Practical UX: Methods, Research, and Design Thinking

UX Research Review: How the Next Generation of UX Designs for Trust, Emotion, and Connection


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Host: Dr Chris Parker
Email: [email protected]

In this episode of Practical UX, we go beyond buttons and screens to explore what’s next for user experience: trustworthy AI, physiological synchrony in social VR, foldable device ergonomics, designing for the moments after a crash, and a bold provocation to design for human connection, not screen time.

  • Why explainable AI changes user behaviour by improving trust calibration (and why “AI literacy” talks aren’t enough).

  • How people’s heart rate and skin responses can sync in VR, offering a powerful new metric for co-experience.

  • What a foldable phone’s hinge teaches us about emotional ergonomics and multi-state interface design.

  • How post-crash UX should prioritise clarity, calm, and familiarity when fear overwhelms cognition.

  • A provocative case for Relation Artefact Design (RAD): tools that help us look at people rather than screens.

  1. Explainable AI & Trust (mushroom task) — journal article
    Leichtmann, B., Humer, C., Hinterreiter, A., Streit, M., & Mara, M. (2023). Effects of Explainable Artificial Intelligence on Trust and Human Behavior in a High-Risk Decision Task. Computers in Human Behavior, 139, 107539.
    Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563222003594 (ScienceDirect)

  2. Physiological synchrony in Social VR — preprint
    Kloft, A. M., Fabinc, J. M., Hirsch, L., Slezas, A., Hachmann, H., Cunneen, M., Brandt, S. S., Sams, M., & Welsch, R. (2025). It’s Always Better When We’re Together: Physiological Synchrony and Shared Experiences in Social VR. (Preprint).
    Link: https://sciety-labs.elifesciences.org/articles/by?article_doi=10.21203%2Frs.3.rs-7134151%2Fv1 (Sciety)

  3. Foldable smartphones UX framework — journal article
    Liu, Y., Dong, L., & Rau, P.-L. P. (2025). Unfolding the User Experience: A Comprehensive UX Framework for Foldable Smartphones. International Journal of Industrial Engineering, 32(5), 1396–1412.
    Abstract page: https://journals.sfu.ca/ijietap/index.php/ijie/article/view/10935
    Direct PDF: https://journals.sfu.ca/ijietap/index.php/ijie/article/download/10935/1871/65113 (Public Knowledge Project)

  4. Post-Crash UX (multi-modal guidance) — conference paper
    Cho, Y., Kim, H., Ku, M., Yu, S., & Lee, J. (2025). Post-Crash UX: An Empirical Study on Multi-modal Interfaces for Immediate Driver Response. In AutomotiveUI Adjunct ’25 (ACM).
    Link: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3744335.3758486 (ACM Digital Library)

  5. Provocation: Relation Artefact Design — journal article
    Clemmensen, T. (2025). Stop Doing User Experience Design, Start Doing Relation Artefact Design. Interacting with Computers (Oxford University Press).
    Link: https://academic.oup.com/iwc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/iwc/iwaf044/8283768 (OUP Academic)

If this episode sparked ideas for your project, class, or lab, please follow/subscribe on your favourite podcast app and share with a colleague. The next great design conversation might start here.

Do you have questions for the show, or want to suggest a paper? Email Dr Chris Parker at [email protected].

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Practical UX: Methods, Research, and Design ThinkingBy Dr Chris Parker