WEBVTT

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What is a signifier?

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Signifiers are one of the most important

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tools of a designer.

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Grand old man of UX design, Don

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Norman teaches us
that signifiers are signals.

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Some signifiers are signs, labels
and drawings placed in the world,

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such as a signs, labels,
push, pull or exit on doors.

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Arrows and diagrams indicating
what is to be acted upon

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or in which direction
to gesture or other instructions.

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If you fail to add signifiers, people

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struggle to understand
how they can use your product or app.

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You put
an unnecessary mental burden on them

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and you waste their precious time.

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People become frustrated and angry

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when they're unnecessarily slowed down
in achieving their goals,

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such as paying a bill in their bank app
or buying a ticket as a metro station.

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Let's make the world less frustrating.

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Let's save valuable time.

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Let's solve this problem in a better way.

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Let's design smooth user experiences

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by designing signifiers
which communicate clearly.

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The first step is to understand
what signifiers are.

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What are signifiers.

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Signifier refers to an ID mark or sound,
any perceivable

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indicator that communicates
appropriate behavior of a person.

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Don Norman.

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You design signifiers
when you create visual and audio designs

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which indicate where and how people
should interact with apps and websites,

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as well as with physical products
such as stoves and speakers.

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More specifically, you design signifiers
when you indicate where people can tap,

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slide sideways, scrolls sideways,

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or scroll upwards on your app.

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You're creating signifiers
when you indicate where people can turn.

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You're also designing signifiers
when you indicate

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when people can start
speaking to a voice controlled app.

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Here you hear and see a mix of audio
and visual signifiers.

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These two signifiers
support each other to help people

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who are either hearing
or visually challenged,

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and it makes it safer
for everyone to cross the street.

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Similarly, you can combine audio

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and visual signifiers
when you design digital products.

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Furthermore, signifiers can communicate

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which gesture or body motion
should be done.

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Signifiers can appeal
to all of our senses.

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The most common signifiers help us
understand by appealing to these senses.

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The visual seeing sense,

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the auditory hearing sets

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the signifiers most often appeal for us

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to act using these senses.

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The tactile touch sense,
the vestibular movement

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and the proprioceptive body awareness
sense.

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The visual seeing sense.

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Why are signifiers
essential in good design?

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All digital and physical products
need signifiers, otherwise

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people can't understand how and where
they can interact with your product.

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People need some way
of understanding the product or service.

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Signifiers help people
perceive the affordances and A.I.

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affordances.

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Affordances determine
what actions are possible.

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Signifiers communicate
where the action should take place.

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We need both done normally.

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The affordances
of touching exists on the entire screen.

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The signifier communicates where and how

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people should touch to interact
with the product.

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Best practice design signifiers
which communicates clearly Best practice.

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The role of the signifier
is to clearly communicate the purpose,

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structure and operation of the device so
people can understand and how to use it.

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It is the sign that is important
to anything that might signify

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meaningful information.

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Don't know if people clues and signs
that help them understand how they can use

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the product, where they can interact,
what is happening,

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and what alternative actions
they can perform.

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You can use these insights when you design

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apps, websites, services,

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household machines,
or whatever you're designing.

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Sign up for courses.

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Learn from top design specialists.

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Get your certificate.

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It's industry recognized.

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Interaction Design Foundation.