Human-Friendly Design

Have you ever wondered why people never put a photograph of their workspace on the desktop of their computer, or why they never use a spreadsheet as the home screen on their smartphone? Probably not.

For most—if not all—of us, I’m sure those notions seem quite ridiculous. If you’re in the vast majority of people who personalize those screens, my guess is that you use images that evoke an emotional connection within you—images that either inspire you or give you the “warm and fuzzies” inside. Almost always, these personalized screens tend to carry images of our vacations, hobbies, special interests, pets or family members, or perhaps just beautiful imagery. In addition, the vast majority of the time, these images, regardless of the subject matter, are captured outdoors.

So, how is all this relevant to the future of unified communications (UC) and the role that design will play in defining its future? Well, consider the relationship between the user and the device, as well as the role that devices play in facilitating human collaboration. If designers know where to look for them, there are clues that will enable us to move beyond the need for simple collaboration and delve into the potential for fostering deep, meaningful human connections.

As I’m sure we’re all aware, enterprise environments are changing and changing rapidly. As real-estate costs continue to increase globally, work environments are becoming more densely populated; with that, there are some unique challenges for the efficiency of work and the UC ecosystem. Noise management and personal privacy are issues that have to be considered both by the architects who design these spaces and by the designers of UC products and services that ultimately help connect us all.

Prevalent trends we’re seeing in the evolving enterprise environment include more open-plan workspaces, more hoteling spaces, fewer traditional large conference rooms, and more lounge and huddle spaces. This is all part of an effort to provide flexibility and activate nearly every square foot on the campus, thereby ensuring usage efficiency and facilitating collaboration in a wide variety of conditions. This not only helps ensure that spaces are being used efficiently, but also helps accommodate a wider range of personal preferences for occupants as regards how they like to connect and collaborate.

We’re also seeing increased attention to design quality and execution in relation to the environments themselves. The days of bad lighting, cube furniture, and cold, drab colors and finishes are thankfully going away. Not only does this help make working conditions more pleasant and enjoyable, but it also is broadly recognized as a necessary tool for employee satisfaction and retention. The effort that is going into redesigning workspaces is reaching well beyond better furniture, lighting and color choices, however; indeed, it’s extending into bringing in more natural light and introducing naturecentered elements such as raw wood finishes, images hung on walls and plenty of plant life, including “living walls.” (These are large installations of greenery or plant life integrated directly as part of the architecture.) These often come with some expense and maintenance responsibility; nevertheless, the positive impact on an environment is so great that they’re becoming almost common- place in contemporary interior work environments and public spaces.

Enterprises are bringing in more natural light and introducing nature-centered elements such as raw wood finishes, images hung on walls and plenty of plant life, including “living walls.”

Apart from the physical environment, something else that has to be considered when designing for the next generation of UC solutions is the changing makeup of the human population. Currently, teams of baby boomers, gen Xers and millennials are defining the UC conditions of tomorrow. But, the reality is, we can’t design solely for our own generational needs and expectations; instead, we have to consider the needs and expectations of millennials, gen Zers and the nowbeing-hatched generation alpha. Most all of them will grow up never knowing of a world without smartphones.

Compromised global environmental conditions and dwindling natural resources will be an ongoing challenge for these generations. And, over the course of their lifetimes, they will see a world in which every square meter of Earth’s surface will offer cloud connectivity. Their relationship to technology and their expectations as regards ease of use and simple, compelling, intuitive user interfaces (UIs) will continue to be considered table stakes for manufacturers and developers alike. In addition, these audiences expect a certain amount of allure and an aspect of entertainment in their hardware and UI experiences. Like a bird showing its tailfeathers to attract a mate, our products and services will have to go well beyond fulfilling a specific function; they’ll have to romance and entertain our customers, too.

For far too long, we have been living in a world of black boxes that in no way attempt to integrate aesthetically into the environments for which they were designed. The next generation of UC devices must be designed to live in harmony with our evolving enterprise conditions; if this is done well, the devices should complement, enhance and even beautify the environments they occupy. If these are our expectations for simple tables, chairs or lamps, then they should be our expectations for our communication interfaces and hardware.

We’re seeing increased attention to design quality and execution in relation to enterprise environments. The days of bad lighting, cube furniture, and cold, drab colors and finishes are going away.

Following this path will require a paradigm shift in the way we designers approach our work. We have to think less appliance and more lifestyle accessory. We have to break the chains of black ABS plastic boxes with the addition of a few complementary shiny bits to finish them off. We have to draw deeper from color and material pallets that offer the same comforting and seductive qualities we’ve come to expect

from contemporary furniture, architecture, automobiles and other lifestyle accessories. UI solutions can no longer serve purely as a mechanism for displaying information and navigating from one condition to another. Such an approach will be perceived as soulless and uninteresting to our customers; such products will quickly fall by the wayside in favor of offerings that can capture end users’ hearts and imaginations.

We have to infuse our products with qualities that help establish a strong emotional connection between the device, the UI and the end user. Highly intuitive interfaces and seamless connections will quickly become table stakes for all UC solutions going forward. Devices whose manufacturers care enough to invest in developing solutions that are aesthetically seductive, that offer some form of entertainment value and that prove to be intellectually engaging will dominate the industry.

This is the challenge. This is our goal. We must not only calm the dynamic and increasingly turbulent waters of the UC environment, but also capture the hearts and minds of our customers by delivering product solutions that facilitate meeting their needs and—more profoundly—improve their overall quality of life. I’m not going to lie about this being a daunting task. But I have to tell you that not only is it possible, it’s actually happening at this very moment.

So, do yourself a favor and take a moment to pause and gaze out over a field or ocean, looking onto the distant horizon. Look to the skies through a dense patch of trees or to the ground at a simple grain of sand. There is a whole universe of inspiration and possibility to be found in the simplest of places, if only we are willing to look. We can truly change the way the world works and enable people to connect on a much more personal and meaningful level, provided that we’re courageous enough to act on those flashes of inspiration.