Margaret Gould Stewart: How giant websites design for you (and a billion others, too)

翻译人员: Jenny Yang 校对人员: Sherry Chen

What do you think of when I say the word "design"?

当我说“设计”这个词的时候 你会想到什么？

You probably think of things like this,

你可能会想到

finely crafted objects that you can hold in your hand,

可以触摸到的精致的物品

or maybe logos and posters and maps

也可能是一个商标，海报，或地图

that visually explain things,

一些能从视觉上解释说明事物的东西

classic icons of timeless design.

经得起时间考验的图标设计

But I'm not here to talk about that kind of design.

但今天，我要讲的并不是那样的设计

I want to talk about the kind

我想说的是

that you probably use every day

那种也许你每天都会使用的

and may not give much thought to,

但是却又没有关注太多的设计

designs that change all the time

那些设计一直在改变

and that live inside your pocket.

并且在我们的生活中无处不在

I'm talking about the design

我要说的设计

of digital experiences

是一种数字化的体验

and specifically the design of systems

具体来说就是系统设计

that are so big that their scale

它庞大的规模

can be hard to comprehend.

超乎想象

讲一个谷歌的事实

Consider the fact that Google processes

它每天有超过十亿的搜索量

over one billion search queries every day,

that every minute, over 100 hours

每一分钟，就有超过长达100个小时的

of footage are uploaded to YouTube.

视频被传到YouTube上

That's more in a single day

单这一天的量

than all three major U.S. networks broadcast

甚至比美国三大广播网络

in the last five years combined.

在过去五年里加起来的总和还要多

And Facebook transmitting the photos,

而且脸书（facebook） 也在超过12.3亿人之间

messages and stories

传播照片

of over 1.23 billion people.

消息和事件

That's almost half of the Internet population,

这几乎是网络使用者的一半

and a sixth of humanity.

也是世界人口的六分之一

These are some of the products

它们是一些

that I've helped design over the course of my career,

我在职业生涯中参与设计的产品

and their scale is so massive

它们极大的规模

that they've produced unprecedented

创造了前所未有的

design challenges.

设计挑战

But what is really hard

但是，事实上

about designing at scale is this:

关于大规模设计

It's hard in part because

真正困难的地方在于

it requires a combination of two things,

它需要把大胆和谦逊

audacity and humility —

结合在一起

audacity to believe that the thing that you're making

大胆是去相信你所设计的东西

is something that the entire world wants and needs,

是整个世界所希望和需要的

and humility to understand that as a designer,

而谦逊让是去理解， 作为一个设计师

it's not about you or your portfolio,

这个设计品不只是关于 你个人或者你的作品集

it's about the people that you're designing for,

它在于如何针对性地为用户们设计

and how your work just might help them

以及所设计的产品是否让他们

live better lives.

过上更好的生活

Now, unfortunately, there's no school

很不幸的是，现在并没有一所学校

that offers the course Designing for Humanity 101.

开一门“设计以人为本”的课

I and the other designers

我和一些同样

who work on these kinds of products

设计这类产品的设计师们

have had to invent it as we go along,

在设计的过程中不得不自创了这门课

and we are teaching ourselves

并且来教授自己

the emerging best practices

要在实践中形成最好的规模设计

of designing at scale,

and today I'd like share some of the things

今天，我将和大家分享

that we've learned over the years.

这么多年期间，我们学到的一些经验

Now, the first thing that you need to know

关于设计规模的规则

about designing at scale

你首先需要知道的是

is that the little things really matter.

点滴的小事影响深远

Here's a really good example of how

这里有一个很好的例子可以用来解释

a very tiny design element can make a big impact.

为什么一个非常小的设计会造成很大的影响

The team at Facebook that manages

脸书的管理团队

the Facebook "Like" button

成功设计了

脸书上那个写着“赞”的图标

decided that it needed to be redesigned.

决定要对它进行重新设计

The button had kind of gotten out of sync

这个按键有些跟不上 我们品牌演变的步伐

with the evolution of our brand

and it needed to be modernized.

