Do We Need a Standardized Icon Denoting AI-Generated Content?

No matter how much technology evolves, there’s a throughline tying together every digital tool we use: symbolic language. From Egyptian hieroglyphics to hazardous waste symbols to the world-famous save button, we always have – and likely always will – rely on standardized symbols that readers of every language and level can understand.

Now that generative AI is in the hands of the global public, we’re already seeing users and developers gravitate toward symbols on their own, usually with some sort of sparkle emoji.

Has the time come for AI leaders to huddle together to agree on a standardized icon representing the tool?

To answer this question and see what the future of AI-generalized representation might look like, let’s take a look at the background behind icon standardization, emerging AI icons, and what type of icon could be effective moving forward.

How and Why Icons are Standardized

Of the many standardized symbols in the world, you’re likely most familiar with those of ISO 7001. Developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1980 and updated with new editions and amendments as needed, ISO 7001 features what’s known as “public information symbols.” When the ISO creates these icons, they also provide strict parameters for the size, line thickness, and shape of each element.

From toilets to smoking areas, escalators to airports, these pictograms are a routine part of public life worldwide.

The reason these icons work so well is simple: they’re the results of robust research and testing in different cultures around the globe. And though ISO 7001 is focused on basic functions and general information, an array of other indexes exist to fulfill other purposes like safety concerns and industry-specific communication.

As a result of these specific and universally applicable symbols, product developers can worry less about language barriers, individual people can glean information faster, shared spaces are easier to navigate, and essential tools are simpler to use.

Emerging AI Icons

In the wide world of technology, a few icons appear across virtually every tool. The save button, the cloud button, the refresh button, and the attachment button are all successful symbols that we see on different applications, and they all call back to the physical form of their function – the floppy disk, the literal cloud, the circular arrow, and the paperclip.

So, what’s AI’s equivalent symbol? With AI lacking a physical form, this is where it gets tricky.

In the few short months since generative AI has begun to pop up in everyday applications, perhaps the most common icon so far has been the sparkle emoji. With AI’s marketability being its magic-like results, this symbol makes sense on a surface level – but does it truly make sense in a technology setting?

A few other icons have been tossed around by curious minds online, but so far, nothing seems to have more sway in the public eye than the sparkles.

Potential Icons and Top Recommendations

Considering how prevalent AI already is, and how much more important it’s projected to become, it’s clear that some sort of standardized symbol would make life easier for developers, users, and regulators alike. This inevitability begs the question: what icon would most effectively communicate AI’s usage across a diverse array of applications?

Sure, we have sparkles gaining momentum already, but they seem to take users out of the computer realm. In our view, they focus perhaps a bit too much on marketability and not enough on technology.

To balance out the innocent feel of the sparkle symbol, here’s a hot take as food for thought: perhaps the standardized AI symbol should be more similar to a hazard warning icon. ISO 7010, the symbolic category denoting emergencies, has plenty of graphics for inspiration. If you’re the type who believes AI will inevitably evolve into a threat sci-fi-story style, perhaps you’ll agree that a yellow triangle warning is the best fit.

Or, as a middle ground between sparkles and hazards, perhaps you’d prefer a symbol that more accurately represents the technology behind the tool; if so, the binary code inclusion in the last example here might catch your eye.

No matter what symbol we settle on – hopefully one that’s sparkle-free – it’s worth remembering that AI’s usage is powerful enough to impact high-profile security apparatuses. So, perhaps we’ll end up with two symbols: one for everyday public usage, and another hazard-like icon for government and security-related settings.

As AI continues to evolve, the icon debate will surely become just the tip of the AI considerations iceberg. No matter where things go from here, it’s important to prioritize public awareness of its usage, equal access to the tool, and securing a middle ground for AI-related consensus.

Digital Accessibility and UX/UI

On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the world's first comprehensive civil rights directive for people with disabilities, was signed into law by President George Bush in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. The ADA, a new and revolutionary initiative, was ultimately designed and intended to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including, and certainly not limited to, jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general community.

Of course, in reality, it has done so much more. Today, thirty-four years after Congress sent the statute to President Bush for signature, the ADA touches nearly every aspect of our public infrastructure, including the way we enter buildings (push levers and ramp entrances), the way we move about inside the buildings (wider and more open bathrooms) and even the way we travel from one building to another (service animals and warning tiles on street corners). And now, with the rapid advancement of digital technology, it is time that we must consider the same level of accessibility requirements from the perspective of graphic designers and UX designers.

