Xperience This!

How to Give Your Audience a Voice in Their Ever-changing World

In 2004, in a Scientific American article titled The Tyranny of Choice,  Barry Shwartz  posited a counterintuitive argument about the effects of having too many choices (e.g. do we need 38 different kinds of milk?).  He questioned why “people are increasingly unhappy even as they experience greater material abundance and freedom of choice? Recent psychological research suggests that increased choice may itself be part of the problem.”

I count myself among those who struggle with choice.  I am virtually paralyzed when handed the phone book sized menu at The Cheesecake Factory.  The only place I find an easy time eating out is at a wedding (i.e. Meat, Chicken or Fish works great). 

This idea of the tyranny of choice got me thinking about a similar phenomenon that occurs with rapid innovation and change.  The speed at which new products, interfaces and services are introduced is generally something to admire and celebrate as “Good”.  But it is as daunting as it is impressive, and there’s not always a positive experience for the customers or employees faced with all this change. More »

So I’m a little late jumping onto the New Year prediction band wagon.  And maybe I cheated a little because my prediction is actually based on what’s already happened in the first couple of weeks of the year. Nevertheless, you heard it here first – 2010 is the Year of the Experience.  This will be the year where Experience Design (XD) becomes widely understood and embraced as a competitive advantage for businesses.  The evidence: Domino’s Pizza’s new ad campaign and Steve Kroft ’s January 10th 60 Minutes story about a multi-billion dollar border security project gone bad. More »