11 Ways to Design ‘Smart’ Products That Will Live Beyond Tomorrow
A letter from an imaginary teenager in 2030, with 11 pointers to help design better connected toys, kitchens and fitness trackers, today.
My name’s Ayomé, and, before you ask — no, you definitely don’t know me. That’s because I haven’t been born yet.
But in 15 years, I’ll be one of hundreds of millions of people starting to pick which products and services I want to use.
Everything from my first phone, which sneakers I wear, what makeup I use, what I eat, how I get around, where and how I shop, and what content I watch and interact with.
I’m not so different from a teenager of 2015, I suppose, or any time in the last few decades. I want to hang out and chat with my friends, to be independent, to find my individuality and my place in the world, and to have the right clothes and gadgets to stand out, and fit in.
But the world has changed over the intervening 15 years. Pretty much everything — from clothes and kitchens, through to cars and cities — is hooked up to the internet.
Calling a kitchen ‘connected’ in 2030 is as quaint and redundant as saying a kitchen is ‘electrified’ in 2015.
Right now, I know you’re reading this in 2015. Most connected things are built from the technology down, rather than built up from the needs of the people who’ll use them. At best they’re either a poor replacement for something that works fine, or difficult to use, or worse, useless.
Which is why I have a confession to make: I’m not being completely altruistic writing this letter. I’m hoping that writing this list of principles in 2030, might give you a headstart designing thoughtful, delightful, valuable toys, kitchens, and gadgets, in 2015.
So, here goes:
1.Pull, don’t push.
Respect my attention. Don’t bother me with unnecessary information; it should remain in the periphery of my attention. Let me easily retrieve information when I need it. Try using subtle indicators and gentle hints that are blended into the environment to communicate with me instead of monopolizing my attention.
2.Make it honest. Make it transparent.
When technology is invisible, it takes control away from me. Make it clear to me how your product works, and allow me to understand its behavior. Smart should not mean opaque. Explain how and why the product is making certain decisions.
3.Sell it for life
I am tired of disposable electronics. I care about waste. Don’t bake in a planned expiry date, it’s disrespectful to me and is harmful to the environment. Make your products upgradeable, create systems that don’t die when the hardware becomes outdated. If that is not possible, spend time ensuring new versions of your product are backwards compatible.
4.Be Tinker Friendly
I understand that coding wasn’t part of your early education, for me it was. So let me expand your connected product, bake in custom functionality and make it my own. Give me an open platform and observe what I create, in return I will inspire and guide you to your future product.
5.Remember to make money
I am not your product. I’m happy to pay for your services, just don’t make your money entirely by collecting my data. Locking me in? Not so much. Remind me again the walls that have been built that weren’t subsequently torn down?
6.Protect my privacy
That unreadable privacy statement your lawyers want me to read? Yeah, that’s not going to cut it. Make it clear how my data is being used and why, using simple and straightforward language.
Give me control over which parts I let you store. Only pull the data you need to provide your services. Allow me to clear my data and disappear forever, if I want to.
7.Why bother?
Have a reason for me to introduce your product into my life. Just because you can make a product, it doesn’t mean you should. Good products free up your time to focus on the things that matter to you most, they bring safety or help societies overcome challenges.
8.Secure by default
I shouldn’t have to spend time fiddling with your product’s settings for it to be secure. I understand that there might be a compromise between security and user-friendliness. I trust that you will balance the two, and that you will allow me to fine tune that balance, if I want.
9.Focus on essentials
Stop selling me on added features. Do one thing really well and I’ll be happy. Make it better, instead of replacing it. And, offline isn’t less effective. A smart light bulb should still work without a network connection.
10.Preserve physical interaction
Sure, you can replace a real button with a touch screen, but should you? Remember, we humans have spent years figuring out how physical things work. We can touch, grab, feel textures and manipulate things with our hands. Don’t reduce our experience to stale swipes on glass surfaces.
11.Keep me honest
It’s easy for me to blame your product for a decision it took in the name of efficiency. Yes, control fades with convenience, but that takes away my responsibility to the environment, and to other people. Give me enough control, or agency, so I’m accountable for my actions.
That’s it. I hope it helps. If you’re in a bind when creating your new products, perhaps you can refer back to this letter, and think of me.
You’re welcome, Ayome
Illustrator: Will Brown
Content Contributors: Samer Nakfour, Ed White, Franziska Mayer, Will Brown
