Institute For The Future

Interview with Persuasive Designer Andrew Chak

In the heady Web 1.0 days, usability and "stickiness" were the metrics of success on the Web. That's still true, but in the current always-on age of information overload (and you ain't seen nothin' yet), attention isn't nearly enough. The real goal is engagement. Action. In the course of our research on a topic, we always make it a point to look back while we look ahead. Almost ten years ago, information architect Andrew Chak was already pushing the "persuasive design" meme in his practice. He wrote the fantastically-titled how-to book, Submit Now: Designing Persuasive Web Sites. In 2003, User Interface Engineering interviewed Chak about "guiding users with persuasive design." Chak is focused on driving visitors browsing commercial Web sites to the buy button. But it's interesting to consider whether the same techniques can be applied for all kinds of engagement, beyond just closing a sale. From the interview:

Some argue that Persuasive Design is a form of deception or manipulation. How do you respond to this criticism?

 

Persuasive Design is not about manipulating users into doing something they don't want to do. Instead, the goal of Persuasive Design is to get users to make the right decision. Designers can accomplish this by doing their best to ensure that users get all of their questions answered about the content.

 

For example, I’m currently planning my next vacation. I’ve just had a baby boy, so I’m very concerned about finding family-friendly facilities. When I visit a hotel site, I'm very interested in finding out what amenities they have for babies, such as cribs. However, if the web site doesn't provide this content, I can't make a decision. Right there, I’m stuck because I’m worried about whether or not the hotel will provide a crib for my baby.

 

Persuasive design is not just about influence. It’s about understanding the user’s decision process and providing the information and tools to help facilitate a decision.

 

In your book, you describe four different types of users (browsers, evaluators, transactors, and customers), and the best ways to design for each. Can you explain why you’ve taken this approach to Persuasive Design?

 

As I said, persuasive design is really about supporting the decision process. Each type of “user” I describe in my book is actually the same customer at different stages in the decision process.

 

The focus is the task that users wish to accomplish at a given point in time. When users are just starting out as "browsers", designers will want to make it easy for users to gather information. Later, when those users are "transactors" and ready to buy, designers will want to provide quick access to completing a transaction. By focusing on these four stages of decision-making, designers can create sites that move users forward through the transaction process.

"Guiding Users with Persuasive Design: An Interview with Andrew Chak"