35 • #aeasea • @mbloomstein Designing for Trust in an Uncertain World at An Event Apart Seattle

DESIGNING FOR TRUST
IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD
Margot Bloomstein / @mbloomstein
An Event Apart Seattle #aeasea
March 4, 2019

What do we look for in magic mirrors?
©Cayuga Productions and CBS

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We look to see ourselves.
We look to see the truth.
We hope the images coincide.
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Internal truths trump external facts

This is our problem now.

Rudy Giuliani, August 15, 2016, Youngstown Ohio Trump Foreign Policy Speech

©Scott Olson Getty Images; from Fox Business with Neil Cavuto interview

©Scott Olson Getty Images; excerpt from August 15, 2016 foreign policy speech

©Sam Morrison / www.presidentflopflops.com

Inconsistency erodes our ability to evaluate and trust.

Insert gut check cycle image
Coached skepticism, false equivalency, rampant air quotes
©Fox News

Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of Information Overlo...

Do we get comfortable in our faith,
or confidently test our beliefs through education?
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expertise

expertise → homophily

expertise → homophily → narcissism

63% of the general population finds it difficult
to differentiate between real and fake news.
...

Only 48% of Americans say they believe
climate change is mostly due to human
activity.
Source:...

Only 40% of Americans say they have
a “great deal of confidence” in science.
Source: AP-NORC C...

(cc) xkcd, riffing on xkcd.com/208

Inconsistency undermines trust—
externally and internally.

Does this information align
with my viewpoint?

Do I feel good about
this brand?

Does this brand make me
feel good about myself?

ValidationDeliberation

Courage in our
convictions
Belief

“Feels right” empirical fact
>

©Jana Birchum for The Austin Chronicle; from March 12, 2017 panel Good Night and Good Luck: Me...

How we form our beliefs affects our reality
more than what we already believe
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Cultural predisposition > confirmation bias
Vaccine hesitancy study source: Smith, David, Kati...

Empowerment reflects and rebuilds trust

Voice
Volume
Vulnerability

Voice

Voice
Volume

Users can appreciate slow experiences.
they’re engaged,
anticipating,
creating memories.

Courage in our
convictions
Empirical
proof

Voice
Volume
Vulnerability

COOK’S ILLUSTRATED EXAMPLE

ADD OUTSIDE YOUR BUBBLE

A consistent and accessible voice,
appropriate volume for the context, and
humanizing vulnerab...

Do we live in a post-fact era?

Do we live in a post-fact era?
When was the fact era?

©CBS

Design won’t save the world—
but it may make it more worth saving.

Margot Bloomstein
@mbloomstein
margot@appropriateinc.com
All this and more: slideshare.com/mbloomstein
→ TRUSTWORTHY BOOK ...