Applying “Choice Architecture” in User Experience Design

Choice Archiecture refers to careful design of the environments in which people make choices

Thaler and Sunstein coined the term in their book Nudge. It’s idea can be applied to many domains – and User Expereince Design is one area.

Three key features of choice architecture are the default, giving feedback, and expecting error

Giving feedback

Google is developing choice architecture to remind Gmail users when they forget an attachment

If you mention the word attachment in the text of your email and you don’t include an attachment, Gmail would prompt you

Expecting error

The design of the Paris subway card, which allows users to insert it into an electronic turnstile in any of four ways to gain entrance to the subway.

Compare that to the ezLink card of Singapore MRT. You have to insert into the turnstile and there are four possible ways up, down, left, right and exactly one works.

This is the difference between good and bad design.