TEDxSHEFFIELD - CENNYDD BOWLES - What is UX and why should you care?
The speaker argues the web is underachieving because it lacks beauty, which the speaker contends is vital because it positively influences user emotion and can fundamentally change perspectives. To fix this, web design must shift focus from mere function (usability) to meaning (reflective design), requiring strong vision, recognizing unexpected joys, and standing for clear ideals. ## Speakers & Context - Speaker: Giving a presentation; acknowledged that *the web's underachieving* state. - Armen Vit: Graphic designer who posted a blog post titled *"landmark websites where aren't they?"* and cited examples like the NYC subway map, *Film 7*, and the Paul Rand IBM logo. - Jonathan Harris: Associated with wefeelfine.org; echoed sentiment that the web lacks design masterpieces. - Cognitive scientist Don Norman: Discussed the three modes of design: visceral, behavioral, and reflective. - Speaker's mother: A teacher who explained the concept of the *"golden moment"* in education. ## Theses & Positions - The web is underachieving, lacking the design landmarks seen in other fields. - The sum of web elements is greater than the sum of its parts. - Beauty affects people profoundly because it *directly creates positive emotions* that are hard to resist. - Beauty provides a significant advantage in perception, causing people to judge content in light of attractiveness. - The ultimate goal for web design should be to achieve *reflective design*, appealing to meaning and message, which can change the way the world thinks. - The web needs to move beyond merely solving user tasks and instead aim to *improve people's lives beyond just this one visit*. - Strong, singular vision, akin to the director in film, is necessary to overcome the tendency toward mediocre, committee-driven design. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Aesthetic usability effect:** The phenomenon where users don't just *think* beautiful objects are easier to use; they *actually* perform tasks better when using them. - **Mimemetic:** Art ideals intended to mimic and replicate nature. - **Universal beauty:** Beauty based on globally accepted principles and timeless quality, exemplified by the idea of averess and symmetry. - **Social cultural beauty:** Beauty governed by the norms and standards of a specific time or place (e.g., body type standards). - **Subjective beauty:** Beauty that is wholly personal, based only on individual likes and dislikes. - **Visceral design:** Design aimed at the gut, felt instantaneously without mental processing (reaction in ~50 milliseconds). - **Behavioral design:** Concerned with function; addressing if the site works and if the system performs tasks appropriately (usability). - **Reflective design:** The most complex mode, building on the first two, which looks at meaning and message—design that speaks to us and prompts questions about values. - **Golden moment:** A point where one suddenly discovers something and one's worldview is subtly shifted. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Cognitive processing modes:** Design analysis structured around visceral (gut feeling) $\rightarrow$ behavioral (functionality) $\rightarrow$ reflective (meaning). - **Web design evolution:** Progressing from focusing on visceral appeal (early web days) to behavioral functionality (usability movement), and needing to reach reflective depth. - **Artistic shift:** History moved from mimicking nature (mimetic, Greek/Roman) $\rightarrow$ embracing human construction (Renaissance) $\rightarrow$ valuing subjective interpretation (Romantic era) $\rightarrow$ prioritizing concept over execution (Contemporary conceptual art). - **Sustaining interest:** Requires injecting *"the odd surprise"* or *unexpected joy* to maintain appeal over time, similar to a romantic relationship. ## Timeline & Sequence - **1933:** Harry Beck's original tube map creation. - **1839:** Date of the Turner painting discussed, used to illustrate aesthetic changes. - **1960s:** Decade where the presidential debates between Nixon and Kennedy demonstrated bias toward attractiveness. - **Today:** The web is stated to be only *7,000 days old*. ## Named Entities - Face Research: Company that created a composite image of average female faces to demonstrate universal beauty standards. - Brian Lawson: Architect and psychologist who called the potential of beauty a *"one-way valve to a new way of seeing."* - Marcel Duchamp: Artist associated with the concept of found objects, arguing anything can be artistic. - Tracy Emmen: Designer associated with a tent example to illustrate conceptual art. - Damian Hurst: Artist associated with a diamond encrusted skull artifact that he did not create. - NextTime: Company that created the "tube clock," illustrating conceptual beauty. ## Numbers & Data - **50 milliseconds:** Approximate time frame for visceral reactions. - **72%:** Percentage of listeners who would be uncontrollably and unavoidably fond of the "most wanted song." - **25 minutes:** Duration of the "most unwanted song." - **1933:** Year of Harry Beck's original tube map. - **7,000 days:** Stated age of the web. ## Examples & Cases - **NYC subway map:** Landmark example of information design that clarifies complexity via