Connected Solution Design: Mastering Storytelling and Tension
Originally published as part of, “The Day Before Digital Transformation” by Phil Perkins and Cheryl Smith
Creating simple and scalable user experiences is crucial for the success of any product or service. In a world where the 95% of new products fail, the ability to provide a user experience that solves real-life problems is critical. To achieve this, advanced engineering is needed to handle complex problems outside of the user’s view.
Designing for a connected world that bridges the digital and physical divide demands a different approach than designing for digital or physical products alone. The challenge of creating a coherent cyber-physical experience is multifaceted and complex. There are fewer design standards and factors like location and connectivity matter deeply. However, the first step is to define what makes a successful user experience.
In the words of former Apple executive and BeOS founder Jean-Louis Gassée, “Simple is hard. Easy is harder. Invisible is hardest.” A well-designed experience should appear seamless and completely invisible to the user. The attribute that creates the most value is the most difficult to achieve.
The UX of ‘invisible’.
Google’s search engine is an excellent example of a simple and seamless experience that hides immense complexity. It’s driven by some of the most advanced engineering and technology in the world, yet the interface presents a simple search field that captures billions of daily searches submitted by millions of users.
To achieve a similar level of simplicity and scalability in other products and services, advanced engineering is necessary to handle complex problems outside of the user’s view. Success requires a balance between infrastructure and edge layers. By focusing on creating simple user experiences through advanced engineering, organizations can achieve greater scale and success.
The product has revolutionized how businesses present themselves online and how we, as consumers, discover information, goods, and services. Yet this interface presents a simple search field, which captures roughly 3.5 billion daily searches submitted by 1.2 billion users.
This is the ultimate goal of design. Hiding immense complexity behind a simple, seamless experience. But the technical landscape upon which we imagine this experience is very different, requiring immense coordination of backend infrastructure and front-end design.