(Human) Experience Design: From Stadiums to Roller Coasters

June 15, 2017

Designing with the human at the center of the experience before running with a technology solution


Abstract: In this article I will demonstrate how to center your analysis of business challenges around the end user and to build solutions that address their needs. A few simple tools and methods and some basic facilitation skills are all that you need. The article is broken in to 3 sections:

  • Experiential Design Defined

  • Why is Experiential Design important and how is it used?

  • How to apply experiential design at your company:Tools & Methods

If you followed this article link then you may have been curious about the "(human)" before the title. I find that some people confuse experience design with UXD (User Experience Design). The term I am referring to is the process of designing an experience in the physical world. H.E.D.? This process is grounded in the principles of User-Centered-Design (UCD). I like to call it experiential design.


Experiential Design Defined

UCD was referenced in a 2015 article in Forbes "It's Time to design human experiences, not products". UCD relies on a few practices:

  • Design for the human experience (the customer) rather than merely focusing on a product. This is the thinking behind all of Apple's product launches.

  • Design every aspect of the experience. In a complex environment such as a theme park or a stadium this means you need to put yourself in the shoes of the customer as they book their experience online, use the mobile phone, check-in to a hotel, get in through the gates, buy food & beverages, go through the "attraction", etc. It is a multi-disciplinary design exercised and includes many stakeholders, activities, and environments.



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