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Author: Mithila Chandran

We often talk about UX of applications or websites that we come across, UX of products that we use, UX of cars by which we travel,  of mobile phones we use, of doors in our office, parking space and what not. We have covered the UX of all the physical products that we see around ourselves. Then, a thought came to my mind as to why aren’t we looking into the UX of ourselves? Of course, I’m talking about the ‘Human Body’.

Useful (means content should be original and fulfilling a need): If a product is not useful for someone, why would we bring it to the market? Similarly, our body has to perform lots of functions and we need organs for all functions. Look how beautifully our body is designed in such a way that organs are brought to perform all functions. Right from our head to our toes, each part fulfils a specific need of the user. Eyes allow us to see; ears allow us to hear sound; tongue is used to taste food; heart helps in pumping blood, the brain is body’s control centre; even the hair found on head serves primarily as a source of heat insulation and cooling.  So each and every part has a specific function.

Usable (means easy to use): It is concerned with efficiently and effectively achieving the end objective from the product. Let’s say our hands.  Our hands help us to do many things like writing, holding, carrying, playing games, using a computer, texting on phones and a million other things. Let’s say these are the end objectives and if these are achieved we can say that our hands are usable. If these are not achieved, our hands are unusable

Desirable (elements used to evoke emotion and appreciation):  It is conveyed in design through branding, image, identity, aesthetics and emotional design. You decide to buy a new outfit. How many will you try? Why do you do that? You want to have that identity, an appealing look when you wear a new outfit. You want to invoke the desirability feature.

Findability (Content needs to be locatable):  In a newspaper, we find that all stories are allocated proper spaces and are arranged accordingly. Does the arrangement of our parts vary from person to person? I believe not!! There is a particular arrangement that is being followed so that we can easily find everything. We confidently say ‘Yes’ in front of a surgeon for major surgery. The surgeon is a stranger to us but we do not hesitate because we believe that he knows exactly what has happened and where the surgery needs to be carried out. He knows where to find a particular organ and carry out the surgery and not search for an organ in our body.

Credibility (Users must trust & believe what you tell them): This refers to the ability of the user to trust in something that is provided. We trust ourselves, our body for all the actions that we perform. How do we overcome difficulties and perform various risky actions? That happens just because we trust ourselves. You plan for ‘Skydiving’. First of all, why do you plan for such an adventure? It’s because of the trust you have in yourself, in your body. When you land you have that trust in your legs that you know no danger is going to happen to you. This is because of the faith in your legs and brain that will help in safe landing.

Accessibility (Content needs to be accessible to all people): Accessibility provides the experience which can be accessed by users of a full range of abilities. I believe all are connected together and we say that the world has shrunk in size because people are closely connected no matter what the environment is. Do you think people with disabilities do not perform activities like all others? Of course, they do. You might have seen people who have disability using their hands, develop strong feet to perform all the actions that the hands perform. Blind people improve their hearing sensations. All these will help disabled people access the outside environment.

Look around and see UX everywhere. Such is the awesomeness of UX. Know the beauty of UX.