer review & top takeaways on some of the most popular books about design in games, physical products, choice design & ethics.
I will give you a short description, my thoughts & 3 key learnings of the books Emotional Design by Don Norman, Nudge by Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein, The Psychology of Video Games by Celia Hodent & Ruined By Design by Mike Monterio. I hope this will inspire you to pick up these books as well.
Emotional Design
Why we love (or hate) everyday things
By Don Norman
TED Talk about happy design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlQEoJaLQRA
We put a lot of emotions in our things
We start off this list with Don Norman, who is well known in the Design sphere as somewhat the father of Design. Software designers, UX, UI, product owners etc everyone can get immense value from Don Normans content & his talks about design that are available all over the internet.
This is the completing second half to his first book The Design of Everyday Things. The first book being about the function & usability of items, this second book is about how we feel & think about items. Our emotions for our possessions are not always rational. We love small trinkets we got on a trip because what they remind us off how much fun we had. Special items all evoke stories.
He dives into the different types of emotions that guide us to what we like or don’t like. Objects can be designed in ways to trigger positive emotions: when a product helps us to reach an end goal to help on a cognitive level (psycho-pleasure), make a statement to others (ideo-pleasure), enable us to have positive social interactions (socio-pleasure) and the physical aspect of good smells, taste or touch (physio-pleasure). All of these emotions build up why we love (or hate) certain things.
Norman expands on the different emotions, and why we so strongly connect (or don’t connect) with products, brands and objects. These items become more valuable to us if we connect them to memories, how we want to be perceived by others and sometimes even as a part of our identity. But we as consumers need to be careful with our emotions. Many companies are “high jacking” our emotions for their own gains. Adds & products playing on our nostalgia, technology with the perfect satisfying sound and food shops that maximise the smell of newly baked treats to lure you in.
In the last chapters, Norman takes the topic to the future and AI, artificial intelligence. Since this is the direction human innovation is taking us, AI will be the future of how we interact with our computers and environment. The AI need to understand what we want, need and help us in our lives. This is a challenge in design, because “the positive impact will be enormous. The negative consequences will also be significant.”
“Much of modern technology is really the technology of social interaction: it is the technology of trust and emotional bonds.”
― Don Norman, Emotional Design
My Thoughts
This book is as iconic and crucial to any Designer. The first book being about the practical & problem solving focus of design, this book is about the human emotions & connection we have to our things & softwares. I recommend reading them back to back so you get the full picture.
I liked the range of products (physical & digital) that he used as examples in the book. I did take notice that function & emotions can rarely be separated as we sometimes are inclined to think. Just picking what car, sofa or phone to buy, our emotions guide us as much as logic. The emotions we feel for the objects we surround ourselves with are an extension of our perception & self-image of ourselves. Are you a PC or Mac person? Tesla or classic American car kinda person? Function, emotion, logic & self-image all impact the choice of products we like to buy. This is a really interesting topic that I think will help you as a designer to identify your users needs & wants. (But don’t manipulate people please!)
But, I’m disappointed in the (small) chapter in the book on Games. I was happily surprised when I saw the title ”Games design” (being a game UX designer myself) but that quickly turned to disappointment when I realised that the chapter was very short and barely touched the surface of the topic of video games. I don’t blame him for not covering every type of product where emotions has an impact of the design & user. But in this case I wish he would have elaborated more about the topic. But he does talk about how important fun and humour can be in design. How adding a touch of delight (without being distracting) to technology enhances the experience, making them a pleasure to use. This being a focus of his for some now and we have seen it being incorporated in many new digital products this past decade. I think adding joy and delight in the products we design is very important to make a good user experience.
“Good design is actually a lot harder to notice than poor design, in part because good designs fit our needs so well that the design is invisible”
― Don Norman, Emotional Design
3 Key Takeaways
- How different type of emotions makes us connect with products.
