00:07SARAH WILSON: Hi, everyone.
00:09My name's Sarah Wilson.
00:09I'm a designer here, at Google.
00:12And one of the creators
of the series, Design is.
00:15Thanks, everyone,
for coming tonight.
00:17We have an exciting talk.
00:19The topic is a
design is elemental.
00:22And we'll be covering off on
the foundational systems that
00:27create those end
user experiences
00:29that are not only usable,
but are also delightful--
00:36So our speaker tonight
is Elizabeth Churchill.
00:39She is an user experience
director here, at Google.
00:43She creates tools,
and improves the tools
00:47that designers
and developers use
00:49every day grounded through,
really, research, insights,
00:59She spent her career
at the intersection
01:01of academia and industry.
01:04So she spent time building
teams with organizations
01:08like eBay, Yahoo, Fuji.
01:12And her work focuses both
on the short-term needs
01:15of those organizations, but the
long-term impacts of the system
01:19she creates, as well.
01:23She's also received over
50 patents, written seven
01:26academic books, and
100 publications.
01:29She's received her PhD
in cognitive science
01:32from the University
of Cambridge,
01:34and both her bachelor's and
master's from the University
01:38She's also received an
honorary doctor of science
01:41from the University of Sussex,
for her continued contributions
01:46to the sciences underlying
the creative technologies.
01:49So without further ado--
01:52ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: Thank
you so much, everyone,
01:54for coming out tonight.
01:55I see some familiar
faces and some new ones.
01:57So thanks, very
much, for being here.
02:00And although I'm speaking,
I want to give a shout out
02:04Rich Fulchur, Michael Gilbert--
02:07A lot of the work I'm going
to be talking about today
02:10was actually conducted
or led by him.
02:12And then there's MJ Broadbent,
JuJu, Dave Chu, Sameer Bansal.
02:15And there's a bunch of
folks in the audience
02:17right now from my team and
teams that I work with,
02:20who I also want to thank.
02:22So this is me talking, but it's
actually-- it takes a village.
02:25It takes a village to do work.
02:27So design is elemental.
02:30But also, I want to
talk about elements.
02:32But I want to talk
really about delight.
02:34So underlying everything I say
today is the idea of delight.
02:39And not just creating
delight for users,
02:43but also having
delightful experiences
02:45in the production of creating
those delightful end user
02:51I also want to
think about delight
02:52as the disciplinary
interest that we
02:55have-- the things that we
get really excited about.
02:58And so you're going to see
my particular excitement
03:02and the way I like to think
about design and design systems
03:06But I'm going to
give you a little bit
03:08of an overview of some
of the work of the team.
03:10And some of the
things I'm really
03:12excited about that we're doing.
03:14And this is definitely
a conversation.
03:18So I'm hoping that
a lot of folks
03:19will stay around later and
talk to each other, talk to me,
03:22and give me your reflections.
03:24Because this is meant to
be a personal reflection
03:26and a little bit whimsical.
03:28So I invite you to
be whimsical with me.
03:32So what does elemental mean?
03:34Well, it means primary or basic.
03:37And the features from
which other structures
03:41And I'll be talking
quite a lot about that.
03:44But the powers of nature
is also elemental.
03:47Think about winds and rains.
03:50And think about
beautiful atmospheres
03:53that you find yourself in.
03:55So I want us to think about
the atmospheres of production
03:58as elemental to the contexts in
which we work, the context we
04:03create for others to
find delight and have
04:06the elemental feeling, not
just getting stuff done.
04:13Finally, I always like this
idea of the supernatural
04:18Maybe not so much
the occult. But this
04:20idea that when we're
designing things,
04:22we create things
that feel magical.
04:24That comes as if from nowhere
to help us do things every day.
04:31And I do want to think about
all of those different ways
04:33of thinking about elemental.
04:35So from small pieces
to moving experiences
04:39and magical experiences.
04:42And, of course, that's
quite hard to create.
04:45I'm talking about
big atmospheres.
04:47But what we're really talking
about today is these devices.
04:50And I'm sure many of you are
looking at them right now.
04:53You've got your devices.
04:55Devices of all sizes,
of all capacities
04:58for doing different
kinds of things that
05:00fit into your everyday life.
05:02And are part of your function,
part of your identity.
05:06And so while I'm thinking
about these big experiences--
05:10really, what we're talking
about is the importance
05:12of these devices in our lives.
05:14And how much time they take up.
05:16And how much they help us.
05:17And how much they help
us connect with others.
05:20And whether they do or
do not provide delight.
05:23Are these things atoms of
enjoyment and productivity
05:28So when I'm talking
about design,
05:30I'm very specifically talking
about these kinds of devices.
05:33Because that's where
the work is focused.
05:36But I think some of the
methods and approaches
05:39might apply to other
kinds of experiences.
05:45So I did want to bring
in this idea of--
05:47this is Google's
product excellence.
05:49I'm sure you've seen this.
05:51So some kinds of
atomic elements are
05:53things like these-- focused
utility, simple design, crafted
05:59And you can see some
great words there
06:01that are associated with
these different principles--
06:05Elements of great
experiences, of excellent
06:08experiences-- if you like.
06:10And I think these
words like beautiful,
06:11respectful are very
important to us.
06:14But often, when you
talk to people who are
06:17actually building tools
and building experiences--
06:21that question is, wait a minute.
06:23How do I build that?
06:24What do you mean when
you say beautiful?
06:27That's no kind of guidance.
06:30I've done some user testing
where others haven't, I
06:32don't think it's going to work.
06:34Might not be working for them.
06:36So we've done quite a lot
of interviews with designers
06:39and developers to
try and understand
06:42how they feel about these
grand important principles.
06:46And how those are taken
into the atomic elements
06:50that will result in
those principles.
06:53And everyone is very committed,
but sometimes, the path there
06:56can seem a little obscured.
06:59So how do brilliant
designers and developers
07:03go from this beautiful
principle-- for example--
07:07of beauty or
whatever and actually
07:09start to build
those experiences?
07:13Well, they have a lot of
resources available to them.
07:18Here are some of the resources.
07:20So there's a lot of
knowledge to share.
07:22So people go to look at
different perspectives
07:25What have you done
when you created
07:26something that's beautiful?
07:28UI patterns have been
around for a very long time,
07:30at least since the '60s--
07:32actually, possibly before.
07:33And certainly, in disciplines
like architecture,
07:36they've been around even longer.
07:37They've been around for a very
long time-- study of patterns
07:42Case studies are very much
part of people's go-to place.
07:46Then there are some principles
that are go-to principles
07:51And some people use heuristics.
07:52They will say I've
seen this before,
07:54and I'm guessing this is the
right kind of thing to do.
07:57And people also, when they're
designing and developing,
08:01will resort to
looking at standards.
08:04Standards, like, guidelines
for accessibility.
08:08Because those have
been bubbled up
08:09from lots and lots of
people's experiences.
08:12And they're codified knowledge
that has been compiled.
08:16So you're standing on
the shoulders of giants--
08:18if you like-- by reemplementing,
and then bringing
08:21your own perspective.
