December 5th 2013.

Image: niallkennedy/Flickr

Don’t get me wrong: No one who’s held an iPhone can deny the appeal of beautifully designed technology. But what really makes a product stick has more to do with the psychology behind its design than its physical or functional features. It’s all about the how, not the what.

Every few years the health and wellness industry, like any other, cycles through hot trends and buzzwords. In the last few years there’s been quite a bit of focus in “gamification” in health. The idea is that gamifying a health solution, like a weight loss app, will make it more appealing and addictive to the user. It will make the app stick, and therefore lead to better outcomes.

Clearly, though, this doesn’t always work out as planned: Gartner estimates that 80% of gamified solutions will be off the market by next year due to poor design. Why isn’t gamification working for health?

Read the full story at:

http://www.wired.com/2013/12/compelling-design-is-about-psychology-not-technology-3/

By Amy Bucher