Knowing which emotions to design for will make your products more appealing to the target audience (see my notes above for the examples). This can be equally powerful as designing for usability because emotions are at the core of human behaviour and decision making. - Functions doesn’t win over emotions.
We buy products we know are not as good as another product. We are willing to spend more money on something to make a personal statement. We keep things that are not “useful” because it reminds us of something special. We feel personally connected to our things because they tell a story. - Design is for humans, not computers.
This is true now as well as for the future. In the (near) future we will be asked to design with new technologies and big ideas that will take the human race go even further. But one thing always stays true, people are humans. We will not suddenly grow more arms or fingers to operate complicated machines, grow a super memory, not need to eat or be completely absent of emotions. (Well…until we get chip implants, but lets ignore that for now).
Recommendation
This book is for all designers out there. Anyone making decisions that effect the users in some way, is a designer.
- UX Designers
- Product Designer
Nudge
Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
By Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein
I listened to the audiobook version
Richard Thaler on Behaviours Economics: https://youtu.be/A1M9VSgsSW4?t=235
Choice Architect
Design is about guiding choices. How they nudge us in improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness. The book draws on research in psychology and behavioural economics to look at choice in a libertarian light, where choices are nudged, not pushed.
This book dives into the importance of choice engineering and how it can be used for good or bad. It’s a very important aspect of design; what is best for different users, what information do they need to make a decision, when do people need guidance and when is it NOT okay to nudge people too much? Using many examples of real life scenarios where you as the reader, are affected by how choices are designed by other people and especially by companies. So, what nudges us to make decision A and not B or C? There are many psychological forces at play here and it’s important to know how something that seems to be small can effect us in big ways.
Knowing what forces are at play can help you immensely to be aware and make the best choice for yourself instead of blindly put trust in others. This book opens your eyes to be more aware of how your choices are presented to you and why. But this book is also important for all designers and decision makers out there. Know that HOW you present options and choices will effect the persons selection. This is even more important when it comes to complicated matters such as choosing for retirement, medical, insurance and other not-so-fun decisions that can have big impact on peoples lives. Are you designing for what’s best for the user, or the company? Can you spot the difference?
“That does not mean something is wrong with us as humans, but it does mean that our understanding of human behaviour can be improved by appreciating how people systematically go wrong.”
― Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein, Nudge
My Thoughts
I did not expect to get a lecture in stock & retirement investments. I don’t think this is the sexiest way of explaining nudging & choice architecture, even though it is important. Make sure to get through the first heavy part the book (or skip though it) and it will go more into nudges & design information later in the book.
I would say this book is on an advanced level. It’s not as quick or fun to get through as some other design books and it takes more effort on your side, working though it to apply these learnings to your projects & design.
It would be wonderful (if I may dream) to have a book with the learnings from this book, written more for the designers out there. By designers I mean product/UX/UI designers working on apps, websites and perhaps games. The learnings of the book is great but you need to get through a lot of information and data that is very America focused.
This may sound contradicting at this point considering all the cons I just listed, but I still think it’s a good book to pick up to have in your arsenal. Because this is the type of information that will make you stand out when it comes to designing for what is best for the user. As you, a designer, need to be observant to seemingly small things that have a huge impact on the lives of people.
Just make sure to use this power for good. If you use your knowledge to make people do what you, or the business, wants instead of what is best for the individual, it’s not nudging anymore, it’s manipulation.
“You want to nudge people into socially desirable behaviour, do not, by any means, let them know that their current actions are better than the social norm.”
― Richard H. Thaler & Cass R. Sunstein, Nudge
3 Key Takeaways
- How we present options and choices have a huge impact on our choices.
This becomes even more prominent when it’s a matter of complicated and confusing matters. People often times don’t have time, energy or the knowledge in certain matters to be able to make a quick decision. This is where the designer has a big responsibility. - Social guidance:
We trust that other people knows best. If we think that this is what other people do, we default into picking that option too. “How can other people be wrong?”. (This is of course not correct in many areas of life.)
