Designing for Respect

Introduction

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”

Voltaire

Today, designers have a lot of power. We are responsible for orchestrating innumerable interactions that transpire daily on a wide variety of digital devices. And sometimes we forget the influence we have on fellow citizens as we fall into the routine of executing our work and packaging the next deliverable. Often, our sense of accomplishment is rooted in satisfying business requirements for clients or internal strategy teams. When we do stick around to gauge the success of a design, it’s often measured in business terms: engagement, conversion, click-through rates, and so on. But what if we also measured success in more human terms, such as hours saved or smiles invoked? It is uncommon to attribute a portion of a product’s success to how it makes users feel. Apart from providing basic utility, did it speak to users’ human needs? Did it bring them joy? Was it patronizing or condescending? What if the end experience, while deemed successful from a business perspective, causes additional stress or confusion, or wastes a user’s time? If one moment is deceitful or wasteful, when multiplied by potentially millions of users, we realize designers have a responsibility that borders on the domain of public health. Two years ago, 67% of Americans were estimated to spend an average of 34 hours a month on smartphones alone. That’s a lot of interactions—we don’t need to do the math to realize that one design decision goes a long way.

I propose that at the core of our interactions with technology, as with one another, is the desire for a simple but crucial attribute: respect. When users are respected, it’s because we have acknowledged their efforts, their time, and their feelings. We’ve told the truth, listened, and given them space. And the scaled effect of many happy, respected users has a global impact because of the sheer scale to which digital interactions pervade our lives today. The reverse is also true for stressed or frustrated users.

In the world of UX design, many of our solutions may seem innocuous, but a great many are deceitful or cause user stress. Some of these misleading designs have become infamous and are categorized as Dark Patterns. In this report, we will examine digital design through an ethical lens with the hope of raising awareness that honest and respectful design is better for business, users, and society than trickery or carelessness. First, we will investigate some examples of disrespectful design and how they impact users’ trust, time, and emotions. We will also look at examples of respectful design for inspiration, as well as some original concepts for services that both aid businesses while respecting their users. Finally, to round out the exploration, we will give designers a framework for choosing clients or potential employers with an ethical lens. The hope is that this exploration will start a dialogue among designers, technologists, and business owners, with the hope that they can start to embrace the importance of ethics and recognize the value of respectful design.

Defining Respect

Many have written and spoken about design ethics. Jackson Fox has written about designing for politeness and Tristan Harris has spoken about design that makes a good relationship. For our purposes, we will focus mostly on the degree to which a user’s experience with digital technology is respectful. The most applicable definition of respect is “to have due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of (someone).” To evaluate respect in user experience, I’d like to examine three elements embedded in this definition: trust, time, and emotional effect. Trust arises as a result of transparency and straightforwardness. Time refers to time wasted or spent productively. Emotional effect is the emotional response that an interaction elicits in the user.

If we satisfy these parameters, then we can argue that our digital conversations meet the demands of businesses as well as their users. As designers, we should reflect on the interactions that we create and ask ourselves Did I waste someone’s time? Did I tell the truth in a straightforward way? Did I avoid criticizing or confusing the user? Was I polite? These are the questions we will focus on with regard to respectful design.

Who This Report Is For

The target audience for this report is primarily digital designers of all varieties (UX, interaction, graphic, visual, product), business/product owners, developers, IT and marketing professionals, or anyone else who works with a designer to create digital services that affect many users. Beyond the realm of design, this is also for anyone who is curious about ethics and well-being as it relates to digital experiences. Nonindustry readers may also gain better awareness and a desire to feel more respected in their digital interactions.