• Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game.

References:

• https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking#what_is_design_thinking?

• https://www.polygon.com/2019/6/21/18691760/ea-vp-loot-boxes-surprise-mechanics-ethical-enjoyable

• https://www.pcgamer.com/take-two-is-facing-a-lawsuit-over-nba-2k-loot-boxes-and-microtransactions/

• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

References:

• https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/06/30/the-metaverse-in-2040/

• The Office - Baby Shower

References:

• https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/why-is-generating-insights-an-important-skill?utm_campaign=9.7-october-newsletter-1-2023-yellow-bg&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=277999936&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_gJDkssjMm0LviHVA1ysu6Fg67Mk2jbMSm8tu8oB5fRs8thFxF347nlPzAZ-9UiLvoZeeuFZwh6WqkadQutVkw1wiylA&utm_source=hubspot

• Gunshow - On Fire 

Realizing this potential, consumers are starting to have an expectation when it comes to companies taking a political stance. One question immediately comes to mind:

Should brands openly and actively express their position on political matters?

Although there are various perspectives on this issue, I hope to give some points to consider about this topic.

It is agreed that a brand that has stronger, better-defined values, can better control its image. Of course, it can control only part of it, the other being controlled by individuals and their perception. But brands heavily invest in that field for a reason.

Now, when a brand takes and overtly communicates a political position, it is doomed to create some kind of controversy. On one side, the decision will appeal to a part of the consumers who share that same vision. On the other, it will also displease consumers who have different political beliefs.

The truth is that, as consumers increasingly come to expect brands to take a stance on various issues, it has become more common for brands to share political messages on various topics, from environmental sustainability to identity politics.

In the end, whether companies decide to openly share and communicate their political position or not, they always take a political stance just by existing. It is impossible to escape from it. What are the company’s means of production? What is the brand vision for the future? What is the organizational structure in the workplace? Every decision is a political position. A brand does not operate outside of society.

Now I pose the question again: Should brands actively express their positions on various political matters?

In my opinion, yes, they should. The key word here is transparency. Consumers value when brands are authentic and transparent. That should be no less than a requirement and an obligation. With that said, how that communication is handled is fundamental.

Brands should not limit the communication of their values and political opinions to cheap attempts of virtue signaling. How many companies, during pride month, change their brand visual identity and say they are promoting diversity? What about greenwashing? Some of the biggest companies in the world have been accused of making false claims and promoting false advertisement.

If a brand is going to openly take a political stance, it should honor it the best way possible (otherwise it’s better to say nothing at all). I believe it has that responsibility and it owns that to its consumers. It should not limit itself to insignificant changes in their brand visual identity or making cheap advertising. Instead of using controversy to increase visibility and sales, it should use it for educational purposes that promote unity and connection. And if the statement provokes distaste in some people, that is only part of operating in a society with free speech.

• https://hejibits.com/post/173307003744/134

References:

• https://capitalmonitor.ai/sector/consumer/explainer-household-brands-accused-of-greenwashing/

• https://www.gamesindustry.biz/games-industry-donates-to-black-lives-matter-and-more-in-support-of-us-protests

• https://www.gamesindustry.biz/developers-remove-games-from-steam-over-valves-black-lives-matter-silence

The problem is that, in the head of that type of client, although the general idea may be very clear (and sometimes not even that), the details and underlying characteristics of the project are not. And you know what they say: The devil is in the details.

Prototyping is one of the tools that allow designers and developers to test and think about an idea before turning it into something real, that is, turning it into a highly detailed design or starting coding it. But let’s be honest.

Prototyping takes time.

If you are unlucky to have one of those hasty and frugal clients who want everything but are not ready to seriously invest in it, you will have to give some good explanation of why you think you need to prototype first. Fortunately, there are many reasons why:

1. It helps avoiding spending more money in the future.

This is probably the first thing you want to tell your client. Indeed, prototyping, and early designing have been shown to reduce potential unnecessary costs in the future. This is because prototyping allows designers and developers to identify potential problems with the project while it is in its early stages. Just like an architect draws the building first to prevent unexpected problems during construction, software should be designed first before being coded.

