Brainstorm: 35Thursday, 09 July 2015By. Francis Pedraza

“The Devil’s In The Defaults!”

— What would happen if we changed all the defaults?

I once heard Scott Belsky say “the devil is in the defaults!” Which is thought-provoking advice to give a designer.

For example, I pay for Right Inbox so I can have a “Send Later” feature on my Gmail. I recently thought — wouldn’t it be nice to have “Send Later” as the default, and “Send” as the alternate? I rarely need a message to go to a recipient right away. Instant communication trains people that I am always available.

Think about the products in your life.

? What defaults shape your experience?
? What defaults train you or others to behave a certain way?
? Can you imagine what would happen if those defaults were different?

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