How to humanize your product
In The Design of Everyday Things Don Norman points out a major issue: engineers are experts in technology, but are terrible in human behavior understanding. It results in a making of logical products which follow rigid rules but not tailored for richly experienced human beings. For Norman, the solution lies in the Human Centered Design, an approach which puts human needs, and capabilities first. This philosophy requires a good understanding in human psychology and behavior to design products for people needs.
Recent events like the Cambridge Analytica scandal show that we live in a world where people need more transparency and trustworthiness. They need to know what becomes of the data they give and need to believe in the product they use in their everyday life. As designers we do have a responsibility to make trustworthy products for our users. How to do so ? By delivering authentic and humanized experience. Here are some simple tips to help create products that feel designed by real humans beings for real human beings.
Consider your product as a real person
If your product was a friend of yours, what would he look like ? Would he be warm and welcoming or shy and distant ? Start to consider your product as a real human being and answer these questions by writing down adjectives which describe it. Build your product personality in the same way Dr Frankenstein created his monster. These words will be the foundation of your DNA experience and will guide your future microcopy and illustration. Take a look at this interesting Smashing Magazine article about how to add personality to digital services.
Choose quality over quantity
I’m sure you receive a lot of newsletters every day. You delete most of them without even opening them but you choose to read a few. Yes, you take a bit of your precious time every week to appreciate what another wrote for his audience.
However email newsletters are nothing new, they have been used for decades now but publishers are (finally) understanding one thing : people are literally overflowed by content, from real life advertising to social medias. Every time someone unlocks their smartphone or browse internet they are exposed to content. To be the chosen one, the content that people really read, companies now choose quality and personnalisation over quantity. Quality means addressing the right content to the right user.
Because yes, designing an authentic product also starts with offering the quality content your users deserve.
Personalization is the key
Instead of sending newsletters at random moments, try to understand how your users spend their day: when they work and when they have free time for you. Netflix is a good example of seizing opportunities: They have understood that all new shows should be released on Fridays to let people binge for two days in a row. How clever.
Are you a B2B publisher ? You should avoid sending professional news during the weekend and let your users take a break. Track your average opening rate and you will soon find the perfect moment to publish. Do you collect users’ first names ? Insert them in you content, everybody loves to feel special.
Use name and avatars
This is a simple tip that can make the difference. Instead of using an impersonal email address like contact@yoursociety.com try to use the author’s name ( angela@yoursociety.com for example). Thus, users will read the last news from Angela and not just from your company, which automatically creates a feeling of special relationship. Instead of being identified as an advertisement, your newsletter will now be perceived more as a message from a friend. If you have different types of newsletter (articles, news features, subscribing reminders etc.) create multiple email addresses to split the content and make things clearer for your users. Does your website have a blog ? Why not add the real author’s name for each article ? Your users will no longer read your company’s content, but articles written by an expert clearly identified by his name. You can add their profile pic to increase even more this feeling of authenticity.
Insert everyday life human language
According to Don Norman, good design starts with a good communication, especially from machines to humans. Therefore, you should start by asking yourself how to communicate accordingly and what information are relevant for users. Even if the code behind your clean and delightful interface is complex, they don’t have to know it. Always keep in mind that most of them are neither developers nor designers. What can seem to be simple jargon for you can be all greek to them. Here again, a good understanding of people is the key.
This is especially important when designing error messages. Avoid technical terms only your team can understand and design a message similar to a conversation between human beings : expose what happened and how to fix the problem. It’s as simple as that.
The tone in your microcopy is as important as the font you use. Depending on the people you target, you can choose to be cold and serious or to be warm and even add a little dose of humor. Also, using “we” or “I” immediately suggests that a team of humans does work on the product.
Use original photos or illustration instead of royalty free banks images
Using royalty free images gives you a quick access to ton of low price photos. Perfect when you start your business. However, if you have very specific needs such as camera angles, lights, or postures, you can spend hours before finding the perfect picture. IF you find it.
On the other hand, working with a photographer or a visual artist is the best way to create a custom-made identity. Your product will look authentic, pictures and illustrations would be tailored for it and for no other business. Moreover, always using the same kind of visuals enhances consistency in design. And we all know that consistency increases learnability and avoids confusion.
Display testimonials of real users
Studies show that displaying real consumers reviews enhance online trustworthy. Making users talk about your product features and how they solve problems increases reassurance because people often need outside opinions before making their own choice. It’s called social proof. However, be honest and don’t display only reviews with maximum score. Your product isn’t totally perfect and nobody blames you for that.
On the other hand, your product will look more human if you’re being courageous enough to show that some users are not totally satisfied.
Answer to people feedback
When you release a new version of your product, pay attention to users comments on Play Store, App Store and social networks. If some of them experience problems, try to answer them and figure out how you may help. If some of them point out little computer bugs, thank them. This kind of feedback is gold and helps improve your product. Obviously, if some of them take the time to tell you how much they love it, thanks them. Twice. People will feel that you care about their needs or their opinions and this is how you create a community around your product or service.
Present your collaborators and everyday life at work
To create what Aaron Walter calls “an experience for users that makes them feel like there’s a person, not a machine, at the other end of the connection”, presenting your team and your everyday life is a good start. Why not use Instagram, Facebook or Linkedin to show work in progress features or highlight experts of your team with short interviews ? If people already like your product they will feel even more engaged if you share your work with them and ask for their opinion.
Also, If you’re hiring, giving not only job description but information about work process, workflow, collaborators, work atmosphere, company values or expertise can be especially effective to attract future collaborators.
Conclusion
In a world where trustworthyness has became a major stake, humanizing your product is crucial to create an emotional connexion between you and your users. This is how you build a strong community and make people feel engaged.
Sources
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/06/bringing-personality-back-to-the-web/
https://www.myfrugalbusiness.com/2018/04/push-notification-campaign-mobile-marketing.html
https://uxdesign.cc/design-principle-consistency-6b0cf7e7339f
http://blog.ub.ac.id/nikeastria/files/2012/04/Consumers-rule-How-consumer-reviews-influence-perceived-trustworthiness.pdf
https://yoast.com/creating-trust-testimonials/