2. User testing and proof of concept.

One of the best ways to know if your product is going to be successful, it to test it with its potential users. Prototyping provides an opportunity to test the overall product and to adjust based on the results of those tests. A change that could take hours during the development, takes only a few minutes during prototyping.

3. It takes the abstract and makes it concrete.

How common it is for us to imagine a thing and communicating something entirely different? That can be very dangerous if not taken care early on. Prototyping is an opportunity to close that gap in a quick and efficient manner. That way both the client and the designers/developers become in tune with each other.

Hopefully, after giving that list of reasons, your client will now be more receptive to the idea of the prototyping. Still, don't forget to always consider the scope of the project before deciding the level of detail you want. It's possible that medium or high-fidelity prototyping is enough. Or maybe not. But most importantly, always consider prototyping.

• Coraline (2009)

Although creating a design system is very useful for designers, it can also take a lot of time and resources. Particularly when starting from the ground up. The good news is that design systems are not only helpful for designers but for developers too.

A key concept of web development is web components. At their core, web components are encapsulated, independent, and reusable pieces of code. When building a UI e. g. they are very useful building elements that appear multiple times or across multiple pages.

When designers create a design system, they create essentially the visual aspect of those components.

Therefore, design systems can speed up the coding process significantly by telling developers what components they should be building. Without a design system, developers would need to spend time figuring that out by themselves (which is not very motivating).

In this light design systems can be seen as an investment. While they may require time for creation, they simultaneously accelerate both the design and development processes. And they have the amazing capacity to create a better relationship between designers and developers that sometimes, may not go so well.

Several design tools, like Figma (the current leading tool for collaborative design), have also seen the benefits of approximating designers and developers.

So, the next time you have a client that thinks creating a design system is just a waste of time and resources, I hope you know what to say.

• Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

References:

• https://www.figma.com/design-systems/

• https://www.figma.com/blog/introducing-dev-mode/

• https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_components

Visibility

The visibility principle indicates that the more visible an element is, the more likely users are to use it and know how to use it. Conversely, when an element is less visible, the user will know less about that element. This is a balance that can be challenging to achieve. While designers do not want to create information overload for users of an application, it is also not desirable for important elements to be hidden from the user. The key to applying this principle appropriately, according to Norman, is to determine which elements are most relevant to the user and which elements are more secondary.

Feedback

The feedback principle stems from the user's need, during the use of a technological product, to know the impact of their actions and the system's response to those actions. This principle becomes relevant when a user is unaware of various aspects that constitute the user experience of an application.

Consistency

Like the feedback principle, the consistency principle seeks to reduce the user's uncertainty and concerns during their experience with a product. By applying a design based on consistency, the environment and context of using an application also become more familiar, even in new situations for the user. Design Systems are a great help in ensuring that this principle is properly applied.

Mapping

If a user's action has an impact on the space that characterizes a particular product, that action should be correctly mapped to inform the user of the expected path of that action. Once again, this principle, like the previous ones, aims to create familiarity for a user with an interface and reduce their discomfort with the unknown.

Constraints

Sometimes, in technological products with many options and features, users can feel overwhelmed by the variety of choices. It is in this context that this principle applies. The constraints principle emphasizes the need to restrict the user from performing actions that, at a given moment, do not apply or are not executable. Thus, the user is informed of the existence of these actions, but the burden of deciding whether to use them or not is removed.

Affordances

And finally, the principle of affordances. This principle advocates the need to provide users with cues on how to perform a particular action. By providing cues, the way to execute an action also becomes more obvious.

Keeping this question in mind, it becomes important to discuss Information Design. Information Design is a branch of graphic design focused on facilitating the readability of information through interface design.

Given the wide variety and typologies of data, Information Design adopts various approaches instead of a single universal approach applicable in all contexts. This is noteworthy because the only variable is not just the nature of the data, but also the audience that will consume this information, which can be quite diverse.

Having said that, the field of information design follows a set of established practices and standards that have proven to work in multiple contexts. Examples of these practices include typical bar charts, line charts, infographics, network graphs, among others.

It is relevant to consider how technological advancement and the popularization of interactive digital devices bring the field of Information Design to a new dimension. We often conceptualize static graphics in which there is no possibility of interaction. However, we may not realize the potential benefits this could bring to those who will use this data.

