Joe Leech

This month we are lucky to have Joe Leech, UX Consultant mrjoe joining us to speak about Empathy. @MrJoe, Joe to his friends is the author of the book Psychology of Designers. He sometimes writes for Smashing Magazine, Net Magazine and others about how to use psychology to improve the user experience.

A recovering neuroscientist, and a spell as a primary school teacher, Joe started his UX career 12 years ago. He has worked with organisations like Disney, eBay, Glenfiddich and Marriott.

Designing with empathy relies on an understanding of our how people think, behave and make sense of the world and can have a profound impact on the digital design work you undertake.

In 2009 Daniel Kaufman wrote one of the most important books in modern psychology. Thinking Fast and Slow. We have two systems in our brain, you guessed it, one fast and one slow. Both systems help us make sense of the world and make decisions based on what's going on. The fast system as emotional, aimed at making quick decisions often in dangerous situations. The slow system takes previous knowledge of how the world works and applies it to the current situation, it's slow but powerful and accurate.

Joe will be talking us through the two approaches to applying psychology to the digital design process, one to match the slow system and one to match the fast. Understanding, empathy and designing to meet people's needs.