08:24And a few years ago, we started
to hear about this thing called
08:29And I'm guessing, probably 2014,
2013-- something like that--
08:34but what's different
about design systems
08:36are that they bring together
design, and principles,
08:39and engineered components,
and, of course,
08:42research that underlies--
08:45what are those collections that
have been brought together?
08:49And I'm going to show
you some examples.
08:52And how can you use
those collections
08:54in order to close that gap
between building something
08:58that's basically
embodying beauty?
09:01And sitting and trying
to with the blank page--
09:05how do you get there?
09:07So my research world is
in this kind of space,
09:13And the team that I work with
and manage, we do everything
09:18from qualitative
research, interviewing
09:20designers and
developers, to surveys,
09:24to doing desk research--
reviewing a lot
09:26of the principles that exist.
09:28And then selecting
how we can test
09:31those principles to see if
they actually land for people.
09:36So I'm going to give you
some examples of that work.
09:40But before I do that, I want
to give you more context.
09:44So here at Google, we
have material design.
09:46Many of the people
in the audience--
09:48I think-- are very familiar
with material design.
09:51And material design--
the motto, the vision
09:55is beautiful design,
Google scale.
09:57Came about in about 2014.
09:59And if you go to
material.io, you
10:01will see a lot of
guidelines and principles.
10:04As well as, you'll
be linked to places
10:06to get code and so forth.
10:08And the story of
material design is
10:10that Google wanted to
create coherent experiences
10:15across multiple
different products
10:18and create consistency.
10:19But also, create some beauty
and a great user experience.
10:25And so some of the elements
that the brilliant designers--
10:28I was not around at this time--
10:30explored-- and I'm going to show
you some images and so forth
10:35they took this
notion of elemental.
10:38What are the building
blocks, the pieces,
10:41the elements that you. as
designers, need to have?
10:45And then, how do
they fit together
10:47to create these delightful
experiences built
10:54These are form, shape,
line, texture, colour--
11:03spelt my way--
space, and movement.
11:08And I'm going to show
you some examples of that
11:10from material design.
11:12And the idea was to
provide great guidelines.
11:17Not just about these
elements, but also
11:19how they fit together
in the experiences
11:23that people are going to have.
11:27This is actually,
a pretty old slide,
11:29but you can see that
material design is evolving
11:32and has always been evolving.
11:34And there you can see, there
are components that you can get
11:39But here, you see some
of those elements.
11:41You see everything from
fonts you see and typography.
11:46You see different kinds
of button and so forth.
11:49And all of these elements exist.
11:51And they're out there,
and they are evolving,
11:53and they're constantly being
reviewed and refreshed.
11:57Both to reflect
the color schemes,
12:00but also to reflect what new
technologies are coming around.
12:04So this is always evolving.
12:06These design patterns, and
guidelines, and elements
12:10are always in conversation
with what else
12:12is going on in the world.
12:15And people often
say, why material?
12:18And material was
definitely a metaphor
12:21that the brilliant designers
who started material
12:25And they did a lot of work to
explore things like shadow--
12:29shadow which allows you to
signal salience or relevance.
12:35To signal the order of things.
12:40And to signal
importance-- as I say.
12:43They also explored
things like shape
12:46that moves-- that
moves like a material.
12:49What happens when
you move something?
12:50Where does the shadow go?
12:52And all of this is
sort of delightful.
12:55I think you'll agree that
some of these images,
12:57sort of, evoke this feeling
of that's quite delightful.
13:00These were explorations at the
very beginning of material.
13:06And they actually, also
built physical objects.
13:10And you can see these displayed.
13:13So these physical objects
were about playing
13:15with this idea of
shadow and light
13:17coming from
different directions.
13:19So that when you look
at a flat screen,
13:21you start to see these
beautiful shadows.
13:24And your eye is drawn
in to certain places.
13:29So this is from 2014--
13:31I think you might recognize
this physical thing that was
13:35being explored and played with.
13:37And looked at to
see what it evoked,
13:40in terms of how people
felt about this.
13:44And I think you've
seen this before--
13:48So this idea of experimentation,
of building these elements--
13:53these design elements
through experimentation--
13:55has always been built in to the
development of material design.
14:01Here are some more images
that were created at the time,
14:04looking at how do
these layers play out?
14:10And here, you can see translated
into another rendition-- always
14:14doing these explorations.
14:16And here, you can see
where the elements start
14:19to get composed into
potential patterns
14:25for beautiful experiences and
also, critically important
14:29experiences that draw the
eye to what is salient.
14:32That invite interaction
of a very particular kind.
14:37So the experimentation was
always important for that.
14:42So here, you've got another
example of the layers.
14:45What are the layers that matter?
14:46Where does action
and interaction come?
14:49Where does information that
is going to be acted upon lie?
14:53How does it sit in
relationship to each other?
14:57And although these are some
of the explorations that
15:01were done several years
ago, this principle
15:04of exploring, of
testing, of trying
15:06remains part of the everyday
practice of the development.
15:10Of everything you see on the
material design or material.io
15:17So here we have also motion.
15:19So when I gave you those
basic elements of design,
15:22motion was part of that.
15:24And there are a lot
of explorations on,
15:27what's the right motion to evoke
a particular kind of emotion?
15:31So if you think about
something that's
15:33really jittery and sharp--
15:35how does that make
you feel as a human?
15:39If you have
something like, boo--
15:41what does that do to your
emotional psychological state?
15:45What is the perception of that
in terms of how you react?
15:50And one of the
things that Google
15:52has been investing
in a lot recently
15:54is this idea of
digital well-being.
15:58And digital well-being can
come about not just from things
16:01that we've talked about
around things like addiction
16:04to particular kinds
of experiences.
16:07But I would argue that
digital well-being can also
16:09be rendered in those momentary
experiences that you have.
16:14If something is
jarring and jittery.
16:17If a sound, an alarm
went off right now,
16:20which was intended to alarm us
to leave the building-- what
16:25you're invoking in the body is
very much this fight or flight
16:32And so everything
we design is really
16:34designed with this
idea of how does it
16:36bring delight or non-delight?
16:39Invoke action in the body?
16:41And so I think these motions
are really interesting.
16:44And I've been talking
to a number of people
16:46about what is the
personality of motion?
16:56And of course, when
we're doing this,
16:59you have to think about
how it renders across all
17:01of these different devices.
17:04So it may look very different
a sudden, urgent something
17:07flashing at you on
your small device
17:10might be very different from
a tablet or your giant TV.
17:17Because it will affect your
visual system differently,
17:21and you'll have a different
body reaction to it.
17:25So there's some really
interesting things
17:27to play with in this space.
17:29And this is where I want to
come to this idea of frameworks
17:32Because something like a
material design system,
17:35or any design system, or
any set of guidelines--
17:39they can be used
in multiple ways.
17:42You can look at them and say,
these are rules to follow.
17:47You can look at
them, and you can
17:49say these are templates that
I'm going to work within.
17:53You can also look at these
systems as provocations
17:58to question, and reflect, and
augment, and contribute to.
18:03And that's what brings me
back to this idea of these
18:08may well be the elements.
18:10But how do these
elements render?
18:13And how do they fit together?
18:15And what do they evoke?
18:17And what mood do they cast?
18:19So there's always a critical
questioning around that.
18:22So if you're in a
hurry and you've
18:24got to get something done--
18:26boom, boom, boom,
take the guidelines.
