Life and Death Design: What Life-Saving Technology Can Teach Everyday UX Designers

by Katie Swindler, Lisa Baskett (Foreword by)

Overview

Emergencies—landing a malfunctioning plane, resuscitating a heart attack victim, or avoiding a head-on car crash—all require split-second decisions that can mean life or death. Fortunately, designers of life-saving products have leveraged research and brain science to help users reduce panic and harness their best instincts. Life and Death Design brings these techniques to everyday designers who want to help their users think clearly and act safely. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933820842
Publisher:	Rosenfeld Media
Publication date:	01/11/2022
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	926,267
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Katie Swindler is a user experience strategist who writes and speaks on topics related to human-centered design. She was originally educated as a theater director, and because of that, she brings a unique perspective to digital work. She believes that if brands want to truly connect with consumers, they must combine emotion, utility, storytelling, and technology to fulfill real human needs. Katie is currently the Design Strategist for Allstate Insurance’s Innovation group, guiding the design of new products and services. Prior to joining Allstate, she was a UX Director at FCB Chicago, where she was the UX lead on the 2016 global redesign of JackDaniels.com, as well as the lead experience designer for many other clients such as Cox Communications, Meow Mix, and Toyota Financial Services. Katie is an experienced presenter who has spoken on UX topics internationally at design industry events such as SXSW Interactive and IxDA Interaction. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Jacob, daughter, Olive, and their snuggly pup, Rocket Rainbow.

Table of Contents

How to Use This Book vi

Frequently Asked Questions viii

Foreword xiii

Introduction xv

Chapter 1 A Designer's Guide to the Human Stress Response 1

What Happens in a Moment of Acute Stress? 3

Startle Reflex Considerations 7

Intuitive Assessment Considerations 7

Fight, Flight, or Freeze Considerations 8

Reasoned Reaction Considerations 9

Recovery Period Considerations 12

Finding the Peak Stress Points for Your Users 12

Critical information: The Human Stress Response 13

Chapter 2 The Startle Reflex 17

Dissecting a Jump Scare 19

Harnessing a Startle 26

Protection from Jerks 35

Critical Information: Startle Reflex 42

Chapter 3 Intuitive Assessment 45

The Science of Intuition 46

Pattern's Role in the Formation of Intuition 49

When to Trust the Gut 52

Developing Intuition in Your Users 54

Harnessing Intuition 62

When Intuition Cannot Be Trusted 67

Critical Information: Intuitive Assessment 75

Chapter 4 Fight, Flight, or Freeze 79

How the Fight-or-Flight Response Works 82

Fleeing Toward Help 85

De-escalation Techniques for UIs 87

Getting Unstuck 93

Design Techniques for Fight or Flight 95

Critical Information: Fight or Flight 103

Chapter 5 Reasoned Reaction 107

Zero Familiarity 110

Experts in the Unpredictable 118

Protecting Against Bias 124

Calculating Morality 127

Critical Information: Reasoned Reaction 132

Chapter 6 Recovery 135

Recovery Time 139

Calming Aesthetics 143

Gaining Closure After a Stressful Event 149

The Most Essential Thing: Human Connection 152

Critical Information: Recovery 157

Chapter 7 Alarms and Alerts 161

Creating Systems to Communicate Status Changes 165

Alarms That Are Smarter and More Aware 172

Maximizing Meaning in Alarms 175

Critical Information: Alarms and Alerts 181

Chapter 8 Hero by Design 183

Inspiring Perseverance 184

Supporting Users in the Moment of Truth 194

The Human Factors of Heroics 197

Critical Information: Hero by Design 205

Coda 207

Index 209

Acknowledgments 223

About the Author 228

Editorial Reviews

Katie Swindler does a brilliant job of breaking down our stress response, with vivid stories that demonstrate how the systems we create can help or hinder at critical times.”
— Carolyn Chandler, coauthor, A Project Guide to UX Design and Adventures in Experience Design

“A must-read for anyone who designs in service to the real world.”
— Lauren Liss, Assistant Professor, Columbia College Chicago

"To gain amazing insight from Swindler's excellent book, you don't need to be someone who designs for people in extremis. You just need to be someone who designs for people under stress, which is, of course, everybody."
— Jon Bloom, Ph.D., Staff Conversation Designer, Google 

“You’ll be returning to this one again and again.”
— Melissa Smith, PhD, UX Researcher, YouTube

From the Publisher