Interaction Design for INDIA’s Problems
09th November 2016,
“It all started as the talk of the town, When currency became the paper crown.”
DEMONETIZATION, a surprised event held by the prime minister. The Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi claimed that the action would curtail the shadow economy and reduce the use of illicit and counterfeit cash to fund illegal activity and terrorism. The plan to demonetize the ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes was initiated and issuance of new ₹500 and ₹2,000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi New Series in exchange for the demonetized banknotes. Dealing with endless queues in front of the ATMs and deposition of cash in the banks was a problematic situation faced by the public. Hereby, a push for digital payments was one of the stated intentions of demonetization. And that’s when Paytm came into the picture. It was Paytm with its mobile wallet that enabled cashless transactions, cater the need to all. The idea of promoting Digital India was intended long time ago but, demonetization impacted the socio-economy and hence, people adapted this change on their daily business. Digital penetration in India is fast becoming the unifying force between India and Bharat.
Post the waves of Agrarian, Industrial in the world economy, to living the ‘Information Age’. Now, almost possibly everything is in our hands right now, literally. We can scroll through our feed every now and then, access what’s going on across the world, teleport virtually at any spot of the globe or purchase an order from any corner of the world by just one tap on the mobile screen or get a task-force from an app to do any mundane task for the day. With the boon of technology and leap of faith put upon the T&C’s of technology, we have come up so far to be a part of the future. Challenges have only given an opportunity to not be held back and bring forth innovation to the society. And, the perpetual exercise of going back and forth in time is how the innovation takes the form as a product or a service.
India, the epitome of the world where diversity and unity can coexist, it holds high hopes for innovation. The needs of the diversified land can be fulfilled by designing technology that keeps the people as the epicenter of the whole. But for this outcome, perpetual exercise of going back and forth is essential to re-imagine the notion of design and serve the nation as per the societal needs. An interaction designer is that “bridge” for the intervention between the human and device. Primarily, a software was developed by an engineer focusing on things to work, despite of considering the cognitive behavior of a human and ease of use.
“The device should be at its best behavior and be adaptive to humans, Rather than humans adapting it.”
In order to make pickups as seamless as possible. During the crowded areas or at night, it can be tricky for riders and driver-partners to find each other but with Spotlight, riders hold up their phone, which lights up with a colorful ‘Spotlight’ as their driver approaches. The driver sees this same color in the app, so they know they have the right rider. If this situation takes place in India, it can unify both the parties by avoiding the clash between two ethnic cultures at one meeting point. Ultimately, it intended to improve the pickup experience like in-app messaging and letting riders edit their pickup location. The smart use of “color theory” does make a brilliant sense for the visionaries. Interaction design plays a very profound role in defining India’s future. The growing relevance of India as a consumption market, the internet savvy customer segment, vernacular and regional complexities and inclusive of digital as a great leveler — all of these and more are putting India into the global UX design map. UI/UX is outgrowing in digital technology and turning them into a realm of experiences. UX design facilitates a digital experience that is easy, engaging and habit forming for the users to adapt the change. “Experience” is the new gig and on demand all over the world.
Today, businesses must fabricate memorable events for their customers, and that memory itself becomes the product: the “experience”.
Accessibility, interaction and trust are the cornerstones of the experience economy.
“It is not enough that we build product that function, that are understandable and usable, we also need to build products that bring joy and excitement, pleasure and fun and yes, add beauty to the lives of people.” -Don Norman
One account which can link to everything else — bank accounts, subsidies, mobile SIMs, academic records and the list goes on. The Aadhar number serves as a proof of identity and address anywhere in India. The whole system of Aadhaar is to create link with any billing transactions, be it from banking to our daily errands. Aadhaar system has a scope of improvement for ease, security of information, seamless transactions and a well user-driven. All of these problems can be taken care of and well implemented by the interaction designers.
The EPIC “COVID 19”
China, as the exporter of COVID-19 has traded the virus with other countries. COVID-19 epidemic has created a global emergency and penetrated in our lifestyle for the next uncertain period. The consequences due to this outbreak in the economy will affect globally. The rate of contagion and patterns of transmission is more threatening in India because of the population firstly. This pandemic has brutally exposed the vulnerabilities of some of the best health systems. Problems of health infrastructure that’s been failing to test Covid-19 positives. As a lesson and a not to be neglected mistake, the country must create an easy and accessible healthcare systems. The whole beauty of simplification lies hidden in the complexity of a country like India. Today’s problems are the undiscovered opportunities and therefore, interaction design is a boon that can unravel to bring changes and growth to the country.
From scratch to being the global dominators like- Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon are the influential examples of the digital economy. The above mentioned companies have adopted UX as a strategic movement. UX design is actively predominating this digital age. It’s a new battle ground for a developing country like India and there’s an immense amount of opportunities for the worthy designers to play a significant role in the enhancement of the economy. As the digital literacy levels increase, the expectations from a well-designed experience will also be on the rise. Making full use of this rising digital literacy and channelizing it towards creating an enriched multi-dimensional experience is what should be the ultimate aim of designers who wish to make a contribution towards Digital India. The untouched segments of Indian economy withholds a tremendous scope of opportunities yet to be flourished. After IT sectors, interaction design is the “new wave” to the boom in the Indian economy.
Gone are the days when building just a digital product or service would ensure that users will come.
