Part 5
Embrace the Revolution
5 Ways to Create Revolutionary Experiences
Read Part 4 of this series here.
“The future is already here. It’s just not very evenly distributed,” said William Gibson, the science-fiction writer who also coined the term ‘cyberspace.’ Technology has grown at such a rapid pace, we have not caught up to it — humans have yet to figure out all of the possible uses for the technology available today.
Technology and UX are changing rapidly everyday. In the graph below, Luke Wroblewski from Google depicts growth of PCs vs Mobile from 1995 to 2013.
The growth of PC’s is nothing compared to rapid growth of mobile. Very few industries have had this type of growth, at this pace. This growth is so apparent, tech’s industry leaders are taking action to try and meet the changing needs of mobile users.
Designing for mobile devices and contextual experiences requires us to completely rethink the way we design. We are no longer designing for squares with predetermined context. We are now creating experiences that span across time and space, the physical and digital. It is no longer acceptable to deliver a product or service that is only available on one device.
Mobile devices offer a different set of capabilities to consider when designing. Inputs are changing — the keyboard and mouse have been enhanced or replaced with voice recognition by Apple, Google and Amazon.
And, new inputs like touch, voice and motion open up opportunities that have never existed before. Leap Motion lets user’s control their devices with the wave of a hand. Microsoft Hololens displays high-definition holograms and allows people to interact with the world in completely new ways.
Google is working on Project Soli, a chip that can detect gestural movement. Allowing users to interact with devices without any interface at all. Google’s Project Jacquard makes it possible to weave touch and gesture technology into any textile seamlessly. The user will not even be able to feel it.
In this world of new (and quickly changing) technology, how will UX and UI design change when screens are obsolete?
In order to survive, we must be agile, adaptive and willing to accept change. We have to look at new technology with a critical eye and embrace it with open arms. Understanding the potential within these new capabilities and weighing them equally with consequences is going to be very important as powerful new technologies take over our world.
Meet The Internet of Things.
The Internet of Things is here and it’s growing even faster than mobile did. This new wave of connected technology consists of home technology (such as Nest and Hue), wearables (such as Up and Flex), wellness devices (such as bathroom scales and blood pressure monitors) and connected cars (such as Google’s or Apple’s self-driving cars). It is expected that we will have over 50 billion connected things by 2020.
This change offers new opportunities for designers while also bringing many new challenges to the table. The IoT is currently in a state of early experimentation. I often refer to it as the internet of broken things, as many devices are overly complex. They do not offer consistent or continuous experiences. They do not communicate.
The most successful IoT experiences like Nest, solve real needs for people.
IoT creates the potential for interactions that are displaced in time and space: configuring things to happen in the future, or remotely. -O’Reilly
In this rapidly changing world it is impossible to define the term ‘mobile,’ a word which common describes many IoT devices. Experts at Google say we soon will be serving ads on refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses and watches. It then becomes not just the Internet of Things, it’s the Internet of Marketing Things.
This experience is not too far from our future. How will the brand experience change when user’s have fully connected lives? How will we protect humans from all of this chaos?
Let’s not make the same mistakes we did before.
When our homes become connected, designers will save us. -Wired
As we create smarter ‘things,’ we’ll have to work even harder to ensure they are designed for humans. We will have to leverage this new technology for the benefit of humanity — not the destruction of it.
So how do we create revolutionary experiences?
Design for people.
Be here now.
Create meaning.
Gain perspective.
& Embrace the revolution.
Because after all, the best way to predict the future is to create it.
This is the conclusion of the series ‘5 Ways to Create Revolutionary Experiences’. Checkout Struck’s Greater Than collection for Parts 1–4.
