Book Report: 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People

Source: dailydesignnews.com

Summary

“People seek out and pay attention to information and cues that confirm their beliefs. They don’t seek out—in fact, they ignore or even discount—information that doesn’t support what they already believe.” – Susan Weinschenk

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People is a book by the renowned behavioral psychologist Susan Weinschenk that explains the various aspects of everyday design that is important to come out with a practical solution; something that is quite crucial for every designer to ensure that they meet the expectations of their clients with complete satisfaction.

Weinschenk has written this book, keeping in mind how the designers work for creating great user experience. It is for all kinds of designers – a website designer, a car model designer, or an engineering device model maker. The book put a lot of emphasis on the fact that the right kind of design for people is something that is greatly influenced by a designer’s experience of what she/he knows and understands about those people, for whom she/he is working on a design.

The book gives a detailed elaboration of differentiating between the good and bad types of design, based on the user's requirements and interests.

Why I picked this book

As an artist and writer, I have always been fascinated by finding out what kind of content people like and why they like it. Besides, I am also a student of Interactive Media Management and the core objective of this program is to learn about the best user design experience and how to implement it. The title of the book really intrigues me. So, I went through a few of the reviews online and decided to give it a go. 

My expectations from the book and what I got out of it

Before opting for this book, I went through several reviews by my professors, batchmates, and websites like Goodreads to get a glimpse of what it has to offer. I had been looking forward to honing my skills of observing the users in a better manner and design for them that serves the objective. Once I began reading the book, I found it meets all my expectations.

I found this book quite helpful in getting a clear understanding of how the design aesthetics work and what I should take care of while working on any design element for the users.

Key Takeaways

The book categorically divides people's perspective of art based on their emotions, interests, and decisions. it elaborates on the following aspects:

1.      What people read

2.      What people remember

3.      What people think

4.      Where people focus

5.      Motivations

6.      People as social animals

7.      What people feel

8.      Mistakes

9.      What people decide

Out of these 9 categories, the ones that I found quite crucial for any interactive media professional are what people remember, what motivates people, and what people feel.

What people remember

Every single minute, an individual goes through hundreds of visual elements in his life – posters, flyers, banners, online ads, television commercials, and many more. Hence, the attention span of every individual is significantly lesser than what it used to be a decade ago. As Agile coach and group fitness coach Geoff Mazeroff has stated, people remember only 4 things at once.  Therefore, a designer needs to observe what a user remembers amid the hoard of all the visual elements and plan his design strategy accordingly.

 

What motivates people

People tend to be motivated when they know that they are getting closer to their goals. They like it when they know that they have control over something that they own or want to own. As a designer, coming out with elements that give the user a more interactive control is something that will always satisfy them.

What people feel

Human beings are emotional animals. They are attached to certain people, places or objects such as specific food or sports. Therefore, by analyzing a user’s psychology and by focusing on their various interests and choices, a designer can come out with a product to which the user will feel attached, something that will comfort them and give them a feeling that it is all theirs.

 

My professional and personal insight

I found these key points quite crucial, both personally and professionally. Not only they are important to understand the user’s psychology in the best manner possible, but also to deliver the end product that meets the expectations with utmost satisfaction. As mentioned on Goodreads, this book combines real science and research with practical examples to deliver a guide every designer needs.

Besides, this book has changed my perspective of seeing everyday things to a significant extent. I observe my surrounding elements with a keener interest; doors, tables, chairs, staircases. This book has opened the doors in my thinking process that were closed and I didn’t even know they existed in the first place!