Intuitive design intrigues me, because in this way technology is clearly at the service of the human being, instead of being stressed out by it. Intuitive design also encompasses developing designs in a way that they invite the right behavior, and as such also bring about behavioral change.
The elective is also interesting for me as I choose to participate in an extra-curricular program of Sustainable Development, in which behavioral change is often a spearhead.

The knowledge was provide by lectures on theoretical models of behavior change, discussions and presentations. The elective also included a design project, to develop and empirically evaluate by the different theories. 'Fingertip' is used to execute this investigation.  Fingertip is  the bathroom design I developed to support separation of waste. I critically analysed it by applicable theories to improve the design. Finally the course was finished by a written exam as well.

Achievements

As the flyer above shows, I was quite convinced that my design was already persuasive, given that it is offered in the context that people have to make a choice. In terms of design, the closet is very easy to open, there is literally a fingertip needed to use it, so I thought to have done pretty well. 

Through the various theoretical models and evaluation methods, I could take other perspectives. I became more aware of persuasive communication approaches, and the way how behavior change and motivation play out in everyday life. By setting up an empirical study evaluating the user-friendliness, the effectiveness of behavior change methods and acceptance by end-users, I realized that the design was not that intuitive and persuasive yet. In particular not when introduced in the context of a hotel, where guests are neither familiar with the design nor bought it by their own motivation. In such a context, the design must be carefully introduced and embedded in a communication plan at various levels. In addition, adjustments have to be made to the design itself to clarify its intended use. For this, I like to use persuasive approaches such as ‘to design with intent’.  

The elective also provided information about how motivational processes work. In particular, it provided insight according to the fact it’s not that much about the design itself, but the way it is proposed and who already is involved will be of great importance. This knowledge is interesting and necessary to keep in mind developing a market approach as well.