The Science of Happy Design - SXSW 2015

The science of

Happy

Design

@paminthelab Change Sciences

SXSW 2015

Technology makes us DIStracted

It leaves us Lonely

Reality is distorted

Technology may make us stoopider

Nomophobia yeah I think I have that

Beth, Millennial

“

We feel addicted

We can imagine HIGH-TECH

HAPPINESS

But then…

Pamela

Pavliscak (part researcher, part data scientist)

@paminthelab change sciences

data

despair

reality

WTF

experiments

happiness

Robot apocalypse the pursuit of happiness

Global Values Survey and Gallup Happy Planet Index

Access to technology can mean Greater

happiness

1996 Made first website

1997 Used Amazon.com for the first time

2000 Bought a Pets.com sock puppet

2001 Consulted fetus/fruit timeline on Babycenter.com

2008 Established dog’s social media presence

2013 Discovered Twitter

2014 Made a Tumblr blog with daughter

A few Happy moments

And there is this…

Is it possible for technology & happiness to

CO-EXIST?

We could ASK

Surveys

interviews

Diaries

SAMPLING

Observation

Biometrics

SENSING

Eye tracking

Social listening

We could OBSErVE

Surveys

interviews

Diaries

Sampling

Observation

Biometrics

Sensing

Eye tracking

Social listening

@paminthelab

We could TRACK

Surveys

interviews

Diaries

sampling

Observation

Biometrics

Eye tracking

sensing

Social listening

We could Listen

#100happydays

behavioral economics

neuroscience

positive psychology

happiness #instagood

micro-volunteering

affective computing

Online study

8000 people 300 sites Diaries

1000 people Interviews

500 people Social listening

50 concepts/brands

Does happiness matter?

Rated Better Than Other Sites

Ha

ppine

ss R

ating

Afte

r Use

N=8000

Happiness = Better

Amazon Zappos

Expedia

WebMD

Ally

HGTV

eHealth

Chase

Apple

Kayak

American HealthCare.gov Kayak Amazon Express

57 70 77 53

Happiness = likely to return

American HealthCare.gov Kayak Amazon Express

57 70 77 53

Likelihood to return

Ha

ppine

ss R

ating

Afte

r Use

Amazon Zappos

Expedia

WebMD Chase Home Depot

Kayak

Hotels.com USAA

@paminthelab

American HealthCare.gov Kayak Amazon Express

57 70 77 53

Happiness

R

ecom

mend

ation

s Happiness = Recommendations

Happy sites 65+ social sentiment score Less happy

45 avg social sentiment score

Happiness = Positive talk

What does happiness Mean?

Source: Change Sciences

Not too busy

Beautiful and colorful My favorites are easy to

use

It has to be simple & clean

Convenience above all else

People say this

parallax simple authentic

cinemagraph cats infographics video

mobile responsive

clever flat IoT

big

cards

blurred geometric

hipster low poly

Shutterstock, 2015

Designers think maybe this

WIFI

self- actualization

self- esteem

belonging

safety

physical well-being PERMA

There are Many models

Is it Delight?

delight

research

explore

create

analyze

plan

Everything on his site is funny but I have no idea why I would even need a password

Dave, GenX

“

I got a notification as I walked through the store as if my phone anticipated what I was going to do

Ronja, Millennial

“

meh wow OMG yes mmm

(

- - (

( (

( ( ! !

Happiness varies in intensity

weeks days hours minutes now now minutes hours days now

anticipate

savor

express

recall

Happiness unfolds over time

I use this app almost every day but I do not remember much really

Brett, Millennial

“

Design fog

connected

in control

entertained

challenged

nurtured

informed

smart

inspired

creative

Happiness is made of this

powerful

Pleasure

+ Purpose

Can we create Happiness?

01 ease

Source: Change Sciences

Ease

of

Use

Com

bined

Sco

re

75

Easy is the starting point

It takes a certain amount of Pavlovian conditioning to use the site

Mick, Gen X

“

AUTONOMY

I can accomplish it without questions

CONTROL

I am a bit less anxious

MASTERY

I’ve got this down

02 trust

AUTHENTICITY

There is a real person in there

RESPECT

You know the boundaries

I know it s an algorithm but it feels more like a friend

Ali, Millennial

“ ‘

CARE

You’ve got me covered

We were on the road and I worried a little but the system worked

Todd, GenX

“

03 creativity

+ + + =

WE feel EXPECTATION CREEP

PLAY

I can try things out without risk

Discovery

You surprise me a little

It is a balance of new discoveries and old friends

Adrianne, Millennial

“

Serendipity

I’ll leave it to you

Making

I can create what’s important to me

My little sister loves to draw and I love sharing photos of her

Antonia, GenZ

“

04 connection

LIKE-MINDED

I belong here

Seeing that people repost my pins makes me feel like I am actively involved in the art community

Alyson, Millennial

“

Presence

People I care about are here

I love to see what other people are looking for

Carol, Boomer

“

Community

We share an interest

I have connected with new people around the world and we help each other out all the time

Mike, Millennial

“

I feel happy when I can make someone else happy

April, Millennial

“

05 meaning

knowledge

I am constantly learning

CONTINUITY

I move between digital & real

I check on HONY every day because there is always a story that inspires me to do or give more

Janessa, Millennial

“

NARRATIVE

I’m part of a bigger story

Positive design is about possibilities

Positive design helps people be more awesome

Happiness

The one measure that matters

Just No

Source: Change Sciences

The happy path

Pleasure + purpose

elements of happiness

ease of use

creativity

trust connection

meaning

Positive Design

changesciences.com @paminthelab