18:28If you're in a more
creative space,
18:30the critical interrogation
is really important.
18:33They're provocation
for your creativity.
18:38So that's where I come
to the periodic table.
18:41So I've always been fascinated
by the periodic table--
18:45And there is my gratuitous
picture of Dimitri Mendeleev
18:49because I think he's a genius.
18:51And so this is one
of the renditions
18:52of the periodic table, and
it's the table of elements.
18:56And it's just tabular
display of the elements.
18:59And they're arranged by a
particular set of metrics
19:04and measures that are
important as fundamentals
19:07to inviting an investigation, to
inviting scientific activities.
19:14They're not laid out as truth.
19:17They're laid out
as a representation
19:19of what we know now.
19:23And so if the periodic table
is a provocation, as well as
19:27a visualization of what is
known at a particular moment--
19:31I think of the
elements of design
19:32as you go from
the periodic table
19:36to the sciences
underlying the discovery
19:39of atomic characteristics
on the periodic side
19:43to those underlying
psychoperceptual ones.
19:46I would also put in
there-- emotional ones.
19:50So what are the elements
underlying the--
19:53and how do they come
together to work
19:56with the human
psychoperceptual system
19:59and the emotional system?
20:01So that's what makes me excited.
20:02You know I was talking
about delight earlier?
20:07So if we have designed
systems, which are really
20:10about structuring
and scaffolding
20:12work, which are about
a form of productivity
20:18and also creativity--
for me, I'm
20:20always curious
about how they fit
20:22with the human psychoperceptual
and emotional space.
20:29And I'm not the first
person to think about this--
20:31to think about the periodic
table, specifically.
20:34This is Brad Frost's
atomic design,
20:38where, very much,
this work was pulled
20:41from this idea of
the periodic table.
20:43He was also fascinated by this
idea of the periodic table.
20:48And if you go online, you can
see a whole load of people
20:51have played with this, including
laying out designed system
20:56like Josh Duck's table
of atomic elements.
20:58There's loads of them.
21:00And I think this illustrates
another point that I
21:02want to make, which is Mendeleev
created a particular, really
21:07brilliant moment of
bringing elements together
21:11in a format that allowed
others to be really critically
21:16And to go, oh, now
everything is laid out,
21:21but those holes are
really important.
21:23Because they're actually spaces
where he didn't quite know what
21:27But he made predictions
of what could
21:29fit in there on the basis
of this representation.
21:35And so he correctly predicted
the existence and properties
21:38of, as yet,
undiscovered elements.
21:42And that is what I think is
so fascinating about Mendeleev
21:45and the periodic table.
21:48Because it wasn't just a
codification of what is known.
21:52It was also, a map
and an invitation
21:56to investigate what
is not yet known.
21:59And I think that's really why
I'm so excited about things,
22:02like, the material
design system.
22:04Because it can get
you so far and get
22:06you answering certain questions.
22:08But it also is a
deep provocation
22:10to what do we not know?
22:13What have we not asked yet?
22:15What elements are missing?
22:17What elements
combine in other ways
22:20that we haven't investigated?
22:22And what new formats
for device are
22:26going to bring our
minds to going, poof--
22:30goodness me, we really
need to rethink this?
22:33And that's why, I think, this
is such an exciting space.
22:36So here's my view of
what design systems are.
22:39Sure, they are
structures and scaffolds.
22:42They are guidelines
for getting work done.
22:45But they're also
generative frameworks
22:47for thinking and predicting
what we need to know.
22:51They involve the research,
and design, and engineering
22:54working tightly
together to invoke
22:59new creativity in each other.
23:00What is possible
with engineering?
23:03Where are the design
boundaries being
23:06pushed in really interesting
ways because of new device
23:11What research methods
do we need to invent
23:14to really get at how
people are reacting,
23:18and what works for them?
23:21So here's some of the research
that we're thinking about.
23:24It's like, what
exists is in material?
23:29What do we need to create?
23:30What do we need to create
for new device formats?
23:33Then working with
design, thinking
23:34about prototyping for that.
23:36And once we've prototype
something-- what works?
23:39What things that we are
putting out there, potentially,
23:42are accessible to a very
broad audience that deal with
23:46different kinds
of-- for example--
23:50What is absolutely delightful
for one person in one context,
23:56And you'll see a little
bit of that in a minute,
23:58I'll give you an example.
24:00So for example,
from things that I
24:02use for my leisure and
discretionary use--
24:05what is delightful
in that instance,
24:08that if I'm at work and
trying to get something done
24:10with a lot of dense information,
the particular format doesn't
24:16And then once you've engineered
and got things out there added
24:21to the materials system,
once you've actually
24:24started to put things out
that people are using--
24:27we do a lot of
research on, who cares?
24:29What's the diffusion of this?
24:30Who's taking this up?
24:32What's the sentiment of this?
24:35Can we go and look at different
kinds of online social space
24:39and see how people are reacting?
24:41Can we have a look at
different interfaces
24:44that people have created
and do some really smart
24:46visual analytics, to
see how components
24:52are being composed that we
did not anticipate or expect?
25:01Are other people
building off our system,
25:03creating new systems?
25:05That idea of inspiration
is really critical.
25:09And so now, I want to dig into
some very concrete examples
25:13of some research we've
done to, just give you
25:16concrete examples of
the kind of research
25:18that we're doing at
one level-- which
25:19is this very elemental level.
25:23And I want to say that, we
do a bunch of other research,
25:29So I'm just going
to talk about--
25:30because of time limitations--
25:32some experimental
work on elements.
25:35Then I'll try and
talk a little bit
25:37about context and combinations.
25:38And in this particular
example, the work is ongoing.
25:41Its work in process--
25:43in progress, I guess.
25:44So I can't give you
the answer, but part
25:48of what I want to do
today is provoke you,
25:51to think about how you'd
approach the questions
25:54Not just give you the answers.
25:56So although it wasn't
a finished project,
25:59I still thought it was
worth sharing with you.
26:01And then, I mentioned
a little bit earlier--
26:03we do a lot of work on
the production process.
26:06So there's a lot of
really lovely research,
26:09which isn't about--
for example--
26:11something like the
periodic table.
26:14The research focuses
on the people
26:16who use the periodic table.
26:20So it's how do tools
like the periodic table
26:23get taken up by people in
their everyday contexts?
26:27And there's a lot
of work which does
26:30anthropological, ethnographic
studies of going and studying
26:33people in their work situations
to see how something,
26:37like, material design is used.
26:39Does material help
you in your every day?
26:43Does it help you collaborate
between different functions?
26:47Do you find that material
design is something
26:50or the elements
of material design
26:51is something that helps you
answer specific questions
26:54and then articulate
cross-functional partners?
26:57Are you finding that using
something like material design
27:01means that your work just goes
faster, and so you go home
27:05and you have more hours
sleep every night?
27:08These are really
important things
27:09that are around something,
like, a design system.
27:13So we do a lot of work on
that, but I won't have time
27:16to talk about that tonight.
27:17But if you want to talk
about any of that work later,
27:19I'd be delighted to.
27:22So I'm going to go very granular
down into the elements now.