From a relative standpoint, we are in the very early stages of a digital revolution and, with more and more of our daily lives reliant on the use of digital tools and technologies, it is crucial that we ensure that the entire range of our end user audiences is both able and comfortable using the platforms.

In March 2022, the ADA published guidelines to assure that developers understand the challenges that some users may face, and provide specific details that would allow state and local governments and businesses that are open to the public to ensure that websites are designed for all users, regardless of abilities or disabilities. Clearly this would benefit end users facing challenges, but the fact is that a tool designed with a proper and adequate digital accessibility strategy would also open the product to a wider audience that could access and engage with the end products or services.

Worldwide, countries are starting to understand the scope and breadth of the accommodations that should be considered for those users who struggle with disabilities that would impact their experience on a website; limited vision or hearing and color blindness, for example. But overall, embracing digital accessibility as a graphic or UX designer is not just about meeting legal requirements; it's about creating a more inclusive, user-friendly, and socially responsible digital landscape. Designers who champion accessibility are better positioned to create innovative, sustainable, and impactful solutions for their clients and users.

And there is an ethical responsibility to create designs that are accessible to everyone as well. Excluding people with disabilities from accessing information or services is not in any way morally justifiable, so designers and developers who promote digital accessibility will align their products with ethical design standards and practices.

The fact is that the end product will ultimately be better served, because accessibility features often enhance the overall experience for all users, and not just those with disabilities. Clear and intuitive design, easy navigation, and consistent layouts benefit everyone, making the product more ultimately user-friendly and one that results in a more smooth and enjoyable experience for the visitor.

Certainly, there is a strong business benefit as well. Organizations that prioritize digital accessibility will be viewed positively by customers, employees, and financial stakeholders. Demonstrating both the understanding and the facility to design for all users exhibits a commitment to inclusivity and social responsibility, which will surely improve the brand's reputation and attract a broader and more accepting customer base. In addition, by developing to the needs of people with disabilities, graphic and UX designers can tap into a significant market segment that is often overlooked. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world, “…62% of adults with a disability say they own a desktop or laptop computer, compared with 81% of those without a disability.” And, considering the fact that roughly 1 in 5 adults in the United States report that they have a disability, this community represents a substantial consumer group that have very specific needs and preferences.

With every new initiative there is always a launching point, a point in time that represents a “no turning back” moment. It is hard to imagine a new building being built today that does not consider ramped entrances or wide elevators. This moment can well represent that point in time for digital accessibility design features. Building accessibility into designs from the beginning of a project will ensure that the product remains relevant and usable in the future. And, as technology evolves and new devices or assistive technologies emerge, the designs with accessibility features will adapt more easily.

Finally, from an individual perspective, and as digital accessibility gains more and more prominence, designers with expertise in accessible design principles will be highly sought after. Being well-versed in digital accessibility will open up many more career opportunities and options for graphic and UX designers with relevant experience.

End users with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments, face many barriers when accessing digital content and technology. It is imperative that we systematically and routinely assist in removing those barriers by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines established as part of the Web Accessibility Initiative by the World Wide Web Consortium.

By adhering to these accessibility standards, designers can create a more inclusive digital environment, promote equal opportunities, and enhance the user experience for everyone.

Books (and Apps) are judged by their covers. The Aesthetic Usability Effect in UX/UI.

The compelling territory of the Aesthetic Usability Effect implies a simple statement: ‘Yes, it matters if an app or website is not visually inviting.’ Here, beauty is not merely a decorative bow but a key factor contributing to a seamless user experience, enhancing satisfaction. The aesthetics of a platform can be the difference between a user feeling like they’re strolling through a serene garden or navigating a thorny bush.

Usually, when building the customer journey, two factors are considered: the user’s needs and incorporating the information and features needed to utilize the product appropriately – the aesthetics being seen as just a ‘nice to have.’ However, the attractiveness of a design is not merely a pretty cover to a riveting book- it’s as crucial to usability as a well-tuned engine is to a smooth car ride, and a whole concept was created to define this idea for a good reason.

What is the Aesthetic Usability Effect in UX/UI?

Humans are hard-wired to make snap judgments, especially regarding visuals; we judge people by clothes, books by covers, wines by labels, and apps by interfaces. Beauty and harmony, in all these circumstances, help to create positive first impressions.

