Condescension in design occurs when designers fail to account for users' understanding and abilities, treating them in a patronizing way. Mutative design proposes allowing design elements to mutate based on individual user attributes like age, abilities, and context to ensure understanding. It involves gathering information on user behaviors and needs, then establishing atomic design systems and rules for how elements can adapt and change for different users through an ongoing feedback loop.
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an unreceptive, linear
experience that doesn’t speak
to users at their level of
understanding
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Isn’t that what we all really want
Understanding
Source: geekandsundry.com Ex Machina@nichobby
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Architects have been designing systems
that have an ultimate authority of
intelligence without the ability to be
receptive and sympathetic to person on
the other side
@nichobby
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iOS Human Interface Guidelines
As much as possible, avoid “you,”
“your,” “me,” and “my.” Sometimes,
text that identifies people directly can be
ambiguous and can even be interpreted
as insulting or patronizing.
Source: developer.apple.com/library/ios/
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“How can it mean anything to me,
if I really don’t feel anything at all”
- MJK,Tool
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Atomic elements like Copy, Buttons, Inputs,
Cards, Colours will be able to mutate on both
a local micro scale and a larger group macro
scale
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High level order from low level organisation
Entrophy
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Condescension in design
Sounds pretty ominous especially with those clouds
Not to be confused with condensation
Talk today revolves around this conversation between man and machine
All our experiences in digital are conversations.
So what exactly is Condescension?
It can be summed up in this simple line
I’m condescending… that means I talk down to you.
Here's a familiar face that embodies condescension.
Dolres Umbridge from Harry Potter
How about this guy from social network
Waterfall
Condescension is more accurately defined as descending from a superior intellectual level to be understood.
The Architect from the matrix.
So how does this translate into design
First example
This makes me feel like a silly teenage boy.
CTA Massive buttons.
People often have very emotional responses
when they addressed outside their zone of expected understanding
We hear people say “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid”
My pet peeve the mailchimp monkey with his humor.
Often the brand identity and tone of voice is so far removed
from the users understanding that it becomes offensive.
We use targeted ads to increase sales by gathering information
about a users habits and interests
And serve them relevant content .
I get really annoyed when its 34 degrees
outside in summer and I get an ad that
This video is not available in your country.
Sorry about that?
What country am I from Narnia?
This video is not available in your country.
Sorry about that?
What country am I from Narnia?
But we also hear them say the polar opposite
“I don’t have a clue about what this thing is telling me”
So why does this happen?
The answer is prejudice
Pre – Judgment
Everybody has pre-judgment. Both designer and user.
information is the key to protecting ourselves from prejudice
We use the idea of clustering
peoples likes, dislikes, attitude , views and preferences come in clusters
like how grapes come in bunches
if you inspect one grape you will know what the rest will look like
with some tiny differences
but you can be sure the grape you didn’t taste won’t be mint chocolate
its dangerous to do this and maybe even unethical to group people by race economical status sex profession.
but logically it makes sense.
clustering is a tool at our disposal.
However clustering is prejudgment
it is the process whereby one applies their preduices to predict the prejudices of other
As Information Architects spend countless hours gather all this information about the people we are designing for.
Then we create all these fantastic artifacts that model our discoveries
Distill all this into one simple static design
one design fits all,
we CAN’T accommodate all the variances in the population
…But don’t worry we did that responsive thing
The result is an unreceptive,
linear experience
that doesn’t speak to users at their level of understanding
Understanding isnt that what we really want.
To engage with another and feel a mutal connection of understanding.
Don Norman said in living with complexity
for years he was considered a simplicity zealot and then
came to find that all people wanted was understanding
Architects have been designing systems that have an ultimate authority of intelligence
without the ability to be receptive and sympathetic to person on the other side
The conversation between man and machine lacks a sense of awareness
that allows for etiquette and empathy.
When we attempt to address and engage the audience with an active brand identity and tone of voice we exclude and upset sections of the audience. There’s a fine line between being humorous and being patronizing. So we avoid it all together.
When we attempt to address and engage the audience with an active brand identity and tone of voice we exclude and upset sections of the audience. There’s a fine line between being humorous and being patronizing. So we avoid it all together.
“How can it mean anything to me,
if I really don’t feel anything at all”
- Tool
Here’s the lock:
“I can’t design for everyone”
Here’s the key:
Mutative Design
Mutative design is a design method that allows for the interface and experience to change on its own, driven by the user’s needs and actions.
I’m talking about a system that knows your age and can use that as a metric for tailoring the interface.
Making the system accessible and engaging for a 5 year old and a 65 year old
A system that pick up on your gestures so it can cater for left handed people.
A system that can detect vision defects and mutate to make elements more visible
A system that can pull all this information on the user and craft the experience to their preference in real time.
Speaking to them at their level of understanding.
This seems pretty far fetch right but we have all the tools Big Data, Deep learning, Atomic design.
Liam Spradlin project Phoebe is already mapping the fundamental and actualizing this idea.
The orange line represents one user’s potential journey through mutation states.
Blue dots are potential starter states and white dots are all possible mutation states.
Asteria is a contacts page that has mutations.
Leto is a launcher page that has apps widgets a wallpaper and hot seats that mutate.
He uses 7 factors as characteristics as inputs for the system to learn.
A possible starting for me using my phone
Adult
Experienced tech user
low vision
Protanomaly colour blindness
Physical ability touch only
RTL
low data
darkness
Atomic design is a methodology used to construct web design systems.
Uses the analogy of chemistry.
I like to think of it like lego.
With basic building block that make more complex structure.
If we combine this line of thinking with mutative design….
This leads us to Entrophy – High level order created from low level organization.
Like a flock of birds swarming.
Individual organization
Design will meet consciousness prompt Ontological design.
The things we design will start design us back revealing new insights in how we experience the world.
This is the ultimate feedback loop.
Like ouroboros the snake endlessly eating its own tail
