In Chapter 2 of Artful Design, the design principle that stood out to me was Principle 2.7: Design to Lower Inhibition, which is “design that is being cognizant of how we … think and using that awareness to encourage certain behaviors.” This was interesting to me because it’s an aspect of design that I’ve never considered before, but after learning and thinking about it, I find that it really is a crucial part of design. I think it’s especially important for design involving groups or social interaction.
As mentioned in the chapter, people can be self-concious about themselves and how others perceive them. Depending on the person, this can be exacerbated in situations involving large or small groups of strangers or friends. They may not want to embarrass themselves or look foolish. The autotune product that was discussed is perfect – it doesn’t matter if I’m tone deaf and can’t sing. I don’t have to worry about embarrassing myself and can just have fun and be silly. It opens the space for people to be creative and to be themselves. There is no danger of being bad or doing the wrong thing. This also extends beyond just physical products.
One design that lowers inhibition which I often encounter and appreciate is when you have a large group of people who don’t know each other and purposely ask the people in the group to introduce themselves to the people next to them. For example, at the beginning first lecture of the term, professors will often ask students to introduce themselves to the people left and right of them. For me, without this prompt, I would feel a little awkward randomly striking up conversation in large lecture halls. But with this prompt, I feel comfortable talking to and eager to know more about the people around me. Designing a first lecture this way helps to lower inhibitions and encourage more socialization.
However, it’s also important beyond just social design but also in everyday things. The video essay on Aaru is a fitting example of design to lower inhibition, and it also shows that such design can really show up anywhere. When in Aaru, Ge mentions that he found that the main quest had become quite secondary and that he felt more compelled to avoid looting and combat. Although I do not play Assassin’s Creed, I imagine that the game can become intense or stressful at times. It’s likely that the game developers know this and purposely designed Aaru to lower player inhibitions and foster a feeling of peace and relaxation. Design to lower inhibition can encourage and make people more comfortable to act in new and sometimes surprising ways.