wiring metaphor; became part of the *collective consciousness*. - **Bird's nest stadium:** Cited in Beijing, showing how architecture speaks volumes about a nation's attitude. - **Presidential debates (Nixon/Kennedy):** Example demonstrating the bias toward attractiveness when viewing on TV versus radio. - **Color iMac:** Example showing Apple successfully bringing beauty to commercial hardware via the *aesthetic usability effect*. - **Reuben's Venus vs. modern runway model:** Comparison illustrating the shift in socio-cultural standards for beauty over time. - **The "most wanted song":** Soft rock R&B designed to be liked by 72% of listeners, representing successful but bland behavioral design. - **The "most unwanted song":** Features banjo, accordion, tuba, and rapping operatic soprano; used as an extreme negative contrast. - **Tube clock (by NextTime):** Personal example where the beauty lies in the concept, not its usability or elegance. - **Paul Rand IBM logo:** Cited as a historical landmark example of good design. ## Tools, Tech & Products - Google: Mentioned regarding its logo, used as a minor example of "fuss" to sustain initial appeal. - Amazon, eBay, Facebook: Cited as successful business platforms, but questioned as design landmarks. - Mac OS: Cited with the iMac, demonstrating that combining beauty with user experience successfully onboarded new users. - NextTime: Company behind the "tube clock." - Apple: Company noted for understanding and leveraging the *aesthetic usability effect*. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Web functionality vs. Beauty:** The inherent conflict between making sites merely useful versus making them beautiful. - **Usability vs. Beauty:** The trade-off where usability processes, if poorly applied, yield *"horribly mediocre products"* or *"design by committee."* - **Mimetic art vs. Reflective art:** The shift from art attempting to perfectly replicate nature to art valuing subjective meaning. - **Linear vs. Multi-layered design:** The technical necessity of a simple interface versus the layered depth of meaning a truly beautiful site should convey. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - The web is inherently *impermanent, abstract, and functional*, making it different from physical artifacts (like subway maps or statues). - Over-reliance on usability testing can lead to *"dreaded design by committee."* - The speaker acknowledges that realizing this shift is difficult due to real-world business constraints and clients. ## Methodology - Analysis of art history: Tracking the understanding of beauty from mimicry to subjectivity. - Cognitive science model application: Using Don Norman's three modes to structure the analysis of design effectiveness. - Surveying music taste: Used by Vitili Kar and Alexander Malamid to prove that pleasing everyone results in poor art. - Self-reflection/Conceptualization: The speaker uses personal examples to illustrate the value of subjective appreciation (like the *tube clock*). ## References Cited - Armen Vit's blog post *"landmark websites where aren't they?"* - Jonathan Harris of wefeelfine.org. - Harry Beck's original 1933 tube map. - Plato's theory of forms (Heavenly plane of ideals). - Turner painting from 1839. - Marcel Duchamp's concept of found objects. - Don Norman: Cognitive scientist. - Vitili Kar and Alexander Malamid: Artists who surveyed musical preferences. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The web must adopt a focus on reflective design to achieve lasting beauty and impact. - Design efforts must be led by a single person with a strong, clear vision, avoiding *"the old cliche of when did you see a statue of a committee."* - Designers must focus on understanding *people*, not just user tasks, to create experiences that improve life beyond a single visit. - Importance of *long-term seduction* by incorporating unexpected joy into the design experience. - Developers must be brave enough to "make statements" and stand for ideals, moving beyond purely technical discussions (e.g., HTML 5 vs. Flash). ## Implications & Consequences - Success in achieving reflective design would allow the web to profoundly influence human thought processes, making it a powerful cultural medium. - Continuing to prioritize only function risks the web remaining aesthetically shallow and derivative, regardless of technical capabilities. ## Open Questions - What exactly constitutes 'beauty' in the context of an ephemeral, abstract medium like the web? - How can the industry shift its core focus from immediate functionality to deep, philosophical meaning? ## Verbatim Moments - "The web's underachieving." - "the sum is truly greater than its parts." - "beauty is something that's missing from modern web design." - "beautiful objects are not just thought to be easier to use; they actually are easier to use." - "Apple know the benefit of the aesthetic usability effect better than pretty much anyone." - "Brian Lawson calls this a one-way valve to a new way of seeing." - "Contemporary conceptual art really prioritizes a beautiful thought over execution." - "This is a conversation starter." - "The odd surprise is rewarding." - "The old cliche of when did you see a statue of a committee." - "I guarantee we can create our own beautiful design landmarks."