The User is Drunk

squareweave
13 HN recommenders · recommended in 8 months, 2013–2021
YouTube
275K views · 13 years ago · talk · evergreen

A short talk by Will Dayble of Squareweave on designing as if the user is drunk, meaning they have the attention and vision of a drunk person. The aim is interfaces that stay clear, simple and forgiving when users are distracted or impaired.

HN people recommend it as a way for designers and developers to be more sympathetic to users who miss obvious details, and as a favorite startup video.

“makes one much more sympathetic to such seemingly unexplainable comprehension fails”
UI design craftPsychology for designers
#theuserisdrunk#ux#attention#usability#forgivingdesign#willdayble

16 comments from Hacker News

G
@Geeflow2021 · in “Always Use “Buttons” for Size Selection”
I wouldn't be much surprised. The amount of things people do _not_ notice is staggering. When I do usability tests there's almost always something that doesn't get noticed although I thought it obvious and/or important. Personal anecdote: I managed to buy paper for my printer and only noticed upon arrival that it was the wrong size. The product photo looked right to be. I did not bother to check the details - or even the product title. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, regarding "if the person isn't drunk": There's a great short talk called "the user is drunk" which makes one much more sympathetic to such seemingly unexplainable comprehension fails that sometimes drive product designers mad: ▶ this video
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M
@Mikho2018 · in “Designing UI & UX using “The User Is Drunk” method”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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f
@fireworks102015 · in “The User Is Drunk”
"The User is Drunk" is explained better in video by Will Dayble of Squareweave: ▶ this video Also, OP's post seems more like "The UX Consultant is Drunk".
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i
@ignostic2014 · in “ Need feedback on Kickstarter landing page”
-Design quality is good, but you should re-evaluate that top image. Does a tar-covered hand say "High quality leather" to most people? Not to me, especially because I can't see the object. -Headline #1 should tell me what you're doing. Don't assume I know what your deal is about. You could almost switch the first and second. -CTA is way too far below the fold. I should immediately know what you want me to do. Donate? Subscribe? Drop it beneath "You are about to challange [sic] the status quo". -Challenge, not "challange". Might want to look over your page for spelling and grammar... This might be helpful: ▶ this video
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m
@mrtksn2014 · in “Show HN: DrunkUserTesting – How does your site perform in the wild?”
Somebody took "the user is drunk" UI design method quite literally :) Here is a video about the "the user is drunk" idea: ▶ this video Basically, the idea is about assuming that your user has an attention and a vision of a drunk person, not designing a UI for literally drunk people. I highly recommend the video.
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h
@hsx2014 · in “Ask HN: What are your favorite videos relevant to entrepreneurs or startups? ”
Defintely The User is Drunk by SquareWeave, some developers Melbourne. Link: ▶ this video
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s
@shocks2014 · in “The user is drunk (2013) [video]”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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a
@ahpeeyem2013 · in “The user is drunk - UI design [video]”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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a
@adamnemecek2013 · in “The User is Drunk”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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r
@rubinelli2013 · in “The User is Drunk [video]”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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k
@kintamanimatt2013 · in “UX: The user is drunk [video]”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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j
@javon2013 · in “The User is Drunk”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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