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Summary
The third in a series of discussions centered around Climate UX. To make an impact on the climate, many different audiences will need to understand and use climate science. But the science is complex and evolving rapidly. How might we best approach it as translators and facilitators? Through case studies and discussion you’ll learn how four designers are doing this today. Panelists: Ted Booth, HK Dunston, Andrew Otwell; Moderated by: Victor Lombardi
Key Insights
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Climate Central converts slow, peer-reviewed attribution science into real-time, forecast-applicable data visualizations to better communicate climate causes.
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Journalists and meteorologists prefer compelling, simplified visuals over deep scientific details due to time constraints, requiring UX to balance accuracy and usability.
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Scientists demand literal, detailed data representations and are suspicious of metaphors or abstractions in UX design, valuing precision over simplification.
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Designing for scientists involves embracing their existing mental models like Excel grids and visually 'clunky' graphs rather than innovating novel visualizations.
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Ambient sensing uses secondary environmental signals, like sound and temperature fluctuations, to remotely monitor HVAC system performance without direct equipment attachment.
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Creating new meaningful measures (e.g., degrees Fahrenheit per hour for HVAC efficiency) helps users understand complex scientific data intuitively.
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Scientists prioritize minimizing false positives over false negatives, which influences the cautious language and presentation of climate science data.
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Culture, storytelling, and design have a unique role in interpreting and responding to scientific data, especially where science alone can't convey urgency or meaning.
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Learning scientific domains for UX requires humility, asking many questions, and gradually internalizing key vocabulary and concepts without deep expertise.
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Designers can serve as cultural translators providing ‘cover’ for scientists to communicate findings within constraints of scientific rigor and funding pressures.
Notable Quotes
"The map is a model of the world. Models are simple versions of the world, so we lose accuracy but gain understanding."
"Scientists aren’t interested in analogy or metaphor because they can make them suspicious or seem like hiding something."
"Excel is the mental model of the scientific research world, a two dimensional grid that represents their literal understanding."
"We care about HVAC because we’re entering an era of energy scarcity we haven’t been in before."
"In science, it’s better to misidentify a phenomenon that exists than to say something’s happening when it isn’t."
"Designers are all about iteration and failure, but scientists face a very high cost of being wrong."
"The role of design is not just creating visuals but bringing a cultural perspective unique among the multidisciplinary team."
"Letting the data express itself simply is often better than fancy visualizations for real-world use and discovery."
"The long, careful analysis of observable phenomena is the value of science, and UX must support that process."
"You don’t need to understand all the science or math to do this work, just grasp foundational principles enough to support the goals."
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