The Design Psychologist | Psychology for UX, Product, Service, Instructional, Interior, and Game Designers
Welcome to The Design Psychologist, a podcast where we explore the intersection of psychology and design. The show is hosted by Thomas Watkins, a design psychologist who has spent years applying behavioral science principles to the creation of digital products.
We sit down with a variety of experts who apply psychology in different ways to the design of the world around us. Thomas uses his expertise to guide conversations that provide practical advice while illuminating the theory behind why designs succeed.
Tune in if you are a design practitioner who seeks to understand your work on a deeper level and craft experiences that are intuitive, effective, and delightful.
Episodes
21 episodes
Frontstage, Backstage: How Service Design Really Works (with Marc Stickdorn)
What’s the real impact of service design on customer experiences?In this episode of The Design Psychologist, host Thomas talks with service design expert Marc Stickdorn, PhD, author of "This is Service Design Doing," about the evolution ...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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1:00:16
The Peak-End Rule in Design: What We Take Away
What shapes the memory of an experience, and how can designers use that insight to create better, more human-centered products?Design more memorable and emotionally resonant experiences by understanding how people actually remember what ...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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18:04
Less Load, More Learning: First Principles of Cognitive Load Theory (with John Sweller)
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 understand, remember, and apply their new skills.By grounding your instructio...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:05:16
Designing with Tension: What the Zeigarnik Effect Reveals About Memory and Momentum
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 lingering cognitive tension help us design products, services, and experiences that peo...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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10:34
Closing the Knowing-Doing Gap: Designing for Real Behavior Change (with Julie Dirksen)
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 understand what to do— they actually do it.By uncovering the psychology ...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:13:11
Order Matters—But Not the Way You Think: How Serial Position Gets Misused
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” that gives early items a cognitive boost, to the “recency effect” that gives the last ones s...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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19:57
From Vibes to Variables: How We’re Measuring the Unmeasurable in UX (with Bill Albert)
Why is it so hard to know whether people want to use what we design—not just whether they can?Design research can (and should) go far beyond basic task success. Our gues...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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56:27
The Shape of Choice: What Hick’s Law Really Reveals About Decision Time
What happens when your design asks users to make too many choices? In this solo episode, we explore a deceptively simple principle with massive implications for user experience: Hick’s Law.This law explains why more options mean more dec...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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19:34
How to Visualize the Invisible: Metaphors, Models, and Meaning (with Stephen P. Anderson)
Explaining an abstract idea can feel easy—until you put pen to paper. In this episode, our host sits down with Stephen P. Anderson to unpack the craft of turning complex concepts into clear, memorable visuals. Together they dig into the challen...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:02:16
How Well Do Our Words Reflect Our Inside World? A psychological perspective on the limits of self-report, introspection, and understanding the human mind
How much can you trust what users tell you?In this solo episode, we dive into one of the most slippery yet essential tools in UX research: self-reporting. From interviews to surveys, self-reports are everywhere—but they come with ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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17:44
Disruptive by Design: Uncovering Game-Changing Insights (with Larry Marine)
Ever wonder how certain products feel inevitable the moment they appear—rearranging entire markets overnight? In this episode of The Design Psychologist, Thomas sits down with UX pioneer Larry Marine to unpack the mechanics of truly di...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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1:03:13
The Why Behind Sample Size: How Many People Do You Really Need to Test With?
How many participants do you need to test in order to make valid research claims? In this episode, we dive deep into the science and psychology behind sample sizes in user testing. Whether you're working with five users or five hundred, the num...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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25:32
How to Decode Conversation: A Paradigm Shift in Qualitative Insight and Human Understanding (with Indi Young)
In this episode of The Design Psychologist, we dive deep into the world of qualitative research and human-centered design with legendary UX thinker Indi Young. If you've ever felt like your user interviews only skim the sur...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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1:03:44
Why It Feels Right: Affordance and the Mind’s Hidden Expectations
Why do some products feel natural the moment you touch them—while others are baffling from the start? In this episode, we explore the psychology of affordances—those subtle cues that tell us what to do next, without saying ...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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11:58
Designing for Risk: What Aviation and AR Reveal about Attention, Disaster, and Human Factors (with Chris Wickens)
In this episode, Thomas interviews Dr. Chris Wickens, a pioneer in cognitive engineering and human factors, and they discuss how designers can reduce errors and enhance decision-making when lives are on the line. They delve into the high-stakes...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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1:03:00
How to Find the Next Big Idea: Deductive vs. Inductive Thinking in Product Research
How do you figure out what features to build into your design? How do you get those magical insights that actually improve your product—versus just shifting things around?In this episode, we unpack one key distinction that hel...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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14:52
The Six Minds of UX: A Design Checklist You Didn't Know You Needed (with John Whalen)
This episode is an absolute masterclass in human-centered design, featuring Dr. John Whalen—cognitive scientist, seasoned UX expert, and author of Design for How People Think.John introduces us to his powerful framework, The...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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1:02:50
Color Psychology in Design: What the Science Really Says
What does the color of your brand really say about your business? Is there truth behind the popular color psychology charts? In this episode, we cut through the noise and explore the actual science behind color psychology—what...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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26:45
Psychology Principles Every Designer Should Master (with Susan Weinschenk)
Today on The Design Psychologist, we're diving deep into the intersection of psychology and design with none other than Susan Weinschenk, PhD—the person you’ll literally find next to the term “design psychologist” in the diction...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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58:59
Design for Ease: The Psychology of Effort in UX Design
Imagine dragging a jammed suitcase through a crowded airport—frustrating, right? Now imagine that same experience happening in your app, your website, or your product design. That’s performance load: the hidden mental and physical effort users ...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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19:51
Trailer: Welcome to The Design Psychologist Podcast
In this teaser episode, host Thomas Watkins introduces The Design Psychologist—a podcast where human behavior meets design. Thomas shares what inspired him to bridge the gap between psychology and design, outlines what listeners can ex...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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2:43