a fly on the wall

Jens van Heijningen (third year student) photographs on film, taking his time to observe and operate the camera. He is a fly on the wall who tries to capture the essence of moments. Anything that is beautiful, remarkable, fascinating or inspiring may be his subject. Landscapes, humans, clouds, industry, mountains and the people he loves. An edition of his digital photobook can be found @fotoboek_jens.

by Isis Verhaag

Heijningen

In our everyday use of autoplay functions, package lockers and self-scanning systems, clashes between the user and the world in which their use takes place are carefully avoided. In this world smoothed of discomfort, a beaten path with as little friction as possible remains. The designer shaping this frictionless world seems to be lost in an unending quest for absolute convenience.

by Thijmen de Ruiter

To better understand this search for ease in design, it is best to look at the exact opposite, discomfort. Discomfort consists of the hindrances, unpleasantness and overall effort. As users, why would we choose this option with greater resistance when we can take the path without obstacles? It is the reason why we take offroad shortcuts when using bike lanes, make online shopping purchases and checkout groceries at the self-scanning checkout. Optimal convenience and especially eliminating inconvenience has thus become a core value when designing product-service systems that the designer should optimally comply with.

With the increasing smoothening of usage and the elimination of inconvenience, our society has changed. Our attitude towards usage when nothing is left to chance has led to a preordained user experience. The use to which we subject ourselves has, without friction, only a beginning and an end. Without disturbances, usage transforms into a mush of subordinate memories in which only the essence seems to count.

This brings us to the added value of discomfort. Discomfort fosters the overall awareness of use and hence the user’s critical attitude towards use itself. When we experience resistance as users, we face trade-offs. Considerations about possible next steps to overcome resistance but also internal considerations about the utility of the use itself. ‘When you can’t figure out the drawings in the manual of an IKEA closet, you first start thinking about how the wooden joints are related to each other and then speculate that an instructional video possibly would have been the better option.’

Only when we pay attention to the use as a whole are we concerned with its impact. This critical examination of usage leads to insights. Insights that better reflect our actual needs and go beyond the essence of use.

Besides the inability to look critically at usage, convenience takes away some of the user’s autonomy and increasingly leaves this interpretation to the designer. The best examples of this are suggestive recommendations tailored to personal use. ‘Looking for a suitable evening meal? The AH app already has a few personalised discounts ready for you that meet your meal preferences. Curious about that band you visited at Lowlands the other night? Instagram, via your location, time and interests, has already put them on the ‘discover page’. By indirectly making only choices that are presented to us, we lose our influence on usage and thus autonomy and the grip on the world around us.