它需要变得现代化

Now you might think, well, it's a tiny little button,

可能你会认为，好吧， 那只不过是一个小小的按键

it probably is a pretty straightforward,

所以它可能只是一个非常简单的

easy design assignment, but it wasn't.

设计任务，但事实并非如此

Turns out, there were all kinds of constraints

后来，当我们设计这个按键的时候

for the design of this button.

存在着各种各样的约束

You had to work within specific height and width parameters.

你必须在一个大量的参数的环境中工作

You had to be careful to make it work

你必须注意这个按键可以不同语言环境中

in a bunch of different languages,

都能有效果

and be careful about using fancy gradients or borders

同时也要避免花哨或者花哨的界限

because it has to degrade gracefully

因为这个按键要在

in old web browsers.

旧式浏览器中优雅地渐渐退出

The truth is, designing this tiny little button

而事实是，即使是设计这么小的按键

was a huge pain in the butt.

也是个是非常痛苦的过程

Now, this is the new version of the button,

这是新设计的按键

and the designer who led this project estimates

在过去的几个月里，带领这个项目的设计师估计

that he spent over 280 hours

花费了超过280个小时

redesigning this button over the course of months.

重新设计这个按键

Now, why would we spend so much time

你可能要问，究竟为什么我们要

on something so small?

在这么一样小东西上花费这么长的时间

It's because when you're designing at scale,

这是因为当你在做设计的时候

there's no such thing as a small detail.

细节上是不存在大小之分的

This innocent little button

这个不起眼的小图标

is seen on average 22 billion times a day

平均每天被浏览220亿次

and on over 7.5 million websites.

出现在超过750万的网页上

It's one of the single most viewed design elements ever created.

它是史上最具设计元素的产品

Now that's a lot of pressure for a little button

现在你知道为什么

我说在这个小小的按键

and the designer behind it,

设计的背后隐藏着设计者巨大的压力

but with these kinds of products,

但是对于这类的产品 即使是小的事情也必须要做好

you need to get even the tiny things right.

Now, the next thing that you need to understand

另外一件你需要明白的事情就是

is how to design with data.

如何在设计过程中应用数据

Now, when you're working on products like this,

当你在设计一件这样的产品的时候

you have incredible amounts of information

你有大量关于

人们会怎样使用你的产品的信息

about how people are using your product

that you can then use to influence

这将会影响你的

your design decisions,

设计理念

but it's not just as simple as following the numbers.

但是这不仅仅只关系到一堆数字

Let me give you an example

让我来举一个例子

so that you can understand what I mean.

你就会明白我在说什么了

Facebook has had a tool for a long time

脸书在很久之前就有一个工具

that allowed people to report photos

是用来让人们反馈那些照片

that may be in violation of our community standards,

可能会给人们带来不便的照片，

things like spam and abuse.

例如就好像垃圾邮件和滥用信息

And there were a ton of photos reported,

每天有成千上万的照片被上传

but as it turns out,

但是事实证明

only a small percentage were actually

只有很小的一部分

in violation of those community standards.

违反社区标准

Most of them were just your typical party photo.

大多数是派对的照片

Now, to give you a specific hypothetical example,

我们来假设一个具体的例子

let's say my friend Laura hypothetically

比如假设我有个好朋友叫劳拉

uploads a picture of me

她上传了一张

from a drunken night of karaoke.

我醉酒后在卡拉ok的照片

This is purely hypothetical, I can assure you.

我向你保证，这真的只是一个假设

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now, incidentally,

顺便说一句

you know how some people are kind of worried

你也知道现在有一些人担心

that their boss or employee

他们的老板或是员工

is going to discover embarrassing photos of them

看到他们在脸书上的

on Facebook?

不雅照片

Do you know how hard that is to avoid

你知道不让我的朋友看见这些照片有多么困难么

when you actually work at Facebook?

尤其是我还在facebook上班！

So anyway, there are lots of these photos

所以，当大量这类照片被当成是

being erroneously reported as spam and abuse,

垃圾信息或是信息滥用来处理的时候

and one of the engineers on the team had a hunch.

