A designer’s love of language. Conversational User Interfaces
Hey, Google.
Hey, Siri.
Hey, Alexa.
It’s not “Hello”, is it? It’s not “Good day”. It’s “Hey.”
Digital products have to become more human in order for us to feel more comfortable around them. The journeys are shorter and the interactions friendlier as we make use of onboarding screens, notifications, suggestions and chat bots. Oh, the opportunities to speak human.
And yet, digital is still behind. Maybe that’s why we use so many tools to explain what a product does. Let me give you an example: in our day to day lives, we don’t say “add to cart” we say “I want this”, “I’m buying this one” or, after a pretty long day, we strongly affirm “I deserve this”.
We use “subscribe” for lack of a (yet) better word. It feels like buying a new bag when you forget yours at home. You don’t really want to but look at all these groceries that can’t be carried. When I come to power, I will create this simple rule: for every newsletter released in the wild, the subscribe form should have a “this is worthy of my inbox” button. Wouldn’t that put some pressure on quality and make you feel proud when you.. urgh.. subscribe.
Oh, and we’d appreciate getting a “heads-up” instead of a “notification”. It takes out the bureaucratic smell out of it.
Although what I do is design, I have a very soft spot for language. I know a good message will be way more comforting to you than a shiny button. Because language is the thing that (still) brings us closer and design has to learn to speak human.
We have created interfaces that imitate the real world: depth, material, light — we’ve considered (almost) all. Our design is now material, fluent, inclusive, repetitive, scalable, responsive, adaptable. We have invented symbols and icons to create breathable space. We’ve changed from skeuomorphic to neumorphic, up and down, round and back again. We’ve made it understandable. Livable. Acceptable. Interesting. Aspiring.
But is it comfortable? Is it reassuring?
There’s beauty in the perfect shape and calm in the right words.
The day you make a great product is when the design speaks to you. When it gives you enough comfort to just be there.
Digital products should encompass both.
Don’t leave empty handed — here are some great examples to understand how other companies think & write:
Mailchimp’s Content Style Guideline
Microsoft’s brand voice: Above all, simple and human
Google Material design — Writing guidelines
Words shape design by Airbnb
The rest is up to you.
