Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 4
Understanding Your Audience
Long ago, my dad and I would watch the classic comedy team of Mel Brooks and Carl Rein-
er on TV. We'd argued about which was our favorite: straight man Reiner, or Brooks, whose
jokes never ended.
Their main bit was one about an interview with a 2000-year-old man. Reiner, the inter-
viewer, would ask Brooks, the old man, why people in ancient times did the things they did.
Why did they travel? Why did they watch the skies? Why did they fight? Why did they love?
Why did they invent things? Why did they do anything at all? Reiner wondered. Having sur-
vived two millenniums, the old man knew exactly why: “Mostly fear.” The 2000-year-old
man made the claim that fear was the prime motivation for just about every human behavior.
It got you up in the morning, and then prompted you to kill your breakfast before it killed
you. It was the reason for marriage, learning, procreating, and even transportation. “Fear
transported you?” Reiner would ask. “Naturally,” said Brooks. “When a lion would growl,
you'd run two miles in a minute. Fear was the main propulsion.”
When a digital product falls into the hands of a digitally challenged user, we can see the
2000-year-old man's dictum at work. When we have that first chance to delight the users
with surprise, it is also the time when their fear is as basic as breathing. Why? Because of
past experience dealing with products, and the unknown (and sometimes baffling) mechan-
ics of products.
First, the unknown: Users know that they don't know. They're ready to profess ignor-
ance, but they don't see how that will do any good. They wonder if anyone really knows...or
cares.
While we may be part of a generation that's grown up with computers and cell phones,
there are plenty who've come before us who are completely frustrated by these items which
are now considered everyday tools. When a user starts programming a new cell phone, he
follows instructions, but has no idea how his actions make the phone work. Commanded by
onscreen messages, and mechanical voices, he pushes the button he's told to push, or speaks
when he's prompted to say something. He keys in numbers and letters, reacts to prompts, and
enters personal information about job and family, creating an individual program that suits
his needs. This is fine until he does something that doesn't work. When the phone freezes