Recognizing the opportunity in this form of data visualization, various tools such as Flourish or Visually have become market leaders by partnering with multiple companies with the aim of taking Information Design to a higher and distinctive level of quality.

In another fashion, artists like Mona Chalabi give a unique touch to data visualization. It is easy to present data in an understandable way. But what about presenting it in an interesting way? Both are equally important.

With all that said my conclusion is: Data visualization and information design are important and they don’t need to be boring.

• SpongeBob SquarePants

References:

• The Design Of Everyday Things de Donald A. Norman

• The Simpsons

“While the text emphasises the positive aspect of humour in presentations, particularly in handling embarrassing mishaps, a critical reflection could consider the potential drawbacks or limitations associated with relying on humour in such situations.

Not everyone shares the same sense of humour, and what one person finds amusing, another may find inappropriate or offensive. Humour can be subjective and culturally dependent, so the speaker runs the risk of alienating or even offending a segment of the audience.

Additionally, overreliance on humour to navigate awkward situations may be seen as a superficial strategy to divert attention from the substance of the presentation.

Moreover, the text suggests that humour serves as an invitation for empathy, assuming that everyone appreciates and responds positively to humour in moments of embarrassment. However, some individuals may not interpret or receive humour in the intended manner. “

Humor is quite relative and depends a lot from person to person, we must know what audience we are dealing with and whether this audience receives humor well and if so what type of humor they receive, as we have several types of humor among them. : Absurd humor, Dry humor, Satire, White humor, Grotesque humor, Sarcastic humor, Hacker humor, Raw humor, Green humor and Dark humor, which one would fit your audience?

Sometimes, depending on the audience, it can cause offense, distractions, there may be a cultural difference in the audience that does not receive humor, the risk of not being understood and sometimes a lack of professionalism. Before using humor, even if it is to hide some flaw, you have to know how to do it and how to do it.

“The author briefly mentions that creating a design system can take a lot of time and resources, especially when starting from the ground up.

However, there's a lack of exploration into the specific challenges and potential drawbacks of implementing a design system.

The text seems to suggest that design systems are the only solution to creating cohesive and efficient web interfaces. It would be helpful to explore alternative approaches or methodologies that can also contribute to streamlined design and development processes.

The text implies that clients who think creating a design system is a waste of time and resources may not fully understand its benefits. It oversimplifies client perspectives and doesn't consider that there might be valid reasons for skepticism, such as tight budgets or short project timelines.

The text doesn't address the dynamic nature of web development standards. As technology evolves, design systems may need to adapt to new trends and practices. Acknowledging this could provide a more realistic picture of the ongoing commitment required for maintaining an effective design system.”

Design systems present specific challenges and potential implementation drawbacks, such as maintenance, updates, and the possibility of design systems becoming outdated. There are cases where the design system may not be the best solution or where the investment may not provide the expected returns. Nowadays design systems can be made by artificial intelligence, how to deal with these issues? In which cases is it worth investing in design systems.

“While the idea of brands taking a responsible approach to political stances is commendable, there are certain complexities and challenges associated with the notion that warrant critical reflection. One negative aspect to consider is the potential risk of oversimplifying the relationship between brands and politics.

Firstly, the expectation for a brand to "honor" a political stance in the best way possible may not fully account for the nuanced nature of political issues. Political landscapes are multifaceted, and what might seem like the best way to honor a stance to one group of consumers could be perceived differently by another. This creates a challenging environment for brands to navigate, especially when trying to cater to diverse and often polarized audiences.

Moreover, the call for brands to utilize controversy for educational purposes assumes a level of expertise and neutrality that may be unrealistic. Brands are not inherently equipped to serve as educators on complex political matters, and attempting to do so may lead to oversimplification or misrepresentation of the issues at hand..

Additionally, the expectation that brands should promote unity and connection through their political stances overlooks the inherent divisive nature of certain issues. What one group sees as a unifying message, another may perceive as divisive.”

While the notion of brands responsibly engaging with political issues is important, it's crucial to acknowledge the complexity of these dynamics. The expectations placed on brands to serve as educators, promote unity, and navigate controversial issues are fraught with challenges that may not have straightforward solutions. Brands must carefully consider the potential unintended consequences and ethical implications of aligning themselves with political stances in a socially responsible manner.