Choosing the best nicknames for your users: Which title suits your personality?
In the ever-evolving world of design, a significant shift is underway. Designers are increasingly favouring the use of terms like "people" or "humans" over the more clinical term "users" to describe those they create for [4]. This change in language is a reflection of a deeper recognition of the complexity and diversity of individuals beyond their role as users of a system or product.
This shift aligns with the broader trend towards human-centered design and co-creation, where the design process actively involves individuals as collaborators rather than passive recipients [1][4]. This approach emphasises designing for human experiences and acknowledges that these individuals have rich, multifaceted lives with varied needs and emotions.
The term "co-creator" is another term that has emerged in the design context, referring to users who take an active role in the design and production process, becoming partners with the design team and innovating constantly [4]. This trend is expected to bring a huge level of disruption to the world of design, with consumers becoming designers and playing an even bigger role in society and technological development.
Major companies like Nike, Lego, and P&G are already embracing this change, allowing customers to design and customise products online [5]. Internet and renewable energy technologies are merging to bring about this revolution, with 3D-Printing, Arduinos, Raspberry Pi, etc. placing powerful design tools in the hands of consumers [6].
The term "prosumer" was coined by Alvin Toffler and refers to a customer who helps a company design and produce its products [3]. Canon's business model is based on the concept of prosumers, with consumer, prosumer, and professional product ranges denoted by different digits [2].
However, it's important to note that the term "user" remains common in many contexts, especially in technical discussions. Designers are aware of its limitations and the importance of nuanced language [4]. The term "customer" can have a negative connotation, implying passivity and exclusion from the design process. On the other hand, the term "adapter" refers to users who can adapt products to better meet their own needs.
In user-centered design, users are considered at every phase of a design project to ensure designs are adapted to users' wants, needs, and limitations [7]. This approach rose to prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, with users playing a more active role in product and service development [7].
Fischer proposed a continuum that ranges from passive consumer to active consumer to end-user to user to power-user to domain-designer to meta-designer, indicating the emergence of adaptive design [1]. As we move forward into this new era of design, UX designers will need to adapt the tools of their trade and the language they use to accommodate this shift.
References:
- Fischer, J. (2010). The Prosumer Principle. Harvard Business Review.
- Canon Inc. (n.d.). Prosumer. Retrieved from https://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer_products/prosumer.aspx
- Toffler, A. (1980). The Third Wave. Bantam Books.
- Sanders, L. (2015). MakeTools: Techniques for Co-Creating a Better World. MIT Press.
- Nike (n.d.). Nike By You. Retrieved from https://www.nike.com/nikebyyou
- Lego (n.d.). Lego Ideas. Retrieved from https://ideas.lego.com/
- Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things. Revised and Expanded Edition. Basic Books.
- In the evolving world of design, a shift toward user-centered design is apparent, where the focus is on creating designs that cater to people's experiences, needs, and emotions, rather than just their role as users of a system or product.
- This human-centered approach to design overlaps with the trend of co-creation, where users actively participate in the design process as collaborators, rather than passive recipients, and the term 'co-creator' has emerged to describe this active role.
- As technology, such as 3D-Printing, Arduinos, Raspberry Pi, becomes more accessible to consumers, the concept of prosumers, who help companies design and produce products, is gaining prominence in the world of design, disrupting traditional roles and positioning consumers at the forefront of design and technological development.
