Presentation from 2016 AIGA Design Educator's Community Nuts+Bolts Conference.

1. Designing
digital
experiences
in 2020
Nuts+Bolts
15 JUNE 2016
Aaron Ganci
Assistant Professor of VCD
Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI
This fall, incoming freshman design students will graduate in 2020.As design educators,
we need to understand the technological landscape they will enter when they graduate. In
this presentation, I will suggest some necessary new competencies for this context.

2. GanciNuts+Bolts 2
An increasing number
of our graduates will
work exclusively in
digital media.
It’s reasonable to assume that, over the next few years, a majority of design
students will work exclusively in the digital space. Many design programs
are not set up to accommodate this idea.

3. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:AmyWebb https://www.roberthalf.com/creativegroup/blog/futurist-amy-webbs-predictions-on-where-the-creative-industry-is-headed
References to “digital” anything in Designer of 2015
3. Broad understanding of issues related to the cognitive, social, cultural,
technological and economic contexts for design
5. Understanding of and ability to utilize tools and technology.
8. Understanding of how systems behave and aspects that contribute to
sustainable products, strategies and practices
3
AIGA’s Designer of 2015 was very helpful in advancing the core competencies of modern
designers. However, it lacks detail about designing within digital contexts. I am going to
propose supplements to the Designer of 2015 to reflect our student’s professional realities.

4. GanciNuts+Bolts
Research sources
Literature review (link at the end)
Interviews with professionals
Survey with professionals (ongoing)
Personal industrial experience
4
The suggestions I will make is based on research findings from a variety of methods.

5. GanciNuts+Bolts 5
ONE
THE
FUTURE
TWO
Tech
Trends
THREE
Design
ABILITY
I will divide the discussion down into three sections. First, I’ll discuss the concept of“The
Future”. Next, I’ll look at trends in technology that will likely be widely available in the near-
future. Lastly, I’ll describe design competencies that will be necessary moving forward.

6. GanciNuts+Bolts
THE
FUTURE
6
ONE
First, a disclaimer about“The Future.”Many of the principles and practices we use today
will still be around in 4 years. I want to quickly address some common perspectives on our
technological future to provide context for my suggestions later.

7. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: PewResearchCenter;DigitalLifein2025 http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/03/11/digital-life-in-2025/
By 2025, “experts predict the
Internet will become ‘like
electricity’ — less visible, yet
more deeply embedded in
people’s lives for good and ill.”
7
Technology has been evolving quickly but, if experts are right, we are just around the corner
from radically different interactions with technology. Digital experiences will define our
existence in many ways, and we need to start giving them deep consideration as designers.

8. GanciNuts+Bolts
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
2020
8
There is nothing special about the year 2020. It is convenient because it’s the youngest
graduating class we have today. However, based on what I’ll discuss below, I think you’ll see
that designers in 4 or 5 years will be facing fundamentally different contexts.

9. GanciNuts+Bolts
Experiences
not
artifacts
9
Clarification:
Let me make an aside and clarify that, when I talk about designing in 2020, I’m discussing
the act of designing broader‘experiences’that are enabled by technology, not just artifacts
(website, apps, etc.).The design of isolated artifacts is already tapering off.

10. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: WordPress https://wordpress.org/themes/browse/popular/
Installs of Top 5 themes on WordPress
3,100,000+
10
For an example of demise of individual artifacts in the digital space, just look at the massive
number of ready-made artifacts in use today.The top 5 themes on WordPress are being
used by over 3 million websites. Innovation in web design now includes only a select few.

11. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: http://www.wix.com/about/us
Wix users, worldwide
85,000,000
11
Even more damning are the number of people using out-of-the-box web design services like
Wix and Squarespace.There’s not much opportunity for students to thrive as designers of
individual digital artifacts.That space is saturated with low-cost, good-enough templates.

12. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: http://www.wix.com/about/us 12
Wix is even developing an Artificial Design Intelligence that will completely remove the need
for a designer.

13. GanciNuts+Bolts
Digital Experiences
An experience, either physical or digital, that
facilitated or enhanced by digital technology.
These have…
A goal-driven process
A defined flow of action
Interdependent steps or artifacts
13
So artifact design is not a viable path. In the future, designers need to focus on bigger, more
complex problems that can be solved with digital technology. It may still involve artifact
design but only as means to address a bigger experience (ex:“the experience of voting”)

14. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/02/22/this-mark-zuckerberg-picture-could-show-our-terrifying-dystopian/
“our terrifying dystopian future”
14
Digital experiences often get a bad reputation as being creepy, intrusive, or sad
replacements for analog experiences.This picture of a room full of Oculus users, ignorant
of their proximity to Mark Zuckerberg is often used to exemplify this idea.

15. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: DroneAviary:https://vimeo.com/124292043 15
A technology enabled future is a scary place for a lot of people.A world where everyone is
being observed and identified is within the realm of possibility. Designers will be critical as
we move into these realities to make sure we’re designing in a people-centered way.

16. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://www.flashforwardpod.com/ 16
If you’re interested in hearing more dystopia future scenarios, I recommend the podcast
Flash Forward.They are very good at describing futures that might come to exist.

17. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:AmyWebb https://www.roberthalf.com/creativegroup/blog/futurist-amy-webbs-predictions-on-where-the-creative-industry-is-headed
Digital Experiences
automation experience designer
human-machine persona designer
augmented reality designer
neural virtual experience designer
wearables (tattooables,
injectables, earables) designer
avatar designer
human tissue and organ designer
drone experience designer
gesture control designer
chief experience officer
real-time 3D designer
metaverse UX designer
17
Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about how a designer’s role might change in this
new world. Extreme suggestions are being made.These titles reflect distant-future realities.
I am more concerned with the near-future.

18. GanciNuts+Bolts 18
New Digital
Products
Business
Feasibility
Design
User
Engineering
Technology
The near-future will bring real problems about how to integrate technology further into our
lives. Designers, as one piece of the‘digital product triad’need to have a clear, confident
voice.As the voice of real-people, designers need tools to plan for these environments.

19. GanciNuts+Bolts
TECH
TRENDS
19
TWO
Next, I want to quickly discuss the landscape of near-future technology. It is helpful if we’re
all aware of the technology that will likely be commercially available in the coming years.

20. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: 20
UbiquitousAutonomous
Powerful Personal
Technology is rapidly becoming more…
This new technology can be categorized into four general categories.

21. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://datatalk.co/communications/fibre-optic-cable-solutions/and ISPspeedinfofromAkamai.
Powerful
21
gigabit
Connections
Perhaps most importantly, our Internet connection speeds will increase dramatically.The
proliferation of gigabit connection (1GB/s download speeds) will fundamentally change
how we use the Internet. Image what you could do if you no longer have to consider file size
or connection speed.We will be able to share and communicate in unprecedented ways.

22. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: PewResearchCenter;DigitalLifein2025 http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/03/11/digital-life-in-2025/
“Most people are not yet noticing
the profound changes today’s
communications networks are already
bringing about; these networks will be
even more disruptive in the future.”
22
Powerful
The amount of information on the web and our ability to process it increase exponentially.
In Q3 of 2015, US has average 12.6mbps in US. only 24% of US has over 15mbps.As a
culture, we really have no concept of what universal gigabit connections are capable of.

23. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://blogs-images.forbes.com/jacobmorgan/files/2014/05/libelium_smart_world_infographic_big.png
Powerful Ubiquitous
23
Those connection speeds will enable us to connect anything and everything onto the
network.This idea is commonly referred to as the‘Internet of Things.’Communication and
connection will be ubiquitous in this environment.

24. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:Amazon 24
Ubiquitous
Connections we think are silly today will likely be commonplace at some point
in the future.Why would we want‘smart’pants? We don’t know yet, but the
technology will be there for us to use.

25. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:Amazon
autonomous Ubiquitous
25
Artificial Intelligence and ubiquitous observation are also on the rise.Amazon’s Echo
products listen all the time and intelligently parse requests to complete tasks. Even passive
tech users today have likely used this tech. It will only get better moving forward.

26. GanciNuts+Bolts orig08.deviantart.net/66e5/f/2015/271/4/0/slackbot_is_life__slackbot_is_love_by_grayotic-d9b7chr.png
AUTOnomous
26
If you use Slack, you get a glimpse of the power of Artificial Intelligence via Slackbot.
However, these implementations are still very limited.This technology naturally gets smarter
over time. In 2020, we could have highly intelligent AI.

27. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:https://dribbble.com/prokhoda
AUTOnomous
27
Lately, we’ve seen a rise in AI-augmented chat bots.An important thing to note here is that
the only real design activity when making these apps is planning the voice of the bot and the
script of what they say.Almost no visual design is required.

28. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/health/explainer/whats-next-best-thing-wearable-tech
Powerful Personal
28
Virtual reality is another burgeoning area. Its perhaps the most under-defined at this point
but it seems to be a focus of a lot of large tech companies.Will all the money that is being
spent in the area, we are sure to see use of it eventually.

29. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:https://vr.google.com/daydream/
Personal
29
In virtual environments, the design possibilities literally become
limitless.They also deal with multi-dimensionality.

30. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://hellowynd.com/
Personal
30
Wearable tech is also a hot topic right now.As computers get smaller and faster, we will be
able to use them for more pressing problems than step-counting.Wynd is a wearable that
helps people with asthma understand the air quality around them.

31. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:Teradeep:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wXHR-lad-Q 31
Powerful autonomous
“Deep learning”or machine learning is also on the rise and will help computers do very
complicated processes on-the-fly. Google photos does this to comprehend the content of
your photo on its own.The video above does the same thing with real-time video.

32. GanciNuts+Bolts 32
UbiquitousAutonomous
Powerful Personal
Again, to recap, I see advancement of near-future technology being defined by four
characteristic categories.These characteristics inform the way that designer approach
designing for and with them.

33. GanciNuts+Bolts
DESIGN
ABILITY
33
Three
Now that we see what technology is coming, let’s discuss how we can approach designing in
this future environment.

34. GanciNuts+Bolts
FORM Approach
34
I see these technologies effecting design activity in two ways: in the way we approach form-
making and in our methodological approach to problem solving. Designers will have to be
prepared in both of these areas.

35. GanciNuts+Bolts
FORM Approach
35
First, let’s discuss form-making .

36. GanciNuts+Bolts
FORM / ONE
Manage a wider range
of elements, including
the non-visual, into a
design solution.
36
I’ll start with the idea that designers need to be able to incorporate a wider range of tools in
their arsenal.A‘good’solution not be dependent of good visual design and may not even be
visual at all.

37. GanciNuts+Bolts 37
For example, chatbots and other AI interactions are driven primarily by their voice,
demeanor, and logic flow. Services like Siri and Echo don’t involve visual design at all in their
primary workflow. It’s all driven by voice conversations.

38. GanciNuts+Bolts 38Source:http://www.heineken.com/us/Cities/Subway-Symphony/Making-of-a-Melody
Sound is becoming an option as a way to inform experience.James Murphy’s
Subway Symphony is a good example of the use of sound alone to improve an
interaction/UX solution.

39. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:https://developer.leapmotion.com/gallery/leap-motion-philips-hue 39
And, as there are more sensors around us, we will be able to use implicit action rather than
the explicit interaction we are limited to today. Understanding movement and the vocabulary
of motion will become critical within embodied interactions.

40. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:
Potential non-visual skills
Copywriting
Communication theory
Acting
Character building
Sound design
40
The formal qualities of the examples above have very little to do with traditional visual
design element and principles. Design students have to get ready to work in these non-visual
environments. Here are some unconventional skills they might find useful.

41. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: 41
FORM / TWO
Get comfortable with
new dimensions.
3-D and 4-D (motion).
The second area within form-making deals with dimensionality. Designers are increasingly
dealing with problem spaces that involves solutions‘beyond the screen.’

42. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://www.phreesia.com/overview/ 42
Many digital experiences involve not only what happens on the screen, but also physical
hardware or the environment around the screen. Here’s an example of a check-in system for
doctor’s offices.The physical part of this is just as important as what’s on the screen.

43. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us 43
In virtual reality environments, interactions are completely three-dimensional.
Considerations have to be made about 3D form and movement in these worlds.

44. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2461037,00.asp 44
And, similar to virtual reality, augmented reality, or projecting information on top of the real
world, involves a similar understanding of depth and motion.

45. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:
Potential multi-dimensional skills
Digital 3-D rendering
Analog 3-D rendering (sculpture/set design)
3-D printing
Motion design
Animation
Human factors/ergonomics
45
To thrive in these environments, designers need to become versed in working within multiple
dimensions. Our days of designing for a relatively static and flat canvas are numbered.

46. GanciNuts+Bolts
ApproachFORMForm
46
On to‘Approach.’As I just showed, there are clear ways in which designers will have to evolve
as form makers (the forms they are making are evolving). However, there are also some ways
in which we will need to alter our approach.

47. GanciNuts+Bolts 47
APPROACH / ONE
Get comfortable
with uncertainty.
Dealing with uncertainty is going to be a big one. Designers are finally becoming able to tap
into the natural flexibility of digital platforms.We are no longer tied down to one‘perfect’
design solution. Design solutions could be tailored to each viewer depending on their context.

48. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:https://www.affordablewebdesign.com/benefits-of-responsive-web-design/ 48
We see hints of this already with Responsive Web Design. In this environment, a layout is
customized based on the physical size of the screen that is displaying it.You can easily
extrapolate this to involve more advanced design elements and contexts.

49. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://s3.amazonaws.com/digitaltrends-uploads-prod/2013/03/google-now-screenshots2.jpg 49
Google Now does this to some degree as well.The app/phone is context aware (location/
time/etc) and predicts what widgets you see first based on that context.You see only the
information that is relevant at just the right time.

50. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:BradFrost;http://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com/chapter-2/ 50
To design in this world, we need to get better with design systems instead of a design
solution.Atomic Design provides a good starting point to create a design system.With this
approach, we can determine rules for when content gets formatted in specific ways.

51. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:
Potential uncertainty-management skills
Understand big data
Responsive/Adaptive design
Systems-level design
51
The uncertainty of dynamic environments seems overwhelming because we seemingly
lose control over our designs. But it can introduce much better solutions once we learn to
navigate its complexity.We may eventually be able to customize a design for every person!

52. GanciNuts+Bolts 52
APPROACH / TWO
Become familiar with
the ethics of privacy.
As technology become more pervasive (and it will whether we like it or not), designers really
need to focus on privacy as a design element.

53. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:Nest 53
As the voice of the user, designers need to understand when to emphasize (or de-emphasize)
privacy within our products.We need to advocate for the user whenever possible.The
ramifications of pervasive technology can be great.

54. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/18/11688376/google-home-speaker-announced-virtual-assistant-io-2016 54
We are quickly approaching a time when most of the things around us are listening to us or
watching us all the time.This can facilitate great interaction but can also be scary for some
users and detrimental if in the wrong hands.

55. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:
Potential privacy-focused competencies
Understand how private data is collected
Advocate for user privacy
Enable users to control privacy settings
55
Students should spend time thinking about and discussing the implications of privacy.

56. GanciNuts+Bolts 56
APPROACH / THREE
Appreciate the
importance of the
experience as part of
someone’s life.
As digital technology continues to become deeply embedded into our lives, designers need
to consider how to leverage it in truly meaningful ways. Digital experiences are quickly
broadening beyond basic software that we use to check the weather or send pictures.

57. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:Nest 57
We are quickly approaching a time when we can use technology to enhance our lives like
never before. Consider the importance of products like Owlet that unobtrusively monitor a
baby’s vital signs while they sleep.

58. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?id=10.5051/jpis.2015.45.1.1 58
80% of medical data in
hospitals will soon be
obtained using wearable
device.
“Health Technology in Perspective” by Tae-Il Kim
Or that, in the near-future a lot of medical data is going to be collected by products we wear
all the time.These are serious experiences that the very real consequences.

59. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:http://guardianlv.com/2014/06/google-glass-used-during-surgery/ 59
Think about the very real improvements that augmented reality (via future products in the
vein of Google Glass) can have for factory machinists or surgeons. Seeing real-time analysis
of activity could dramatically enhance their performance.

60. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/miscellaneous/cb12-134.html 60
56.7 million Americans
have a disability.*
That’s nearly 20%
of the population.
*Number from 2010 census
Technology also enables us to augment the lives of persons with disabilities in new, exciting
ways.As a field, we do a really bad job of designing towards people with disabilities.

61. GanciNuts+Bolts Source:
Potential value-recognition competencies
Evaluative research strategies
Transdisciplinary Collaboration
Psychology
Empathy
Modesty
Craft
61
Designing digital experiences should no longer defined by simply making an app, website,
or eMagazine.As designers, we need to consider the awesome potential that these tools
facilitate and think about how design and technology, together, can make a real difference.

62. GanciNuts+Bolts 62
The [Digital] Designer of 2020 needs to be able to…
1. Demonstrate a robust knowledge of technology that can enhance or
enable digital experiences.
2. Solve communication problems with a wide range of visual and non-visual elements.
3. Work and prototype comfortably in 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D environments.
4. Create designs that are able respond to specific contexts.
5. Manage issues of privacy and recognize its relevance in distinct contexts.
6. Discuss the importance of digital experiences in people’s lives.
7. Seek challenging design problems that can radically change someone’s life.
So, to summarize, I have converted these areas of focus into tangible learning outcomes
that we start using in our courses.While these are very domain-specific (meaning digital), I
submit that they would be useful additions Designer of 2015 moving forward.

63. GanciNuts+Bolts Source: 63
Thank
you
Aaron Ganci
Assistant Professor of VCD / Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI
@amganci / aganci@iupui.edu
ganci.co/nutsbolts
I hope that, by surfacing the conversation now, we can be a leading voice in the creation of
next-generation digital experiences.