In short, the term ’aesthetic usability effect’ describes the common perception among consumers that aesthetically pleasing products are also easier to use – just like the ‘halo effect’ works in humans. The visual appeal of a product can deceive consumers into thinking it performs better than it does.

That is to say, consumers have a favorable emotional reaction to a visual design, and as a result, they are more forgiving of the site’s minor usability faults. Generally speaking, this is good news. Because of this influence, working on a good UI that works well to provide a positive user experience is essential.

In 1995, researchers in the field of human-computer interaction began looking into the correlation between aesthetic appeal and usability. Researchers Masaaki Kurosu and Kaori Kashimura from Hitachi’s Design Centre evaluated 252 people’s opinions on the usability and aesthetics of 26 designs for an ATM’s user interface. When comparing the participants’ judgments of visual appeal to actual ease of use, they found a stronger association between the two. Even when evaluating the system’s functionality, Kurosu and Kashimura found that the interface’s aesthetics heavily influenced users. Don Norman writes extensively about commonplace items in his 2004 book, ‘Emotional Design.’

Of course, there is a limit to the effect that aesthetic usability can have. An attractive design can get people to overlook some usability issues, but not major ones. If a site isn’t easily accessible and takes eons to load, it doesn’t matter how nice it looks – it won’t make any money. Both aesthetics and practicality are crucial in UX/UI, and the presence of one should never compromise the other.

Brands that have aced the Aesthetic Usability Effect

The aesthetic-usability effect wields a curious power in design, casting a spell of illusion that effortlessly marries beauty and functionality. In this universe, it is safe to say that Apple reigns supreme. Its sleek, minimalist design doesn’t just offer a feast for the eyes, as showcased in its stunning UI kit:

https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/materials

It beckons users into a world where technology is not just accessible but intuitive. The allure of the shiny logo on a MacBook or an iPhone isn’t just superficial—it’s an unspoken pact of exclusivity, a promise of a luxurious, top-tier user experience yet to be explored.

In the world of Rolex, every element of their watches is a testament to this premium allure. Each Rolex timepiece, with its meticulous detailing, transforms from a mere object into a symbol of unrivaled luxury, inviting users to strap on a tool of timekeeping precision and a badge of opulence and class.

As a luxury watchmaker, Rolex embodies precision, quality, and timeless design, reflecting these values in its UX decisions. Key principles include simplicity and consistency, with a clean, elegant design that offers an intuitive experience, reflecting their brand identity and heritage across all digital platforms. Personalization elements cater to the high-end consumer’s expectations for exclusive experiences. However, despite the luxurious aura, Rolex prioritizes straightforward navigation to ensure efficiency and ease of use.

Both Apple and Rolex have mastered the art of aesthetic usability, expertly weaving it into the very fabric of their branding strategy. They’ve crafted their products so that their aesthetic appeal becomes an indicator of their premium functionality, winning the game of perception where design is the player, and the rules are defined by beauty and functionality working harmoniously to create an enriching user experience. Not just a trick of the mind but a testament to ingenious design and brand strategy.

Ok, so it matters that it’s ugly. But what to do?

When designing with a focus on aesthetic usability, it’s critical to truly navigate three levels of cognitive responses—visceral, behavioral, and reflective—to connect with users through emotional design.

The visceral response is the first impression, the spark that lights up when users look at a design. This response is immediate, unconscious, and dictated by the aesthetic appeal of a design. An uncluttered user interface that suggests a breezy user experience works like an open invitation, triggering positive initial reactions.

The journey continues to the behavioral level, where the design undergoes a silent, subconscious evaluation. At this level, users assess how seamlessly the design helps them achieve their goals. A design that exudes effortless usability puts users in the driver’s seat, enabling them to complete tasks with minimum exertion and maximum satisfaction.

The final destination is the reflective response. Here, users consciously contemplate the value a design brings to their experience. They gauge its performance, evaluate its benefits, and ponder its worth. A positive reflective response is like the seal of approval: users develop an emotional bond with the design and become ambassadors, sharing their positive experiences with others.

By addressing these three cognitive responses in a design, a path that leads from the users’ eyes, through their hands, and into their hearts, laying the groundwork for a memorable and engaging user experience is established.

