Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Designing Warmth
Summary
In order to thrive, we humans need to experience the interconnectedness between ourselves and the world around us. But despite unprecedented connectivity, the modern commercial, social, and educational frameworks where our daily interactions and transactions take place focus on the individual. Increasingly, the technological worlds we inhabit grow cold because connectivity is not the same as connection. Warmth is a connecting principle. For individuals, it leads to reduced stress, anxiety, blood pressure, depression, and heart disease. For communities, it’s like social glue increasing cohesion, unity, and productivity. Changes in UX design priorities are needed to help users get over themselves, to see over the impediments blocking their eyes and hearts from other people, other communities, and the upstream and downstream impact of their consumer behaviors.
Key Insights
-
•
Physical warmth activates the same brain regions as interpersonal warmth, linking tactile and social experiences.
-
•
The 18th-century Shaker communities designed with intentional warmth that supported belonging and self-actualization.
-
•
Fred Rogers scaled warmth into a designed experience for children that emphasized respect, trust, and connection.
-
•
Abraham Maslow’s concept of self-transcendence encourages designing experiences that connect users to something bigger than themselves.
-
•
Modern UX often focuses too narrowly on problem solving and usability, missing opportunities to foster true human connection.
-
•
Users vet expert advice through their communities, revealing the importance of interconnectivity even in enterprise contexts.
-
•
Digital experiences can and should be designed to create ongoing, respectful conversations between users and designers.
-
•
Dunbar’s Number suggests optimal group sizes for true social warmth and connection, illustrating the role of scale in design.
-
•
Warmth in design acts as social glue that reduces loneliness and promotes societal cohesion and health.
-
•
Transparency about product sourcing and impacts can foster consumer trust and sense of purpose in capitalism.
Notable Quotes
"After holding a warm cup of coffee, people perceive others as more trustworthy and engaging."
"I spent the whole car ride home thinking, what just happened? — after singing together at a Shaker conference."
"Rather than problem solving, it’s conversation that should drive design."
"We’ve been over-indexing on the individual and not considering belonging and connectivity enough."
"Fred Rogers wasn’t just kind, he carefully designed warmth into the children’s experience."
"Once you meet your basic needs, Maslow says you can transcend yourself and connect with something bigger."
"Users don’t just trust the advisor’s opinion; they vet it through their community networks."
"Warmth needs scale; if a group is too large, social warmth can break down."
"The epidemic of isolation is tied to digital design that creates connectivity without connection."
"It’s psychopathic behavior to know about harm in a product’s sourcing and ignore it rather than seek transparency."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"This work does not fit our product program."
Aditi Ruiz Christian Crumlish Farid SabitovA PM State of Mind: Empathy Mapping Your Product Manager, Pt. 1
December 6, 2022
"Some of the most impactful insights come from data analytics and user research collaborating to find behaviors seen in real people and aggregate data."
Eduardo Ortiz Robin Beers Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Bruce Gillespie Jess Greco Marieke McCloskey Renee ReidDay 3 Theme Panel
March 13, 2025
"Participants who do this kind of research are happy to answer questions about how they use assistive technology."
Samuel Proulx Laur BaekInclusive Research: Debunking Myths and Getting Started
March 12, 2025
"Depersonalizing the situation is a huge winner in nearly any hard conversation."
Joshua GravesWe Need To Talk: Navigating Conversations with Your Boss (Part 1 of 3)
April 14, 2025
"I just said yes to everything climate-related until I found the right fit."
Louis Rosenfeld Matt Jones Olga Khroustaleva Michael Leggett Karol MunozDo you want to work on climate? (Climate UX Discussion Series)
November 15, 2023
"A great designer doesn’t have all the right answers, they have the right questions."
Erika Kincaid Brenna Heaps Jessica TsukimuraConnecting the Dots: How to Foster Collaboration and Build a Strong Design Review Culture
June 8, 2022
"Design teams don’t want a design ops drill, they need a quarter inch hole that requires a little bit of program management."
John Calhoun Rachel PosmanMeters, Miles, and Madness: New Frameworks to Measure the (Elusive) Value of DesignOps
September 24, 2024
"You want to be strict in what you emit but liberal in what you accept, to be clear and precise but also give some grace."
Shan ShenTranslating UX Terms into Business Contexts
November 29, 2023
"Prioritizing across a complex ecosystem of business owners requires deep alignment between product and UX or the product never moves forward."
Laureen Kattan Julie KimCentering Patients and Clinicians in a Complex Government Ecosystem
November 29, 2023
