99% Invisible 99pi Presents The Next Billion Users
Oct 23, 2020
Asa Baki, the UX director at Google's Next Billion Users team, discusses the innovative approaches being taken to design digital experiences for emerging markets. He highlights the historical context of the QWERTY keyboard and its implications for other languages. Baki shares insights on the importance of empathy-driven design to address user needs, featuring stories that reveal the challenges new internet users face. He also explores how digital anthropology can reshape our understanding of technology's role in developing countries, focusing on leisure and community.
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QWERTY Keyboard Legacy
- The QWERTY keyboard layout was initially designed to prevent typewriter type bars from clashing.
- It persists on modern devices despite being suboptimal for digital input.
India's Keyboard Challenge
- India's complex languages, with numerous diacritical marks, challenge the QWERTY keyboard layout.
- This has led to extensive research on keyboard redesign for Indian languages.
Claudia's Smartphone Anxiety
- New internet users like Claudia from Mexico may struggle with basic smartphone interactions like swiping and unlocking.
- They lack the implicit confidence that experienced users have developed through trial and error.
