275K views · Jan 16, 2013 · 4:23 · 4 HN recommenders · 4 mentions · discussed 2014–2021
A short talk by Will Dayble of Squareweave arguing that you should design software as if the user were drunk: distracted, impaired in attention and vision, and prone to misreading. It is a user experience talk built around that framing.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN users recommend it as a memorable, short way to build empathy for users' confusing mistakes and to design for distraction.
“There's a great short talk called "the user is drunk”HN comment, 2021
“I highly recommend the video.”
Explains designing for users with a drunk person's attention and vision.
Somebody took "the user is drunk" UI design method quite literally :) Here is a video about the "the user is drunk" idea: this video Basically, the idea is about assuming that your user has an attention and a vision of a drunk person, not designing a UI for literally drunk people. I highly recommend the video.
“This might be helpful”
Helpful for designing for distracted users.
-Design quality is good, but you should re-evaluate that top image. Does a tar-covered hand say "High quality leather" to most people? Not to me, especially because I can't see the object. -Headline #1 should tell me what you're doing. Don't assume I know what your deal is about. You could almost switch the first and second. -CTA is way too far below the fold. I should immediately know what you want me to do. Donate? Subscribe? Drop it beneath "You are about to challange [sic] the status quo". -Challenge, not "challange". Might want to look over your page for spelling and grammar... This might be helpful: this video
“The User is Drunk" is explained better in video by Will Dayble of Squareweave”
Explains The User is Drunk better than the article.
"The User is Drunk" is explained better in video by Will Dayble of Squareweave: this video Also, OP's post seems more like "The UX Consultant is Drunk".
“There's a great short talk called "the user is drunk”
Builds sympathy for users' seemingly inexplicable comprehension failures.
I wouldn't be much surprised. The amount of things people do _not_ notice is staggering. When I do usability tests there's almost always something that doesn't get noticed although I thought it obvious and/or important. Personal anecdote: I managed to buy paper for my printer and only noticed upon arrival that it was the wrong size. The product photo looked right to be. I did not bother to check the details - or even the product title. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, regarding "if the person isn't drunk": There's a great short talk called "the user is drunk" which makes one much more sympathetic to such seemingly unexplainable comprehension fails that sometimes drive product designers mad: this video
