A UX designer spent two decades crafting a meticulously organized personal photo app emphasizing clear signs, logical pathways, simplicity, predictability, and intuitive lighting. The designer handed the phone to a 10-year-old nephew, Aris, and asked him to find a specific cat video. Aris navigated in ways labeled as user error yet located the video faster than older adults. Watching him was a humbling, brain-breaking experience that compelled the designer to question foundational UX assumptions. This interaction revealed emerging interaction patterns and suggested that current usability models may not accommodate future users' behaviors.
I've spent the better part of the last two decades as a UX designer. I build digital rooms with clear signs, logical hallways, and sensible lighting. I fight for the user, championing simplicity and predictability. My personal photo app, meticulously organized, was my Sistine Chapel of clean, intuitive design. Then I handed my phone to my 10-year-old nephew, Aris. The request was simple: "can you find the video of the cat that falls off the chair?"
An easy task, I thought. A three-tap journey through a masterpiece of usability. Watching him for the next five minutes was a humbling, brain-breaking experience that made me question the very foundations of my work. He didn't just use the app differently; he used it in a way I would have classified as "user error." And yet, he found the video. Faster than my parents could have.
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