You are probably asking yourself: “As a UX designer, can I actually change the world?” Not by yourself – but you can make a positive contribution. The prerequisite is the interdisciplinary cooperation of specialists in operational ergonomics, product designers, developers, and some others. Find out the influence of technologies on our society, how we reduce reservations thanks to human-centred design, and how we use our tools optimally in the “Digital Designer” college to obtain a relationship between human beings and technology that has real added value. Let’s go!

1. 23. June 2021 · Reading time: 12 min.
Let’s save the world—
Democracy, inclusion and self-
determination thanks to UX
design?
You are probably asking yourself: “As a UX designer, can I
actually change the world?” Not by yourself – but you can
make a positive contribution. The prerequisite is the
interdisciplinary cooperation of specialists in operational
ergonomics, product designers, developers, and some others.
Find out the influence of technologies on our society, how we
reduce reservations thanks to human-centred design, and
how we use our tools optimally in the “Digital Designer”
college to obtain a relationship between human beings and
technology that has real added value. Let’s go!
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2. Table of contents
1. Modern technologies—friend or foe?
2. Digital Society—Vision & Opportunities
3. Digital Designers—Architects for the digital society
4. A plea for people and technology that supports us
5. Conclusion
6. Ergosign GmbH—We innovate and create digital experiences
1. Modern Technologies—Friend or Foe?
I am a technology optimist myself. I feel enthusiastic about the idea of a future in which people
and technology form a synergetic unit, and in which technology, thanks to the sensible use
made thereof, contributes to the quality of life and the prosperity of all people on earth. Thus,
in my personal case, I tend to answer: “Friend”. At the same time, I am well aware of the risks.
Hardly any other topic occupies anthropologists, psychologists, and technologists as much as
the influence of artificial intelligence and robots on us as individuals, in our private and in our

3. professional life. And digitisation is also a social maturation process that benefits from the
common discourse. Thus, I consider that my optimistic attitude is a starting point for this
discussion. I look forward to your thoughts about the lines below, which will probably take us a
little closer to the answer to “Friend or foe?”, “WALL-E or Terminator?”.
1.1 75 billion interconnected devices
First of all, let’s get an overview of the background to the recent technology invasion and
potential anchor points for human-centred design. Some technologies are visible to us. The
security camera at the railway station, the mobile phone in your hand or the pedometer on
your wrist. However, there is also a hidden world in which micro-controllers connect
inconspicuous everyday objects to each other and integrate them into digital ecosystems. Just
imagine that a sensor monitors the amount of beans remaining in your coffee maker. If the
sensor reports that the level is low, your favourite bean will then be automatically reordered,
paid for and delivered to your doorstep, taking into account the most favourable price on the
market. This world is called the Internet of Things (IoT). Research institutes such as Statista
assume that we might be surrounded by up to 75 billion intelligent and network-connected
devices by 2025.
1.2 The new intimacy between people and technology
If we look at body-hugging technologies, this trend continues seamlessly. The so-called “Human
Wearable Bionics” expand the cognitive and physical abilities of human beings in a “magical
way”. Bosch recently managed to shrink the technology required for smart data glasses
(https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/news/smartglasses.html) to the size of a stylish eyeglass
temple. Samsung has progressed one step further and holds the technical patent for an AR
(Augmented Reality) contact lens. In the future, you will hardly be able to see with the naked
eye the technical upgrade of the person you are talking to. The fusion of body and technology
creates an almost intimate connection that requires trust and is hardly comparable with today’s
relationship with our smartphones. For this purpose, human-centred design can use empathic
methods to help address both people’s concerns and needs.