27:27This work was done by
Dave Chu, Michael Gilbert,
27:31and Sameer Bansal-- who
I mentioned earlier.
27:35I talk about this work
quite a lot because it's
27:37one of my favorites.
27:40So that is one of the
elements of design--
27:42it's a line with a label.
27:45I imagine everybody
who's done design work,
27:49does a lot of these
kinds of lines.
27:52I'm seeing some nods.
27:55So we were interested
in the end user, maybe
27:58the psychoperceptual experience
that users were having.
28:02And so the first
thing that was done
28:05was to come up with
these different elements
28:10Like, do you know
it's a text field?
28:15Can you see it in a form?
28:17Has anybody ever gone to
a form and you're, like,
28:19where am I supposed to
put the cursor and type?
28:25And can you locate
a specific one?
28:26So you're looking for
something very specific.
28:30Do you understand
all of the parameters
28:32and all of the information
around that field-- what
28:35you're supposed to do with it?
28:36And can you do that
quickly and efficiently?
28:40So now what we have is a design
element that we have broken
28:43down into things that
matter to people,
28:45that are psychoperceptual.
28:49And here, we worked with
some brilliant designers
28:52to actually come up with what
would be the parameters you'd
28:57You've got the label position.
28:59You've got the size, the font,
what are the critical ones that
29:02sit within the system that
derive from a set of design
29:06principles, but that we
want to really understand
29:14So this was created by Michael.
29:17And basically, it's an
experiment generating machine.
29:20We took those parameters--
they took those parameters,
29:24and then you could click
on the different buttons,
29:26and generate all of the
conditions that all satisfied
29:32different permutations--
if you like--
29:35within the space of
the elements that
29:38come together to make a line.
29:39So we're going from, like,
small atoms into elements
29:43So generating these,
the team came up with--
29:47I think-- it was, like, 144
conditions or something.
29:52And then, people were asked--
29:54this was on Mechanical Turk--
29:56people were asked to do a whole
set of tasks, which were timed.
30:00And then there were qualitative
questions asked later.
30:02And you can see, this is not a
particularly attractive form.
30:06But I'm sure, we have
encountered forms
30:08like this-- all of us.
30:09And people were asked
to do certain tasks.
30:11And we were collecting
all the data, as well as
30:13the hotspot click data--
where people clicked.
30:17And to see what
errors people made.
30:20And when all of the
analysis was done--
30:22and it was a giant analysis.
30:24I'm not going to show you
the diagram right here,
30:26but literally, all of this
data was about my span of hands
30:32And we did all of these
cross-correlations
30:34to see what was the best
thing, what was the best line,
30:38or what were the best space
of lines that could be used.
30:43And we used criteria that
I shared with you earlier.
30:46And we also did a lot
of tests with folks
30:49with accessibility needs.
30:51And the trick here
wasn't to say, look,
30:54this is what you have to
do for the design system.
30:59The result was to say, here
are things to think about.
31:02And here is the particular
line that performs the best--
31:07if you like-- for
all these criteria.
31:09But here are, like,
15 versions that all
31:11sit within a space of actually
doing quite well for end users,
31:16for the most end
users there are.
31:18That doesn't mean to say
that any other design isn't
31:23Just by the criteria
that I specified,
31:25that that facet of the end user
psychoperceptual experience,
31:30and also the
qualitative experience--
31:32it turned out that this
was the one that worked.
31:35And you'll see this
one is actually
31:37in the material.io spec.
31:38And one of the things
we've been meaning to do--
31:41I keep promising, but we haven't
actually done it yet, sorry--
31:44is write up all of the
methodology for this.
31:46Because one of the other
things that I really want to do
31:48is export the methods we use
as part of the design system.
31:53And the methods that
we're inventing.
31:57So if that's one example of
the kind of experimental work
32:01that we've done with
a particular element
32:03and on other elements, I
just want to quickly talk
32:07about context and combinations.
32:09And this is the stuff
that is hot off the press.
32:12So you will have no
answers, just provocations.
32:18So information density and text.
32:23So you've got "Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets"
32:25on one side and you've got
James Joyce's "Dubliners"
32:31One might argue that
these differ extremely
32:34in other kinds of density--
32:36not just text, but we're
going for text right now.
32:41So if you use text and you
type out the same font size--
32:45this is what you end up with.
32:47This is what it looks like.
32:48So I think you can really
see that they're different.
32:52But the question is, what
works and what doesn't work?
32:55And for whom and
under what conditions?
32:59So here's inner density.
33:02And this is the degree
of compactness of objects
33:05within a single container.
33:08like I said when we were
working with the designers
33:10with the line to come up
with these different things
33:15here, we're using
visualizations, or animations,
33:18to really try to think about,
what gets squeezed and what
33:24And so, I would like
you to look at this
33:25and just think about the example
I gave you earlier-- which
33:28is the thing that
you're using at home,
33:32some discretionary
experience while you're
33:35sitting on your
sofa versus you're
33:37an absolute expert
in spreadsheets,
33:41And you want to do
at-a-glance viewing.
33:45So these are the kinds of ways--
33:46I think-- that we're
trying to experiment
33:49with what works when.
33:51So here's outer density--
33:54this is compactness across
multiple containers.
34:01And here, you've got the
pertinent information
34:02to all information on
the page being extended,
34:05and retracted, and
extended, and retracted.
34:08So, I think, you can
start to see here,
34:09how we start to play with this
idea of density and experience.
34:13And overload or under load.
34:17So I guess, under
load would be I
34:18don't have enough
information in here.
34:20What do I need to do in order
to get that information?
34:25So here is the work in
progress, here are the thoughts.
34:28So if you're deciding how
dense a design should be--
34:31here are some
things to consider.
34:35I gave the example between
sitting on the sofa
34:38The complexity of
the content itself.
34:43The interaction complexity--
so the content complexity
34:46is can you at-a-glance
understand what
34:48it is that you need to see?
34:50The interaction complexity is
how many things do you need
34:53to do with that information?
34:55And then there's also the
information architecture.
34:57Because if you need to go and
find something somewhere else,
35:01And is it clear and obvious
to you how you do it?
35:05And so here's one
of the guidelines
35:07that Michael was sharing
with me the other day--
35:11increase inner and outer, but
keep the information constant.
35:15And that's, sort of, based
on talking to people,
35:18and looking at people doing
tasks, and thinking about,
35:21and seeing where they seem
to have that stress that I
35:24was talking about earlier--
35:26where people seem to
get super stressed.
35:28So there's a whole
load of research--
35:30I'm sure many of you know this--
35:31in the games industry, where
they will actually do--
35:35there will be a
camera on your face.
35:36And they will look to
see if you're engaged
35:38and delighted or not by the
facial expressions you make.
35:42When you do this kind of work,
it's a little bit more subtle.
35:47But you could see
people going, what?
35:50And you can see confusion,
and you can see stress,
35:52and you can see anxiety.
35:55And people may not report later
that they had a difficult time
35:59But if you're watching
closely and observing,
36:02you can often see that
somebody is doing a lot of work
36:07And that is probably--
36:08unless you're
playing a game trying
36:10to increase your expertise--
36:11that's possibly, not a
delightful experience.
36:17So I wanted to
leave a lot of time
36:20for questions so I'm going
to wrap up right now.
