Human-Centered UX Design for
Digital Services
Dr. Saptarshi Ghosh
Department of Library and Information Science, North Bengal
University
International Seminar, Jadavpur University, Nov 2025
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Norman’s Door
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“You have trouble opening doors?”
“Yes. I push doors that are meant to be pulled, pull doors that should
be pushed, and walk into doors that neither pull nor push, but slide.
Moreover, I see others having the same troubles—unnecessary troubles.
My problems with doors have become so well known that confusing
doors are often called “Norman doors.” Imagine becoming famous for
doors that don’t work right. I’m pretty sure that’s not what my parents
planned for me. (Put “Norman doors” into your favourite search engine—
be sure to include the quote marks: it makes for fascinating reading”.
Don Norman. The Design of Everyday Things. MIT Press. P.2
Setting the Context
• Technology evolves fast—but humanity must
remain the constant.
• Digital interfaces are everywhere, yet users
often feel alienated.
• Aim: To reintroduce empathy and human
connection into digital design.
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Foundations of Good Design
• Good design begins with discoverability and
understanding.
• Users should easily see what actions are possible and
how to perform them.
• Simplicity matters: everyday appliances should not
require complex manuals.
• Excessive features and unclear controls lead to
confusion and frustration.
• Design applies to products, services, rules, and
systems.
UX
• Hassenzahl (2008, 12) defines UX as “a momentary, primarily evaluative
feeling (good-bad) while interacting with a product or service.”
• Kuniavsky (2010) provided a more detailed-definition. For him UX is “the
totality of end users’ perceptions as they interact with a product or-
serviceor service . These perceptions include effectiveness (how good is the
result?), efficiency (how fast or cheap is it?), emotional satisfaction (how
good does it feel?), and the quality of the relationship withrelationship with
relationship with the entity that created the product or service (what
expectations does it create for subsequent-interactions?).”
Thus, UX relies on understanding user needs, behaviours and attitudes
through empathic methods.
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What is Human-Centered UX Design?
• UX = 'User Experience' – how people feel interacting with digital
systems.
• Human-centered design: Empathy-driven, inclusive, iterative.
• Focus: Needs, abilities, emotions, and contexts of real users.
Human-Centered UX Design (HCUXD) is an approach that places
users’ needs, behaviors, and contexts at the core of design and
development. Rooted in cognitive psychology, design thinking, and
human-computer interaction (HCI), HCUXD seeks to create
experiences that are not only functional but also meaningful and
accessible.
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Human-Centered Design (Characteristics)
• HCD puts human needs, behaviors, and limitations
first.
• Clear communication is essential: possible actions,
current events, next steps.
• Designers must anticipate errors and support recovery.
• Modern devices often overwhelm—HCD aims to simplify
and clarify.
• Signifiers guide user actions, whether intentional or
accidental.
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The Philosophy of
Human-Centered Design
At its core, human-centered design (HCD) operates on one foundational principle
— designing for people, not systems. It involves empathy, observation, and co-
creation.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9241-210) defines
human-centered design as an approach that “enhances system usability through
the active involvement of users throughout the design process.”
This philosophy insists that successful digital services:
Address real user needs.
Are intuitive and easy to navigate.
Are inclusive, ensuring accessibility for all.
Continuously evolve based on user feedback.
Why It Matters in Digital Information
Services
• Libraries and information centers are evolving
into digital ecosystems.
• Interfaces shape access, trust, and
engagement.
• Poor UX = digital exclusion; Good UX =
empowerment and belonging.
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UX Design Process
1. Empathize (understand users)
2. Define (frame problem from user’s
view)
3. Ideate (generate creative solutions)
4. Prototype (build/test quickly)
5. Evaluate (with real feedback)
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Seven Fundamental Principles of Good
Design
1. Discoverability – Users can see what actions are
possible.
2. Feedback – System clearly responds to actions.
3. Conceptual Model – Users form an intuitive mental
model.
4. Affordances – Design elements suggest their possible
uses.
5. Signifiers – Indicators help users notice affordances.
6. Mappings – Controls logically correspond to outcomes.
7. Constraints – Rules and boundaries guide correct use.
UX in Library and Information Services
• OPACs, discovery tools, repositories, e-resource portals.
• UX affects: search success, satisfaction, trust, retention.
