Member-only story
UX Honeycomb “7+1”
Peter Morville’s UX Honeycomb (2004) presents seven aspects of user experience design. This is the holistic approach when it comes to getting the best results, although I feel like something is missing. The wheel is not turning the way it should. That’s why I added another attribute to the diagram: Durability.
There are seven days in the week, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, seven deadly sins, seven virtues, seven arts and sciences, and seven ages of man. In ancient times, the number seven was known as the Age of Septimus, and it still plays a role in our lives today. To improve the user experience, I added the “Durable” (or “Longevity”) aspect and tried to give meaning to the number 8, “7+1”. As a result of this attribute, the wheel turns better and better to infinity, resulting in a more pleasing exploration of our products.
As we discover from our purchases, consumption encourages experimentation, familiarization, learning new things, and improvement of products. Even though it sounds fine when I write it, this viewpoint is not entirely healthy. By replacing things every six months, we often fail to appreciate the products we want. Our egos or arrogance grow larger and larger as do our expectations. Who was behind this? Why did it get made? What resources were used to create this item? When did it get started? These are reasonable inquiries to ask before purchasing something to preserve our modesty and keep our money in our pockets for a later purchase.
There were products created in the 70s that survived until today. An example that comes to mind is a washing machine. A product like this used weekly if not daily, could have lasted 20 to 30 years. Marketing showed us a different side of the coin and introduced the so-called “planned obsolescence” for our main items.
Planned obsolescence describes the practice of designing products to break quickly or become obsolete in the short to mid-term. The general idea behind this is to encourage sales of new products and upgrades, a…
