Following my recent discussions about the “screen-as-default” problem, I have also started exploring a different angle. While my previous focus was primarily on the physical tangibility of interfaces, a recent coaching session with Birgit Bachler led me to a new impulse centered on “whimsical UX.” Most modern design focuses on “frictionless” interaction, where every update to an app or system is intended to make things faster and more invisible. This focus on peak efficiency often leads to a loss of joy in digital tools. I am now looking into the concept of whimsical and “unserious” UX to challenge the idea that a UI should only be a tool for a specific task. Instead of only optimizing for speed, this approach considers how an interface can be designed for delight.
I am thinking about how interaction can be intentionally unconventional and how community-driven tools develop a specific “vibe” that standard tools do not center or even consider. Instead of focusing only on the comparison between pre-digital and digital states, I am considering a framework for a different design approach for example “intentional friction” that forces the user to slow down and engage with the process rather than clicking through it mindlessly.
A big part of this research topic is finding out when an approach like this is appropriate. Not every interface should be a playground and we have to keep in mind that efficiency remains necessary in many contexts. However, in some tools or products that contribute to digital fatigue, there is an opportunity to reintroduce personality. Many current design trends prioritize speed above all else, I want to explore alternative directions that prioritize the quality of the experience.
This shift expands my original problem statement. By looking at whimsy and joy, I am still addressing the issues of mindless interaction and digital fatigue, but I am moving beyond just hardware solutions. Whether the interface is a physical object or a screen, the objective in this angle of approach would be to move away from digitizing everything for purely economic reasons and sleek efficiency. I want to find ways to possibly make interaction feel more human/emotional/joyful. The steps to get there involve analyzing some frameworks and ideas that exist on this to see how they can offer better options for everyday interface design. And intersting first approach I found upon doing a quick research was a piece of work called „Interface Criticism: Aesthetics Beyond the Buttons“ by Christian Ulrik Andersen and Søren Bro Pold, where they discuss topics such as moving beyond usability and argue against treating interfaces as tools for efficiency, instead seeing them as complex, artistic, and cultural things.
https://www.academia.edu/78755388/Interface_Criticism_Aesthetics_Beyond_Buttons