团队的一个工程师有了预感

He really thought there was something else going on

他觉得这当中一定有什么

and he was right,

而且 他是对的

because when he looked through a bunch of the cases,

因为当他看到这么多案例以后

he found that most of them

他发现大多数的反馈信息

were from people who were requesting

是来自那些照片的当事人

the takedown of a photo of themselves.

他们要求删除有他们自己的照片

Now this was a scenario that the team

在这之前，我们的团队

never even took into account before.

从未考虑到这个情况问题

So they added a new feature

所以他们新加了一个功能

that allowed people to message their friend

就是允许人们发信息给他们的朋友

to ask them to take the photo down.

让他们把照片删除

But it didn't work.

但是，这并不起作用

Only 20 percent of people

只有百分之二十的人

sent the message to their friend.

给他们的朋友发了消息

So the team went back at it.

所以我们的工作人员又回到了这个问题上

They consulted with experts in conflict resolution.

他们咨询了专家该如何解决冲突

They even studied the universal principles

他们甚至学习了

礼貌用语的通用原则

of polite language,

which I didn't even actually know existed

直到他们做了这项研究以前

until this research happened.

我都不知道还有这样原则存在，

And they found something really interesting.

我们的工作人员发现了 一件很有趣的事情，

They had to go beyond just helping people

他们不仅仅帮助人们让他们朋友

ask their friend to take the photo down.

把照片从网上删除

They had to help people express to their friend

同时也让他们的朋友了解到

how the photo made them feel.

被上传照片的人的心情

Here's how the experience works today.

如今的设计就是这个经历所带来的

So I find this hypothetical photo of myself,

当我看到自己这张假设的照片的时候

and it's not spam, it's not abuse,

它既不是垃圾邮件也不是滥用邮件

but I really wish it weren't on the site.

但是我真的不希望在网上看到这张照片

So I report it and I say,

所以我反馈了意见，并写道

"I'm in this photo and I don't like it,"

“我在这张照片里，但是我不喜欢这张照片”

and then we dig deeper.

然后我们进一步去探讨

Why don't you like this photo of yourself?

为什么你不喜欢这张有你自己的照片

And I select "It's embarrassing."

我选择了：“它让我感到难堪“

And then I'm encouraged to message my friend,

然后我被鼓励去发消息给我的朋友

but here's the critical difference.

然而这就是不同的关键

I'm provided specific suggested language

脸书上会给我提供专门的建议用语

that helps me communicate to Laura

用来帮助我和劳拉交流

how the photo makes me feel.

我对这个照片的想法

Now the team found that this relatively small change

我们的工作人员发现， 这个小小的改变

had a huge impact.

带来了巨大的影响

Before, only 20 percent of people

在这之前，只有20%的人

were sending the message,

会发信息给他们的朋友

and now 60 percent were,

但是现在有60%的人会去发消息

and surveys showed that people

据调查显示

on both sides of the conversation

对话的双方

felt better as a result.

最后都会觉得不错

That same survey showed

据同一调查显示

that 90 percent of your friends

你90%的朋友希望知道自己是否

want to know if they've done something to upset you.

做了什么让你不高兴的事情

Now I don't know who the other 10 percent are,

我不知道另外10%的人的想法

but maybe that's where our "Unfriend" feature

但是也许就是到了我们“解除好友”的按键

can come in handy.

非常好用的时候了

So as you can see,

正如你所看到的

these decisions are highly nuanced.

这些改变是很微妙的

Of course we use a lot of data

当然，这个过程中我们用了很多数据

to inform our decisions,

来支持我们的决定

but we also rely very heavily on iteration,

同时我们以反复试验，

research, testing, intuition, human empathy.

研究，测试，直觉以及人类的同理心为主

It's both art and science.

这是艺术和科学的融合

Now, sometimes the designers who work on these products

现在有时候，我们也把这些设计者

are called "data-driven,"

叫做“数据驱动者”

which is a term that totally drives us bonkers.