36:23But I do want to go
back to a few points.
36:27I want to think about this--
36:29so here are various different
versions of Mendeleev's
36:34periodic table and beyond.
36:37And so, it wasn't that
something was done
36:40and then it was
done-- like I say.
36:42It was, very much, a generative
framework for thinking
36:48And design systems
really do bring
36:50in the research, the
design, and the engineering
36:52together, to really
help us think about what
36:57are the provocations?
36:58What are the prototypes?
36:59How do you push something?
37:01How do you then evaluate it?
37:03And I hope what
I've shown you is
37:05that some of the
methods that we use
37:08may need to be invented
in order to answer
37:11these complex questions
in a deep way.
37:14Because the other thing what we
want to do is generate insights
37:19that can be picked up by
others and interpreted
37:23So it's much more of that
scientific, ongoing community
37:27of practice, and sharing, and
this critical investigation.
37:32And systems are always evolving.
37:35And they are never done.
37:37And that's what makes
them kind of exciting.
37:39And we've seen with
material design--
37:42material design has
resulted in a number
37:44of offshoots of things that are
inspired by material design.
37:48Or use some elements of material
design, but extend the system.
37:53And we have a number
of researchers
37:55who are thinking about that in
terms of systems of systems.
37:59And what are the core elements
that repeat, and replicate,
38:04And what are the
elements that go away?
38:07And as I said earlier--
what are the elements that
38:09will emerge through new
device structures and device
38:15underlying infrastructures?
38:19So I want to come back
to the idea of elemental
38:22and then I want to
get some questions
38:24and try and get
some dialogue going
38:26so it is primary and
basic I do believe
38:28that a lot of the
work we're doing
38:30is to look at these elements
that are primary and basic
38:32and then can be brought together
to create really interesting
38:37and delightful experiences.
38:40And I think, the old adage is
often when you get it right,
38:43people don't notice, and
it's when you get it wrong
38:45that they really notice.
38:47What is this experience
that you have
38:49in a small moment with
a small set of elements
38:52combined in the right way
that has a big impact?
38:55That really changes the
atmosphere of your day?
38:58That creates the
atmosphere of your day?
39:03being a little bit magical
about that is important,
39:05but what I hope
I've shown you is
39:07that I think that
you can get to magic
39:09through pretty rigorous
science combined
39:12with great design and
great engineering.
39:15And that's what we will
probably want to do--
39:18But know we've got it right, and
we understand why it's magic.
39:24And so, thank you
for your attention.
39:26We have a chunk of
time for questions.
39:28So I'm hoping I'm going to
get some really good ones.
39:36AUDIENCE: So as you're
pushing the envelope of design
39:38and making all these changes--
39:40how do you address all of the
learned behavior by end users?
39:45So they've been using
systems, they've learned it.
39:47ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: I think
it's a really good question.
39:49And we know that there
are learned behaviors
39:51and then there are
general resistances
39:53to any kind of change--
39:54which it's important.
39:56But I think, what one has to
do is do effective onboarding
40:02And what, I think, history will
show and research has shown
40:06is that if there's a
significant benefit,
40:10people will make the effort.
40:12The other thing is
to make whatever
40:14change you make be very
articulable and really
40:19Because we talk
about the end user,
40:22but there's actually
end use-- there's use.
40:25And there is seldom,
any situation in which
40:28there is a singleton
person once you go away
40:31from the interaction
with the screen.
40:34So if you have had a great
experience with something
40:37and you're, like, Elizabeth--
can you just get off that app?
40:40Because this one does it much
better, I'm going to show you.
40:43It's only going to take you
five minutes to learn this,
40:45and here's the benefit--
40:49And I'm going to try it
once I've seen the benefit.
40:51So I think articulating, very
clearly, what the benefit is.
40:54Potentially articulating
what the pain might be.
40:57And actually having others
recruited to actually
41:00be the people who are onboard--
41:03what we used to call
the late adopters.
41:05I call myself the
resistant adopter.
41:07I am completely a
creature of habit.
41:11But I think, not thinking
of it just simply as here's
41:14a new design, have at it--
41:16but actually, it's a whole--
41:18I don't want to use the word
marketing-- but it's a selling.
41:20It's a here's the benefit.
41:22And it's a get your friends
to use it and talk about it.
41:26And show people how.
41:29And I think, the
worst case scenario
41:31is when you change
something, and you
41:33don't signal it's coming down.
41:35Has anybody in this room
had that experience,
41:37where something just changed?
41:39[LAUGHS] I don't believe
there's a single person
41:42in this room who hasn't
had that experience.
41:45Shocking people is not the best
way to introduce something new.
41:51Thank you so much for sharing.
41:52I'm going to have two questions.
41:54So you can just
answer the first one.
41:55But just pigging
back off that one--
42:00you're a person, you
said, of resistance.
42:02So you've put yourself
in a place where
42:05it's totally against that.
42:06So I'm curious-- how have you
made yourself be adaptable
42:13material design is doing good.
42:15But now you're
thinking of how can you
42:17take it to the next level?
42:18So what have you done for
yourself and your team
42:20to think beyond
the now and next?
42:23And the next one is,
what tools have you
42:24used to synthesize all
the data you've gotten?
42:27Because there's a lot of data
to come up with some metrics.
42:33ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: So
on the first question--
42:35what have I done to change?
42:36Really, it's just
taking myself in hand.
42:38It's just saying, go and try it.
42:41And I will confess, that I
actually have two phones.
42:44And I have, like,
several tablets.
42:46And so I tend to have my--
42:48this is the go-to one that I
use for, like, urgent things.
42:54And this is the experimental one
that I will try new things with
42:57and try new things out.
43:01But I think, it's just being in
the spirit of experimentation.
43:04And I can honestly
say that it's also
43:07feeling a little bit of
a sense of responsibility
43:09because of my role
to try things.
43:13And so if I can't be
the kind of person
43:14who tries new things, then why
would I expect other people to?
43:18But I have definitely
just tried to do that.
43:20And I think, the other
thing is to start
43:23to think about how often these
tools or these whatever they
43:27are, like, draw us into habits?
43:30And do I want to
actually reflect
43:32on and break that habit?
43:34So actually, I think,
with digital well-being,
43:37and mindfulness, and so forth--
43:39I'm oddly, actually, trying
to break a few things.
43:42To see if there are ways that
I could be more effective, more
43:45efficient, spend less time.
43:48And will that increase my
general sense of well-being?
43:53I'm questioning whether I
really need certain things.
43:56So I'm really excited
that the world is starting
43:59to talk more about this.
44:01I'm also really excited that
people, consumers, and so
44:03forth are demanding
more around, can you
44:06make this easier to use?
44:07Can you make it better to use?
44:08Can you make it more
aesthetically pleasing?
44:10Can you actually take
up less of my time?
44:13I think it's really good.
44:14And in terms of the tools--
44:15I'm not the best person to ask.
44:16Because I know there's
Mechanical Turk.
44:18I know R is involved.
44:19I know there's a bunch of
data wrangling and so forth.
44:23But the team that did all of the
research, would be the people.
44:27And I can certainly give
you more information
44:30I also know that
they're seriously
44:32experimental with all
the tools they use.
