{"id":47,"date":"2023-05-10T08:12:28","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T12:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/?p=47"},"modified":"2025-05-15T10:15:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T14:15:50","slug":"design-challenges-for-the-current-digital-reconversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/2023\/design-challenges-for-the-current-digital-reconversion\/","title":{"rendered":"Design challenges for the current digital reconversion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Design challenges for the current digital reconversion\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n
\n
\n

\u201cCrises don\u2019t just change behaviors; they reshape how we understand experience, value, and design.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Introduction <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In everyday situations, user experience tends to be shaped by personal preferences and context-specific needs. But in times of crisis, such as pandemics, natural disasters, or economic upheavals, experience becomes social. Behaviours shift, not just individually but collectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic, this shift was evident. Prevention campaigns emphasized communal responsibility. Collective volunteering efforts surged. Design was no longer just about pleasing users; it became a tool to foster solidarity, resilience, and shared meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog explores how moments of crisis redefine our roles as designers and why it\u2019s time to move beyond individualistic UX models toward more community-centred and socially attuned approaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Legacy of User-Centred Design <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As designers, we are deeply familiar with the terminology of User-Centred<\/strong> Design (UCD) and User Experience (UX), concepts made prominent by Donald Norman in the late 1980s (Norman, 1988). Yet their philosophical roots stretch further back; Henry Dreyfuss\u2019s The Art of Designing for People<\/em> (1955) laid early groundwork for designing with<\/em> human needs in mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These frameworks were revolutionary in their time. They shifted the focus from technical efficiency to human usability and emotion. However, by centring the individual<\/em> user, they have also limited our field\u2019s capacity to address collective needs and systems-level challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, Participatory Design (PD)<\/strong> emerged in the 1970s, advocating for co-creation with users rather than for them (Schuler & Namioka, 1993). More recently, Community-Centered Design (CCD)<\/strong> has begun to surface, though timidly, in UX practice. This approach aligns more closely with the values and complexities of social technologies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pandemic as a Design Inflection Point<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 acted as a global stress test, pushing digital transformation forward at unprecedented speeds. The idea of a digital economy<\/strong>, once confined to certain sectors, spread across industries. Companies, institutions, and entrepreneurs alike were forced to reconsider how they create and deliver value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here lies a tension. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While business models continue to depend on satisfying individual<\/em> needs, user behaviour has shifted to be more collective<\/strong> in nature. From group chats supporting mental health to community-based delivery apps, users have adopted technologies in ways that reflect shared<\/em> goals and vulnerabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As MIT Technology Review\u2019s David Rotman (2020) noted, there\u2019s a growing need to shift from growth-centric economics to models prioritizing socially sustainable<\/strong> products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where UX Falls Short <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite this shift, UX practices still largely rely on Design Thinking methods that emphasize the individual persona<\/em>, the empathy map, the journey map, the personal pain point. These tools remain essential, but they are no longer sufficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we design only for the individual, we risk ignoring how technologies affect the collective fabric<\/strong> of society, its trust, cohesion, and well-being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge is not technical; it\u2019s methodological. Designing for communities means addressing wicked problems<\/strong> (Rittel & Webber, 1973), complex, interdependent issues with no single solution. It means engaging with multiple stakeholders, diverging values, and power dynamics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Customer Delight to Social Delight <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a growing call within the UX field to redefine what we mean by \u201cdelight.\u201d Traditionally, customer delight<\/em> has referred to small moments of surprise or ease, beautiful animations, quick loading times, a seamless checkout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in a post-crisis world, these seem insufficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to aim for social delight<\/strong> technological experiences that generate shared meaning, enable collective action, and support emotional resilience across groups, not just individuals. This approach aligns closely with the principles of Positive Technology<\/strong> (Riva, Ba\u00f1os, Botella, Wiederhold, & Gaggioli, 2012), which focuses on designing interactive technologies to enhance personal and societal well-being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rethinking UX Research and Design <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Moving from UCD to CCD invites a profound transformation in how we approach research and design: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From<\/strong><\/th>To<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Individual personas <\/td>Community profiles <\/td><\/tr>
Empathy maps <\/td>Social insight frameworks <\/td><\/tr>
Product adoption <\/td>Collective engagement <\/td><\/tr>
Delightful UI <\/td>Meaningful, shared experiences <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It also requires cross-disciplinary thinking, collaborating with sociologists, public health experts, urban planners, and educators, to understand how technology can mediate complex human needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing Reflection <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic has revealed something we can no longer ignore: Human experience is not just personal; it\u2019s communal.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As designers and researchers, this is our opportunity and our responsibility. To shift from designing for optimized individuals to designing for thriving communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would UX look like if we treated the community as the primary user? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dreyfuss, H. (1955). Designing for People. New York: Simon and Schuster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norman, D. A. (1988). The Psychology of Everyday Things. New York: Basic Books. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rotman, D. (2020). Why tech didn\u2019t save us from covid-19. MIT Technology Review. https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2020\/06\/17\/1003312\/why-tech-didnt-save-us-from-covid-19\/ <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rittel, H.W.J., Webber, M.M. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning.\u202fPolicy Sci\u202f4, 155\u2013169 (1973). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/BF01405730  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schuler, D., & Namioka, A. (Eds.). (1993). Participatory Design: Principles and Practices (1st ed.). CRC Press. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1201\/9780203744338<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Riva, G., Ba\u00f1os, R. M., Botella, C., Wiederhold, B. K., & Gaggioli, A. (2012). Positive technology: using interactive technologies to promote positive functioning.\u202fCyberpsychology, behavior and social networking,\u202f15(2), 69\u201377. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1089\/cyber.2011.0139 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCrises don\u2019t just change behaviors; they reshape how we understand experience, value, and design.\u201d  Introduction In everyday situations, user experience tends to be shaped by personal preferences and context-specific needs. But in times of crisis, such as pandemics, natural disasters, or economic upheavals, experience becomes social. Behaviours shift, not just individually but collectively.  During the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"mobile"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47\/revisions\/189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/positivetechlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}