Designerly Ways of Knowing #34: Design's Unintended Consequences
We are responsible for what we design so let's bring more awareness to the consequences of our designs.
In this new series, I explore designer, educator, and researcher Danah Abdulla’s prompts from her book "Designerly ways of knowing: a working inventory of things a designer should know." which challenge us to expand our knowledge and strengthen our commitment to making the world a better place through design.
#34. Design's Unintended Consequences
“Designing is fundamental to being human - we design, deliberate, plan and scheme in ways which prefigure our actions and makings - we design our world, while our world acts back on us and designs us.”_
- Anne-Marie Willis, professor and editor of Design Philosophy Papers
Uber promised freedom of movement, but contributed to traffic congestion.
Instagram connected people creatively, but also enabled cyberbullying.
Facebook’s algorithms optimized for engagement, but fueled misinformation.
The designs we create are not innocent.
The designs we create have unintended consequences that can do real damage and even turn deadly in the case of cyberbullying.
Even the small design decisions we make, like using Western-only names or relying on stock imagery of stereotypical perfection, can unintentionally mislead, exclude, or harm.
It's not a question of skill or money, because companies like Uber, Instagram, and Facebook have the best designers and researchers in the industry and the largest budgets.
What could cause the unintended consequences in our designs?
We can think of this problem in three layers.
The first is systematic pressures within a growth-at-all-costs modus operandi. As journalist Om Malik puts it, “It’s hard to think about the human consequences of technology as a founder of a startup racing to prove itself or as a chief executive who is worried about achieving the incessant growth that keeps investors happy.”
When we design a system that prioritizes progress at all costs and endlessly satisfies shareholders, we can't afford to pause and consider the real consequences of our designs.
The second is process flaws, where we design for the "happy path" and ignore the ways our designs break and cause issues because we didn't spend the time to explore the "not-so-happy paths".
The third layer is human psychology, which deals with our inherent cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are the mental shortcuts our minds take based on past experiences, which can distort our perception of the present moment, leading to inaccurate judgments and flawed decision-making. If we dig a bit deeper into the way we design, we see that our human psychology also plays a role in these scenarios.
Here are a few of the cognitive biases that affect how we design:
Optimism bias - thinking our own risks are less risky than other people's.
Confirmation bias - We selectively interpret data to show our designs have a positive impact, while ignoring the data that tells a different story.
Groupthink - We don't want to be the person on the team who rocks the boat, so we fail to speak up and challenge questionable assumptions.
Framing bias - How we frame a problem, either positively or negatively, influences our perceptions and decision-making
Here is a good explanation for unconscious biases:
What can designers do when even the best laid plans go awry?
By taking a holistic approach to our design, we can start with a wide lens and narrow down to the smaller details.
Here are a few recommendations:
Commit to ethics early
By establishing and committing to ethical principles early in the design process, you can set the stage for awareness of situations as they arise around fairness, transparency, inclusivity, privacy, and sustainability.
Tools to use:
Think in systems, not artifacts
What happens when our designs are used over time, at scale, and in different, not-so-perfect contexts?
Tools to use:
Widen your perspective
By working with team members, customers, and community members with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences, we can prevent working with blind spots.
Tools to use:
Expand your worldview
Unlearn old and unhelpful ideas and practices
Challenge your assumptions
Question established norms
Collaborate with diverse teams and team members
Design for edge cases
Ask yourself how my design could be misused? Or are there any dark patterns within my design?
Tools to use:
User story mapping
Usability testing with primary and secondary customer groups to consider the wider impact
Create Antipersonas - design with a user group that could misuse your product in a way you never intended.
Continuously iterate, test, and refine, even after launching.
By bringing awareness, humility, and curiosity, we designers can help prevent the unintended negative consequences of our designs so the most good can be done for the most people possible.
Reflection Prompt
💬 What can you do to expand your knowledge of identities and life experiences that are different from your own?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
Mindful, by design.
The Mindful Designer is a space to pause, reflect, and explore the ideas that shape how we design and how design shapes us.