In conclusion

To put a bow on our deep dive into aesthetic usability and its charming effects on product interaction, the phenomenon of ‘pretty privilege’ in humans is a relevant parallel. Just as individuals blessed with good looks might find doors opening more easily in life (queue up every rom-com ever), similarly, products boasting aesthetic design enjoy a ‘pretty privilege’ of their own. Entranced by the elegant visuals, their users are more inclined to perceive them as easier to use, more valuable, and essentially more ‘charming.’

There are two simple strategies to follow to create a website or an app around the concept of aesthetic usability:

· Firstly, utilizing established design systems like Google’s Material Design or Microsoft’s Fluent UI is beneficial. Crafted by industry leaders, these resources provide various elegant and functional design components that can significantly boost visual charm.

· Secondly, using custom photography or illustrations. Overused stock photos should be avoided as they can devalue the brand and disengage users. Instead, investing in creating or procuring unique visuals that echo the intended audience and uphold the brand ethos is advised.

Just like in dating, it isn’t all about looks. Yes, an aesthetically pleasing design might get the first date (or click), but the seamless user experience and the emotional bonds get the second date (or continued use). So while a beautifully designed interface can flutter users’ hearts at first glance, the thoughtful combination of visceral appeal, effortless functionality, and reflective satisfaction truly win them over. Ultimately, aesthetic usability is a balancing act—a veritable dance between beauty and functionality, where the right moves can make a product not just the belle of the ball but the talk of the town.

Failure of Amazons "Time off Task" App Function and How to Improve It Using “Usability Heuristics”

Amazon A-Z App

In 2018, legal charges were filed against Amazon by former warehouse workers claiming that the stated reason for termination, low productivity rates, was being used as a cover for the employees trying to exercise their legal rights, specifically Secion 8 of the Labor Relations Act (the right to unionize.) Adding to the validity of the claim was the metric that Amazon was using to measure low productivity, a feature of the employee mobile app called “Time off Task.”

This feature reportedly would produce a time measurement for the amount of time a worker was not doing their job, which made employees feel that they could not move away from their task for any reason, for fear of missing a deadline. Adding to the workers' frustrations, the app recorded work activities like meeting with superiors or helping a coworker as “off task.” Workers who don't want to be punished for meeting exact quotas and fear of accruing Time off Task reported avoiding taking bathroom breaks or even in rare cases urinating in bottles. It makes sense that the workers would feel this way.

They were in a situation described by “Parkinson's law”, an observed and measurable reaction that workers have when an exact time is measured when a person is completing a task. Within the app's main Parkinson's law feature, “Time off Task” preyed on certain cognitive biases that play a role in making the workplace uncomfortable. This feature makes a bad working environment for employees, and eliminating it can have positive changes on workers' well being.

How Amazon measured productivity

The “Amazon A-Z” app is used by employees to manage “profile information, submit time off requests, check [schedules], claim extra shifts, see the latest [Amazon] news, and more.”1 It would appear that this app is popular with employees (or at least works without many glitches) from its 4.7 stars on the App store1. That's pretty good when comparing it to other employee apps like “myTime for Target” with 2.7 stars or “Me@Walmart” with an even worse 2.5 star rating. That 4.7 rating is even higher than other popular apps like SnapChat with 3.6 stars and Tinder at 3.7, but that last one is probably due to the fact that I have not downloaded it yet. Amazon has dedicated design and engineering resources with a team that would be fairly responsive to user complaints and debugging the tool.

Employees are required to have this app on their phones. While being a tool for employees, Amazon also uses this app to collect multiple types of data on its employees and their working habits.A One of these data collecting tools was mentioned earlier, a feature called “Time on Tasks”. Amazon employees are required to track their working habits throughout their shift. This amount of time “off-task” was shown to the individual in the app and also reported to the employee’s managers.

By setting a timer for employees, this made workers more observant of their allocation of time when at work. However, without clear guidance on how the time metrics would affect their jobs many employees were confused and frustrated.

Comments on the r/AmazonFC Reddit thread about Time off Task

The unofficial Reddit 5 employee thread is filled with frustrated comments about the confusing nature of the feature. It should be noted Reddit is not a primary or reliable source, and the participants on the r/AmazonFC Reddit thread have not been verified as actual Amazon employees. However, the comments in this thread share the same emotional sentiment as other reported pieces from the Virge and NYT. Thread participants are asking questions about a “certain number of TOT minutes you can accumulate in a day before getting disciplined”, “If I'm currently in "TOT" status, does that impact my rate?” and “If I go to the bathroom, does that impact my rate? My fellow new coworkers all seem nervous to use the bathroom during non-break hours.”

