We have many things that can be created. But before we do, we should consider our values and create things for the world we want to live in.
People are obsessed with technology. More specifically, it seems that we cannot be separated from our equipment. According to statistics, most people take our equipment to the toilet and sleep. Compared with being with family, we spend more time staring at the screen. We are living in an era of chaos, where we seem to be serving machines instead of them serving us.
So, how can designers help improve this seemingly unhealthy relationship that we have developed with equipment? The most basic bottom line is that we have to design for the connection of people. Liza Kindred, a fashion technology and future business expert, is also the founder of Third Wave Fashion, who recently gave a keynote speech at the IxDA 17 interactive conference. Liza Kindred shared 9 design rules, here we combined some use cases to summarize its keynote speech.
1. Designed for the connection of people
Compared with technology or interface, people care more about others. Kindred shared an experience of her niece in the ICU (intensive care unit) during the first week of her life. After being discharged from the hospital, Kindred prepared an owl baby detector for her little niece, which is a smart sock that can track the baby’s heart rate and oxygen level. By staying connected at all times and being informed of her daughter’s health, her niece’s parents can rest assured and can sleep at ease.
Image source: Owlet
Kindred said, “People don’t really care about technology… In the final analysis, we care more about ourselves and the people we love than products and interfaces.”
2. Arousal
One thing that makes us human is that we can use technology to enhance our bodies and feelings. For most people with color blindness, the invention of EnChroma corrective glasses allows these people to see the world in full color. For those with more severe visual impairment, a small in-ear device called Horus was developed, which uses auditory cues to act as an assistant for these visually impaired.
Image source: Horus
Horus and EnChroma are just two examples of how technology can be used to enhance people’s perception without being able to rely on themselves.
3. Practical or pleasant
For the sake of novelty and novelty will be a hindrance, no one in life needs a product that is useless. Kindred said “It is very important to be able to create usefulness or pleasure”
WellBe is the first stress treatment bracelet on the market. It is a wearable device that uses heartbeat and algorithms to track when and where you are stressed. A similar device called pplkpr (pronounced people keeper) can detect the physical and emotional responses of people around you, and based on the data, give suggestions on how long you should spend with them.
4. Let the technology disappear
So many of the technologies we are building are invasive. As Kindred pointed out earlier, we care more about ourselves than technology, so as users we simply hope that technology can disappear in the context of its application.
The Eone watch uses two ball bearings to indicate the time, and was originally designed for the visually impaired because it can be as convenient as Braille for the mentally impaired to read the clock face. However, Eone’s stylish design has been noticed by more people, making it stand out as a mainstream product. Kindred said, “The technology provided by Eone is gone. People wear it because it looks good.”
Image source: Eone
Kindred said: “When we design technology, especially wearable devices, I have always noticed that we simply tie technology to our body. It turns out that people in the market who want to look like robots really Very few. So when we have the ability to build products that make technology disappear like Eone watches, you will see higher device adoption rates.”
5. Designed for disconnection
One design principle that designers are not good at is design for disconnection. Kindred said: “Disconnect means that the design allows people to stay in their moments, rather than interrupting. This requires the ability to judge when there is no need to interrupt people’s current things when something is necessarily unimportant.” Because of this, Kindred appreciates wearable devices designed for notifications. During her conversation, she pointed to the stylish ring on her finger and said it was one of her favorite wearable devices.
Image source: Ringly
More than just a piece of jewelry, Ringly is paired with your phone, and uses gentle vibration and a light that can change 4 colors to subtly notify you of anything important to you. Ultimately, this means you know when you should and shouldn’t pick up your phone, so you can disconnect with peace of mind.
6. Scalability
The United Nations estimates that there will be 20-50 million metric tons of e-waste each year. Kindred said, “We are constantly creating things, and I don’t think it is responsible or very careful about our environment”
An example of a tracker that maintains a sense of style and scalability is the Joule smart earrings. It is a health and fitness tracker that is universally compatible with earrings.
Image source: shopjoule
7. Simple, simple, and simple
In the words of Leonard Cohen, “the less, the happier.” Designers need to constantly modify the form and function. Motorola MC10 tattoos use almost extreme simplification-as thin as a temporary tattoo, with 18 different sensors. However, designers do not need to build complex hardware to simplify things. It can be as simple as asking what is really necessary and how we can simplify things further.
8. Bridging the digital divide
Do we really need another application to help us dry clean? To listeners who admit to enjoying these conveniences, Kindred said, “Many apps simply make our lives easier. There are a lot of people who really need help.
Image source: WFU
There are many ways to make our lives easier while having a positive impact on other people in need. She cited an example of Power Felt, which is a material that captures heat and converts it into energy for equipment energy. Kindred said, “This may make our lives easier, but it can also make life easier for those who don’t have access to reliable infrastructure.”
9. Create the products the world needs
We can all find examples of technology for the sake of technology. Designing useless wearable devices, applications, and services that take up precious manpower and resources without a meaningful purpose. Kindred said: “The world needs more things like Kite Patch (with the ability to block mosquitoes from tracking humans). It is one of the first technologies that really help change our solution to the malaria problem.”
We should build technology for the world we want to live in.
We have many things that can be created. But before we do, we should consider our values and create things for the world we want to live in.
