How the interdisciplinary tradition of Liberal Arts & Sciences is creating products that are shaping our future

1. Psychology, Design &
Computer Science
How the interdisciplinary tradition of
Liberal Arts & Sciences is creating
products that are shaping our future

2. @diegomendes
*slides will be posted J (with all sources)

3. the
mango
tree
story

4. We are tool makers.

5. Tools augment our abilities as humans.

6. We make tools to improve our lives.

8. 1 undeniable fact:
We shape our tools
Our tools shape us
Marshal MacLuan (1964) & Wilson Miner, When we build, 2010

9. The tool that is shaping the world today:
connected software

10. connected software
in other words:
internet of things

11. but what things do you mean?

12. everything

13. It is the beginning of the smart…
home
car
surfboard
bank
basketball
school
fridge

14. “There are already hundreds of
millions of things connected to the
internet.
We are headed for hundreds of
billions, possibly trillions…
and it will change our lives.”
Dr. John Barret, TedXCIT

15. phone
Apple Inc, iPhone 5s

16. fitbit aria

17. nest
nest thermostat

18. surgery room
fitbit aria

19. surgery room
iRobot, Essential Design

20. self-driving car
Google Inc, Self Driving Car

21. glass

22. glass

23. our future is being shaped by connected
software – it is changing our world

24. We shape our tools
Our tools shape us
Marshal MacLuan (1964) & Wilson Miner, When we build, 2010

25. We are building an environment where we
will spend most of our lives.
Wilson Miner, When we build, 2010

26. What kind of connected software
environment do you want to have in the
future?

27. If you want the world to be better,
you have to help shape it.

28. That’s where User Experience comes in.

29. Designing experiences is basically
understanding people and helping them.

30. Making the interaction between a person
and a product feel natural.

31. And this is an increasingly interdisciplinary
world

32. Adap0ve
Path,
2012

33. Don Norman, 2014

34. “Design
is the practice of intentional
creation to enhance the world.
It is a field of doing and making, creating
great products and services that fit human
needs, that delight and inform. Design is
exciting because it calls upon the arts and
humanities, the social, physical, and
biological sciences, engineering and
business.”

35. Again…
This is an increasingly interdisciplinary world

36. Dan Saffer, Kicker Studio, 2008

37. UX follows a simple process called
Human Centered Design

38. Human Centered Design
Discovery
Idea0on
Prototype
Experiment
Improve

39. Some important interdisciplinary roles
*Disclaimer: These roles are gray areas. They intersect with each other and are fluid.

40. User Researcher or Design Researcher
Observe, listen, generate insight
Your are genuinely curious about human behavior.
You love to observe and listen to people.
You like to create insights from your observations and things you have heard.
You are really good at evaluation, clarification, analysis, and communication.
You like to ask questions that expose gaps and flaws.
You enjoy testing assumptions with quantitative and qualitative data.
** Usability Analyst – In larger companies, usually towards the end of the product
design cycle.

41. Interaction Designer
Invent, define direction, make ideas real
You can come up with enormous amounts of solutions for the problems you are
solving for.
You can link ideas, solutions and design easily.
You can make solutions “look real” – design and communicate how the product
could potentially work.
You like both the grand vision and the step by step details of how the user will
experience the product.
You understand how to apply user interface and interaction design to products.

42. Visual Designer
Your weapons are color, style, type, icons and information design.
You create visual hierarchy.
You indicate relationships and hint at behavior to help users interact with the
product.
You like both the grand vision and the step by step details of how the user will
experience the product.
You can create different visual stylistic approaches for different mediums (digital
product v. physical product).
Visual hierarchy, visual relationships & elegance

43. Content Strategist
Your weapons are your fantastic communication skills.
You are great at understanding how to develop content that is meaningful
to different audiences.
You like to figure out “when” certain content should surface for the user.
You love to make things “crystal clear”.
You are always thinking about what engages people.
You love to create new content and maintain relevant older content.
You love meaningful content

44. Information Architect
You like to visually structure information so it is intuitive to others.
You are always trying to facilitate how others understand content.
You see structure as a way to facilitate effective communication.
You enjoy working in large projects across different departments and help
maintain a unified vision of what you are trying to build.
You want to help others understand stuff

45. User Experience Designer
Observe, listen, generate insight
Invent, define direction, make ideas real
Hierarchy, relationships & elegance
Meaningful content
You want to help others understand
Research
Interaction
Visual
Information
Content
You do it all…
thinking about how the user will experience it

46. Dan Saffer, Kicker Studio, 2008

47. Why you should join this field?

48. Shape your future instead of reacting to it.

49. How do I get into this field?

50. Learn on the job Grad school

51. Career outlook is great

52. For sources go to http://goo.gl/MUyTmH