The feeling about the app can be summed up by the comment. “Why does no one fucking explain any of this to new hires? There's so much that's left unexplained”

TOT Operating Principle According to Amazon

While Amazon warehouse employees start their workday, Amazon has each warehouse worker on automatic monitoring with the A-Z app. The TOT machine robotically tracks their productivity throughout the day and could generate any warnings or termination alerts connected to a worker's first-rate work without any formal caution from a supervisor or manager.

However, supervisors at Amazon can override the TOT gadget. Therefore, personnel may not be terminated relying on their lack of productivity.

Amazon "Time off Task." Policy and Utilization of the “Parkinson Law."

Cyril Northcote Parkinson had a very British name and the very British job of British naval historian. His interest in British naval history began in college, where his King’s College PhD thesis on Trade and War in the Eastern Seas, 1803-1810 won the Julian Corbett Prize in Naval History, meaning that this man really liked studying the specifics of the Navy’s tactics and strategies. After university he joined the British military and rose to the rank of lieutenant. After Parkinson left the military, he was able to combine his analytical and historical education with his observations of the military as a large organization and the levels of bureaucracy that arose. Parkinson began writing for a broad audience by naming and measuring common occurrences within business, organizations, or other large bodies. Parkinson began to do research on the naval workforce during the war and postwar Britain. Today he is best known for an observation he titled “Law of Triviality”B and without a care for humility, observations on productivity that were so revolutionary, he had no other choice but to name his theory “Parkinson's Law”.

Cyril Northcote Parkinson with a fancy hat

Parkinson's laws are a wide reflection of the principles of a proper business, the laws of financial literacy, and the reason for successful or unsuccessful life. Parkinson's Law is driven by effort and allocated as the main variables. According to him, more time is required to complete a task when the effort is invested less, and more effort is required when a task needs to be completed in less time.

There is actually a good amount of science behind this science behind this

This principle feels correct to most people who have worked within a large organization, but Parkinson goes into detail on how he figured this out. Parkension measured the number of sailors over a linear timeline. “What we have to note is that the 2000 officials of 1914 had become the 3569 of 1928; and that this growth was unrelated to any possible increase in their work. The Navy during that period had diminished , in point of fact, by a third in men and two-thirds in ships.” Without going into details Parkinson's mathematical calculations, Parkinson states: "In any public administrative department not actually at war the staff increase may be expected to follow this formula"

x=2km+P/n

x – number of new employees to be hired annually

k – number of employees who want to be promoted by hiring new employees

m – number of working hours per person for the preparation of internal memoranda (micropolitics)

P – difference: age at hiring − age at retirement

n – number of administrative files actually completed

Parkinson's success in his mathematical analysis, not only led to his development of a useful equation, it also inspired less deliberately numbers based anyalizone and more sociological study of work structures. Most people can relate to Parkinson’s law as a universal truth, but a number of researchers have continued Parkinson’s scholarly investigation into the topic. In 1991, Genaro J. Gutierrez and Panagiotis Kouvelis published their study “Parkinson's Law and Its Implications for Project Management.” The two researchers compared Parkinson's Law to other project management and project modeling techniques popular at the time. The two researchers contrasted a “Critical Path analysis, which was popular in the 1980’s to plan construction, aerospace, defense, and software projects.”

This method required the use of estimations to calculate times and was often not as precise as stakeholder wanted. The paper found that this was because “the critical path analysis ignores work force behavioral issues, and fails to model behavioral implications about critical and noncritical activity durations that subsequently may cause project delays.” (Gutierrez and Kouvelis p.900) At times, these types of delays could be a result of external factors, but the researches demonstrated that time delays can be a result of work being off task. When the law is discussed in popular culture, is related exclusively to accomplishing a task within a certain time frame, however, when described as a scolocial analysis, is an observation on “the relationship between allocation of effort and goals” (900) When taking this expanded view of the law, it suggests that an individual is able to achieve a goal in a range of timeframes. And when “a loose deadline (i.e. lowering the goal) leads, thus to a decline of the workers performance and to a delay of the activity.”