The Standard option:
This concept is about how we perceive options as good or bad depending on which one is presented to us as “this is standard”. But we need to be weary about this type of thinking. Who says this is the standard and why? - Be aware of who is presenting these options to you & why.
When making a choice (or designing them) think about who is presenting you these options. How they fraise the words and in what order they are shown. This will clue you in to what THEY want you to pick. Sometimes the company actually present you the best option (Hurray!). But know that this is not the norm. It can be company greed, regulated standards, laziness or just ignorance that made the choices be presented in that way.
Recommendation
This book is for those that want to guide people into making good choices.
- UX/Product Designers
- Choice Designers (I know, this is quite a fuzzy definition)
- Politicians
The Psychology of Video Games
By Celia Hodent
Learn more: https://celiahodent.com
Games happens in our brains
This is the second book from Celia Hodent on the topic of physiology in video games. Her first book, The Gamers Brain, being a very well researched book about the brain, combined with years of experience making games herself. This latest book from Celia is a lighter introduction to psychology in games and a great light introduction to the topic. This is an area that are severely lacking in well researched content so this book is very much needed.
She starts off with how experiences are perceived in the brain of the player. As much as we like to think of ourselves as great at anything, there are still many cognitive limitations that we as designers need to think about. Peoples memory falters, we are easily distracted which leads us to miss crucial information and when we get confused or irritated we stop having fun. Video games are not just about function and reaching a goal (like with other digital products). Games are about the experience of have fun. But creating ‘fun’ is not an easy matter. Celia goes to explain how ‘fun’ is experienced in the brain and how games are constructed to help the experience of the story to be told. This is why the UX Design mindset should be a core piece to video games. (It is in some studios but not nearly enough in most).
Are video games good or bad? She brings up surveys & data done about players and how playing games have seen to effect their behaviour, learning abilities & social skills. No video games are not all bad nor all highly educational and good. Celia points out that more research needs to be done to see the full effects & benefits games can have to our growing minds.
There are many areas where a ‘game-mindset’ can help in education, practice social & cognitive skills, and it’s very interesting to think about where we can go with this knowledge. We just need people to design the experiences that takes us there.
“Playing a game is an experience that happens in our mind. this is why understanding the brain’s capabilities and limitations can greatly help game creators accomplish their goals.”
― Celia Hodent, The psychology of video games.
My Thoughts
This is a great quick read for anyone interested in games, psychology and design! It’s a great followup on her first book, The Gamers Brain, as this one is easier to read and digest for more people. She still use the same terminology’s as she did in her first book, but she doesn’t go into as much detail about every concept, which is a good thing because it could be quite heavy at times. This book is a delight too read and packed with interesting information.
As it is targeted to be read by people new to the topic, she talks about the importance of the UX role and mindset in studios. Even if you already work in the industry or not, the psychological concepts makes this a book that is great for all industry levels to read.
Take a weekend, sit down with a coffee and read this book!
“Having a UX mindset is about building human-centered technology, not a business-centred one. The philosophy is that if the product is satisfying its target audience, makes sense economically and is respectful of users, the business goals will be reached.”
― Celia Hodent, The psychology of video games.
3 Key Takeaways
- What motivations drives us?
Extrinsic motivation is when we do something in order to obtain something else (i.e reward or punishment) connected to the task.
Intrinsic motivation is when we do something for the pleasure of doing it. This is when we do something even when we are not rewarded by something external. We just like doing it for ourselves. - Cognitive limitations.
The core pillars we need to design for in video games are: perception, memory, attention, motivation & emotion. When we are aware of the shortcomings of the brain we can design for success, by helping the player in these areas, they can focus on having fun. - We need more UX designers in gaming studios.
The psychology & mentality of the role should be a core piece to the puzzle that is game development. The sooner in the project the better. It’s not a bandaid that can be slapped on top of the big wound that is a badly designed project.
