Universal Design Principles: Hierarchy of Needs

This past weekend I have been discussing with some young people about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and its importance in understanding some social behaviors.

In the same way, the design also has a hierarchy of needs based on Maslow's Pyramid that is worth knowing, because to have a successful design, it must first satisfy the basic needs of people and then try to satisfy the needs of the level. higher. Today we will review this principle and some of its characteristics.

What does the principle of the hierarchy of needs say?

The principle of the hierarchy of needs says that a design must satisfy low-level needs, it must work, before higher-level needs, such as addressing creativity.

Poor designs try to meet the needs of different levels without relying on hierarchy levels first, as good designs do.

 Hierarchy of Needs

Let's review the five key levels of the hierarchy of needs:

Functionality

Functionality needs have to do with meeting the most basic design requirements. YouTube was correctly positioned in the market because it initially fulfilled the expected functionalities of the platform: online video sharing .

Reliability

Reliability needs have to do with stable and consistent performance. YouTube has existed since 2005, today it belongs to Google , and it is the most widely used website of its kind on the net. It works consistently and you can play videos with an acceptable level of quality.

Other such websites are known to run erratically or are subject to frequent crashes. Therefore, they do not meet reliability needs, and are perceived as being of little value.

Usability

You may be surprised that this need appears on the third level. Comment below why!

The usability has to do with how easy it is to use a design. Recording a live video on YouTube and editing it later is easy to do for any user.

If the difficulty of use is high, or the consequences of simple errors are severe, then the usability needs are not met. Designs at this level are perceived as of moderate value.

Competence

Competency needs have to do with empowering people to do things better than before. For example, YouTube uses Artificial Intelligence in its “autoplay” feature to boost its recommendation engine. This allows people to do and see things that were not possible before. A design at this level is perceived as of great value.

Creativity

Creativity is the level of the hierarchy at which all needs have been satisfied. At this level, people interact with design in innovative ways.

Design is used to create and explore areas that expand both the design and the person using it. It is perceived as being of higher value achieving cult loyalty among users. Some say that our modern era started after YouTube, and we live in AD 16 :)

Conclusion

As you have seen, as in life, design also has a hierarchy of needs. Therefore, you must use that hierarchy of needs in your projects and ensure that lower-level needs are met before resources are dedicated to meeting higher-level needs. Always remember the 80/20 Rule.

It's also important to evaluate your existing designs against hierarchy to see where you can apply modifications. It is very likely that an inverted pyramid of needs is responsible for the failure of your project.