Designing for work in a post-pandemic world
How designers are shaping what we do
The world of work is changing fast. Gain insight into new work experiences, informed by interaction design.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many of us to adapt to new ways of working. As we each navigate the pitfalls and pluses of home-working, it has also brought new challenges for businesses. How do we maintain collaboration and communication amongst our teams? How do we provide well-designed tools, processes and resources to enable employees to work effectively from home or on-the-move? What will ‘work’ look like in the future?
Some of our speakers at Interaction Week are helping design new work experiences, and these are questions they are tackling at Interaction 23 in Zürich.
The pandemic and subsequent changes in how we work are not the sole drivers of change. Other factors, like the digital revolution and business and societal changes, also have an impact. The current transformations in the way we work offer us the chance to redefine how we organize, work and collaborate within and across organizations.
Interaction design has a key role in shaping these new work experiences. Over four talks and several workshops during the conference, we’ll take a deep dive into some fascinating aspects of this topic.
Here is a selection of some of our must-see talks. Make sure you’re part of the conversation!
Work interactions on the move
What about people who aren’t working in a traditional office — or even a home office — but are on the move? People in industries like air travel, health, and logistics, work in complex, highly regulated environments using digital technologies. We want to think about the ways context and place influence how we work and interact with technologies and the people around us.
Pontus Wärnstahl, Service Designer and professor at Halmstad University, will speak about designing Human-Machine collaborations in an Emergency room.
Kirstin Medin from Gulfstream Aerospace will show how to cope as an interaction designer with the many changes in a highly connected and regulated industry like air travel. From the evolving role and increasing diversity of the end-user to the need to design out some ambiguity from the system, this talk will be fascinating.
Nurie Joeng and Julian Silver, User Experience Experts from ScandIT, will discuss how to design for people working on the go in an industry environment, where articulating specific needs is often difficult and assumptions can’t simply be tested beforehand.
We will finish the session with a discussion on how to design for work environments with many dependencies and where the physical context is crucial.
New work and collaboration
Designing new ways of working and collaborating is not just about a single interaction with a tool. It’s about creating new experiences. Most of us spend about one-third of our lives at work, so changing the way we do it has far-reaching transformational potential.
The tools we use for work are major drivers of change. Jack Holmes, an independent User Experience Researcher, will share insights from his recent design projects and explain how we can shift our current ways of designing tools towards methods that actually transform the way we work.
Paula Pascolini, UX lead at Flux IT, will broaden the scope to show how Flux created a virtual first work experience during the pandemic. She shows how they had to (re)design and (re)define not just the digital tools but also the work and collaboration dynamics between people, groups, and departments.
The final talk, from Tiia Leppänen, lead designer at Nordcloud, will focus on a specific group of employees: Developers. Many of us work with developers, but Tiia explores how we can create a great experience for them. How can we use our design approaches to improve the work experiences of developers? What are their pain points at work, and how can we create common technical, social, and community solutions to resolve these issues?
Design Enterprise systems
You may have encountered larger enterprise systems like SAP ServiceNow and Salesforce — and, like many interaction designers, you might not be the biggest fan. Do you find them rigid, complex, and driven by a process mindset rather than from the user’s perspective? Not anymore. This session will show you how these platforms are changing for the better.
Troy Azmoon, Design VP at ServiceNow, shows us how they redesigned the UI of their platform, creating a new experience for users. He will show how they made the right product and experience trade-offs to ensure success.
Shir Zalzberg-Gino, Senior UX Manager at Salesforce, will delve into the background story of how they launched a new project in one of the biggest, heaviest enterprises in the world while reducing complexity and clutter and promoting good user experience. Something that feels like finding a needle in a large haystack.
Anu Jain, design manager at DBS Bank Singapore, will add to the discussion with her perspective on designing best-in-class employee experiences that go across one enterprise system. Using her bank as an example she will demonstrate how we as designers can move beyond a focus on customer experiences to incorporate employee experiences in our own companies.
Design people management
First the pandemic and now layoffs at large digital companies. According to Russ Unger, Experience Design leader, and co-author of LiftOff!, we live in turbulent times with many less-than-ideal situations occurring during hiring and onboarding. Like a lack of communication with prospecting candidates, missed opportunities to integrate new employees well into existing teams, or unfriendly layoffs where long-term employees are suddenly cut off from company networks. For how to mentor teams in enterprises, head on over to Peter Boersma, DesignOps Consultant, who’ll talk on the many ways designOps supports design teams. This session will be especially for those of you seeking new ways to improve your leadership practice.
The broader view: co-operatives, passions, and shaping modern work models
Beyond the above talks shining a spotlight on new work experiences, we’ve dedicated a keynote to the topic. Trebor Scholz will explore the concept of platform cooperatives as an alternative to the gig economy. Platform cooperatives prioritize the well-being of workers and communities, offering better protections and benefits compared to traditional gig economy jobs.
Trebor will provide examples of platform co-ops in various sectors such as mobility, care, and delivery, and show how Drivers Co-op in NYC is a prime example of worker self-management in contrast to traditional businesses. He will highlight how platform cooperatives can play a role in creating a more equitable and sustainable digital future, especially in the global south, by combining the benefits of digital platforms with cooperative principles.
Do you love being a designer? How do we stay inspired and engaged? UX Designer, Experience Strategist, and Design Lead Hertje Brodersen shows how the pandemic offers a chance to reassess the expectations and boundaries of being a designer. She talks about how the identity of “Designer” carries a reputation for creativity and self-expression, but also comes with the pressure to constantly find meaning and fulfillment in work. While design work can be rewarding and fulfilling, the idea of it as a lifelong passion project may lead to unrealistic expectations and unhealthy work-life balances. Hertje encourages designers to examine their motivations and goals for their careers, finding ways to maintain balance and sustain their love for design.
Andre Jay Meissner, Audrey Liehn, and Jason Mesut kickstarted a debate on modern work models (MWM) within the design profession, resulting in IxDA’s first globally distributed workshop. The MWM workshop was already run by IxDA Local Groups in cities as far-flung as Atlanta, Berlin, Lausanne, London, Vancouver, and Zürich. At Interaction Week, IxDA Local Leaders are going to discuss the next steps for MWM at the Local Leaders Retreat. As part of IxDA Moments at the main conference, everyone will learn about the first results, and ways to weigh into the discussion.
You can make the future of work, work
As designers, we have the unique skills to imagine and develop new work experiences that address the complexities of modern life. These talks will encourage us all to take an active role in driving positive change and bringing innovative solutions to the table. We live in unpredictable times — join our conversation as we take on the challenge of designing the undefined for the future.
Michael is a seasoned Senior UX architect at Abraxas Tax. He leads the design and development process and works towards fostering collaboration with various roles to maintain a user-centered approach. He is responsible for establishing design systems that create a comprehensive user experience foundation and enable analysts and product managers to approach complex topics through design methods. With his experience and expertise, he strives to continuously improve and enhance the user experience.
Daniel leads the user experience service at the Swiss Federal Railway Company SBB. His main areas of interest include future customer experiences, flexible and mobile work, designing work environments, and the use of communication and collaboration technologies. He writes for a range of groups, including the Business & Design Collective.
Daniel and Mike are members of the Interaction 23 program team.