4. Source: Bosch-Sensortec (https://www.bosch-sensortec.com/news/smartglasses.html)
1.3 Social acceptance between Hollywood and “YōKai”
The acceptance of technology is also a cultural issue. Hollywood likes to tell the story of killer AI
devices with red laser eyes who decide to wipe out the human parasite. In Far Eastern cultures
like Japan, on the other hand, machines are not considered to be evil. “Artifact spirits”, so-called
Tsukumogamis (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsukumogami), breathe life into everyday objects
and thus become family members. As a result, the faithful vacuum cleaner is ceremonially bid
farewell when its service life is over, and humanoid robots regulate the check-in at the hotel
reception as something absolutely normal. The natural closeness of people and technology is
also evident in how the Japanese care for the elderly. Service robots serve coffee to people in
need of care, therapy robots such as a seal called “Paro” provide emotional warmth and people
who have passed away are “revived” in the form of AI-Chatbots and used in pastoral care or for
people affected with dementia. Japan shows us how beneficial basic social trust seems to be for
technology-based innovations.

5. Robots care for seniors in a Japanese retirement home | Source: Westdeutsche Zeitung
(https://www.wz.de/panorama/roboter-betreuen-senioren-in-einem-japanischen-altenheim_aid-29509043)
Regardless of individual ethical views about holographic AI chatbots from beyond the grave, all
examples give a common message: The latest technology wave has reached such a level in size
and speed that an impact on our society is inevitable. My personal opinion: As digital designers,
we should actively help shape the effects thereof.
2. Digital Society—Vision & Opportunities

6. Symbolic image for smart living spaces of the future using the example of Tencent “Net City” in Shenzhen|
Source: E&T Engineering and Technology (https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2020/06/tencent-to-
build-net-city-in-shenzhen/)
But what could a digital society look like? As a technology optimist, I would like to place the
focus on three positive effects, which I believe we can hope for, and which should inspire you
concerning the influence you can have as a digital designer. I will give you targeted impulses to
expand your methods and toolboxes, to allow us to meet the new challenges with a human-
centred perspective and shape this exciting future vision together.
2.1 Democratisation of technology for greater participation
By definition, democracy is about “participation”. The democratisation of technologies concerns
free access to them for all and the fact that their usability is not reserved for just a few with the
appropriate technological expertise. The triumphant advance of so-called low/no code tools
ensures that no doctorate is required to use artificial intelligence and to control robots.
Complex programmes can be created by means of simple graphical user interfaces using the
drag & drop method.
The democratic moment arises when, thanks to suitable software applications, anybody
interested has the practical opportunity to actively help develop innovations with a social
impact. But there is a challenge not to be underestimated therein: the translation of complex
technical relationships into mental models that are understandable for the general public and
into an intuitive user interface. Sounds again like a job for the digital designer, doesn’t it?

7. 2.2 Digital systems for greater inclusion
If we look at the near future, the challenges in the design of barrier-free systems will go far
beyond today’s regulations such as BITV 2.0 (https://www.gesetze-im-
internet.de/bitv_2_0/BJNR184300011.html), the German Barrier-free Information Technology
Ordinance. The natural communication between the residents and the intelligent-autonomous
infrastructure of a smart city, from transport services to supermarkets, will require the
interaction with all of our senses. Just imagine pointing to a vehicle, giving the voice command
“Book now” and hearing an acoustic confirmation. But what happens if your arm is in a cast or
your hearing is impaired? This example shows that multisensory applications have to be
designed to be extremely robust against the (temporary) lack of individual skills. In addition,
there are exoskeletons (https://www.ergosign.de/en/insights/2020/article-ottobock-part2.html)
able to make us mobile again, data glasses that provide cognitive relief and collaborative robots
—so-called CoBots—that support us in physically demanding work.

