The Design Psychologist | Psychology for UX, Product, Service, Instructional, Interior, and Game Designers

Why Build Our Minds in the Age of AI? (w/ Anthony Metivier) | S2 E7

Send us Fan Mail Why should we train our memories when computers can store almost anything for us? In this episode of The Design Psychologist, Thomas Watkins talks with

Accessibility Part 2: From Accessible to Inclusive (w/ Reginé M. Gilbert) | S2 E6

Send us Fan Mail Accessibility should not be treated as a separate step added after a product has already been designed. In this episode of The Design Psychologist, Tho

Accessibility Part 1: What Designers Get Wrong About Disability (w/ David Sloan) | S2 E5

Send us Fan Mail Accessibility is not a final checklist. It is a shared responsibility that should shape a product from the beginning. In this episode of The Design Psy

“Easy to Use” Means Six Different Things (w/ Marty Gage) | S2 E4

Send us Fan Mail What makes a product feel not just usable, but desirable? In this episode of The Design Psychologist, Thomas Watkins talks with Marty Gage, co-author o

The Question You Should Ask Before 'How Many Users?' (w/ Laura Faulkner) | S2 E3

Send us Fan Mail How many users do you actually need for a usability study? In this episode of The Design Psychologist, Thomas Watkins talks with Laura Faulkner about o

Well-Tested, Easy to Use: How to Measure Any Product's Usability (w/ Philip Kortum) | S2 E2

Send us Fan Mail What does it actually mean to say a product is usable? In this episode of The Design Psychologist, Thomas Watkins talks with Phil Kortum about the Syst

Season 2 Premiere: Should This Exist? UX Strategy in Uncertain Times (w/ Jaime Levy) S2 E1

Send us Fan Mail How do you know whether a product idea is worth building before you spend months designing and developing it? In this episode of The Design Psychologis

Season 2 Trailer: The Design Psychologist

Send us Fan Mail Season 2 of The Design Psychologist is here. After exploring the foundations of psychology across human factors, UX, instructional design, service desi

Season 1 Finale: Design for a Better World (w/ Don Norman)

Send us Fan Mail  Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  Wh

The Power of Social Proof (Part 2): 18 Methods Across 5 Psychological Drivers

Send us Fan Mail  Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  Wh

The Power of Social Proof (Part 1)

Send us Fan Mail Go to thedesignpsychologist.substack.com to get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn.  Hav

Align Before Design: The Psychology of Strategic Alignment (with Tamara Adlin)

Send us Fan Mail Get episode summaries right in your inbox so you can easily reference, save, and apply what you learn:  thedesignpsychologist.substack.com Why do so ma

Why Games Work: Emotional Arcs, Flow States, and Meaningful Play (with Jesse Schell)

Send us Fan Mail Why are games so deeply engaging? What psychological principles make game design such a powerful tool for shaping attention, emotion, and learning? Gam

Advance Without Alienating: How MAYA Drives Adoption

Send us Fan Mail What is the sweet spot between new and familiar, and how do you design for it? Create products that feel groundbreaking and instantly intuitive by appl

Frontstage, Backstage: How Service Design Really Works (with Marc Stickdorn)

Send us Fan Mail What’s the real impact of service design on customer experiences? In this episode of The Design Psychologist, host Thomas talks with service design exp

The Peak-End Rule in Design: What We Take Away

Send us Fan Mail What shapes the memory of an experience, and how can designers use that insight to create better, more human-centered products? Design more memorable a

Less Load, More Learning: First Principles of Cognitive Load Theory (with John Sweller)

Send us Fan Mail What’s the best way to choose how you’ll teach something so it actually sticks? Design your next lesson so learners don’t just follow along—they unders

Designing with Tension: What the Zeigarnik Effect Reveals About Memory and Momentum

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever noticed how an unfinished task — or a cliffhanger at the end of a show — keeps tugging at your attention? How can the Zeigarnik effect’s

Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap: Designing for Real Behavior Change (with Julie Dirksen)

Send us Fan Mail Why is it so hard to change behavior—even when people already know exactly what to do? Design your next learning experience so people don’t just unders

Order Matters—But Not the Way You Think: How Serial Position Gets Misused

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we uncover how the order in which information is presented affects what users remember—and what they forget. From the “primacy effect”