Vijay Chakravarthy, IDSA

Design Lead, Philips

Vijay has a track record of blending the worlds of people, business and design to deliver top-notch product and service innovation. His expertise lies in harnessing the creativity of multidisciplinary teams to deliver meaningful impact from internal and external perspectives.

With over 17 years of global experience managing teams and projects with premier brands and corporations, his expertise is in leading teams to envision future directions and developing strategies, systems, processes and products to bring them to fruition. With deep expertise in Service Design and Industrial Design, Vijay specializes in weaving together the worlds of the physical and the digital to create integrated product-service experiences. His career has led him on a journey through Asia, Europe, Australia and the United States, resulting in a strong people-focused approach. With multiple global product launches and patents, award-winning work and a strong managerial record, Vijay brings to the table a mix of strategy and creativity.

He has been featured in publications such as Fast Company and often speaks at forums such as TEDx, IxDA and SDN. He serves on the Board of Directors of IDSA and works at Philips in Seattle, WA.

Ergonomics of the Human Mind

Breakout Presentation

Track 3

Wed - Sept 22

10:00 pm EDT

Good design is ergonomic and made to be comfortable. However, we also know that good design appeals to us in ways beyond physical comfort. Like a good story, it appeals to our minds and the intellect. The psychological dimension is equally important to the practice of design.

This talk is about a search for answers through an exploration into the world of cognitive psychology and behavior design. In our quest to understand and design for the “human dimension,” we have delved into ergonomics and ethnographic research. This adds the psychological and behavior dimension to it.

What goes on in our heads when we make decisions? Why do we like a good story? How can design affect culture? What role does the human mind play in all this? These are some of the questions that gnaw at me as a design practitioner. Tapping into the fascinating work of stalwarts in the field such as Nobel Laureate Daniel Khaneman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Dr. BJ Fogg, this presentation offers pointers and takeaways that are relevant for designers. This is an invitation to the design community to consider the research of cognitive psychologists and behavior experts while designing better experiences for humans.