这完全一个让我们疯狂的词

The fact is, it would be irresponsible of us

事实上，我们会因为没有严格测试我们的设计产品

not to rigorously test our designs

而被认为是不负责任的

when so many people are counting on us

尤其是当有那么多的人在

to get it right,

指望着我们做对事情的时候

but data analytics

但是数据分析

will never be a substitute for design intuition.

绝对不会代替设计的直觉

Data can help you make a good design great,

数据能帮助我们使设计变得更加完美

but it will never made a bad design good.

但是绝对不会把一个不好的设计变成好的

The next thing that you need to understand as a principle

下一个你必须要去理解的事情是

is that when you introduce change,

当你想要改变的时候

you need to do it extraordinarily carefully.

需要格外仔细

Now I often have joked that

我经常开玩笑说

I spend almost as much time

我在设计产品变动的介绍词

designing the introduction of change

花费了大量的时间

as I do the change itself,

这几乎和我在做产品改动的时间是一样的

and I'm sure that we can all relate to that

而且我敢肯定

when something that we use a lot changes

当一件事情需要我们做出很多改变的时候

and then we have to adjust.

我们也要对自己做出调整

The fact is, people can become

事实上，人们会因为使用了

very efficient at using bad design,

不好的设计而变得更有效率

and so even if the change is good for them in the long run,

虽然从长远角度上看， 这个改变是对大家有好处的

it's still incredibly frustrating when it happens,

但是有不好的设计产生的时候， 它仍被认为是一个失败的设计

and this is particularly true

而且这个在

with user-generated content platforms,

用户创建的内容平台中证实了

because people can rightfully claim a sense of ownership.

因为人们会去维护他们的主人翁意识

It is, after all, their content.

毕竟脸书上所说的是他们自己

Now, years ago, when I was working at YouTube,

几年前，当我还在YouTube（视频网站）工作的时候

we were looking for ways to

我们尝试着怎样才能

encourage more people to rate videos,

鼓励更多的人去评价视频

and it was interesting because when we looked into the data,

当我们查看数据的时候， 发现了一些很有趣的事情

we found that almost everyone was exclusively using

几乎所有的人都给与了别人

the highest five-star rating,

最高的五星的评价

a handful of people were using

只有极少数的一些人会使用

the lowest one-star,

最少的一星评价

and virtually no one

并且几乎没有人会使用

was using two, three or four stars.

两星，三星或是四星的评价

So we decided to simplify

所以我们决定简化这样的评估模式

into an up-down kind of voting binary model.

我们把它变成只有好和坏两种选择的模式

It's going to be much easier for people to engage with.

这对于参与评估的人们来说简单多了

But people were very attached

但是，人们非常注重

to the five-star rating system.

五星评估系统

Video creators really loved their ratings.

上传视频的人也很满意他们的评估等级

Millions and millions of people

成百万的使用者已经习惯了

were accustomed to the old design.

旧的五星评分方式

So in order to help people

所以，为了帮助人们

prepare themselves for change

更快的熟悉和接受这个新的设计

and acclimate to the new design more quickly,

we actually published the data graph

我们把之前的数据图表

sharing with the community

放在了网上告诉人们

the rationale for what we were going to do,

我们要去改变的原因

and it even engaged the larger industry

没想到在大家的交流过程中

in a conversation, which resulted in

话题被扩大了，于是产生了

my favorite TechCrunch headline of all time:

我最爱的科技博客（新兴互联网公司评论的博客） 的标题：

"YouTube Comes to a 5-Star Realization:

“YouTube的五星级觉醒：

Its Ratings Are Useless."

它的五星评级制毫无用处”

Now, it's impossible to completely avoid

虽然不可能完全避免改变带来的反感

change aversion when you're making changes

尤其是改变了那多人已经熟悉的产品

to products that so many people use.

Even though we tried to do all the right things,

即使我们试着把所有的事情做对

we still received our customary flood

可是还是受到了如同洪水般的

of video protests and angry emails

抗议视频和投诉邮件

and even a package that had to be scanned by security,

甚至我们还收到了一个 需要接受安全扫描的包裹

but we have to remember

然而，从另外一个角度来

people care intensely about this stuff,

我们也知道到人们对这个改变非常关注

and it's because these products, this work,

也是因为这个产品对于他们来说

really, really matters to them.