44:35Because you learn one and
then you're, like, oh,
44:37that one might do better for me.
44:40But I'd be delighted to
find out more for you.
44:43AUDIENCE: My first question
was that you said that--
44:46once you figure
something out, you
44:48want to understand the magic.
44:52if you did figure something out,
does it remain magic anymore?
44:55Because magic-- for me-- is
something which is surprising,
45:01and you don't understand,
and it's beautiful,
45:03and it's astonishing.
45:05That's what magic is to me.
45:06So I wanted to get
your comment on it.
45:08And the second part was have
you come across anything
45:13that has been
idiosyncratic in design?
45:15Because when you use a
lot of different layers--
45:19and I refer to as [INAUDIBLE]
like, historical layers
45:22in cities, you
sometimes reveal things
45:26that, otherwise, you would
not have seen individually.
45:30But by layering things
together, it actually
45:32shows you something that you,
otherwise, should not see.
45:35Has something like
that happened?
45:40ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: I'll
answer the first question--
45:43What was the first
question, again?
45:46Like, loading the questions up--
45:48Magic-- oh, no, no, no, Magic--
45:50well, I think what you've
gathered from, maybe,
45:53a little bit of
my talk is that I
45:54find humans absolutely
fascinating and utterly
45:58I always say, I love my species.
46:00I'm just really excited.
46:02So if you find something magical
and I have some understanding
46:05of why you find it magical--
46:07that, to me, is more magical.
46:10I am just so excited about
humans understanding humans,
46:17And so if you see a child
go [GASP] at something--
46:23some new toy or something--
you know that there's, like,
46:26this amazing sense of wonder.
46:28Because they're going to explore
it, and learn it, and it's new,
46:34And if you've seen a child
learn how to read a word
46:37and they finally get it--
that sense of accomplishment.
46:40If you've been trying
to teach somebody how
46:43to snowboard and then
they get down, finally.
46:46And they don't
fall over, and you
46:49see that look of
joy on their face
46:51because they have
mastered that thing--
46:53there's nothing more magical or
exciting in the world-- to me--
46:58than to see those
kinds of moments.
47:01And I'm sure people in this
room who have designed things--
47:03when you've worked, and you've
worked, and you've worked,
47:06and you've tried something.
47:07And then you build a
prototype of something,
47:09and you put it in front of
somebody, and they go [GASP],,
47:12I think that's magical
for you to- right?
47:18Then where there things
that were surprising to me
47:22by combining things
and I hadn't expected?
47:26That is such a good question.
47:30I think I have a lot
of little examples,
47:32but I'm not sure I can
come up with a big example.
47:36I'll give you an example
from a very long time ago.
47:40I was working on large
interactive displays
47:45And my team had
installed one in a cafe.
47:52And we had put, like,
a scribble out-- you'd
47:56use your finger to
just draw on something.
47:59And we thought it was just
going to be used for news.
48:03Just-- I don't even know
what we really thought.
48:08And I was getting all of
these scribble drawings coming
48:14And I was absolutely
excited when
48:18I started to see these
conversations coming out
48:22So somebody would watch
someone else do a drawing,
48:25and then that person
would sit down.
48:26The other person would come
up and do another drawing.
48:29And they ended up being
chained into conversations
48:31that became real conversations.
48:33So I'm not sure if that's
quite what you call a process,
48:35but we had the context--
48:38which was this cafe.
48:39And I did not think that people
would be talking to each other,
48:42It was an information
consumption point,
48:46but it became a creativity
collaboration point.
48:50And just the sheer, again,
creativity and conversation.
48:54And we, kind of, created
what microsociologists
49:00call a ticket to talk.
49:01But people were
talking in person
49:04and through these sketches
that they were doing-- one
49:07It was just this really,
magical moment of this--
49:11I don't know-- choreographed,
semi-choreographed creativity.
49:14Which I just, again,
made me really
49:17excited about tools in the right
hands in the right context.
49:24AUDIENCE: So let's take--
for example-- that form
49:26and that line, where you
gather so much qualitative
49:29and quantitative
research to find
49:32the magic element that performed
the best for your average user.
49:36But have you done anything where
you're actually almost, like,
49:41finding different
paths, depending
49:44on what demographic
you're actually trying
49:46to move through the process?
49:48Let's say, that my niece
will find a form different
49:53Or my mom will actually
be able to get through.
49:56And not only that, but my
mom-- who's in Columbia,
49:59South America-- will find it
different than someone here
50:02or someone in the other side of
the world, say, like in Asia.
50:07So is there a place where
you see these design elements
50:12and patterns trifurcating
or bifurcating--
50:15or whatever the word is--
50:16where the actual preference
lies with the end user,
50:21who gets to actually
choose how they
50:23can move through the
experience in a better way?
50:27ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: So
we haven't done a lot
50:29of extensive research on that.
50:30But you put your finger right
on a very critical button,
50:34that we want to do more of that.
50:37I think, where we
have done some of that
50:38is people with
accessibility issues,
50:41especially visual impairment.
50:43We've done quite a
lot of work on that.
50:46And we did some initial work--
50:48which was, I would say,
rather simplistic first take
50:52on looking at some cultural
differences around information
50:58And one of the things that
has come up for us-- and we're
51:01actually, a relatively small
team so we haven't really
51:04But really interested
in looking at things
51:07like cognitive impairment
and some of those dimensions.
51:12So I'm really
pleased you brought
51:15that up because I think it's
critical and really important.
51:17But honestly, we haven't
done any really rigorous work
51:22So if you have pointers
for where to start,
51:24I would love to hear from you.
51:28Thank you so much for your talk.
51:31My name's Ben [INAUDIBLE].
51:32And I have more of a
change management question.
51:35So you talked a lot about
science and experimentation.
51:38But hypothetically
speaking-- if you
51:40work in an organization that's
more in a creationist model
51:43still, do any
recommendations how
51:46to nudge towards more
scientific experimentation,
51:50instead of believing that
dinosaurs lived 2,000 years ago
51:59ELIZABETH CHURCHILL:
Let me think.
52:01Well, I think, it's about
breaking the question
52:03down into something that is
meaningful for the people who
52:06are doing the creationist thing.
52:08So I very fundamentally
believe that science
52:11and experimentation are
not antithetical-- is
52:15that the right word-- to really,
really great creative work.
52:20And I have to say, we work
with amazing designers.
52:23And a few of the designers
that we work with--
52:25at the beginning of
thinking about this-- well,
52:27that kind of sounds
cool, but is that
52:30going to stifle my creativity?
52:32And once we started saying
no, this is a collaboration--
52:34because actually,
we can take all
52:36of these creative
dimensions that you've got
52:40and we can help you
break them down to see
52:43how people react to them.
52:44And then we can do some tests.
52:45And like I said,
we're not telling
52:46you what's right or wrong.
52:48We're saying here
are the parameters
52:49that we built together.
52:51And here are how they
perform for people.
52:53Because, ultimately-- honestly--
52:56I wouldn't say I've found
no people like this,
52:59but I have seldom found
people in our industry who,
53:04are you interested in
understanding how and why
53:08people love what you do?
