Tragic Design: The Impact of Bad Product Design and How to Fix It

Bad design is everywhere, and its cost is much higher than we think. In this thought-provoking book, authors Jonathan Shariat and Cynthia Savard Saucier explain how poorly designed products can anger, sadden, exclude, and even kill people who use them. The designers responsible certainly didn’t intend harm, so what can you do to avoid making similar mistakes?

Tragic Design examines real case studies that show how certain design choices adversely affected users, and includes in-depth interviews with authorities in the design industry. Pick up this book and learn how you can be an agent of change in the design community and at your company.

You’ll explore:

• Designs that can kill, including the bad interface that doomed a young cancer patient
• Designs that anger, through impolite technology and dark patterns
• How design can inadvertently cause emotional pain
• Designs that exclude people through lack of accessibility, diversity, and justice
• How to advocate for ethical design when it isn’t easy to do so
• Tools and techniques that can help you avoid harmful design decisions
• Inspiring professionals who use design to improve our world

Jonathan Shariat has been in design for over 10 years, and is currently the Director of Product for a small start-up in Silicon Valley. He is also co-host of the Design Review Podcast. He’s written for publications such as Medium.com, most notably a #1 most recommended article ＂How bad UX Killed Jenny,＂ a story about a patient who died because the EHR UI distracted the nurses and caused a critical error. He’s passionate about shedding light on the negative impact of bad design and an advocate for thoughtful, purposeful design.

Passionate about human beings and their means of communication, Cynthia has always sought a deeper understanding of how people think, interact, connect. Communication has thus been a key ingredient in her technological endeavours. A Université de Montréal graduate in industrial design, she is now Director of Design at Shopify. On top of her daytime job, Cynthia mentors startups and is regularly invited to speak at events around the world, where her playful approach both startles and charms. In her conferences, she shares her passion and her point of view: user-centered design is a reality, not a utopian methodology.