Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5
UX Psychology I—Decisions and Dogs
Products are designed for people. Even if a product only operates inside something else
where no one ever sees it, if it doesn't do something that affects humans, it never gets
built. People buy a product for various reasons. They might need it or they may just want
it. It could be a present for a friend—or for one's boss. It might be something they nev-
er would've missed if they'd never experienced it, but will quickly become a welcomed,
and sometimes integral, part of their lives. Sometimes the line between necessity and desire
blurs. Whatever other motivations they have, people also buy a product because the provider
makes the effort to sell it to them.
A retailer uses various methods to market products to his or her customers. These meth-
ods are products of design. Whether it's right up the street or online, the store is designed to
entice us. Shelves, pages, routes, even checkout lines and the checkout segment of a web-
site (especially checkout), are set up to encourage more sales. If you're buying an outdoor
grill, you're immediately presented with charcoal, lighter fluid, brushes and outdoor cook-
ing utensils. If you want lipstick, the display also offers mascara, blush and dozens of other
makeup items. When we're buying a rap music app for our mobile phone, we quickly learn
about other apps aimed at bringing more tunes into our ears. All of this happens by design,
but what's informing the designer? Psychology.
Marketing always was, and always will be, a mind game. Though most of us only meet
marketing at the point when we see, hear about, or buy the item, it begins long before that.
Marketing starts with the product and the product starts with design. A good designer will
think of the product not just in terms of function and aesthetics, but also in terms of sales.
How will the user first experience this item? Can its image attract him or her when displayed
on a monitor or the screen of a smart phone? Will it look good on a shelf in a store? What
features can be emphasized or muted to better connect with the consumer?
This is where product meets perception, and perception is all about the mind—once
again: psychology. Though we begin with the idea for a product, as soon as we start thinking
about what the product does, we must also think about the person who's using it. Will this
app for airline flight changes fit easily on the harried traveler's smart phone screen? Will
this smart oven alert the multi-tasking cook when the roast is medium rare?