8. Jan Groenefeld during the self-test of the Paexo exoskeletons at the invitation of Ottobock in Duderstadt |
Source: Ergosign (http://www.ergosign.de)

9. With the aim of making the difficult cooperation with interactive environments and body-
hugging technologies systematic and especially inclusive, I would like to introduce you to the
methodology of service design a little further down in the text.
In the AVASAG (https://www.avasag.de/) research project, Ergosign (https://www.ergosign.de/en/)
and its partners are researching the use of a real-time controlled 3D sign language avatar for the
automatic translation of German texts into sign language. A new type of online platform, which
enables digital and barrier-free communication through the qualitatively realistic representation of
a 3D sign language avatar, is being implemented. It offers the added value for deaf people to be
able to participate better in the digital society.
2.3 Self-Determination vs. loss of digital control

10. Symbolic image for the loss of control over our digital life | Source: Photo by Artyom Kim
(https://unsplash.com/%40nezelenoe?
utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on Unsplash
(https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)
Once and again, Hollywood shows us how quickly an unwanted change of power to a world
controlled by machines can happen. The result is a vague fear of losing control over digital life
and our beloved technical helpers. In my opinion, the first step on the way to confident
handling of AI and Co. is that we break free from our reservations about modern technologies
based on our own practical experiences. Fear is not a good adviser—but healthy scepticism is.
In a second step, we should deal with the meaning of the term by answering specific questions:
How much influence on our everyday life will we allow? When are digital systems considered
“intrusive”? How much self-identity can I allow machine beings to have?
Even if at this point, we are still relatively at the beginning of our digital journey, one thing can
already be said with certainty: Your experience and trained perspective as a designer of digital
products and services are essential in this discussion.

11. I also recommend those interested in attending the Robophilosophy conference
(https://projects.au.dk/robophilosophy/robophilosophy-conferences/), which was last held in
Denmark in 2020.
3. Digital Designers—Architects for the digital
society
The human-centred design of the digital society is a mammoth task and cannot be mastered
single-handedly. At the same time, I am particularly convinced that the UX designer with a
broad knowledge profile could act as a kind of moderator in the dialogue between designers,
technologists, and user psychologists.
And in this sense, the new complexity of interactive systems is forcing our “digital architects” to
expand their toolboxes. In the following section, I would like to introduce you to three examples
of the challenges of high-tech interaction spaces as well as to suitable tools I consider
particularly valuable for a systematic design approach.
3.1 Challenge: Ethical consensus
A robot as a social being that looks after us independently, hands as our medication and
provides entertainment? To some people, this sounds okay, to others bizarre. The use of
autonomous systems, for example in nursing, quickly sparked emotionally charged discussions
about socio-ethical influences. And this is a good thing. Because at the end of the discourse
there is often an accepted consensus which can be used as a basis for the design of future
systems. At first glance, the social implications of the use of AI, robotics and the like are often
not easily understood. To be able to make knowledge-based design decisions in such projects,
we have to make their potential effects transparent to everyone involved in the project.
3.2 Tool: ELSI, MEESTAR & Co.

12. Symbolic image for ethical issues in the merging of people and technology from the film Robocop, year 2014
|Picture: Sony Pictures / Studiocanal | Source: Mojomag (https://www.mojomag.de/2014/02/angeschaut-
robocop-2014/)
MEESTAR and Co. are frameworks which channel ethical issues. Basically, technological
expansion steps are placed in relation to possible social influences. The result is a kind of
ethical compass that systematically explores different opinions and areas of tension between
people, the environment and business. Company-wide brand values, serving as anchored
design principles for future products and services, are often consolidated in the discussion. The
guidelines increase the likelihood that the market will accept the new offer in the area of
tension between AI and robots, and therefore they are a valuable design tool. At the European
level, the work of the ethical commission (https://ec.europa.eu/germany/news/20210421-
kuenstliche-intelligenz-eu_de) on dealing with artificial intelligence is a good—and very exciting
—example.

