Start with meaningA summary of the key concepts and ideas from the 5 articles in the meaning series. We human beings are hungry for meaning in all aspects of our lives. The meaning-first manifesto is a philosophy for researching and designing meaningful interaction.
Meaning First: a manifesto for user-experience designMeaning is what we assign to every aspect of our lives from the simplest of actions to the most complex. The design of any digital experience that feels meaningful has to accommodate our basic human need for discovery.
Meaning-first is a design approach that puts emphasis on delivering meaningful interactions.
Designing meaning: translating insight into designRegardless of the proposed technology the ultimate goal is to make any design and the experience as meaningful as possible to the user. This article will focus on the actual ‘shaping’ or designing of meaningful interaction. Understanding what is actually meaningful to people in terms of their interaction and the form it should take represents the very essence of ‘designing a great experience’.
Researching meaning: making sense of behaviourMost of our decisions on a daily basis will be driven by some sort of emotional factor rather than thinking or reason. We process more than 11 million pieces of sensory information every second. We can only attend to about 40 of those but the rest is not disregarded – it’s processed. As interaction designers we need to learn to dive below the surface and uncover the factors that will help us design deeper meaning.
The meaning dimensionThis is the second article in a series I’m writing about meaning. In my previous article I introduced the critical importance of designing for meaning and how it can be applied to help us deliver a superior user experience. Essentially, by focusing on meaning we are centering on the many significant psychological factors that motivate us and engage us at an emotional level.
Meaning is everything so let’s design for it!Meaning is as important as the oxygen we need to breathe or the water we need for cellular life to function. It is essential and defines our very humanity and without it we are totally lost because life feels meaningless without it! Our uniqueness as a conscious animal – our ability to question, to consider, and to know represents the very foundation on which our own humanity is defined! Nothing can be more important than meaning and nothing will ever be more important for any of us, anywhere: meaning is everything!
The resurgence of inclusive designIn recent years we have witnessed a resurgence in the Inclusive design approach. This is partly due to the rise in web accessibility and how it helps to ensure a great user experience is delivered to everyone. However, inclusive design is far from new approach but every designer should be practicing it!
Designing a digital world without barriersThe digital world should be totally accessible to everyone. Whilst digital technology has improved we still need to embrace accessibility unequivocally so every single one of us can share, belong and collaborate. Web accessibility represents digital evolution and every single organisation should be aiming to deliver a barrier-free experience: this is the humanising technology way!
