5 takeaways for Experience Design from the Philosophy of Yoga
Experience design encompasses the various emotions, journeys, growth and evolution of a user in its entirety, often referred to as the spherical-volume-view. Having said that, it’s also known that a really good design often has something inexplicable and beyond this view. One just gets a gut feeling that a certain iteration would work better than the other. Once the design solution is run through one’s mind, multiple parameters abide by swiftly and multiple boxes get checked which cannot be put in forms (of words, visuals etc). Experienced designers try to grasp these pockets of desirable parameters by virtue of, empathy, in order to render a product that will be enjoyed by its user.
In other words, designing experiences, is essentially, designing life itself. And where else to look if not at the very source of all experiences, psyche and existence? Having an understanding of the fundamental make of true bliss or ‘ananda’ in yogic terms, one can design experiences in whole or in parts that lead to delight. Consumer delight being the goal of a successful product, its essence lies in the permanence (nitya) of the experience, which is usually an after party that doesn’t necessarily involve direct interaction with the product itself. Here are some of the takeaways from the philosophy of yoga that may help to understand design from an experiential point of view.
· Advaita Vedānta philosophy of non-duality and Oneness
All design is experience design. Vedānta literally means the end ‘anta’ of the Vedas (ancient Indian Scriptures). Like most textbooks have an introduction, body and summary; the Vedanta represents the end summary of the Vedas and Upanishads which is otherwise too overwhelming to grasp. The core philosophy of Advaita Vedānta is the concept of non-duality which says that there is no separation between ‘I’ and the ‘rest of the world’ as there is a common energy flowing around. From a design point of view this directs to a holistic approach to any design solution, for example, if the brief is to design a mug it is also to be considered what environment the mug is to be used in. Is it in a home, a movie hall, in the car or as a kitchen aid? The renderings of the mug changes drastically for each of the environment. As one imagines these scenarios, it becomes apparent that the design of other objects around it decides the nature of the mug. The colour of the food it will hold, height of the table on which it will be kept, size of the hand that will hold it, temperature of the contents, general speed of a car, darkness in a movie hall, etc. each condition gives scope to refine the final solution and inversely various designs may emerge to support the experience of using the mug.
· The power of thought and Design thinking
According to Swami Sivananda in his book, Bliss Divine, “thought is a vital living force, the most vital subtle and irresistible force that exists in the universe. Thought is a dynamic force. You are surrounded by an ocean of thought… The thought world is more real than this physical universe.” One of the toughest practice of a yogi is the control of thought, because it is said that once a thought is created in the mind, it goes out in the universe whether one talks about it to another person or not. It goes out in the form of actions, attitudes and vibes.
The over-used and widely misunderstood design thinking is actually a step by step method of arriving at the thought as to what exactly a design solution is going to do. The process involves careful consideration for all stakeholders, those that are directly or indirectly affected by the solution. This step is critical in finding the true purpose of a solution and is often responsible for major paradigm shifts in an industry. For example whether the healthcare system should have a more preventive approach than a curative one, whether the Uber driver can transport not only passengers but also food or parcels etc. It’s like seeing the same picture through different frames of the mind. This is one of those steps that can never be replaced by automation unless it’s endowed with empathy, idea of context, mood swings and a soul.
· Mantras and Nomenclature
A Sanskrit mantra is a mystical energy encased in a sound form. When one repeats a mantra, it creates a specific thought pattern, making the energy manifest itself. It is also said that the name gets associated to some form that reinforces the thought pattern in the mind. An important aspect of presenting a design solution is in its naming, thus making it imperative to have a good grasp on linguistics and semantics. That’s why images are cropped, they are also sliced, fabrics are sheared, denims are ripped, videos are clipped, enemies are slashed, onions are chopped and coats are cut. One can almost visualize the scene and even hear the snip with just the help of these words. Needless to say, in the era of hashtags, the entire branding and marketing industry is based on this. Color forecasters dedicate a huge amount of time naming the trending colours, each year coming up with a different name for the same hue: beige, nude, tan, biscuit and even, pus. This aspect of breathing the soul of the insight into a word or a phrase starts much before the solution starts taking shape. It starts when a team of designers sits in front of a big wall sticking colourful post-its on it. If you have ever wondered what is it that they write on them, this is it, they scribble soulful words, the mantras, the insights.
· Karma and Design evaluation
Karma comes from the Sanskrit word ‘kri’ meaning deed, whether physical or mental. It is a sum total of actions done both in present and past lives and refers not only to the action itself but also its consequence. This perspective when applied in evaluating a design solution would provide an entire new meaning to its success. Current methods are only limited to considering the degree of immersion or the quantity of its usage or the amount of time a user spends with the product or even the ease of its usage. Is easy always beneficial? Here it must be pointed out that Vedanta lays down three conditions for fashioning karma: icchā (desire), jñāna (knowledge), and kriyā (willingness) for the action. This paradigm leads to a truer evaluation of a solution such that next time someone spends hours watching a chain of videos on an app, they do not feel guilty and don’t have a sense of doing something unwillingly.
· Āsana modifications and Product planning strategy
In the practice of yoga, there is never a perfect end posture. One can only go deeper with regular practice. Depending upon the strength, muscle memory and mental state of the practitioner, the same āsana (yogic posture) can have various modification for different people. However, its effects on the physical, mental and spiritual body are the same. This is because what matters is one’s focus of attention, not a perfect pose. A dedicated practitioner knows this and graduates step by step. For some difficult asanas there are other preparatory asanas. Like one can do the dolphin before attempting a headstand. This probably applies to every aspect of learning as much as introducing a new product to a market. What is more important is to make users ready and wanting for a solution and it is often the case that the market and its context is not ready to handle the ideal solution. Hence the ideal needs to be rewound backwards and stages of implementation to be planned as per market reactions. This plan or blueprint is a dynamic living entity that reacts, grows, dies and changes as per user response. Just like there are steps to get into an āsana, a duration for holding it and stages to get out of the posture with synchronized breathing, the end or exit plan of a solution should be designed too. This conclusive aspect of usage is something that is often missed out during its creation. In service design this is rendered under the pre, during and post usage plans which could be a takeaway for any other design domain. Ideas on circular economy should be explored by all domains as this would even out over-production, over-consumption and lead towards a gentler and wittier approach towards designing life.
There are many ways in which yoga can be a lifestyle, not just as takeaways for implementing in designing but to modify the very make and thought process of an individual that would influence the professional world in which one operates. In a VUCA world yoga is like a mind filter that doesn’t let one lose sight of the reality.