13. MEESTAR model based on [Weber 2019, p.434] | Source: Imew
(https://www.imew.de/fileadmin/Dokumente/Volltexte/Instrumente_zur_ethischen_Reflexion_31092020_UA.pdf)
3.3 Challenge: Completeness and cooperation
One of the greatest challenges of the digital systems of today and the future is mastering their
complexity. This results from the fact that innumerable subsystems have to work together in
highly interconnected IoT systems, which then ultimately form the entire product or service.
With the aim of having a “natural interaction”, future digital systems will also increasingly rely
on multisensory human-machine communication. The orchestration of all active and passive
players in such systems is anything but trivial and requires cross-disciplinary cooperation
between all digital experts in a coordinated design process. Tools from the service design
methodology can contribute to this.
3.4 Tool: Service Design
The origin and focus of service design is the development of services and service-oriented
products. The company-wide transformation towards customer and people-centricity starts
with the UX design of individual touch points and ends with true service innovation. The great

14. thing about it: At the beginning, technology is irrelevant for the method. Service design starts
considering the optimal process, service or product as a problem using empathy maps, user
journeys and service blueprints, transparently and comprehensively depicting multi-complex
relationships between all players and the context. Then, during the solution process,
technological options are evaluated and, if necessary, integrated.
Schematic representation of a user journey | Source: Ergosign (http://www.ergosign.de)
I have had good experiences with a variation of the user journey when determining the
requirements for multisensory systems, expanding the classic dimensions of the individual
phases at touchpoint level to include individual modalities such as seeing, hearing and
speaking. This creates a picture of which modalities are already heavily compromised in
individual usage situations and which still have capacity. Barrier poverty can also be specifically
addressed in this way.
But service design can do even more: Collaborative methods and workshops form a kind of
guiding thread for the co-creative cooperation of all digital experts and radiate far beyond the
product or service into the workforce. A common vision arises.

15. 3.5 Challenge: Real market feedback
Real innovation requires the regular review of the idea through real market feedback and real
test users. And the use of suitable prototypes is just as important as the right method. The fact
that the scenario can quickly appear confusing and abstract to the test users depends once
again on the complex interplay of sensors, buttons, graphic and non-graphic interface
components. The results are distorted test results.
The principle of “Triangulation” (https://www.nngroup.com/articles/triangulation-better-
research-results-using-multiple-ux-methods/) described by the Nielsen Norman Group
has proven to be a good mix for me. The combination of expert opinions and empirical
and qualitative surveys helps to avoid assumption-based design decisions in early and late
design phases.
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3.6 Tool: Holistic prototypes & MVPs

16. A holistic prototype for the validation of operating concepts for autonomous passenger transport in the
APEROL (https://www.autonomousshuttle.de) research project | Source: Ergosign (http://www.ergosign.de)
One key factor is the creation of integral hardware-software prototypes. Tools such as Antetype
(https://antetype.com/) or Protopie.io (https://www.protopie.io/) cleverly combine classic GUI
components with physical turn-push controls or voice inputs and make innovative products
tangible and testable at an early stage of their development.
Within APEROL, Ergosign (https://www.ergosign.de/en/) works closely with partners from the fields of
research and industry in the development of human-centred concepts for the mobility of the
future. APEROL (https://www.autonomousshuttle.de/) works on the implementation, testing and
validation of a holistic approach for optimised autonomous traffic.

17. MVP | Source: Ergosign (http://www.ergosign.de)
Technology-based innovations are also often associated with high investments. For the first
published version of a new product, I therefore recommend developing an MVP (Minimum
Viable Product). The scope of functions should be carefully prioritised and precisely cover the
functions that are necessary, so that the profitability (business), attractiveness (user) and
feasibility (technology) of a product or service can be demonstrated and validated directly on
the market. The MVP roadmap also ensures a manageable functional “step size” for innovative
new developments, which can drastically reduce investment risks.
At Ergosign GmbH, at the Saarbrücken location, we have set up our own IoT lab. At the “Multi
Experience Lab” (https://www.ergosign.de/en/services/multi-experience-lab.html) we use holistic
prototypes to get to the bottom of the question of which technologies have the potential to provide
people with useful support. Our mission: Innovation you can touch.

