Usability, not uselessbility

First things first, this is a subject related to UI/UX design and development. As such, UI/UX is applied to daily actions or life – not circle of life, just life.

Let’s start off with Bandersnatch as an example. If you’ve been living under a rock, Bandersnatch is an episode from Black Mirror where you, the user, decide what happens in the movie and have about 3 – 5 seconds to make that decision. That decision also applies to a user’s first impression (the experience) when they are using an app or viewing a website. It only takes a few seconds for users to drop off, and this usually happens because they do not know where to start (the interface).

 

Before we go off topic, the reason Bandersnatch was pretty much a success is because the movie gave users the power to decide. Which is the golden rule of UX. Users love to be in power. They love to decide what comes next (hence why movie critics always say, “Its so predictable ugh what a shit show” yet pay so much attention to it) and that is what makes them… I mean us… Human.

Okay now, I hope all of that wasn’t too heavy. Let’s take a short break and enjoy some UI/UX fails. Here are a few examples of how UI/UX applies to everything.

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Now, let’s cut to the chase (shit, need another scissors). Guys, design thinking is bullshit. ?

Hold on, hear me out for a bit.

We, as creatives, are thinkers and makers. We want to grow, learn, and push boundaries BUT it has also brought upon the democratization of design where our creative process falls into the realm of:

The client wants this…

The client said that…

But this is the brief…

We are creating an environment that downgrades our creative skills when we should focus on fixing or enhancing the practice of critical problem solving with creative execution, implementation and testing. We always tell ourselves, “This is good enough” but shouldn’t we be wanting more? Are you satisfied with discovering the tip of the iceberg or should you go as deep as the Titanic? What is the big picture or idea? Where does this roadmap lead you? The client can want whatever they want, but it is our jobs to let them know what they need.

The only way of knowing for sure what Einstein meant by this is to actually ask him…But he dead.

However, it somehow relates to my design journey. There are so many designs out there that look so simple, that you start to think, “Wow, that was easy.”

Well if it’s so easy, why couldn’t you do it? #micdrop

That’s when I realised simple is complex. We need to go back to the basics; the one crucial formula that designers should never ever forget:

Designers are not artists. We do not paint pictures of Mona Lisa to have people stare at the painting for hours just to have them feel us. We are problem solvers. We criticise everything and make sure our designs deliver data. It’s sad that CRIT is something we do not do anymore when it comes to design thinking.

Every form of design comes with a function. It’s not just something for us to look at and go…wow. Even graphic design plays a vital role. Without UI, UX is pointless. The same applies “terbalik”. A designer’s approach should come from every aspect. We have to know everything to solve everything and that is why, the simple things are complex.

We need to take a step back and think about how everything affects our daily lives. The things we do, the actions we take – it all applies to the work we do. Everything we do is critical and has to make sense when we implement that thought process into our designs. I guess to sum it up, this quote that my Dad brings up often is pretty apt – “Knowing a little of everything makes you dangerous.”