Set and forget: the default settings are changing our lives

Explain why and how design changes our lives, it is not necessary.

Good design makes every day easier, more enjoyable and more efficient.

Bad design can simply be uncomfortable, ugly or repulsive, or may do harm.

And then there are some interesting examples of how design gradually changes your life, how you behave, and how to perceive the world around us. It's not about trends or fashion. The point is the default setting.

Default settings - are those that are also called factory. You get these settings, if during the installation program repeatedly press the "Next" button. These are the options that are chosen without you, is based, that is the way you feel most comfortable.

It seems silly to think about how to affect the default settings on us. But consider that most people never change the settings of your computer, the default ringtone on your phone or preset temperature of the refrigerator mode. Someone has already decided how you will use this or any other device. And that someone - obviously not you.

So what's the difference at all?

Here is an example: in the United States at the time of registration of a driving license, you can note in the card, whether you want to be an organ donor. Default organ donor, you do not want to be: in a box is checked it. And to agree to donation, you need to change the default settings. As a result, only 40% of the US population agrees to organ donation.

Quite different things in Spain, Portugal and Austria. Here, in the same circumstances you default agreed to be a donor. If you do not like it, you just need to select a different option when filling out the questionnaire. As a result, more than 99% of the population are potential donors. Statistics states: in countries with presumed consent policy not only more people agreed to the donation, but also a more developed system of organ transplantation.

Of course, the success of the donation system as many other factors that influence in the country. But the alleged agreement has a significant effect on the collective behavior.

Behavioral economist Richard Thaler (Richard Thaler) and lawyer Sanshteyn Cass (Cass Sunstein) investigated the effect of defaults on human behavior.

It turns out that the default settings affect what we eat, what temperature is considered optimal, and even our desire to try something new.

Consider a few interesting examples of such influence.

How to make a child love vegetables

One eloquent case has shown that in order to get the child has vegetablesWe do not need many lectures and admonitions.

In one of the schools in New York conducted an experiment whose purpose was to encourage children to eat more vegetables. Credit default location of racks of food we all imagine: they usually stand near the walls, and anyone fit and select the desired dish. In New York City school cafeteria had several racks: hot meals, food for a quick meal (like sandwiches and cookies) and vegetable salads. The solution was simple and ingenious: move the rack with vegetables in the center of the room, setting it to the same opposite the ticket office. Sales of salads among students increased by more than three times.

How to save for retirement

retirement savings - a complex issue for many reasons. If you put aside the external problems, every time we have to overcome and psychological difficulties. Teach yourself to save money is difficult, especially if the goal is - very far pension.

And if the default settings are changed and deductions are made automatically (for example, monthly bank payment), the fight is not necessary: ​​the sum will grow slowly but constantly.

What to do

There are also the default settings that affect us every day. Take, for example, fonts. For many users, Microsoft Word font called Times New Roman remained the first choice, since he was installed as the default. It was used for the publication of books, magazines and newspapers, the students were required to type essays is Times New Roman font. This headset can definitely be called for the whole of default. And in Adobe Illustrator by default font Myriad Pro, which also was the reason for numerous jokes.

Default settings can cause discord and conflict. For example, what we call a solid color, the default is perceived as a light peach color. But it does not display a variety of shades of human skin. The same problem occurs when you create Emoji. Peoples at the default icons have a yellow "cartoon" skin, some - beige. But other colors were added much later and still not all smartphones support colorful Emoji.

Why all this? Think about how much your life is determined by someone else, those who put the default settings. In most cases, you can change them, and thus make a difference in their lives. What exactly?

• Designer David Kadavu (David Kadavy) believes that his life is changing, even the arrangement of icons on the desktop, smartphone. He gave up and moved the composition of default shortcuts, so as to meet their needs and aspirations. In the first place, he put forward an application for meditation, keeping records and drawing to increasingly using them and develop good habits.
• You can rearrange the food in the fridge so that it is easier to reach out to useful products.
• Instead comfortable slippers by the bed, leave shoes and force yourself to put them right in the morning. Such shoes harder to remove, and then you are unlikely to fall into bed and fall asleep again. And yet it motivates to start jogging or do exercises. All the same, you're already in sneakers.
• Install automatic payments to a bank account. This will help to start saving money, even if you save you will never succeed.

What are you waiting for? It is time to change the default settings to something original!