The science of

Happy

Design

@paminthelab change sciences

#fbtb2015

Technology makes us DIStracted

It leaves us Lonely

Reality is distorted

Technology may make us stoopider

Nomophobia yeah I think I have that

Beth, Millennial

“

@paminthelab

We feel addicted

We can imagine HIGH-TECH

HAPPINESS

But then…

Pamela

Pavliscak (part researcher, part data scientist)

@paminthelab

change sciences ®

data

despair

reality

WTF

experiments

happiness

Robot apocalypse the pursuit of happiness

1996 Made first website

1997 Used Amazon.com for the first time

2000 Bought a Pets.com sock puppet

2001 Consulted fetus/fruit timeline on Babycenter.com

2008 Established dog’s social media presence

2014 Made a Tumblr blog with daughter

A few Happy moments

Access to technology can mean Greater

happiness

Is it possible for technology & happiness to

CO-EXIST?

Online study

8000 people 300 sites Diaries

1000 people Interviews

500 people Social listening

50 concepts/brands

Does happiness matter?

H

appin

ess R

ating

Afte

r Use

Happiness = Better

Rated Better Than Other Sites

Aetna

Healthcare.gov

PBS

Priceline Bank of America

Citi Best Buy

N=8000

Amazon Zappos

Gap

Expedia

CBS WebMD

Ally

HGTV

eHealth

Chase Apple

Kayak

American HealthCare.gov Kayak Amazon Express

57 70 77 53

Happiness = likely to return

American HealthCare.gov Kayak Amazon Express

57 70 77 53

Likelihood to return

H

appin

ess R

ating

Afte

r Use

Delta

Priceline Bank of America

US Bank

T Rowe Price

Humana

Amazon Zappos

Expedia

WebMD Chase Home Depot

Best Buy

Kayak

CBS

Hotels.com USAA

@paminthelab

American HealthCare.gov Kayak Amazon Express

57 70 77 53

Happiness

R

ecom

men

datio

ns

Happiness = Recommendations

Happy sites

65+ social sentiment score Less happy

45 avg social sentiment score

Happiness = Positive talk

What does happiness Mean?

Not too busy

Beautiful and colorful My favorites are easy to

use

It has to be simple & clean

Convenience above all else

People say this

parallax simple authentic

cinemagraph cats

infographics video

mobile responsive

clever flat IoT

big cards

blurred geometric

hipster low poly

Shutterstock, 2015

Designers think maybe this

WIFI

self- actualization

self- esteem

belonging

safety

physical well-being

PERMA

There are Many models

Is it Delight?

delight

research

explore

create

analyze

plan

I use this app almost every day but I do not remember much really

Brett, Millennial

“

meh wow OMG yes mmm

(

- - (

( (

( (

! !

Happiness varies in intensity

@paminthelab

connected

confident

entertained

challenged

nurtured

informed

smart

inspired

creative

Happiness is made of this

powerful

Pleasure

+

Purpose

Can we create Happiness?

01 ease

Source: Change Sciences

E

ase

of U

se C

ombin

ed S

core

75

Easy is the starting point

AUTONOMY

I can accomplish it without questions

CONTROL

I am a bit less anxious

MASTERY

I’ve got this down

02 trust

I ve lost a lot of faith in Uber but I still use it for now

Ben, Millennial

“ ‘

AUTHENTICITY

There is a real person in there

RESPECT

You know the boundaries

CARE

You’ve got me covered

I know it s an algorithm but it feels more like a friend

Ali, Millennial

“ ‘

@paminthelab

03 creativity

My little sister loves to draw and I love sharing photos of her

Antonia, GenZ

“

PLAY

I can try things out without risk

It is a balance of new discoveries and old friends

Adrianne, Millennial

“

Discovery

You surprise me

04 connection

Seeing that people repost my pins makes me feel like I am actively involved in the art community

Alyson, Millennial

“

LIKE-MINDED

I belong here

Presence

People I care about are here

@paminthelab

Community

We share an interest

I feel happy when I can make someone else happy

April, Millennial

“

05 meaning

CONTINUITY

I move between digital & real

NARRATIVE

I’m part of a bigger story

I check on HONY every day because there is always a story that inspires me to do or give more

Janessa, Millennial

“

Happiness

The one measure that matters

Just No

@paminthelab

The happy path

Pleasure + purpose

#happytech

elements of happiness

ease of use

creativity

trust

connection

meaning

Positive Design

changesciences.com/a-positive-design-manifesto @paminthelab

@paminthelab ChangeSciences

@paminthelab change sciences