The Round Walls of UX
This story was “downloaded” into my mind from some higher realms back in the day, shortly after the company I worked at had moved into a new office. With the office moves, it’s usually very uncomfortable to break away from the cozy nest in the familiar space and trade it for the uncertainty of a new office. But then it’s getting better, one good thing pulls another good thing, and you like the new environment more and more.
Anyway, my starting “like” point about this new office were the circular-shaped walls, reminiscent of the medieval castles and their aura of romanticism, and that was enough for a start. Then I discovered that the round walls are not only about the ethereal romanticism. They have a practical purpose, because they somehow hold a harmonious creative space. It feels better working in the rounded space than in the rectangular one. Try it some day, if you get a chance, and you’ll see what I mean.
What is it about those round walls that makes them that special, anyway? In spring, when we just moved in, the sun was travelling along the lower ecliptic, and the first spring rays were more welcomed, than hated, because everyone likes the warmth of the sun after cold winters. Then, closer to summer, the sun’s trajectory relocated higher in the sky, and the circular shape of the building made it harder for the scorching heat to get inside. I’m not sure if the architects of this building knew about the feng shui guiding principle, according to which, circular wall shapes are more harmonious for the well-being and creative energy than the rectangular walls, but there’s one thing I know for sure. The architects must have had some hard times reconciling their vision with the construction team because — in terms of construction — it’s harder to build a circular-shaped high tower. Construction guys generally do not like the round shapes. They hate them. If you tell a construction engineer that they are supposed to deal with anything circular — and I remember a sour face of the guy who did renovations for my condo when he first saw the rounded corners in the rooms :) — to them, it means more headache, and they will try to avoid this headache with all they can. Engineers just see things differently, as compared to people who are supposed to feel good working or living in that building, because they focus on the challenges, or even pains, that the circular shapes are adding to their work e.g. how do they implement the supports, how do they have them stabilized, etc.
If you’ve been involved in designing and/or implementing a software system, you might have had a similar experience. Software developers switch to the engineering-only MO as they get “soaped up” in the technical part and become oblivious to such ethereal things as joy, harmony, and smooth flows.
Here’s an example: database-related decisions. It’s very annoying for users to experience the delayed load times, but there can be some intrinsic reasons that make developers ignore this inconvenience. Well, the difference is obvious. Software systems generally do not have such long lives as buildings. Stakeholders have to weigh the odds of spending more time to optimize database load times with their considerations for the future. Meaning, what if they have in mind the newer and the better version of the same system? It makes no sense then to hone the old system that would be sunset soon. But we still need to keep the awareness, as we engineer software solutions, that software systems are for people. It does take some decision-making skills to find the balance between the human-related part and the programming-related part, and it’s not even about the usual programmers vs. designers so called “holy wars”.
For any system you’re developing, or designing, keep in mind the round walls of UX. Your solution has got to accommodate them, because if people like a building, or a software system, they will be delighted to spend more of their time with it (or in it). The development costs might be higher, and it might take more time. But if people like what you’ve done for them, if they feel comfortable and harmonious in the figurative round walls feng shui of your software or app, there’s a better chance they’d become your devoted customers and bring along still more.
Related:
Why People Are Reluctant to Upgrade
UX: Why User Vision Design Matters
This story is based on an earlier article.