Gutierrez and Kouvelis also developed a system of equations that,with the appropriate data, could be used to calculate the impact of a worker's growth. “In order to develop a model for activity completion time that is consistent with Parkinson;s Law, we introduce a work expansion term, w, that accounts for leisure time or unnecessary expansion [of the timeframe]”

It is unknown weather Amazon was using any mathematical equations to limit the amount of natural expansion to their workforce, however the use of their personnel tracking software

Bias in Amazon

The implementation of Parkinson's Law during the Amazon A-z App resulted in some levels of biases within the Company. Most of the bias effects were conscious such that all the workers and employees realized them, and their actions were influenced by the application, while others were unconscious. The bias that was experienced in Company can be described as cognitive bias. They mainly occurred out of quick decisions made by the company managers. Some of the factors that influenced the quick decision-making by the administration were; social behaviors, issues with paying attention, recruitment, management, finance, healthcare, and business.

Cognitive biases are repeated systematic errors of thinking that were developed due to misinterpretation of the off-task policy. These biases resulted in irrational judgments that lead to many employees losing their jobs. The bias emerged from the deviation from the normal and common policy system the employees used before.

Types of cognitive bias that were experienced by the users of the Amazon A-Z application;

Anchoring Bias

It refers to heavily relying on the first learned skills and information. It implies the fact that one makes full decisions with full impact from the first specific trait gained. The decision-makers tend to ignore the information received later.

Confirmation Bias

This refers to the tendency of selective observation whereby decision-making is made out of searched backup opinions, and information contradicting the opinion is rejected and dismissed. The humanitarian officials in Amazon made full judgment from their tracking records of the Time off Task". They fully had a fixed belief and opinion that the App was accurate and could not consider any reason that did not match the data in the system. They automatically discounted information that did not favor their perception.

Contrast Effect

This bias occurred when the time allotted, and off-tasks were assessed and compared without regarding their merits and relationship to each other. This bias caused an overlook without considering the reasons for the off-task and the time of an off-task. Contrast effect resulted in exaggeration of positive and negative sides of Amazon A-Z "Time off Task' Policy. The genuine reasons for one to leave their working positions such as a work imbalance, visiting bathrooms and washrooms to answer biological calls, talking to their manager, and a mechanical failure. This bias overlooks such issues and negatively rules out imposing dire consequences to the employees.

Application of Usability Heuristics for Amazon Web Re-design

The amazon 'Take off Task" App is a complex application that would need to be updated, modified and improved as often with the changes in technology. The complexity of Amazon TOT is in the structural function that broadly and largely involves nonlinear workflows of employees in their warehouses. The Tot app is used for important decision making and company judgment, data analysis and modeling. To ensure a more effective system that will be fair, realistic and more accurate, applying heuristics will improve the interface design of the mobile application.

Usually there are 10 heuristics guidelines and standards; Visibility of gadget popularity, healthy between the system and the actual global, user manipulate and freedom, consistency and standards, errors preventions, reputation alternatively that remember, flexibility and performance of use, aesthetic and minimalist design, help person apprehend, diagnose & recover from errors, and help & documentation. These heuristics are broad guidelines of thumb and aren't specific usability suggestions. The following three guidelines are best in enhancing the Amazon TOT interplay net;

● Visibility of system status

● User control and freedom

● Consistency and standards

Visibility of System status

By utilizing the heuristic guidelines, it is important to ensure that any changes to the App keeps the users informed about what is going on. By sending out an appropriate feedback response within a reasonable time. Keeping the workers updated of the current state of the system, using the app to determine their next action. The system plays into their minds their prior interactions and the outcome of their actions. This would automatically trigger the employees' mindset to give the best of their energy and improve their efficiency. The system clearly states to the users the consequences of "action" or "no action".

This guideline would be an improvement to the current system because it would promote positive peer-to-peer interactions that can predict the future interaction of the workers. Predictable interaction would create trust in the brand. This guideline is more practicable as a progressive indicator within the apps feature. A heuristic implementation would be for app to sends a signal on a digital in app map that shows the current location of people, and it helps them understand where next they should go. One example of the indicator is "You Are Here". This indicator would be supported by the geographic information system, and it gives details of users completed steps and remaining steps when the user performs data queries and connections. Another progressive indicator example is "Daily Report'. This indicator expresses how much longer the system expects a given process or task to take place. This message allows the user to make a decision of whether to wait for the process to complete, begin another task or even cancel the previous task within the time indicated on the screen. A generic loop animation is automatically created when the wait command takes more than 10 seconds. The loop animation indicates that the system fails to support the user in making an intended decision.