• HCI + LIS = Human-Centered Information Architecture.
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Digital Information Propagation
• Information flows digitally → creators → platforms
→ users.
• UX determines accessibility, visibility, and
credibility.
• Human-centered propagation = intuitive discovery
+ ethical sharing.
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Designing for Trust and Ethics
• Transparent search algorithms.
• Explainable AI in recommendations.
• Avoiding bias in metadata and search results.
• 'Trust is the new interface.'
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Inclusivity and Accessibility
• Universal design principles (WCAG 2.2).
• Accessible metadata for neurodiverse users.
• Voice-based navigation and multilingual UIs.
• Assistive technology integration in digital
libraries.
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Digital Empathy in Action
• NDLI: localized, multilingual interface.
• Europeana: personalized cultural curation.
• AI chatbots for library reference that maintain
emotional tone.
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The Cognitive & Emotional User
• Users experience frustration, curiosity, trust,
fatigue.
• UX must respect emotional ergonomics.
• Example: Reassuring error messages and
intuitive guidance.
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Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
Principles
• Feedback, consistency, visibility, user
control.
• Learnability and memorability.
• Error prevention and graceful recovery.
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Data Ethics & Privacy
• UX must embed data transparency.
• Privacy dashboards, consent choices, minimal
data collection.
• Good UX = Honest UX.
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UX in Digital Literacy
• Interface design as pedagogy.
• Visual metaphors simplify complex digital
concepts.
• Gamified tutorials for digital literacy.
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Bridging the Digital Divide
• UX fosters digital inclusion.
• Design for low bandwidth, multilingual access,
mobile-first users.
• Human-centered = equitable, contextual design.
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Hybrid Experience: The Blended
Library
• Integrating physical warmth with digital
convenience.
• Makerspaces + digital mentorship.
• Smart spaces for learning and collaboration.
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Storytelling & Engagement
• Narrative interfaces help memory retention.
• Digital storytelling builds empathy and cultural
continuity.
• Libraries as story weavers in digital ecosystems.
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UX and Community Co-Creation
• Participatory design with users.
• Feedback loops via surveys, analytics, focus
groups.
• Example: Community-curated digital archives.
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Challenges in Human-Centered
UX
• Balancing automation vs. empathy.
• Resource limitations and technical constraints.
• Ethical dilemmas in personalization.
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The LIS Professional as UX Leader
• From 'gatekeeper' → 'experience architect.'
• Emotional intelligence and empathy as LIS
competencies.
• Continuous learning: UX + ethics + design
thinking.
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Areas where UX can be applied
UX can be applied not only electric interfaces such as Electronic Resources
ManagementSystems (ERMS) (Fagan et al., 2012), library homepage (Stephan,
Cheng, and Young, 2006), Virtual reference services (Nilsen and Ross, 2006),
and mobile library websites (Pendell and Bowman, 2012), but also space
arrangement such as the location of the help desk and shelves, signage and
way-finding, and so on.
Services: Engaging with a library's service should not be a complicated, time
consuming process. Users need to be able to check out and return materials
without having to worry about the wait time, When a service is provided
quickly and easily by approachable staff members, and the less ‘confused and
more satisfied is the user.
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The Future of Human-Centered
UX
• AI-assisted personalization with transparency.
• Emotionally aware systems (affective computing).
• Immersive interfaces (VR/AR) for discovery and
storytelling.
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Key Takeaways — UX in Libraries
• UX goes beyond traditional metrics
• UX is grounded in ethnography & anthropology
• User perspective at the
• Improves both physical & digital spaces
• Intentional design thinking
• Digital + physical UX are interconnected
• UX reveals what users value
• User as customer
AEIOU
ALIOU stands for five components (Ilanington and Martin, 2012): Activity,
Environment, Interaction, Object, and User.
Activities (goal-directed sets of actions): what do patrons often research?
Environments (the arena in which activities take place): how is the space used
in the library?
Interactions (between a person and someone or something else): what are the
interactions that usually happen between the librarians and the patrons?
Objects (building blocks of the environment): what are workstations in the
reading room-used for?
Users (the people whose behaviours, preferences, and needs are being
observed): who are the users and what are their objectives?
Closing Thoughts
• In every click, every interface, every search
result — there should be a trace of human
empathy.
• UX is not about technology—it’s about trust,
dignity, and inclusion.
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