18. 4. A plea for people and technology that
supports us
Symbolic image for human-technology relationship in a digital society | Source: Photo by Alexander Sinn
(https://unsplash.com/%40swimstaralex?
utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on Unsplash
(https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)
Exoskeletons compensate for physical limitations. Low code tools allow us to automate our
private everyday life independently and according to our highly individual wishes. Highly
interconnected and environmentally efficient mobility services transport us to anywhere in the
world. And the use of CoBots and AI agents could increase the added value so much that we get
part of it back as self-determined (leisure) time.

19. We counter sceptics with human-centred products and services in which modern technology
serves people and not the other way round. And for this purpose, we need to expand our
toolboxes. ELSI provides an anchor concerning ethical questions. The contribution of service
design is the systematic design of the complex, interactive cooperation between human beings
and technology. And the validation with holistic prototypes ensures that our technological
innovations will later also find the approval of potential customers.
4.1 We have already started
Since the World Economic Forum 2020 (https://klardenker.kpmg.de/world-economic-forum-
2020-nachhaltiges-denken-am-kapitalmarkt/) in Davos, corporations (with effect on the media)
have gone head over heels with commitments to a sustainable and circular economy using the
latest recycling technologies. German automotive companies
(https://www.daimler.com/innovation/produktion/factory-56.html) are relying on hyper-
automation of their production lines, but with their “Human First” promise they are
rediscovering their most important asset—people. Ergonomics scientists are increasingly
proposing the thesis that our workplaces will become more comfortable and efficient thanks to
mechanical helpers, but that technology will hardly ever replace people entirely. At the political
level, workgroups discuss the sovereignty of one’s own digital identity
(https://www.euractiv.de/section/innovation/news/europaeische-kommission-will-digitale-
identitaeten-einfuehren/) in the EU using so-called distributed ledger technologies—better
known as blockchains. And recently, among other things, the Chairman of Bitkomt proposed a
new ministry (https://www.heise.de/news/Bitkom-Praesident-spricht-sich-fuer-
Digitalministerium-aus-6069523.html) entirely dedicated to the questions and answers of
digitisation.
5. Conclusion
Technology is neither good nor bad—it depends entirely on us what we make of it. The
unswervingly human-centred perspective of the UX designer preserves direction and overview
in the process of change towards a digital society and causes this profession to be one of the
most exciting of our time. In my personal opinion, participating in this process is our
responsibility and also a unique opportunity: For technology to support and empower people,
instead of dominating them!

20. Are you ready to save the world?
Symbolic image for the profession of the UX designer and interdisciplinary cooperation in the human-
centred design process | Source: Ergosign (http://www.ergosign.de)
6. Ergosign Gmbh – We Innovate and Create
Digital Experiences
Ergosign (http://www.ergosign.de) is convinced about digital products that support people in
their work and enrich their lives. As a leading digital agency with a focus on user experience in
the DACH region, Ergosign provides full service to clients from a wide variety of industries and
business areas with a human-centred, goal-oriented and collaborative mindset. Awarded
several design awards—such as the Red Dot, the iF or the UX Design Award—the more than
180 employees at 6 locations in Germany and Switzerland have extensive digitisation
experience from over 3,200 projects.

21. Written by
Jan Groenefeld
On paper, Jan is a computer scientist – but at heart, he is a designer
with a passion for things that timelessly combine usefulness and
aesthetics. In professional terms, Jan is a UX Designer at Ergosign
GmbH at the Saarbrücken location. As Solution Manager Industry, his
professional focus is on human-centred operating concepts for
machines, production systems and control centres, as well as on
innovative business models and digitization strategies. Under the
motto “Innovations you can touch”, he is also responsible for the
Saarbrücken Multi Experience Lab, in which interdisciplinary teams of
UX designers and developers bring their ideas to life in the form of
holistic prototypes.
His personal credo: The key to successful digitalisation is
people.
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