Recommendation
This is a great book for designers that are interested in game UX and psychology. If you are thinking about going into a game development job, read this book!
- Game designers
- UX Designers (Just interested or looking to transition into games)
- UX Researchers
Ruined by Design
How designers destroyed the world, and what we can do to fix it.
By Mike Monterio
I listened to the audiobook
Mike Monterio talk: How designers destroyed the world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIcM21l61TE
Designers should Riot
Mike Monterio call for Designers to stand up, speak up and get out from bad jobs that makes you do work that are going to effect people negatively. The products and websites that takes our personal data to be sold later on. The biases we have against different races (everyone that’s not white basically) that gets designed into technology. The software that follow us and gives personal information to other people so they easily can stalk, bully & harass women.
Why has this happened? The internet was so full of hope and possibilities. Well there are some of the usual villains. Racist, sexist, age-ist, weight-ist, homophobic etc. He talks about how these (aware or unaware) biases have been allowed to steer the design of the products we use. Even if the leaders and designers are not aware of what they are doing, it’s not ok anymore because it is hurting people.
Mike calls for us Designers (it’s a broad term) to stand up against the bad practices of big companies.
In January of 2017, thousands of Google employees walked down the streets in protest that ICE used the software that they had created to catch & imprison Mexicans coming over the border to the US. They stood up against something that was wrong. Google listened and ended the contract that let ICE use the software. This is just one time that people stood up against something wrong that was hurting people. We have the power to do so. This problem will only grow if we designers don’t put our feet down, draws the line in the sand, guard the key and the gate, and say “No longer”.
“If you believe you need to do what your boss wants because they’re paying you, you also need to believe the doctor should provide the oxycodone if the addict is willing to pay for it. The exchange of cash for services doesn’t supersede ethics. Following unethical orders won’t keep you out of jail.”
― Mike Monterio, Ruined by Design
My Thoughts
This book is an eye-opener and it’s very needed in today’s climate. It needs to be said & talked about more by us designers. We don’t get any education or help with these design dilemmas of what to do when our boss/client tells us to design something that feels wrong. Sometimes we don’t even know that is will hurt people because we don’t bother to look deeper. I think this problem will grow if we don’t take action to set things right.
I don’t want to feel the stress and pressure of designing a product that I have no idea the outcome of the consequences. Even worse, if I was in charge of designing something that I knew could hurt people but I got no guidance and I didn’t take this responsibility to heart to speak up when I saw something wrong. But this happens everyday. There is nowhere to turn when designers see a problem, when we want guidance to make the best decision. There is no board or council with guidelines, rules or code of conduct.
“It should freak you out that gangsters can agree on a code of behaviour but designers can’t. Crime is more organised than design.”
― Mike Monterio, Ruined by Design
3 Key Takeaways
- Designers need ethics
We can’t just continue our designer lives without thinking about what the consequences & aftermath of how our design can affect real people. Can we let newly graduated designers take on the responsibility to design products without any ethical guidance? It is what we do now. - Designers need to be the gatekeepers
We all know that companies want to make money, sometimes by any means necessary. That does not always mean in the best interest of their costumers. They take peoples data to be sold off to other companies, trick and persuade us into buying things we don’t need or necessarily even want (dark design). As designers we know this but we don’t always stop it. - Does Designers need a union or a council?
As technology, the internet, software and services grows bigger and more complex, the laws around how we gather data will change. Us designers can’t hide behind our good intentions and obliviousness forever. Mike Monterio suggests that designers soon needs some form of union/council to educate and set standards for what is good vs bad design. This union would be able to help with ethics, laws around products & user information laws. I think this would be great for the integrity & safety for designers. What do you think? (comment below!)
Recommendation
This book is for all (tech) designers out there. Anyone making decisions that effect the users in some way, is a designer.
- UX Designers
- Product Designers
- Anyone with a different title but still doing Design work
Thank you for reading! ❤️
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Part 2