User control and freedom

In the workspaces and warehouses, users often perform actions that are outside of their direct job. These actions could be meeting, assisting a peer, teaching a peer how to do a task, or personal time (i.e. bathroom breaks, rest periods, ect.) It would be appropriate to have a clearly made “alternate task” option that would undo the unwanted and unintended TOT action without having to go through an extended process. Having an easier way for employees to correct, undo unwanted TOT action, their confidence and freedom would be fostered. The “alternate task” would give the employees the chance to be controllers of the system and will keep them away from frustrations and getting stuck in unexplainable fixes. The “alternate task” command should have a clear way of the "undo" and "redo" action, for instance a Cancel button –to quit a process that involved multiple steps, Back Button -- to redirect the user back to the previous record/state/screen, Undo Button – to regress the former state. The “alternate task” should be clearly labeled and positioned in discoverable points within the app. Just like in the physical space when an individual worker's job could change instantly, the “alternate task” should be quickly available in the digital space.

This heuristic guideline would be more of an advantage, especially to the new people or infrequent users of the company system. The option will quickly. This would be a fair mechanism of allowing them to learn without suffering consequences.

Consistency and standards

TheA-Z app should have a conventional and a constant platform that is understood by every worker and employee in the company. The meaning and interpretation of words, actions and situations should be the same. According to "Jakob’s" Law, people spend most of their time on the internet and with digital products. Their repeated use and experience with those products set their expectations. The system in the working place should at least align closely to the common digital products that they are exposed to. Failing to have consistency might mean they are forced to learn something new which would increase the user's cognitive load. Having standards would enable the Amazon community to establish company conventions. The maintenance of both internal and external consistencies is the increased learnability by all workers regardless of ranks in the workforce.

The Company'sCompany's brand or products are related to internal consistency. This is achievable when interactive components operate and work within a common goal, visuality and lingual throughout.

Practically the heuristic can be achieved in many ways. For example, locating an IT help counter at the entrance of the company premises and in strategic locations around the building, such consistency would meet the expectation of workers..

How Parkinson's law was implemented incorrectly

In a company wide memo, Amazon’s Dave Clark who at the time was CEO Worldwide Consumer, addressed the Time off Task feature in the Amazon A-Z app.

“The first update I want to give you today is to a policy called Time off Task. If you’re not familiar with it, this policy is a way to measure the amount of time employees are logged on to the software tools in their work area, and it’s something that’s been in place in one form or another since our earliest days. It’s also similar to policies that you’d find at many logistics and manufacturing facilities.

Time off Task can easily be misunderstood. The primary goal of the Time off Task metric is to understand whether there are issues with the tools that people use to be productive, and only secondarily to identify under-performing employees. There are many legitimate reasons why employees log off their software tools—talking to their manager, a process issue, a work imbalance, a mechanical failure, and many more. Seeing that an employee is not logged on to the software tools for long periods of time (typically more than half an hour) is a good indicator of operational systemic defects, and it prompts managers to engage with an employee in an effort to understand what barriers the employee is facing so they can be fixed.

Starting today, we’re now averaging Time off Task over a longer period to ensure that there’s more signal and less noise—reinforcing the original intent of the program, and focusing Time off Task conversations on how we can help. The goal is to refocus the conversations on instances where there are likely true operational issues to resolve. We believe this change will help ensure the Time off Task policy is used in the way it was intended.”

From either a combination of bad press or a realization of a flawed design, the Amazon management felt it was appropriate to address the workforce that had to use the TOT feature. They acknowledged how the company failed, and thus the design of the feature, failed to be clearly understood by the users. It can be assumed that workers felt some relief that the company was redesigning this feature.

Recommendation

Each largely used workplace app like Amazons are exposed to interface –design challenges which are all unique within their complex applications and apps. It is important that designers and researchers greatly put into consideration Jakob Nelsen’s heuristics. These heuristics when applied within an investment are likely to create several positive effects within a companies wed structure.

Some of the advantages of integrating these guideline to the app interface are;

1. The application becomes generalized and easy for the users to handle. The control of the system becomes shared among subordinates. This in return uplift the confidence and accountability of every user and worker that users the system.

2. The usability of the App would increase. Consistency factor that is emphasized by the heuristics will enable the users to freely interact and relate among themselves, within the app and with the system of application.

3. Increased learnability. A flexible application would enable the casual users, new users and the infrequent users to learn without adhering to dire consequences.

