I’ll try to handle this as tactfully as possible …

Out of the blue one day, a friend of mine declared – with index finger extended – “isn’t it amazing how your finger fits perfectly in your nose?”.  Uh, well, sure.  Not that I’ve ever tried it, of course =).  Finger-in-nose activities aside, he’s right.  I had never thought about that before.  This divine design is no accident.  It’s only until you break your finger and it swells up or you have a splint on it that you notice how perfectly it was *designed* in the first place.

The same holds true for web or interaction design – or any design for that matter.  We walk through doors every day, but we don’t realize how well most doors are designed until we pull on a door that should be pushed, because it had a handle on it (which affords pulling).  As user experience architects, our designs probably won’t ever earn outward praise from users, because ‘good’ simply means it works as it should – seamlessly and to the users’ expectations.  There’s also never one *right way* to design something.  It’s only when something doesn’t work (or something breaks) that design gets noticed.

So, the next time you pull on that push door, or you can’t figure out which way to go at the airport then stop and think about why the design is broken, and what could be done to make it better.

I’m speechless.

I honestly don’t know where to begin. I’m afraid I might get carpal tunnel syndrome from typing up all the usability issues on this website.

http://www.levi.com.sg/copper/index.html

Enjoy.  Comments are more than welcome.  I’d love to start a dialogue about this.

P.S. No offense is meant to the Levi’s brand or the team who built it, but a lively discussion on the blend between creativity and usability is certainly warranted.

For months now we’ve been ramping up on Second Life (and other virtual worlds) to explore its full offerings and potential. We have our own SL island (Spunlogic Island), are starting to build environments for client projects, and are even conducting some experiments. It’s taken a lot of work and playing around to get to the point where we have felt comfortable enough to educate people on this phenomenon, especially how it can relate to an interactive marketing plan.

So, you are asking yourself, “Self, how do I get up to speed on SL just like those Spunlogicians?”. A simple Google search will yield you more than you bargained for if you’re just looking to find out the basics… and the Official Second Life Handbook will cost you $20+ from Amazon. You could always log in and experiment for yourself, but can your first life spare the months of research time?

Assuming none of those were good options, we decided to put a document together that is essentially an overview of virtual worlds like Second Life.  Our “ebook” is an easy read, and less technical than a white paper or user guide. So, for those of you trying to wrap your arms around Second Life and virtual worlds, this ebook might be for you.

So we were brainstorming for a new client the other day, and some of the ideas that came up revolved around asking for user feedback.  One idea was allowing users to vote on new features and another was an ongoing customer feedback poll for regularly changing topics.  Not a boring, generic poll, but something that really made users feel like they were contributing to the growth and success of the company by providing their input.  

We feel these types of ideas are powerful because they tap into the concept of having buy-in.  When you contribute to the success of something, you take pride and are more motivated and loyal.  You now have a vested interest.

This is the same concept as gaining employee buy-in to company goals by having them contribute their own thoughts and opinions.  If an employee feels like they are “part” of the company instead of just doing a job, they are more likely to stay and work hard.

So this got me thinking…why is the concept of “buy-in” or “vested interest” so powerful?  What are the psychological principles driving this phenomena?  I took one of my team members (and avid Spunlogic blogger), Melissa Read, to lunch to explore this more.  I knew Melissa would be good to talk to because we are working on some really cool initiatives right now that involve utilizing time-tested psychological concepts and applying them online.  We brainstormed a little bit and this is what we initially came up with (at least enough for a blog post to start the discussion):

Individualism – There is a strong human need, especially with Americans, to stand out in a crowd and be seen as an individual.  By giving an opportunity to be heard and voice their opinion, you are giving them an outlet to express their unique and personal perspective.  And by providing this outlet to express their individualism, they now have a positive association and a deeper connection with you.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Self-Esteem – By providing input, the company makes them feel like their opinion matters and that they are worth something to you.  This makes them feel good and boosts their self-esteem.  This also creates a positive emotional association with your website and your company.

Classical Conditioning – Now that they have a positive association with your company, when they have future interactions with the company they are going to still have this positive association (even if they don’t know why).  The more positive interactions you have, the more this strengthens this association.

Internal Locus of Control – By providing input, they have a perception of being in control and they feel like they are shaping the future of their own experiences.  This “new and improved” experience is coming in the future and they want to stick around to have it.  If you deliver on their wishes, you will further solidify this relationship and create a solid bond.

These types of psychological principles are at the core of user behavior and we are just scratching the surface of their applications online.