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Hidden By Design

Hidden By Design

By Hidden By Design

We believe that the best and most pleasurable design, is the design that you dont see, the design that is hidden, and works without you noticing.
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S2E15 - Hidden by Design - Teslers Law

Hidden By DesignMar 20, 2024

00:00
33:44
S2E15 - Hidden by Design - Teslers Law
Mar 20, 202433:44
S2E14 - Hidden By Design - Good Designs

S2E14 - Hidden By Design - Good Designs

A while back, we asked around for everyones favourite designs and what good design meant to them. In this episode we go through some of the answers and have a discussion about that.

Thank you to all who contributed, it was really a pleasure reading and discussing all of this with you.

Mar 06, 202425:01
S2E13 - Hidden By Design - Time

S2E13 - Hidden By Design - Time

Time and the use of time is massively underestimated as a tool for anyone who is creating experiences.

As a designer, and creator of creative content, there is two types of times. Physical time and Experienced time.

In this episode, you will learn how to relate to time as a designer, and how you use this knowledge to change the users experience of time in your creations and designs.

We are going to cover FOMO, Peak end Rule, Parkinsons Law and to Goal gradient effect amongst other things.

And then a little easer egg at the end... dad humor is the best.

Feb 21, 202432:43
S2E12 - Hidden By Design - Nudging

S2E12 - Hidden By Design - Nudging

Nudging is the art of "ever so gently" influencing someones behaviour. This could be as simple as a countdown counter to make someone make a choice faster, or in a more serious case, package pills in a way that lowers the suicide rate on a national scale.

The definition of a Nudge is, any aspect of the choice architecture that alters peoples behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentive. To count as a mere nudge the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates.

In this episode you will learn about

Choice architecture. 
Nudges, Sludges, Friction and Libertarian Paternalism
Suicide rates and Gym memberships

Feb 08, 202430:02
S2E11 - Hidden By Design - Psychological Safety

S2E11 - Hidden By Design - Psychological Safety

Respect a whole person, before you expect a whole person! Let me start by killing a misconspetion about Psychological safety.

There is no "Kumbaya" over it, and it does not mean that there will be no conflicts. In fact, Psychologica Safety is about handling conflicts in a constructive way. Its about fostering intelectual disagreements and using them, and its about avoiding personal attacks which are unconstructive.

By fostering Psychological Safety, you can increase productivity, innovation, good designs and so much more. You will be able to have great days at work, and you will end up bringing.. not only your hands and brains to work, but also your heart.

Jan 24, 202446:24
S2E10 - Hidden By Design - Creativity

S2E10 - Hidden By Design - Creativity

Creativity is not just something someone is. Creativity is something that you can be, and train yourself to be.

How can I do this, you might ask yourself! Well, you can start by listening to this episode of Hidden By Design, were we will describe what creativity is, and secondly.. and maybe for some more importantly. The Hidden By Designs three step guide to being creative. (Poorly performed by Martin and Mr. T)

Step 1. Be curious. Find ways to be inspired, and map this out, so you have dots to connect.
Step 2. Connect the dots. Focus on the problem, while trying to find ways to connect the dots. This can take time.
Step 3. Express your thoughts. In writing, drawing, dancing, get feedback or any other way you prefere to express yourself. And then you repeat, you go back to step one.

Jan 10, 202451:48
S2E9 - Hidden By Design - Design and AI

S2E9 - Hidden By Design - Design and AI

There is a lot of talk about AI these days. And when it comes to Design and Creatives, there is a lot of fear that AI will come to take our jobs. At Hidden By Design we believe that AI wont take your job. But if you dont start working with AI then Designers who work with AI will take your job.

In this episode we talk about the Turning test. You will also learn what Large Language Models and Generative AI is, and how it is used. And a bunch more.

So buckle in, and have fun in this Episode of Hidden by Design.

Fun little quizz here at the end. How many times does Martin and I say the phrase Chat GTP..PTG..GPT wrong?

Dec 27, 202342:56
S2E8 - Hidden By Design - Design Thinking

S2E8 - Hidden By Design - Design Thinking

Design thinking is not a new concept, in fact, some would claim that its more than 80 years old and in the making.

Design thinking is a method to address human needs and desires in a technologically feasible and strategically viable manner. But how does it connect with the famous three-step business plan of "1 collect underpants, 2 ....mumble mumble... 3 profit"? (Credits to South Park)

Design thinking takes business seriously, but shifts the focus from profits to people. It emphasizes divergent thinking—opening minds to new ideas—and convergent thinking—narrowing down possibilities.

We talk a bit about: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. The Empathize stage compels us to walk in the user's shoes, truly understanding their needs. The Define stage crystallizes the problem at hand, determining what needs solving. The Ideation stage, generating a bunch of solution suggestions. Prototyping brings the ideas to life, ready for testing on users, so that we can either build or refine.

