Design is powerful – it can generate excitement, bring joy, provoke anger, or trigger anxiety, sometimes all in the same interaction. From the big decisions about a product’s purpose all the way down to the myriad pixel-level arguments lost and won, designers have a great responsibility to safeguard the happiness of the users we serve. But what do we really know about the nature of happiness? And how can we actually make everyone happy? In this talk, Kathi Kaiser (Co-Founder & COO, Centralis) deconstructs the concept of “happiness” and offer designers a framework for considering the emotional impact of their work. She explores the meaning, dimensions, and pre-conditions of happiness while examining the wide range of satisfying outcomes and their implications for design. Drawing on recent research in psychology as well as real-world design examples, you’ll learn when and how to evoke joy, humor, reassurance, comfort, and other positive feelings through applying a set of guiding principles for the pursuit of happiness.

1. How Designers Can Make the World a
Happier Place
UXPA Boston 2018
Kathi Kaiser
Centralis
@kathikaiser
@Centralis_UX

2. Can designers make the world happier?
@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
What We’ll Talk About
If yes…
(hint: it’s yes)

3. What types of happiness can we design for?
When should we design for different types of happiness?
And how do we do it?
@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
What We’ll Talk About

4. Think of a moment in the past week
when you felt happy
Let’s get started
4@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX

5. What made me happy this week:
5@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX

6. What makes me Happy In Life:
6@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX

7. Happiness for me
7@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
“happy” moments + “Happy” In Life

8. Happiness for you…?
8@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
“happy” moments + “Happy” In Life

9. Psychology and the Pursuit of Happiness
9@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
Historically, the field of psychology did not concern
itself with happiness.

10. Psychology and the Pursuit of Happiness
10
The belief was, our genes
set our happiness...
…and thanks to
hedonic adaptation,
we’re never satisfied.

11. Then came positive psychology
“We believe that a psychology of positive
human functioning will arise that achieves a
scientific understanding and effective
interventions to build thriving in individuals,
families, and communities.“
-Martin Seligman and
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Psychology and the Pursuit of Happiness
11

12. Where does happiness come from?
12
50% “Set Point” -
Genetics
Lyubomirsky, S, Sheldon, K.M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable
Change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111- 131.

13. Where does happiness come from?
13
50% “Set Point” -
Genetics
10% circumstances
Lyubomirsky, S, Sheldon, K.M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable
Change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111- 131.

14. Where does happiness come from?
14
Lyubomirsky, S, Sheldon, K.M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable
Change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111- 131.
50% “Set Point” -
Genetics
10% circumstances
40% intentional activities

15. Where does happiness come from?
15
50% “Set Point” -
Genetics
10% circumstances
40% intentional activities
Half of what
makes us happy
can be impacted
by design.
@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX

16. Where does happiness come from?
16
50% “Set Point” -
Genetics
10% circumstances

17. Where does happiness come from?
17
50% “Set Point” -
Genetics
40% intentional activities

18. Subjective well-being =
+ frequent positive affect (little “happy”)
+ infrequent negative affect
+ high life satisfaction (big “Happy”)
Defining “Happiness”
18

19. Defining “Happiness”
19
Happy-o-meter
@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX

20. Can we make people happier?
20
Yes!
Designers can make people happier every day
by delivering more frequent positive affect,
and less frequent negative affect.
@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX

21. Can we make people happier?
21
Ok, great!
(But how?)
@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX

22. A Framework for Happiness
22
Camaraderie
Exhilaration
Comfort
Achievement

23. Efficiency
Dimensions of Happy Interactions
23
Engagement
Dimension #1:
“I enjoy doing it!”“I enjoy that it’s DONE.”

24. Efficiency
Dimensions of Happy Interactions
24
Engagement
Dimension #1:

25. Efficiency
Dimensions of Happy Interactions
25
Engagement
Dimension #1:

26. Agency
Dimensions of Happy Interactions
26
Abandon
Dimension #2:
“Ahh, you got this…”“I GOT this.”

27. Agency
Dimensions of Happy Interactions
27
Dimension #2:

28. Dimensions of Happy Interactions
28
Dimension #2:
Abandon
“You want the water to be nice
and warm and you want your
beer to be cold. And that’s the
perfect day, right there.”

29. Agency
A Framework for Happy Interactions
29
Abandon
Efficiency Engagement

30. A Framework for Happy Interactions
30
Agency
Engagement
Mastery
“I can do this,
and it’s AWESOME.”

31. A Framework for Happy Interactions
31
Agency
Engagement
Mastery

32. A Framework for Happy Interactions
32
Agency
Engagement
Mastery
Design Principles:
+ Introduce features over time
+ Progressively increase skill level needed
+ Provide feedback

33. Agency
A Framework for Happy Interactions
33
Efficiency
“Mission accomplished!”
Accomplishment

34. Agency
A Framework for Happy Interactions
34
Efficiency
Accomplishment

35. Agency
A Framework for Happy Interactions
35
Accomplishment
Efficiency
Design Principles:
+ Be comprehensive
+ Be transparent
+ Communicate tradeoffs
+ Use design conventions
+ Minimize steps

36. A Framework for Happy Interactions
36
Abandon
Efficiency
“Thank goodness THAT’s done!”
Completion

37. A Framework for Happy Interactions
37
Abandon
Efficiency
Completion

38. A Framework for Happy Interactions
38
Abandon
Efficiency
Completion
Design Principles:
+ Establish trust
+ Communicate only what’s necessary
+ Use design conventions
+ Minimize steps

39. A Framework for Happy Interactions
39
Abandon
Engagement
“Wow, that is amazing!”
Discovery

40. A Framework for Happy Interactions
40
Abandon
Engagement
Discovery

41. A Framework for Happy Interactions
41
Abandon
Engagement
Discovery
Design Principles:
+ Lead with content
+ Build on prior knowledge
+ Use interaction to support, not detract
+ Have fun!

42. Agency
A Framework for Happy Interactions
42
Abandon
Efficiency Engagement
Mastery
DiscoveryCompletion
Accomplishment
Design for the
appropriate happiness goal,
moment by moment and
context by context.

43. Subjective well-being =
+ frequent positive affect (little “happy”)
+ infrequent negative affect
+ high life satisfaction (big “Happy”)
In Summary
43

44. + Frequent Positive Affect
44
Happy-o-meter

45. + Infrequent Negative Affect
45
Bad usability kills happiness.

46. + High Life Satisfaction
46

47. A Final Word
47
We can make the world a happier place,
one interaction at a time.

48. Thanks!
UXPA Boston 2018
Kathi Kaiser
Centralis
@kathikaiser
@Centralis_UX