4. The Pomodoro Technique. The re-design could utilize an “opt-in” timer, similar to the other self timing apps available on this app store. This self time to increase productivity is referred to as the pomodoro technique.

Conclusion

Going back to Parkeinson’s observations, he saw that within any organization there is waste, but it should be up to the management to create a better work environment, designed for the location and work, but not force it on individual employees to make the business as a whole more productive. A mobile applications UX design can only be considered efficient if it meets both the company and user requirements. An application like Amazon A-Z, needs to be used in more than one setting, and be able to be used easily by different types of employees with varying technological literacy. Additionally, a “good” version of the app would be to perform similar functions under different situations. Humanitarian factors should be a consideration to put into place before such applications are made. These factors also influence the features and characteristics of these applications. A unified and favorable application is one that balances the function of the company with the employees wellbeing and status.

Footnotes

A)Props to the Amazon employee with enough the patiences to sift through the terms of service request on this app to see that by downloading the Amazon A-Z app, Amazon forces employees to consent to the company gathering data from your phone that is outside the app. There are multiple low ratings on the Apple App Store1 with employees objecting to this, but downloading it anyways as a requirement for their employment.

B) The Law of triviality is painfully known by any designer who has had to work on a project with multiple, non-designer stakeholders. The Law states that “ people within an organization commonly or typically give disproportionate weight to trivial issues." Common examples of this in my professional design role include clients complaining about changing the font from 17pt to 18pt, and then asking all members of a team to weigh in, then not having enough time to review the actual content of the words in question.

Using my Graphic Design Skills to Help Immigrant and Refugee Support Organizations

As part of his graduate studies, my good friend James Rider has been doing research into refugee and immigrant resettlement. Nationwide, these types of organizations will be critical in welcoming and supporting America's growing refugee population.

Through his research, he has been able to create relationships and become involved with local organizations directly involved in supporting these groups in central Massachusetts.

One of these organizations, Worcester Together; a working group for refugees and immigrants funded by the United Way, advocates local government officials and provides support to community organizations, has been utilizing James Rider's research to better direct the limited resource into the areas that would have the greatest impact.

By taking the research, I designed a 4 page infographic for the group to use when seeking backing and assistance for new sources of aid, funding, and political support.

While I did not have a lot of time to design the product as Worcester Together wanted the infographic to be used as one of their main communication tools in their upcoming meeting with the Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty, I was happy with the result and glad I could volunteer my time.

#volunteerwork #graphicdesign #infographicdesign #refugees

How to download (free) high resolution images of the COVID-19 virus

U.S. government agencies have become the best stock photo site to use during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

The COVID-19 outbreak has filled our internet feeds with images of doctors, nurses, hospitals, and the coronavirus. The majority of virus images 🔬 we see were produced by NIAID (the department that Anthony Fauci heads) and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and are completely free to use.

How the images were created

Because of the incredibly tiny size of the virus, it took teams of scientists and engineers to develop the images of the coronavirus that we see today. NIAID scientists used an electron microscope to “take photographs” of the virus. Electron microscopes only produce images in black and white, so images were then taken into photoshop to be colorized after they were created. The neon colors that were photoshopped in are used to highlight different objects in these images. The bright colors are engaging and even beautiful at times (especially if you did not know about the harm the virus has caused to society.)

Beth Fischer, a scientist at NIAID, was asked about the importance of the images. Fischer said “When you can face your enemy, it takes a little of the fear factor out of it.”

The images are part of the Public Domain

What is most important is that these images are free to the public. Anyone anywhere can download these images and use however they want; broadcast news, newspaper article, local health department infographic, new Richard Preston book cover, heavy metal band t-shirt, so on and so forth.

As a graphic designer, I’ve spent countless hours searching different stock photo sites or internal photo libraries trying to find the perfect photo that “works.” It is great to know that federal agencies have helped out graphic designers, health departments, and media professionals by creating a great variety of images to use when trying to inform and educate the public about this virus.

Below are the links for you to download the images libraries:

The CDC

The CDC developed the most popular rendering of the virus, a gray ball with red “crown” proteins. It can be downloaded along with videos and other 3D virus renderings. https://www.cdc.gov/media/subtopic/images.htm

NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

NIAID has set up a Flickr album containing 76 photos and 2 videos of the virus. https://www.flickr.com/photos/niaid/albums/72157712914621487