The Design Psychologist | Psychology for UX, Product, Service, Instructional, Interior, and Game Designers

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What happens when your design asks users to make too many choices? In this solo episode, we explore a deceptively simple principle with massive implications for user experience: Hick’s Law.

This law explains why more options mean more decision time—and why that’s not always a good thing.

From cluttered navigation to bloated dropdowns, we’ll break down how cognitive overload quietly slows users down. You'll learn when reducing choices helps, when it hurts, and how to use psychological insights to guide your interface design decisions.

By understanding Hick’s Law, you’ll learn how to make your interface feel faster, smarter, and more intuitive to use.

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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Explaining an abstract idea can feel easy—until you put pen to paper. In this episode, our host sits down with Stephen P. Anderson to unpack the craft of turning complex concepts into clear, memorable visuals. Together they dig into the challenges of sketching an org chart, mapping a process, or nailing a scientific metaphor—and ask what really separates a helpful illustration from a confusing one. 

You’ll hear them explore: 

• Why visualizing a concept (not just data) often stalls once you start drawing
• Whether effective illustration relies on a repeatable method or innate talent
• How to test if you’ve chosen the right metaphor—and what happens if you haven’t
• Ways visual collaboration can pull teams out of creative ruts
• How embodied cognition reframes our approach to concept visualization 

By the end, you’ll have practical, psychologically informed questions to guide your next sketch—so your ideas land the way you intend.

If today’s conversation helped you think more deeply about your work, I’d love it if you left a quick rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast listening app. It helps more thoughtful designers discover the show—and keeps these meaningful insights coming your way. Just a star rating or a sentence or two makes a big difference. Thanks for listening! 

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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How much can you trust what users tell you?

In this solo episode, we dive into one of the most slippery yet essential tools in UX research: self-reporting. From interviews to surveys, self-reports are everywhere—but they come with hidden psychological traps.

We explore:

• Why self-reported data can be both useful and misleading
• The psychological reasons people often misrepresent their own behavior
• When to trust what users say—and when to dig deeper
• The subtle difference between described and observed behavior

If you’ve ever relied on user quotes to justify a design decision—or been burned by data that didn’t translate to real-world outcomes—this episode will give you a sharper lens for interpreting what users say versus what they do.

Tune in to sharpen your research instincts and make your design decisions more psychologically grounded.

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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Ever wonder how certain products feel inevitable the moment they appear—rearranging entire markets overnight? In this episode of The Design Psychologist, Thomas sits down with UX pioneer Larry Marine to unpack the mechanics of truly disruptive research—the kind that yields insights so fundamental they can’t be unseen.

Most teams unknowingly skip a handful of critical research steps, blinding themselves to the knowledge that changes everything. Larry shows us how treating users, tasks, and entire processes as flows of knowledge reframes both what you look for and what you ultimately build. Along the way we probe why familiar tools like personas sometimes help—and sometimes hurt—and how principles from cognitive science give sharper edges to every question we ask. 

🔍 You’ll learn 

• What makes research “disruptive.” Why some methods surface game-changing insights while standard approaches miss them.
• The critical steps most teams skip. How a small shift early on can rewrite both your findings and your final design.
• Knowledge-centric mapping. Viewing users and processes through the lens of knowledge—revealing needs that action-based models overlook.
• Where personas really belong. When they clarify design decisions and when they get in the way.
• Cognitive science in practice. Concrete ways to align products with how people actually think and behave.
• A self-audit toolkit. Practical prompts to evaluate (and radically improve) your current research workflow. 

Whether you’re launching a start-up or steering a mature product team, this conversation arms you with a sharper lens and actionable tools to uncover deeper, more market-shaking insights—before someone else does.

If today’s conversation helped you think more deeply about your work, I’d love it if you left a quick rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast listening app. It helps more thoughtful designers discover the show—and keeps these meaningful insights coming your way. Just a star rating or a sentence or two makes a big difference. Thanks for listening! 

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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How many participants do you need to test in order to make valid research claims? In this episode, we dive deep into the science and psychology behind sample sizes in user testing. Whether you're working with five users or five hundred, the number you choose can shape the story your research tells—and how credible your findings appear to stakeholders.

• Why sample size is one of the most misunderstood elements in product research
• The psychological impact of “too few” vs. “just enough” users in high-stakes design reviews
• Whether the popular idea that "you only need to test five users" is a myth or a useful research guideline
• How to determine the right number of participants based on your research goals

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clearer, more confident approach to choosing sample sizes. This will help you create better, more intuitive, and scientifically sound designs.

If today’s conversation helped you think more deeply about your work, I’d love it if you left a quick rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast listening app. It helps more thoughtful designers discover the show—and keeps these meaningful insights coming your way. Just a star rating or a sentence or two makes a big difference. Thanks for listening! 

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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In this episode of The Design Psychologist, we dive deep into the world of qualitative research and human-centered design with legendary UX thinker Indi Young. 

If you've ever felt like your user interviews only skim the surface—or if you've relied too heavily on personas—you might be missing the most powerful insights. Indi joins us to explore how deep, non-judgmental listening can revolutionize your understanding of users and, ultimately, your design outcomes. 

