Going through some very old tabs again and came across Hidden Brain, Persuasion: Part 1, which I remember keeping open for a very specific reason, that I can’t remember now, despite a quick re-read of the transcript.

It’s possible I just wanted to link to it and add some notes, as it’s full of great stories, and examples of flaws in our brain that allow us to be easily persuaded.

I’m glad to have re-found it then, as along with deceptive.design patterns, it could be a nice extra reference for a UI design course that I’ve been asked to write for Berghs, in which there’s a theme of ‘user psychology and designer responsibility’ running throughout.

More generally, the podcast is in line with my belief that all design is ultimately about persuasion. The existence and popularity of the term ‘persuasive design’ therefore has always irked me. It’s a tautology. Maybe, I can see the use of saying ‘persuasive design’ if it’s in a sentence such as ‘we need to do some particularly persuasive design in order to cause this specific user behaviour’, but then it’s just for emphasis.

I’ve been thinking about persuasion, convincing and selling in design a lot of late, as per two recent mentions of a design manager friend, managing a designer that says they’re not a salesperson. Yes they are. Both in selling and convincing others of their ideas, and in persuading the end users to happily and successfully interact with whatever they’re designing.

Maybe this is mostly just a semantics issue, as is my tendency to believe many issues are, but between re-visiting the podcast and spending a lot of time recently considering the role, responsibility, and potential power of UI designers, I think it’s worth talking about.

As I write, I’m reminded of the the story that…

It’s Nice That was founded in 2007 in response to a university brief to “put something into the public domain that makes people feel better about themselves”

itsnicethat.com/about

The antithesis of deceptive.design. And a reference point that’s been on my mind since at least 2015.

There are many more overlaps here to do with accessibility, social responsibility, and design ethics more broadly, but that’s all for another time, or more hopefully, another series of conversations and debates.