Mind Reading Design
Did you know that, on average, we make 35,000 conscious decisions each day?
In fact, new technologies have increased the number of daily choices we make. So, it is no wonder that we suffer from ‘decision fatigue’ — the idea that the more decisions we make, the less rational they become.
This is where anticipatory design can help, by simplifying the decision-making process and reducing unnecessary complexities.
What is anticipatory design?
Aaron Shapiro from Huge defines anticipatory design as a method of simplifying processes by responding to needs one step ahead of the user’s decisions.
It is about creating delightful user experiences by understanding user needs and eliminating needless choices. From a UX design perspective, anticipatory design forces us to move away from the traditional methodology of creating a product in the way that you want visitors to interact with it and, instead, creating an experience, based on how they want to use your product.
Anticipatory design creates delightful experiences
Why?
According to George Kingsley Zipf’s “Principle of Least Amount of Effort”, people will naturally choose the path of least resistance. By reducing the amount of effort required to make decisions and complete tasks, anticipatory design helps users become more efficient decision makers, thus adding immediate value to their lives.
Uber has tapped into this need whereby, when you take a trip somewhere it will provide a return button on a subsequent launch of the app because there is a high likelihood you would want to return to your original destination.
“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.” — John Dewey.
Anticipatory design taps into our desire to feel important — for example, when someone (or something) recognises you, remembers your needs and then, based upon your preferences, proceeds to deliver a bespoke and memorable experience — you’d likely feel you’re getting rock star treatment!
Not only does the Starbucks App remember my preferred ‘grande soy Latte’ order and my usual store but, when I pick up my coffee, the barista knows who I am and immediately hands me my coffee. I feel ‘important’ (if only for a second!) but this idea of the barista ‘anticipating’ my arrival so I don’t have to trawl through the endless number of coffee cups to find mine, ensures I keep returning for my daily caffeine hit!
Why now?
While not a recent development, anticipatory design is topical and being integrated more and more. This is largely because developments in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence allow us to gather even more detailed information on each user’s habits and preferences. Thus, by creating a rich user profile, we are better equipped to anticipate (and understand) user needs and decisions, thus enabling us to deliver delightful and simplified experiences at a whole new level.
Personalization vs anticipatory design
Do not get personalization confused with anticipatory design! Anticipatory design goes way beyond personalization. The key difference is that, with anticipatory design, the interface actually changes in real-time in line with your interactions with it.
Netflix recommends you similar content based on your viewing preferences and history. This is personalization.
Google Smart Compose is an example of anticipatory design. The email UI is constantly changing, based on the user’s input. Depending upon the subject of the email, it understands what the user is trying to convey and their tone of voice to auto suggest relevant content (and eliminate extraneous information) thereby simplifying the email authoring experience.
But with great power comes great responsibility…
Anticipatory design can only truly add value to users’ lives if it has a comprehensive understanding of their behaviours and needs. But, to do so, means gathering a lot of personal data and information for each user — which raises concerns around data protection and the storage of personal information.
As an example, Google is at the forefront of anticipatory technology, but its products and services rely heavily on data to drive it. So, while anticipatory design can add a lot of convenience and value to our lives, nothing ever comes for free. It is about striking a delicate balance between providing valuable and delightful experiences while, at the same time, collecting the information needed to drive these technologies. The reality is that you can’t have one without the other.
If you’d like to learn more
The Next Big Thing In Design? Less Choice? — by Aaron Shapiro
The Power and Risks of Anticipatory Design — by Joël van Bodegraven
Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? — by John Tierney
What You Need To Know About Anticipatory Design — Laura Busche
Anticipatory Design — by Aaron Shapiro (video)
The Psychology of Anticipatory Design — by Yogesh Moorjani