Together, we tackle questions like:

• What is deep listening, and why is it essential in design research? 
• Why do traditional interviews often fail to uncover what truly drives user behavior? 
• What are thinking styles, and how are they more effective than personas? 
• How can designers move from interpreting behavior to understanding internal reasoning? 

By the end of this episode, you’ll see user research—and your role as a designer—through a completely new lens. You'll be equipped to listen more deeply, think more critically, and create more human-centered solutions.

If today’s conversation helped you think more deeply about your work, I’d love it if you left a quick rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast listening app. It helps more thoughtful designers discover the show—and keeps these meaningful insights coming your way. Just a star rating or a sentence or two makes a big difference. Thanks for listening! 

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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Why do some products feel natural the moment you touch them—while others are baffling from the start? 

In this episode, we explore the psychology of affordances—those subtle cues that tell us what to do next, without saying a word. From door handles to digital apps, we break down how great design speaks directly to human intuition.

You’ll learn:

• The psychological principles that make interfaces feel “just right”
  
  
  
• What Don Norman meant by affordances, signifiers, and anti-affordances
  
  
  
• How to avoid common design traps that confuse users
  
  
  
• Real-world examples that reveal the power of creating an intuitive user experience
  
  

By the end of this episode, you’ll start seeing design in a whole new way—and be ready to create products that people instantly understand.

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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In this episode, Thomas interviews Dr. Chris Wickens, a pioneer in cognitive engineering and human factors, and they discuss how designers can reduce errors and enhance decision-making when lives are on the line. They delve into the high-stakes world of design psychology for critical environments—think operating rooms, airplane cockpits, and military control systems. 

Together, they explore the real science of attention, what causes overload and confusion in high-pressure moments, and how augmented reality could revolutionize user interfaces in critical settings. Whether you're designing for surgeons, pilots, or autonomous vehicles, this episode is packed with essential takeaways from decades of research in applied cognitive science.

🔍 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• What every designer should know about how human attention actually works
  
  
  
• Why traditional design approaches often fail in high-pressure contexts
  
  
  
• How to reduce cognitive load and prevent life-threatening mistakes
  
  
  
• The surprising ways augmented reality is shaping the future of human-machine interaction
  
  
  
• Lessons from the deep history of human factors and applied psychology

If today’s conversation helped you think more deeply about your work, I’d love it if you left a quick rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast listening app. It helps more thoughtful designers discover the show—and keeps these meaningful insights coming your way. Just a star rating or a sentence or two makes a big difference. Thanks for listening! 

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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How do you figure out what features to build into your design?
How do you get those magical insights that actually improve your product—versus just shifting things around?

In this episode, we unpack one key distinction that helps design psychologists and UX researchers choose the right method at the right time: inductive vs. deductive research.

Imagine you have two different ideas for how to design an app for restaurant waitstaff. You think of adding some possible features, like a picture-based layout, or a list of incoming customers.

 So—do you give the waitstaff a prototype of each app version and see which version performs better (deductive research)? Or do you systematically observe the actual waitstaff in action before even deciding which features to build (inductive)?

This choice is about more than methodology—it shapes the kinds of insights you get, and how impactful your design ultimately becomes.

🔍 You’ll learn:

• When inductive research unlocks hidden insights you didn’t even know to look for
• Why deductive research is great for making clear decisions—fast
• How your design phase should guide your research method
• What to consider when you're short on time or budget
• And how to avoid a common trap: testing too early

By the end, you’ll know how to orient your research approach based on where you are in the design journey—so you can uncover insights that actually move the needle.

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  

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This episode is an absolute masterclass in human-centered design, featuring Dr. John Whalen—cognitive scientist, seasoned UX expert, and author of Design for How People Think.

John introduces us to his powerful framework, The Six Minds of UX, which breaks down the complexity of user experience into six distinct cognitive lenses. Whether you’re designing a website, app, service, or physical product, these six minds offer a foolproof checklist to make sure you’re not leaving any critical piece of the human experience behind.

In this episode, we explore:

• What exactly the Six Minds are, and why they matter
• How each mind maps to how people think, feel, and behave
• Real-world stories—from Google Scholar to voice interfaces—showing how the framework drives better design
• The role of expectations, emotion, and memory in digital product success
• How AI is shifting the game for user research and what the future researcher might look like

We also dive into some exciting stuff around synthetic users and dynamic personalization.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make your design work not just beautifully but intelligently, this episode is for you.

Mentioned in this episode:

• John Whalen’s book: Design for How People Think
• Board of Innovation’s work with synthetic users
• The Nielsen Norman Group
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick
• Designing for Behavior Change by Stephen Wendell
• Engaged by Amy Bucher

If today’s conversation helped you think more deeply about your work, I’d love it if you left a quick rating or review on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast listening app. It helps more thoughtful designers discover the show—and keeps these meaningful insights coming your way. Just a star rating or a sentence or two makes a big difference. Thanks for listening! 

Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.