Experience Design Factors

People: Self

People
Component

A person's internal and physical identity.

Image: Samer Daboul

A person’s identity is made up of physical and internal characteristics that are not always easy to observe. People are born a certain way, and over time, their physical characteristics can change. When designers consider characteristics that make up a person’s identity as a driver for design decisions, outcomes will be more likely to accommodate physical requirements. Researching self characteristics can reveal a person’s capacities for completing activities as well as some of their basic preferences.

In some cases, self characteristics can be interpreted by others and used to judge, marginalize, and classify people. Designers who recognize that people can be stereotyped because of their physical characteristics can position their research and the things they make to reduce the impact of such judgments—empowering people and encouraging collaboration.

Self Characteristic Factors

A person’s physical size.

How long a person has lived.

A person’s biological attributes that are typically assigned at birth.

Dynamic Self Factors

A person’s physical and mental condition.

People’s behavioral tendencies.

The ways people physically move their bodies.

Complex Self Factors

Facts, information, experiences, and insights a person has acquired.

Concentration on the activity at hand.

Competence or skill to complete an activity.

A way of thinking or feeling about an activity, product, service, or system.

Underlying Self Factors

The words, gestures, and symbols a person uses to communicate and express thoughts and emotions.

Fundamental beliefs about what is desirable and ideal.

The capacity to make choices and have control over one’s own life.

The feeling of being effective and skilled in one’s activities and interactions.

Core Self Factors

People’s beliefs, perceptions, and evaluations about themselves.

The lens through which a person interprets reality, shaping their assumptions about life, meaning, and the nature of the world.