Help Users Decide
Search, sort, filter, and common design patterns are great, but they don’t help users understand. For instance, how useful were lists and grid views the last time you shopped for a new TV online? Is your phone bill easy or enjoyable to read?
Learning through playful interactions is a design commitment we can make to convey meaning, which ultimately helps users make decisions. Yes, we really can display information in highly visual, interactive, and helpful ways.
We don’t have an information problem, we have an understanding problem. And businesses that help their customers understand will stand out from the crowd.
In 2007, Stephen Anderson began visually rendering dynamic information from Google search results. Since then, he’s been collecting loads of examples that illustrate how poorly designed information can be — particularly on important documents like health insurance forms or mortgage applications. On stages from TEDx to ours here in Boston, Stephen has been compelling design crowds to do more for their users, and as a result, for themselves.