Disrupt to get noticed
(This article was issue 9 of Maps, a newsletter on Digital I co-wrote for Base Design from 2022 to 2025.)
SEO will morph into Chat Bot Optimization
You know that age old saying: ‘eventually every app will turn into chat’? Think about Facebook, Instagram or basically any app you’re using on a daily basis… they all evolve into us using them to chat.
Well, Troy Young wrote an interesting article about the same phenomenon happening to ‘the internet’ itself.
Today, if you’re looking for something on the internet, the journey is simple: it starts with entering a search query into Google, and ends with visiting a web page to find the answer.
For simple questions however (like ‘How to cut an apple?’), Google is already giving us a direct answer. We don’t need to visit a page anymore.
And that makes sense, because from a UX perspective, visiting a page takes mental effort. It brings you into a totally different environment. You have to learn how to navigate that page. You have to dig in to find the answer. It totally disrupts your flow.
Now Troy’s point is; with AI getting baked into search engines more and more, the need to visit pages will diminish until it becomes irrelevant.
‘Pages will still exist but will be far less important,’ he says. ‘Content sucking bots will pull the relevant stuff to a personalized narrative response. More time will be spent in Q&A mode than Page mode. Search Engine Optimization will morph into Chat Bot Optimization.’
Basically, the internet will morph into chat!
Holy holy! But honestly, I agree. So brands, take note. No one will visit your web pages anymore. Your content will soon be presented void of any visual aesthetic or branded tone of voice.
Does it mean I’ll soon be out of work? I don’t think so. Because as soon as a convention is established, the most interesting thing to do is finding a way that doesn’t follow it.
‘Disrupt to get noticed.’
Yeah! 🤘
Disrupting, doing things differently, creating intentional friction… It all reminds me of another article I read that even goes one step further:
‘When navigating a space designed not to make me think, how can I experience anything or feel any emotion?’
That question comes from DVTK. And it’s an excellent one. Over the past years, digital has grown synonymous with simplicity, accessibility, standards and seamless interactions. The simpler an interface is designed to be used, the better.
And yes, while that may be an efficient approach in many cases—think about our search engine scenario above, but also tools like Weather app or a public transportation website—it does drain the online world from the roughness of emotions and memorable experiences. When ‘Don’t make me think’ becomes the design mantra of user-centered digital design, there is just no space for anything new.
I also wrote about it years ago in an article titled Beyond the Interface, reflecting on sameness in design and the seemingly paradox of what users want (uniformity, predictability, usability, standards) vs what brands want (differentiation, identification, individuality, emotion).
Positive Friction
Now the thing is, DVTK wants to bring back friction in digital experiences. The good kind of friction though. They call it Positive Friction. And hell yes, we’re with them. It could be the disruption I talked about before.
‘By disobeying the digital design standards, we find room to explore new possibilities. We create surprise and we dive into the undiscovered. Refusing these guidelines, we design new spaces within which new narratives can occur, that people should take time to discover and understand. By doing so, we create a relationship with our welcomed visitors rather than creating flows to guide emotionless users.’
Amen.
Base_test 🥳
Talking about surprise and emotion… we just launched a project called Base_test. It’s a place that shows our work in progress, focusing on experimentation and newness. It’s the kind of work that hardly ever makes it to our portfolio for various reasons. Maybe it ultimately didn’t fit the client’s context. Maybe it’s work from a lost pitch. Maybe it’s part of R&D. Maybe it was just a test…
Through these experiments, we want to provide a new window into the day-to-day at Base. We hope you like it. You can also follow us on Instagram if that’s your thing.
The Weird Web
All of this brings me to the Weird Web. Needless to say, I’m a fan. If you want to get inspired by websites and online projects that are full of positive friction, have a look at gallery websites like hallointer.net, hoverstat.es or loadmo.re.
Before we go…
→ More intelligent apps: AI finds its way into more and more software. Now Notion is bringing AI as a new function directly into its workspace app. Have a look at the demo video. In short: you can use it to structure thoughts, tidy up text, summarize messy meeting notes, and more. Accessible AI. Nice!
→ More context-aware AR: AR objects often look like strange things that were pasted into an existing context. Like in the early days of 2D image editing when we would select something from one photo and paste it into another photo without any lighting or color adjustments (and we’d be amazed already). But AR tech is progressing. Here’s a nice demo of a Snapchat lens that utilizes Snap’s new AR functionality (Ray Tracing). It’s all about the simple tattoo reflection on the bracelet. Slowly getting there…
→ Hands up: A bit gimmicky like this, but opening a lot of interesting opportunities: hand tracing in the browser. Would love to try a website controlled by hand gestures.
→ Here’s me scoring a goal for RSC Anderlecht: NBA fans rejoice, the NBA app may soon launch a new feature and it’s amazing. I guess mainly because I finally have to face it; at 42 the chance of me making an appearance at the FIFA World Cup is fading. Is someone at UEFA or FIFA already subscribed to this newsletter? :)
→ Blurred: If you’re in Switzerland: I’ll be speaking at the Swiss Interactive Media Design Days on March 24th in Sankt Gallen. The conference title is Blurred. Let’s meet?
From my camera roll — January 10th, 12:38, St. Gilles
Until next time,