53:10Are you interested in
getting some feedback on what
53:13works in what
population and for why--
53:16I have never met anyone
who's just said--
53:20I have met some, but very few--
53:22who have said, no, I'm
going to do my thing.
53:26Now, I think it
is perfectly fine
53:29to be someone who
really, truly is
53:31a creative in your own space,
doing your own dimensions,
53:36I think, if Cezanne
had asked for feedback
53:40or Rilke had-- we might have
very different artifacts.
53:43But they weren't necessarily in
the business of building things
53:48to delight people in practice.
53:52And so, I think it's just
finding that bit of curiosity.
53:55And demonstrating-- find your--
53:59I was going to say weakest
link, but let me say,
54:01your strongest link.
54:03And demonstrate with
them in partnership,
54:06how this can come together.
54:09And we know what
people are like.
54:11And then they'll come
and ask questions.
54:13And they'll go, that
might be good for me, too.
54:16So I think, it's about
being a little persuasive.
54:18And picking the
critical little moment
54:23that others are going to go,
huh, I wish I had one of those.
54:26But we can talk more about
your specific context.
54:32AUDIENCE: So the metaphor
and the framework
54:33that you've developed for
this concept event-- elemental
54:36is very much grounded
in the visual.
54:38And I'm wondering, if you've
given much thought to extending
54:41it into some of the emerging
interface paradigms,
54:44like, voice or spatial--
things like that?
54:48ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: I have
personally done some thinking,
54:51like, scrappy thinking.
54:52But it has not been part of the
main research program to date.
54:54Because material is
primarily visual.
54:57But I would say that a
bunch of my history reading
55:03around sound design,
psychoacoustics--
55:06those sorts of things--
55:07I've been really interested
in, how does that break down?
55:09How does a room, and a
space, and all of that work?
55:14Also, thinking about
things, like, hearing,
55:17and hyper-acuity, and
those sort of things--
55:19how do you get attention?
55:20I mentioned the example
of an alarm design--
55:24how do those work with
people, under what context?
55:29But it's been super informal.
55:32We did a lot of work-- when
I was talking about the large
55:34interactive display stuff--
55:36we did a bunch of work
which was about proximity.
55:40And what can you read,
and what can you not read?
55:43And how do people stand together
around a physical display?
55:47And there's a whole fantastic
literature, called "Proxemics,"
55:55which is about proximity.
55:57And there's social proxemics.
55:58So in different cultures-- we
we're talking about culture--
56:01how willing people are
to stand next to you.
56:03You know when you go
to an art gallery,
56:05and someone comes-- and you're
looking at this picture,
56:08and someone comes and
stands, like, here?
56:11And you have to shuffle.
56:12And then you're like, now I
can't see the picture full on.
56:15There's a lot of
fantastic research
56:18which is videoing and watching
how people shift and move
56:24AUDIENCE: The elevator
dynamic-- right?
56:26ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: Yes.
56:26AUDIENCE: Where you
stand in the elevator.
56:28ELIZABETH CHURCHILL:
Yes, exactly.
56:30And I think there's a lot of
really lovely design patterns
56:34And there's a lot of
literature on this
56:36but we haven't
mined it to come up
56:38with here are the guidelines.
56:40I think, voice is a
particularly interesting one.
56:42Because a lot of voice
interactive artifacts right now
56:47are for all kinds of technical
and practical reasons--
56:50kind of, command line
call and respond.
56:53But there's some
really interesting work
56:55that's been done by
conversation analysts,
56:59on what would it mean
to actually design
57:04And in fact, there's a chap
at IBM, called Bob Moore--
57:06who I used to work with--
57:08and he and his
collaborator are just
57:10bringing out a book-- which
I reviewed, fairly recently.
57:13Which is about taking the
principles of conversation
57:15analysis and conversation
structure and saying,
57:19what would the
patterns look like
57:21to take the voice
command control thing
57:24into more of a conversation?
57:27And I think, really
interesting aspects
57:29of that are, where
does state remain?
57:32And how do you have both
sides maintaining state?
57:35And that, of course, brings
up a whole different set
57:37of questions around a
different set of patterns--
57:40which are data and privacy.
57:42So I think that's a really
interesting area to explore.
57:46And honestly-- it's
armchair reading for me,
57:50but I really think it's
important first to explore it.
57:54Thank you for bringing that up.
57:56AUDIENCE: If you find humans
interesting and magical--
57:58try to study animals,
they are even better.
58:01ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: Any
animals in particular?
58:03AUDIENCE: Yeah, like, all
animals are really interesting.
58:06And also, a real
appreciate Google,
58:09that they share all the
knowledge, especially
58:12They have been sharing that
with the design community
58:15I really appreciate that.
58:17Can you tell me more,
a little bit about why
58:20Google made that decision?
58:21I feel, like, a lot of companies
try to keep everything secret
58:26But Google is going in the other
way-- that's what I perceive,
58:30ELIZABETH CHURCHILL:
I don't know why,
58:32but I know that it's baked
into the DNA of Google.
58:35And I think, from the very
beginning, it was open,
58:38and open source, and
sharing, and so forth.
58:40I know from
conversations with people
58:42who were around when material
design first launched--
58:46as I say, I wasn't--
58:48that the idea is to
really use the resources
58:53that we have to not
just influence and be
58:57But to give people the
tools to do great design.
59:01And that you can have
better user experiences
59:06around the world if you give
people the tools to do it.
59:09And so, I think, for the
folks who started material--
59:11it was really about, it's not
about hoarding this design
59:14Because it is a participatory--
59:17I think, I said it
takes a village.
59:19And you can't answer
everything internally.
59:21And this is too important not
to share some of this knowledge.
59:24But you also get
the other effect,
59:27which is that then
you become a leader,
59:29and recognized as a
key leader in design--
59:32which Google did
a few years ago.
59:34And Google had not been
recognized for design
59:36particularly before that.
59:37So this systematic effort by
a bunch of brilliant people
59:40really put us on
the map for design.
59:42But also, influenced and
brought a lot of people on.
59:45And, I think, that's part of
the DNA and the importance--
59:47it's just in the system.
59:49And I hope it
maintains eternally.
59:52Because I do believe
that it takes
59:54all of us thinking about
experience and user experience
59:58to really do great things
with our digital interactions
01:00:04And, I think, that is
why I'm really interested
01:00:06in the question earlier--
which is around, what
01:00:08are the cultural differences?
01:00:10And what are the things
that remain the same
01:00:12between different humans?
01:00:14What are the things that
are culturally specified?
01:00:17And how do you really support
the right critical questions
01:00:19in that space, as well?
01:00:24AUDIENCE: I have a question
about the research methods.
01:00:27So it looked like when you
are testing the element--
01:00:30at least in the
example provided--
01:00:31that you weren't
using real content,
01:00:33it was just, like,
generic [INAUDIBLE]..
01:00:36Obviously, content
contributes to how
01:00:37users are able to understand
and interact with components.
01:00:40So I was curious
how you approach
01:00:43evaluating the success of an
element when that dimension is
01:00:47ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: Well,
I think the purpose here
01:00:49was to figure out the element
and put it in the context--
01:00:53which was somewhat
ecologically valid
01:00:55because it was like--
so it was separate,
01:00:57but then it was also
in different kinds
01:00:59of structures of table.
