100 Things Every Designer Needs To Know About People by Susan M. Weinschenk
This book consists of 100 small chapters with scientific evidence, stating interesting things people do while using technology. I believe that this book will enable designers to make better decisions by understanding the mindset of users. I reflected on some of the facts stated from the book:
- Sustained attention lasts about 10 minutes. Sites like Skillshare immediately come up in my mind. They have ensured that each tutorial video is time-limited so that people pay attention to the video. This, in turn, ensures that people are motivated to finish watching the video. Since people are more likely to accomplish a goal if they are closer to completing it.
- Time is relative. Waiting for a page to load for more than 5 seconds or even holding your plank position for 45 seconds can seem like an eternity. Or, if one needs to finish an urgent task, it might seem that time just flew.
- People think others are more easily influenced than they are themselves. That is because the old brain is concerned about survival. Being gullible means that one is not protected and hence, more likely to be deceived. This book advises designers to trust a user's behavior more than their words about how certain aspects do not influence them.
- One of my personal favorites is listening to music releases dopamine in the brain. Memorisely does this beautifully by including a person's Spotify playlist in the blogs. A fantastic way to engage the audience and connect people.
- The book clarifies that people are worse at multitasking than they think. In reality, people switch tasks, which is not multitasking. It provides a relatable example consisting of simple activities like walking and talking on the phone. It is common for people to bump while walking and talking on the phone as they pay less attention to their surroundings. Therefore, as designers, it is our responsibility to ensure that users do not multitask while using our product.