A presentation at FITC Spotlight UX by Kit Oliynyk
fi Designing for Chaos Kit Oliynyk orine
Designing for Chaos
The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley. Robert Burns
fi Designing for Serendipity Kit Oliynyk orine
Merriam Webster
chaos random unexpected experiences luck positive unexpected experiences serendipity positive unexpected discoveries
Finds something great that he didn’t expect without much trouble in a place it was meant to happen
Serendipity Positive something great for the user Unexpected something they don’t expect Effortless something they didn’t try hard for Discovery something that could be found
Leyla Acaroglu
Leyla Acaroglu
Design the environment instead of the experience. Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge via Getty Images
Create structure Deep research to nd what sparks joy. Identify and map the elements of a system to host serendipity. Lower expectations Simplify Progressively disclose, show less, save more for the serendipity. Eliminate the effort to get to serendipity. fi Define positive
Aaron Iker
Isil Uzum
Tsuriel
Tsuriel
Great UX is born in chaos— we serendipitously stumble upon it through user research.
How we think PM works How it really works itamargilad.com
Volatility Uncertainty Complexity Ambiguity
How to design for serendipity Design the environment, not just the experience. Use research to know what’s good for the user. Be very flexible, expect the unexpected. Prototype and test in low-fidelity first. Make small bets and always learn.
fi Any sufficiently positive serendipity is indistinguishable from magic. Kit Oliynyk orine
We are spiralling into chaos—the old world is crumbling before our eyes, life is getting more unpredictable and scary. It’s a good time for us to learn how to deal with our fear of the unknown, and how to harness our uncertainty into new ways to work and design.
Serendipity is when chaos seemingly organizes itself in a way that’s good for us—a magical feeling of being precisely in the right place at the right time, as if the entire Universe aligns perfectly with your wishes. Is there a way to design for serendipity?
How might we design magical experiences, systems and our own communities in a way that helps navigate through chaos and emerge into something new?
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