Lastly, we talk about the "One Two Four Many" method? and the idea of solutions having to be "Viable, Feasible, Desirable." For a solution to succeed, it must meet these criteria.

Dec 13, 202346:36
S2E7 - Hidden By Design - How to Feedback

S2E7 - Hidden By Design - How to Feedback

Getting feedback can feel overwhelming and be a bad experience, if done wrong. It can feel personal and agressive, and can often leave you feeling bad about yourself.

Giving feedback is a super difficult, and is not, contrary to popular belief an exercie of guiding people by telling them what to do, its about making people understand what to do.

Giving feedback is not about finding and sharing solutions, its about finding problems.

In this episode you will learn:

  • What feedback really is.
  • How to recive feedback, and use these sessions contstuctively.
  • How to give feedback the right way.
  • How to avoid getting into a defensive mode, where you stop listening
  • How to help people open up to recieve feedback
  • How you can be candid and kind at the same time.
Nov 29, 202338:43
S2E6 - Hidden By Design - Design Systems and Design Languages

S2E6 - Hidden By Design - Design Systems and Design Languages

Design Systems is the bridge between professions which most important role is to be the foundation of creating a culture. This is one of the new enlightenments I got out of listening to John Bevan talking about his Passion for Design Systems.

If you want to have a clear brand, but at the same time, want to build products fast, and with a consistent designs and experiences, then this episode is just for your. And even though we talk about this from the perspective of big companies, then most of this also works for small companies as well.

This talk was inspireing and educational like nothing else. Take a listen yourself.

Nov 15, 202351:09
S2E5 - Hidden By Design - Motion design

S2E5 - Hidden By Design - Motion design

Motion design is the trade of making design move. In this episode we interview Mark Lawrence, a 24 years in the making and super talented Motion Designer, and he tells us all of the knicks and knacks of motion design.

We learn what it is, and what his day to day job entails.

From a personal point of view, my favourite bit was understanding that Marc is the salt of any design, enhancing and pushing the original design to the edge and really making people engage in what you want them to engage in.

Nov 01, 202350:03
S2E4 - Hidden By Design - Millers Law

S2E4 - Hidden By Design - Millers Law

George Miller, wrote a paper in 1965, called “The magical number seven, plus or minus two” which describes limits to our capacity for processing information.

This paper laid out the groundwork for “Miller’s Law”, which is “The average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their working memory.”

In this episode we talk about how this does not nessecarily a limit that means that you can only handle 7 items, but rather, that you have to be thoughtful about how you manage information, and as a designer, you think about how you chunk your data, and build hierarchies of information, for the user to comprehend information better.

Oct 18, 202331:60
S2E3 - Hidden By Design - Hicks Law

S2E3 - Hidden By Design - Hicks Law

How fast, or how slow, are you at taking action and making desicions ? Well, that really depends on how many things you are supposed to relate to, how clear the hieracy of the design is presented, how much else is disturbing the picture, and etc. Hicks law is a way to calculate your designs and how hard it will be to use, and it looks like this:

RT = a + b log2 (n)
Response time = personal + environmental * Log2(number)

This episode is HARD CORE. And you really have to hang on to get it all.
If you have questions, this might be the episode where you should ask!

Oct 04, 202339:02
S2E2 - Hidden By Design - Gamification

S2E2 - Hidden By Design - Gamification

Gamification is NOT when you add a leaderboard and set highscores. Gamification is NOT when you simply take popular gamemechanics and push them into your designs, thinking that it will increase engagement.

But what is is then?

Listen to this episode about gamification, and you will learn what gamification is. You will also learn how to identify it, and what important elements you need to have in order to engage your users with gamification.

Sep 20, 202332:39
S2E1 - Hidden By Design - Deceptive Design

S2E1 - Hidden By Design - Deceptive Design

We dive into the topic of Deceptive Design (formerly referred to as “Dark Design”). We unravel it and tell you how to steer clear of its pitfalls.

Season two starts of with a bang of a quote, The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.

We explore a range of captivating topics, from Indulgences to marital infidelity and Amazon’s auto-subscription delivery service.

Throughout our discussions, we’ll peel back the layers of complexity surrounding deceptive design, using a hammer to illustrate that the tools themselves aren’t inherently bad; it’s all about how designers wield them that makes the difference. Join us on a as we talk about design ethics!

And if that’s not enough to pique your interest, stay tuned for a bonus segment where we grapple with the perplexing challenge of selecting our top three onions and imagine what we’d do if given the chance to redesign the onion itself. Intrigued?

Don’t miss out!

Sep 06, 202331:54
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Season 2 Teaser

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Season 2 Teaser

We have ended season 1.

