The deck of my talk at UX London 2013 on designing addicted products.
In a similar way to an addict, we are increasing getting rewards from our consumption of products - we simply have much more than we need. As designers, we can find strategies to cure this addiction or to push for a behavioural change. Still, most of it is in vane.
However, What if things themselves can be designed with a goal, which we may not understand or agree with, but that might bring to a long term positive change? What if we shifted perspective and the products themselves were instead addicted to be used - the primary concern of any product from its own perspective?
This is the story of Brad and a network of Addicted toasters, an experiment that explores the conversation between a product with its own goal and its owner and the implication coming from this product being part of a network of things and people.
4. FOCUS ON CHANGING RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PRODUCTS AND
PRODUCTS THEMSELVES
5. WHY ADDICTIONS ARE INTERESTING?
1. THE HIDDEN HOLY GRAIL OF EVERY DESIGN
2. A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OBJECTS
6. A state of imbalance/pressure
Misadaptation can bring to find an easy and quick solution to problems
HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME ADDICTED?
7. An extremely rewarding activity/substance
Something which effect can diminish because of tolerance and
brings to withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or stopped
HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME ADDICTED?
8. ADDICTIVE CHARACTER OF THE
COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS
THE MASS OBSESSION FOR FAME IS MATCHED
BY A COMPULSIVE CONSUMERISM CHARACTERIZED
NOT ONLY BY THE BUILT IN OBSOLENCE OF PRODUCTS
BUT ALSO OF THE LIFESTYLES AND MINDSETS
W.BURROUGHS, JUNKY
I’M GOING Tell you A LITTLE STORY about designing a behaviour and somehow how i ended up connecting things too...and well let’s wether i will provoking fear or wonder..
i started studying product design and one thing that kind of always influenced me was one sentence in the first day of courses... this put in perspective the responsibility that we have when we put something out there
even if we talk about digital solutions, indeed the world is plenty of things and in a non distopian future we may have to face scarsity of material as a game changer in our lives...
what i’m interested in is the more sociological approach to sustainability, meaning the realtionships and value we give to products.
1. THEY ARE THE MOST EXTREME RELATIONSHIP WITH A PRODUCT THAT SOMEONE COULD ACHIVE 2. THEY ARE A WAY OF EXPLAINING PART OF OUR ISSUES AS SOCIETY
after a pretty confusional dive in the mechanism of addictions, i managed to define a plausible model of how they works across different contexts, first there is a disequilibrium state which is either strictly personal or generated by external peer pressure.
this brings to look for some kind of relief, which, the more easy the more appealing becomes, but that can start this infinite loop of withdrawal, craving and conflicts that indeed bring back to more peer pressure.
We do indeed feel that instant gratification when we purchase something and our context gives that peer pressure both from our social surroundings and by the market which in a way bring us back to buying as a solution to alleviate. Mostly we try to focus on curing people, but as we know from other addictions, this happens only if the person itself wants to change.
What if we take the point of view of the product? what if we could design a product which has an equal opposite will, that has an internal reward to be used and has some kind of peer pressure?
i tried to take the point of view of an object and try to replicate this model in order to understand. Trying to replicate the idea of disequilbrium. (line) Making some kind of choice system. (balls) Understanding what peer pressure might look like (leds and servo).
What about a product? A toaster in this sense is the perfect example of something that we GIVE FOR GRANTED, THAT MOST LIKELY IS GOING TO BE THERE AND TAHT MAYBE IN A FUTURE OF SCARSITY IT MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE.. IT’S ALSO ALWAYS PRESENT IN ANY VISION OF THE INTERNET OF THINGS, AS ONE OF THE SMART PRODUCTS IN YOUR HOME THAT WOULD COLLABORATE WITH ALL THE OTHERS TO BRING YOU TOAST WHEN YOU NEED.
a smart product with its own goal could do something we might not understand or agree with. and will they actually agree. an electrolux and a samsung product?
but anyway if we take the point of view of a toaster: it’s biggest pleasure as any other product it’s being used.
but in the moment it is connected to others, its usage is compared to others and so can create a kind of peer product pressure.
WHAT COULD A PRODUCT DO TO TRY TO SUBTLY BE USED MORE? HOW WOULD THE INTERACTION CHANGE?
IT COULD START DOING IT INDIRECTLY TROUGH PRODUCTS IN ITS LOCAL NETWORK
OR IT COULD START TO REACH OUT TO ITS PEERS
OR EVENREACH OUTSIDE THE HOME AND FIND OTHER PEOPLE POTENTIALLY INTERESTED IN HIM
IT COULD HAVE AN APP TO ASK FOR FAKE USE (SOME KIND OF METHADONE) OR EVEN TRY TO USE SUBLIMINAL IMAGES HIJACKING THE SCREEN
AFTER PLAYING IN THE LAB SO I DECIDED TO PLACE THIS IN A REAL SCENARIO
SOME WANTED TO BE AVERAGE, SOME WANTED TO BE USED MORE
i distributed 5 of these toaster in london and people got intrigued
ANZI CHE SFORZARCI A CREARE PRODOTTI CHE LE PERSONE AMANO
MAGARI BASTEREBBE CERCARE INVECE DI PROGETTARE PRODOTTI CHE LORO STESSI AMANO ESSERE USATI