Fighting Fatigue: Decision-Making In the Era of Big Data
Elvis Yang describes herself as a fundamentally indecisive person. Online, algorithms can optimize and streamline the decision-making process to help her make the best choices. But offline, she often finds herself stagnating, paralyzed with self-doubt even for the most trivial of decisions. “After twenty years, these decisions should not be a big deal for me,” she shared. “How could such a tiny, daily chore cause so much stress and require that much effort?” She was willing to bet she wasn’t alone. In her thesis, Fighting Fatigue: Decision-Making In the Era of Big Data, Elvis utilized design to address the root problems of indecision to help people make daily decisions more comfortably.
“We make 226.7 decisions each day about food alone. On average, an adult makes 35,000 decisions within one day.”
WABBLE
WABBLE builds a bridge for people moving to a new city. The system takes what users found familiar back home and offers recommendations for analogous experiences in their new city. This requires particularly nuanced algorithms that can translate cultural experiences in subtle ways.
The mobile app WABBLE aims to provide a comfortable way for users to retain their previous lifestyles and explore new surroundings. As such, WABBLE helps users to build a sense of belonging more quickly. People usually come to have a favorite place after staying in town for a while; WABBLE provides people with similar places and activities in the new city, based on their previous lifestyle. This facilitates a smooth transition, enabling people to get used to their new lives instead of feeling overwhelmed by unfamiliar surroundings and grappling with insecurity in the new city.
UMENU
UMENU is a mobile app that pairs with the unique dining experience that is Dim Sum restaurants. When people make reservations at a Dim Sum restaurant, they can simultaneously use UMENU to explore the culture of Dim Sum.
Additionally, UMENU utilizes gamified storytelling interactions, instead of common survey forms, to gather data on users’ taste preferences. This allows the restaurants to learn customers’ taste preferences before they even walk in the door. The system also matches users’ data with each dish to provide suggestion menus for the customers. By doing so, this mobile app offers an engaged and interactive Dim Sum house experience for people who come from different backgrounds.
LAZY SUZY
Certain groups of people are indecisive because they’re unable to listen to their own voice and face their own thoughts. It is highly possible that growing up, this group of people never had the chance to make decisions on their own. As a result, they never learned to recognize what they really wanted.
Lazy Suzy is a handheld product that is easy to hold and fit into a pocket. When users are indecisive, Lazy Suzy provides a randomly generated answer to the choice that they’re facing. Then, users can then confirm their own thoughts and confront them based on how users feel in reaction to Lazy Suzy’s response.
FRESH QUESTIONS
People often feel insecure during major transitions, especially transitions to a new environment or to a new stage of life. The gap between students and new professionals is big enough to impact users’ behaviors and decision making.
The mobile app Fresh Questions is partnered with School Canvas to verify each user’s account and the authenticity of their content. It connects recent graduates and new professionals with more experienced alumni by facilitating mentoring and allowing students to ask questions. The goal is to empower new professionals to be more confident in taking on significant responsibilities in a work environment.
To learn more about Elvis Yang’s work, take a look at her projects in more detail at elvisyangdesign.com.