And to be honest, we cannot wait to start releasing Season 2 and all of the amazing stuff we have in store for you.
So, stay tuned, in a couple of weeks we will be with you again, and start releasing the next season. With all of our podcast learnings applied, and a few guests as well along the line.

Thank you for listning, and see you on the other side :)

Aug 11, 202303:11
Hidden By Design - Episode 14 - Questions
Jul 26, 202342:19
Hidden By Design - Episode 13 - Season Finale "The test"

Hidden By Design - Episode 13 - Season Finale "The test"

The season finale is upon us, but fear not, its only a short break while we prepare season 2.

We will be back in September again.

In this episode you will learn if Martin paid attention during class, and that Thorbjorn prepared some really though questions for Martin to answer.

So Quizz along with Martin here, and see if you can get a better result than Martin.

See you in Season 2. Where we improved a lot of things, so dont miss out!

Jul 12, 202346:13
Hidden By Design - Episode 12 - Gestalt

Hidden By Design - Episode 12 - Gestalt

Buckle up for another mind-bending episode of Hidden By Design, where we unravel the mysteries of perception with a dash of humor and wit.

According to the words of Gustave Flaubert, 'There is no truth. There is only perception.'

And in this episode we talk about the fascinating concept of perception from the angle of “Gestalt laws of perceptual organization”.

We will be taking on the laws one by one showing you the basics. From the intriguing 'Figure Ground' to the difficult to pronounce 'Law of Prägnanz,' we'll break them down and make them as easy to digest as your favorite snack.

The 8 Gestalt laws are:

Figure Ground

Law of Prägnanz

Uniform Connectedness

Good Continuation

Proximity

Closure

Common Fate

Similarity.


Thorbjørn ask Martin a LOT of interesting questions and the conversation gets a little be off track, when Martin mentions is Squad cage.. witch for some reason sends Thorbjørn into a "hard to control giggle" - he never knew that there was such a thing!

This brings us to the big takeaway.

The world is a crazy place, and our brains are the ultimate simplifiers, which is really good as it enables us to comprehend a lot of information at once. But also, its a thing to be aware of, as it will often result in us misleading ourselves.

Join us on this episode, and have some "perception party time!"

Disclaimer: No brains were harmed during the making of this episode. We promise.

Jun 28, 202342:25
Hidden By Design - Episode 11 - Emotional Design

Hidden By Design - Episode 11 - Emotional Design

Welcome to our latest episode on Hidden by Design where we will be talking about 'Emotional Design,' we dive deep into the magical world of aesthetics and its impact on our creativity and problem-solving abilities.

As Don Norman famously stated, 'attractive things make people feel good, which in turn makes them think more creatively.' And who doesn't want a little more creativity in their lives?

To understand the nuances of emotional design, we embark on a journey through the depths of our mind (and Marins Guitars, hehe). We will cover the Viceral, Behavioural, and Reflective parts of our psyche, as these elements influence us and our actions as humans, often without us even realizing it.

We explore the different dimensions of design and Functional Design, Reliable Design, Usable Design, and finally Emotional Design. Each layer plays a vital role in creating products and experiences that captivate hearts and minds. But it's emotional design that adds that extra sprinkle of magic, the cherry on top of the design cake.

Why do we strive to create emotional design, you ask? It's because we're not just designers; we're sorcerers of delight, architects of joy. We understand that our creations have the power to elicit smiles, spark inspiration, and tug at heartstrings. And isn't that what life's all about? We want to craft experiences that make people feel something, that leave a lasting impression.

So, buckle up and join us as we unravel the concept of emotional design. Get ready to be enchanted by the fusion of aesthetics and functionality, and remember, as designers, we have the power to make the world a happier and more delightful place, one beautifully crafted experience at a time. Let's spread some design magic, shall we?"

Jun 14, 202337:42
Hidden By Design - Episode 10 - Colour

Hidden By Design - Episode 10 - Colour

What do you really know about colours? That there is 3 primary colours, or do you know the colour wheel.. or who invented the colour wheel?

Well, we can promise you, that in this episode of Hidden by Design, we will teach you something that you did not know. If that is not the case, we will do a full refund ;)

We go through the theory of how the eye work, what warm and cold colours are.

In the end, we talk a bit about how you can apply all the things we talked about to the work that you. And a few fun facts at the end.

Sit down, and enjoy this episode of Hidden By Design

Jun 01, 202338:37
Hidden By Design - Episode 9 - Mental Models

Hidden By Design - Episode 9 - Mental Models

Perception and reality is two different things!

This is the quote that we start out this episode with, and it set the stage for what you are about to learn.

