Cognitive Design

I am looking at an X-box 360 game controller. It does not resemble anything else I use and has 11 buttons and 3 mini joy sticks on it.  It takes two hands to operate. I am looking at the Wii controller. It resembles a remote control and has only 5 buttons and 1 mini joy stick on it.  It takes one hand to operate. Talk about a difference in cognitive load.

The Wii uses similarity and functional simplicity. No wonder it is such a hit.  When you use Wii to play games, you use your body just as you do in real life. This is especially evidence with sports games when you swing your arm holding the controller to hit a tennis ball or roll a bowling ball.  In terms of cognitive fit during learning, the Wii resonantes or even accelerates.  The 360 controller will likely cause mental agitation.

Of course this depends upon the user. A serious gamer that already has a mental model for operating a sophisticated game controller would likely have little problem learning the 360 controller and experience toleration rather than agitation during the learning phase. Once the 360’s advanced functionality has been mastered, the serious gamer likely experiences cognitive acceleration.

The Wii on the other hand has redefined who a gamer can be. People have no fear of picking up something like a remote control and playing simple body-based games. Check out this news story that describes Wii bowling as big hit at a retirement home in  Chicago (average age 77).  Wii seems to be increasing access to the gaming experience for potentially millions of new players.

How far will Wii go? There is now a Wii internet channel where the hope is you will use the controller to browse the web. Google has created a version of its reader for the Wii. One analyst from Merryl Lynch predicts Wii will be in 30% of US households by 2011. So the Wii may not bee a fad driven by a novelty effect or a niche device.

I know comparing Wii and the 360 is like comparing apples and oranges– different type of games, different target market. But what the Wii shows is the power of using design to satisfy unmet cognitive needs. The Wii is simple, resembles something we already understand (metaphor greases the cognitive wheels), makes use of my body (remember cognition is embodied) and lets me get to the fun faster by myself or in a group (emotional energy). All of these factors dramatically lower cognitive load. It trades off graphical quality and game play sophistication and is able to give a lower price. Some people begin to experience cognitive dissonance (holding conflicting beliefs) when they consider paying a lot for a game or game device.

Why is the Wii so popular? It is a masterstroke in cognitive design.

Metaphors reveal a lot about how we think. Unpacking metaphors means unpacking thought and emotion - an essential task for cognitive designers.

Tangled Spaghetti in My Head: Making use of metaphor is a brief introduction to an important technique – based on asking 12 questions for exploring client metaphors. This technique is used in therapy but it can be easily adapted to design conversations. Try it and let me know how it works. 

Finding unmet cognitive needs (especially ones rooted in emotions and other visceral factors) is a wellspring for product and service innovation. Discovering these needs can be tricky. Listening for metaphors (or doing a metaphor hunt) has always been a good technique.

 Dan Saffer writes a to-the-point Masters thesis (Carnegie Mellon School of Design) on the role of metaphor in interaction design. Clearly illustrates how metaphors lower the cognitive load of an artifact by translating abstract concepts into something more familiar and visceral for users. He warns:

“Unquestionably, companies have fostered onto users all sorts of misbegotten metaphors, stuffing existing functionality into uncomfortable and awkward metaphors. Yet, when used properly, they can be a powerful tool for conceptualizing, orienting, and personifying products.”

If you don’t want to read the entire thesis check out Dan’s work on slide share.