是真的真的很重要

Now, we know that we have to be careful

现在我们知道了

about paying attention to the details,

细节的重要性

we have to be cognizant about how we use data

我们也意识到，

如何在设计中使用数据

in our design process,

and we have to introduce change

而且，在我们给人们介绍产品改变的时候

very, very carefully.

也要非常小心仔细

Now, these things are all really useful.

这些方法是非常有用的

They're good best practices for designing at scale.

它们是在设计规模时候最好的练习方法

But they don't mean anything

但是如果你不能懂得其中的最基本道理，

if you don't understand something

那么它对于你说就什么都不是

much more fundamental.

You have to understand who you are designing for.

你必须明白，你究竟是在为谁设计

Now, when you set a goal to design

当你建立的设计目标是

for the entire human race,

为了全人类而设计的时候

and you start to engage in that goal in earnest,

然后你以一个认真的态度去达成那个目标

at some point you run into the walls

有些时候你在自己的立场上

of the bubble that you're living in.

迷失方向

Now, in San Francisco, we get a little miffed

现在，就在旧金山， 当我们到达一个没有信号的区域

when we hit a dead cell zone

因为无法使用手机导航来

because we can't use our phones to navigate

寻找到新开的流行的咖啡店

to the new hipster coffee shop.

我们就开始不开心了

But what if you had to drive four hours

但是如果你因为没有可靠的电源设备

而得开四个小时的车去 找给手机充电的电源设备

to charge your phone

because you had no reliable source of electricity?

What if you had no access to public libraries?

如果你不被允许进入公共图书馆了

What if your country had no free press?

如果这个国家都没有自由媒体了

What would these products start to mean to you?

如果这些产品对你的要求严格了

This is what Google, YouTube and Facebook

这就是为什么谷歌，YouTube 和facebook

look like to most of the world,

被世界所期待

and it's what they'll look like

这也是为什么

to most of the next five billion people

未来的50亿人

to come online.

会去上网

Designing for low-end cell phones

设计一个低端的手机

is not glamorous design work,

并不是一个吸引人的工作

but if you want to design for the whole world,

但是，如果你是为了整个世界在设计

you have to design for where people are,

你就必须站在人们的角度上考虑

and not where you are.

而不是你自己的角度

So how do we keep this big, big picture in mind?

所以，我们应该如何记住把这个大的思考立场呢？

We try to travel outside of our bubble to see, hear

我们尝试站在使用者的角度去思考

and understand the people we're designing for.

我们尝试着去理解他们

We use our products in non-English languages

我们也邀请那些说不同语言人使用我们的产品

to make sure that they work just as well.

以确保所有的程序都能正常运行

And we try to use one of these phones from time to time

而且我们尝试着时常使用这些手机

to keep in touch with their reality.

以确保我们了解用户的实际使用情况

So what does it mean to design at a global scale?

所以这个对全球范围的设计有什么意义？

It means difficult and sometimes exasperating work

这是一项困难而且出力不讨好的工作

to try to improve and evolve products.

去尝试着改善和发展产品

Finding the audacity and the humility to do right by them

以谦逊的心态为基本

却又不缺乏大胆创新的心思 去把设计做对做好

can be pretty exhausting,

是相当辛苦的

and the humility part,

而且在设计部分，对设计的自尊心是个考验

it's a little tough on the design ego.

Because these products are always changing,

因为产品总是在不断的变化

everything that I've designed in my career

而我在设计生涯中的所有产品都会随着这些

is pretty much gone,

更新换代而消失

and everything that I will design will fade away.

而且未来我要做的设计 也会随着时间的流逝而消失

But here's what remains:

而留下的是

the never-ending thrill

是永无止境的刺激和快感

of being a part of something that is so big,

想到自己是如此巨大创造的一部分

you can hardly get your head around it,

会让我脑子转不过弯来

and the promise that it just might change the world.

更何况它包含了 也许能够改变世界的承诺

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（鼓掌）