World Usability Day 2009
Thursday Nov 12th is World Usability Day 2009. It is an annual event highlighting the true importance of good design that leads to efficient and enjoyable everyday products and services. Usability Professional Association (UPA) is behind that celebration. If you are interested, find an event in your city.
This year’s theme is Designing for a Sustainable World which means understanding and minimising the impact our products and services could have on our Earth. The three main pillars of sustainability are economic, social and environment. Here are few examples of how usability practitioners could design for a sustainable world:
- Design products that won’t be thrown away because they are unusable.
- Design packaging to be easy to open (compared to hard plastic packaging used for little electronic devices that you may cut yourself on every time you try to open them)
- Design packaging to be reused or recycled.
- Design online forms that work; creating a major shift from filling paper forms to online forms.
The following video shows how a common public area could be modified to influence human behaviours in a way to help people make better decisions (unconsciously) for their health.
References: World Usability Day 2009 Usability Informs Sustainable Design for Consumers
I love this video! Thanks for sharing this “Fun theory”
Amazing. Spread the idea!
Video is fun too, altough you get the perception of a higher increase than the stated 66%. Does the novelty wear off after a week? There has to be cheaper alternatives, which you could change periodically to keep the fun alive.
Thanks, I’m spreading the idea : - )
Good question, I didn’t find any information pertaining to how long the novelty last. The piano stairs are a good start, but as you mentioned, we need cheaper (money, time, energy) ways to keep the fun alive.