How to be More Human

Designing products that put humans first means taking a step back to really understand what we need. Often, what we need and what we want are two very different things.

Technology is convenient, fast, efficient, there’s no doubt about it. It also interferes with our lives and changes our behaviour. Think about it, when an entire family (sitting in the same room) would rather text than talk to one another, you know there’s a problem.

So, what do we need? Well, it’s unlikely that to survive as a human you’ll need ‘more likes, followers, smartphones and chargers’.

According to Abraham Maslow (psychologist and fellow human), we have a ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. Once you realise that your basic human needs are incredibly minimal, you’ll be able to live a more ‘human’ existence.

We’ve listed the things you really need below, starting with the first step, meeting basic physical needs:

• Air: It sounds obvious but breathing in clean air is something a lot of people aren’t able to do due to their environments. Make sure you look after your lungs. Smoking, vaping, cycling through smog without a mask and other activities which don’t involve breathing clean air should probably be avoided where possible.
• Food: We don’t mean the fast kind covered in grease, salt and sugar either. We mean food which is…