01:01:01And for sure-- if this was
very salient information to you
01:01:05or familiar information, you'd
probably behave differently.
01:01:09But honestly, I
think, it just came
01:01:10down to what is the
minimal that we can do
01:01:13to actually look at this thing?
01:01:14Because you could end
up boiling the ocean
01:01:16with every different context.
01:01:18Now, I think, what
you said does really
01:01:20matter was in the density stuff.
01:01:23So rather than
specific content, I
01:01:26can imagine one dimension
to go into is this, like--
01:01:30are you working on an
enterprise application,
01:01:32and you are an expert?
01:01:33And that dense information
is what you want
01:01:37because you know where to look.
01:01:38that is going to be really
importantly different,
01:01:41than if you're in this
discretionary space.
01:01:44So I think in that
more, abstract line--
01:01:47I think, we just
wanted to show which
01:01:49were the kinds of lines that
performed the best in a variety
01:01:52of different contexts.
01:01:54But I think, where it starts to
get really important is things,
01:01:57like, information density.
01:01:58Because then with a line, you
can get away with it more.
01:02:01But the user intent
and the context
01:02:03is really important
for this other one.
01:02:05So I think, we're going
to have to be even more
01:02:08careful about picking
that up, finding out
01:02:12what are the right conditions--
01:02:15which are sufficiently
different,
01:02:16but representative of
different dimensions.
01:02:19And that work is being
done and ongoing right now.
01:02:22It's a great
question because I do
01:02:24think it really does matter in
some context more than others.
01:02:27And I think we're
coming across those now.
01:02:30Thank you for the talk.
01:02:31It's very insightful.
01:02:34I'm wondering--
how do you develop
01:02:35the criteria by which to measure
the success of a design system?
01:02:39Like, in the form example--
you showed the criteria
01:02:42that was used in those tests.
01:02:44I'm wondering if there
are less obvious criteria,
01:02:47such as business goes--
01:02:49something like that?
01:02:50ELIZABETH CHURCHILL:
I think that relates
01:02:51to the last question.
01:02:52I think there are.
01:02:54And I think, it's
important to start
01:02:57to boil those down or
reduce them to things that
01:03:00are tractable within a study.
01:03:02And then-- honestly--
my hope is that if we
01:03:04start to publish our methods,
you and your particularly
01:03:08different business
contexts might
01:03:10work with you in a
different business context.
01:03:13And then, [AUDIO OUT] you
say doesn't generalize,
01:03:18doesn't transfer.
01:03:19Because that is also--
01:03:20that is the project
of anything that
01:03:22is science, which is
to try and figure out
01:03:25what the next thing is.
01:03:26Where something does work.
01:03:28Where does it not generalize?
01:03:29How does it apply?
01:03:30So we're a very small team.
01:03:33And my hope is that some of the
things that I talk about here
01:03:36or some of the
things we publish--
01:03:39And like I said-- the project
of anything that's science
01:03:43is about telling us, doesn't
work in this context.
01:03:47Let's try it in
this other context.
01:03:48And here's why it didn't work.
01:03:51So I think, the question
is the right one,
01:03:53we were super pragmatic.
01:03:56AUDIENCE: Thanks, I know
we're running out of time--
01:03:59but I was really curious
about the bit you mentioned
01:04:02about production.
01:04:03Your work is clearly,
very thoughtful
01:04:05and has a lot of considerations.
01:04:07Is there a technique
or two that you
01:04:08use to help good meat
done, in some way?
01:04:12ELIZABETH CHURCHILL:
Help good meat done?
01:04:14ELIZABETH CHURCHILL:
What do you mean?
01:04:16AUDIENCE: Taking the research
that you're doing and getting
01:04:19it to a point where
you're comfortable
01:04:21with it being correct.
01:04:22And then put it into
production or get production
01:04:25to be efficiently met.
01:04:28So it doesn't just keep
going on as research.
01:04:30ELIZABETH CHURCHILL:
Oh, yeah-- absolutely.
01:04:32And that's, again, where
the project of science
01:04:34is never quite done.
01:04:35But a study is done.
01:04:37So that recommendation
for that particular line
01:04:41look, this might
not be the best line
01:04:43for everybody in every context.
01:04:44But it performed
the best against all
01:04:46of the other options in
these particular contexts.
01:04:48Please try it, and see
how that works for you.
01:04:51We do that ourselves, as well.
01:04:53And then the next
research project
01:04:55might be that a bunch of
teams at Google try that out.
01:04:59And to the question earlier--
the great question earlier--
01:05:01they try it out and they're,
like-- in this context,
01:05:04And in this context, it didn't.
01:05:05And then we work
with teams at Google
01:05:07and also try and get feedback
from teams externally.
01:05:10To say, OK, maybe
we'll do another study.
01:05:13So the specific
research project ends,
01:05:17and a recommendation is made
with a particular confidence
01:05:21But that doesn't mean that
it's the be all and end all.
01:05:26And so, the trick, I think,
is to give a rationale,
01:05:30and give a method, and
keep an eye on something.
01:05:33And maybe do more studies.
01:05:36But the studies are a
different kind of study.
01:05:38So they become splinters
of the original study,
01:05:41which, like, investigate
context or something.
01:05:44But everyone in this room
who's done any design work
01:05:47knows that you
can go on forever.
01:05:51And ultimately, there are
certain performance indicators,
01:05:54and measures, and metrics,
which may be yours or may be
01:05:58And you are privy
to them and you
01:06:02are prey to them--
whatever the term is.
01:06:05Those are the things
you need to land.
01:06:07So one of the classic things,
of course, is change--
01:06:10change management.
01:06:11So people will put something
that is palpably better out.
01:06:14And everyone who's
a user will go, eh.
01:06:17And that time for
change won't be
01:06:19allowed so you never really get
the key measures, and metrics,
01:06:23And to show that you've
actually improved an experience.
01:06:26And so, I think that's where
the great creative moments are
01:06:29going to come-- which is, how do
we figure out what's the right
01:06:32time frame for something to
be adopted, and changed--
01:06:36and the change in a
positive direction?
01:06:39And so I'm super interested
also in finding out
01:06:42what the measures are
and the indicators are.
01:06:46And actually having
some time baked
01:06:47in where you have
different time frames--
01:06:50like, beacons-- to come back and
check and come back and check
01:06:53trajectories over time.
01:06:55And we don't have the resources
to do a lot of that right now.
01:06:58But as we partner more
and more with teams--
01:07:00that kind of
conversation happens.
01:07:03I hope that answered
your question.
01:07:06Thanks for the great question.
01:07:07SARAH WILSON: Thanks,
everyone, for coming out.
01:07:09We'll have our next month's
speaker announced shortly.
01:07:13Hope everyone comes back.
01:07:14ELIZABETH CHURCHILL: I
have one last thing, which
01:07:16is I have some cards here.
01:07:17Anybody who wants to be
involved in any studies-- come
01:07:20and get a card please.
01:07:21We need you to come and help us.
01:07:23And you know what will be great
if you come and do studies
01:07:25Is you're all critically
reflective people.
01:07:28So you'll all go, I don't think
this study is designed right.
01:07:31And we need to hear that, too.
01:07:33So please pick up a card,
if you're interested.
