[Week 3] 〈UX Psychology Through 30 Case Studies〉 Reading Challenge

Before participating in this challenge, I used to judge UI/UX based on personal feelings and impressions. For example, I never thought that things like cancel buttons being small and hard to find or streak maintenance UI being designed had anything to do with specific concepts. But now, I feel I can organize my thoughts and express them well based on the concepts I learned from the challenge. The concept that particularly stuck with me is confirmshaming. When developing subscription services, you inevitably end up creating inconvenient UX designs at least once to prevent user churn—like hiding the unsubscribe button or emphasizing the color of the "keep benefits" button. I learned for the first time through the book that the concept related to this is called confirmshaming. I used to work thinking it was something unavoidable for the company's benefit, but while reading the book, I thought I should think more deeply about creating designs that don't make users feel uncomfortable. After the challenge ends, I think I'll read the chapters I haven't read yet and lightly organize my thoughts on my blog 2-3 times a week. Even if not perfectly every day, I think I'll try to do it consistently, little by little :) Actually, I always felt regretful at work because I didn't know much about UX in depth, but it was great that this challenge resolved that, and I think this will be an opportunity for me to properly study more about UX. It was really great to gain new insights about UX while working with people from various job fields and to be able to share points I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I'd like to express my gratitude to Dinon and everyone who participated in the challenge together! haha

The most memorable takeaway from participating in the 3-week UX Psychology reading challenge was being reminded that the essence of UX is providing users with a good experience! I also remember the "4-piece set of purchase-inducing dark patterns" that I hadn't recognized as dark patterns before reading the book. It helped me stop thinking I should follow the majority of patterns just because they're UIUX patterns widely used in other apps. Through the UX Psychology book, learning about people's psychology and dark pattern examples, I felt that I need to make efforts to create a service that users return to when needed, by maintaining an appropriate level rather than using dark patterns. I want to continue the habit of reading and organizing books that I developed during this challenge. Starting next week, my goal is to read data-related books. I plan to continue the reading challenge so I can understand data and utilize it for decision-making! Through the reading challenge, I was able to expand my thinking by learning diverse perspectives and insights from the members! Great work everyone for the past 3 weeks!! Thank you!!

In this rapidly evolving world, I was able to think about how UX design should be approached through various examples. During the 3-week challenge period, I read one small chapter each day, wrote posts weekly, and shared discussions in live sessions. One concept that particularly stood out to me was negativity bias, which I learned about early on. When I personally collected UX cases, I felt there were notably many negative ones, which can ultimately be seen as being influenced by this negativity bias. Beyond that, it was a meaningful experience to connect cases I already knew with concepts and to share discussions with other challenge participants. I had always wanted to conduct case studies, and I'd like to continue the blogging activity I started by participating in this challenge. Rather than just stopping at case collection, I now want to analyze them and think of ways to improve them. Most importantly, I'm especially reminded that what matters is completing posts so that someone can read them. It was an enjoyable challenge even amidst a busy schedule!

This was a topic from the first chapter of the book, and the cobra effect example using Instagram was very impressive. For me, who uses Instagram not just as a simple SNS but as a tool for acquiring information through its algorithm features, it's useful for obtaining various information beyond what I need to learn, but time management was a challenge. I went back and forth between deciding and acting on firmly banning SNS use, and when I read the content in the book, I felt the irony in how the situation reverses when you deliberately try not to use Instagram haha. So it wasn't just me;; Since I'm a non-major student, I regularly review and study Figma materials, but these days Figma's update cycle is so fast that books don't match up. I'm wondering what to look at in times like these. YouTube is also perfect for filling in my lacking design knowledge, so I frequently check it out. Through Dinon author's reading challenge, it was a very precious time that allowed me to broaden my UX knowledge more beneficially. I think that even after the challenge period ends, if I continue to regularly find and read UI/UX related books and organize my thoughts in writing like now, it will be better remembered and become a study resource. Highly recommend it.

When someone asked me about the difference between UI and UX, I could only give the example of a 'star-shaped mug'. This book introduced UXUI that changes users' minds and guides their thinking, and through participating in the challenge, I was able to add depth and breadth to my thoughts by exchanging opinions with various people. Now, after experiencing a service, I'll be able to express my impressions in more specific language beyond just "looks sophisticated" or "comfortable". In particular, among the concepts covered in week 2, 'biophilic design' impressed me the most. As technology advances, the world changes, and there are times when the reality of constantly having to learn something unfamiliar through platforms like Inflearn to adapt anew feels exhausting. At such times, I find myself longing for nature and visiting it to regain vitality. I'm both surprised and hopeful to discover that the work of creating a somehow familiar yet comfortable environment for users is already being applied in UXUI design, which is a concentration of knowledge-based technology. Now in my UXUI dictionary, the word 'natural' has been added alongside 'normal' as a meaning for being seamless haha In a world full of 'pull to refresh', one of my goals is to create a service that helps people Refresh. After participating in this challenge, it now becomes clear to me where to start. I plan to approach various services one by one with an open mind and try to discover the perspectives and theories I encountered through the challenge. I found it quite enjoyable to capture, as I did in this challenge, what intentions the creators are revealing and what meaning it conveys to users. Thank you to those who created the challenge and to my fellow participants!