What is actually there is not the same as what people believe is there. And this creates the foundation for how people will try to interact and operate your designs. Mental models is what users know, or think they know, about a system or object, and how it should be operated. Listen to learn more!

As a designer, or someone who create experiences for others, this is really important to understand, as this is fundamental when creating something nice.

So, what is a conceptual model? And how can you use mental models? This is some of what you will be learning by listening to this episode of Hidden By Design.

May 17, 202330:16
Hidden By Design - Episode 8 - Usability and Measuring Design
May 03, 202329:29
Hidden By Design - Episode 7 - What is intuitive design?

Hidden By Design - Episode 7 - What is intuitive design?

Have you ever heard someone say: “Thats not intuitive!” ?

Well, chances are that you have, and especailly, as a designer, you will hear this phrase a lot.

But what does it mean?

In this episode of Hidden by design, we will explore the idea of intuition, and what it means for the way that you experience the world.

You will learn, that intuition is subjective, and it relies on your past experiences.

We talk about what art is (finally, this is the definition you have been waiting for your entire life)

Note: In the episode, I claim that the painting “Red, Yellow and Blue” was destroyed twice, although some believe that is was destroyed twice, once when it was attacked, and again when it was restored. The second real attack on the painting never succeded. I have added a link in the reference section of these shownotes. This was simply a memory slip from my side 😉

Apr 19, 202352:35
Hidden By Design - Episode 6 - Noise and Biases

Hidden By Design - Episode 6 - Noise and Biases

Do you have good judgment? Are you able to reflect properly on available information, and come to a sensible conclusion?

What can affect your ability to come to this conclusion?

Get the answers to all of these question by listening to this episode of Hidden by Design, where we take you through some of the things that will influence your ability to make good decisions, and maintain a good judgement!

You will learn what an Anchor is, how Confirmation Bias affects your beliefs, self assesment bias can help you in your creative journey and how knowing all of this will make you more prone to the negative effects of them in the G.I Joe Bias!

Apr 05, 202338:52
Hidden By Design - Episode 5 - Flow
Mar 22, 202331:33
Hidden By Design - Episode 4 - Constraints and Conventions

Hidden By Design - Episode 4 - Constraints and Conventions

Our brains really like that things are the way we believe that they should be! So, how do we determine how our brain believe that things should be?

Give this episode a listen, as we discuss the ideas of constraints and convensions.

I'm in favor of progress; it's change I don't like. - Mark Twain

What are constraints and conventions, and how can we use them when doing design?
Find out all of the basics you need to know about Constraints and Conventions by listening to this Episode of Hidden by Design

You can comment and find useful links, notes and book recommendation on our homepage:

https://www.hiddenbydesign.net/2023/02/19/episode-4-constraints-and-conventions/

Mar 08, 202328:06
Hidden By Design - Episode 3 - The Brain

Hidden By Design - Episode 3 - The Brain

How does the human brain work? (It doesent) 

How do we remember things? (We dont)

What is Automatic thinking and Reflective thinking? 

"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

The the answer to all of these questions and much more will be discussed in this Episode of Hidden By Design.

You can comment and find useful links, notes and book recommendation on our homepage:

https://www.hiddenbydesign.net/2023/02/19/episode-3-the-brain/

Mar 08, 202338:52
Hidden By Design - Episode 2 - Affordance

Hidden By Design - Episode 2 - Affordance

Affordance, is a word that is thrown around a lot in Design. But what does it actually means, and how do you approach it as a designer?

We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are! - Anaïs Nin? Babylonian Talmud? Immanuel Kant? G. T. W. Patrick? H. M. Tomlinson? Steven Covey? (We do not know who said this)

This episode explains this really difficult topic of what affordances is, and how you should percieve  it as a designer. We cover other things like, signifiers, toddlers and their perception of chairs, and a lot of other topics.

You can comment and find useful links, notes and book recommendation on our homepage: 

https://www.hiddenbydesign.net/2023/02/19/episode-2-affordance/

Mar 08, 202323:12
Hidden By Design - Episode 1 - What is Design?

Hidden By Design - Episode 1 - What is Design?

What is design? A question that have a lot of different opinions attached to it.

Design, and the job of a Designer, often gets reduced to "Just make it look pretty" or "This is not intuitive". But what is design then, if it is not just about making things look great? Get the answer by listen to "Hidden by Design". In this very first episode will will discuss and set straight what Design really is.

We open up this episode with a quote from a guy called Cast Stengel, an American Baseball player.

Never make predictions, especially about the future! 
Casy Stengel!

This opens up the conversation about the essence of design, that as a designer, your job is to predict the future.

You can comment and find useful links, notes and book recommendation on our homepage:

https://www.hiddenbydesign.net/2023/02/15/season-1-episode-1-what-is-design/

Mar 08, 202325:34