Design Nudges: Designing for Good

Design Nudges: Designing for Good Our days are filled with decisions. From when to get up to what to wear to how to respond to the latest email in our inboxes, we are making thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of decisions per day. Wouldn’t it be nice to take some of these decisions off of the table?

Chelsea Harrell, NCIDQ, LEED AP ID+C, IIDA // Interior Designer ©LS3P 2023

Our days are filled with decisions. From when to get up

make. Another example might be recycling bins at each

opt-in for recurring donations requiring donors to

to what to wear to how to respond to the latest email in

work station, and trash bins labeled as “landfill” at a

read the fine print and un-check a box to avoid repeat

our inboxes, we are making thousands, maybe tens of

central location. Recycling becomes the default option,

charges. Such unwanted nudges are referred to as

thousands, of decisions per day. Wouldn’t it be nice to

and people have to think twice about using something

“sludges” – designs that add extra steps or clicks to

take some of these decisions off of the table?

that goes to the landfill, and work harder to make that

rid us of something we’d prefer to avoid. Sometimes

choice.

sludges are unintentional, such as poorly designed

This is where “design nudges” come in. A “nudge” is a

websites that require laborious navigation to retrieve

gentle push, and, when used to steer us in a beneficial

Design nudges can influence an array of choices.

information, leading site visitors to give up. A good

direction, a nudge can encourage a desired behavior by

Wellness nudges can encourage people to incorporate

design nudge would eliminate that problem.

making it the easiest, most attractive choice – one that

activity or make better food choices through attractive

is almost automatic. In design, a nudge can encourage

circulation or accessible healthy snacks. Economic

people to use a prominent, beautiful staircase instead

nudges can promote wise financial choices by making

of searching out a tucked-away elevator, or it can make

automated savings a default choice, while sustainable

it easy for young students to navigate hallways with

nudges might encourage people to use less water

bright, easy-to-follow flooring patterns.

or energy or make it easy to recycle. WELL certified buildings often incorporate design nudges, catering to

In design at all scales - city planning, architecture, interiors, even products and services - designers can harness the power of the nudge in ways that will benefit the individual and our wider communities.

Nudges are rooted in the concept of behavioral

specified standards such as “encourage intermittent

economics, a field which studies why people make

bouts of physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior

When they are subtle, low-cost, designed for positive

the choices we make. We are free to make conscious

through accessible, safe, and visually appealing stairs,

impacts, and easy to decline, design nudges make it

decisions at all times, and yet we are often guided

entryways, and corridors.”

easier to make good choices – and make these choices

by subtle environmental cues. Designers can take

enjoyable.

advantage of behavioral economics to create positive

We all alternate between active choice and automatic/

reinforcement within the built environment, potentially

subconscious decisions over the course of the day;

helping individuals and groups interact with spaces in

otherwise, the sheer volume of decisions would be

a healthy, enjoyable, efficient way. An effective design

overwhelming. By reorganizing spaces to prioritize

nudge has three rules: it should be easy to implement,

beneficial choices, designers can help streamline

lead to helpful benefits while minimizing harm, and must

the automatic/subconscious decisions to benefit the

be freely chosen by a building user.

user, reduce “decision fatigue,” and reduce the friction required to do the right thing. Done well, integrating

In the example of the attractive, prominent staircase, for

design nudges is a non-invasive strategy to encourage

example, the staircase is easy to implement and use,

positive behaviors without people feeling constricted or

encourages healthy activity, and does not prevent an

bossed around.

employee from choosing the elevator. Traveling a lightfilled central staircase may be more straightforward,

It’s important to note that a nudge can be misused,

more enticing, and healthier than walking around a

particularly in marketing and advertising in which profit,

corner to find an enclosed elevator, but the elevator is

not the wellness of the end user, is the primary goal. A

still available, and the choice is still the building user’s to

prime example is a fundraising email with an automatic

Design Nudges: Designing for Good // 2

Meet the Author Chelsea brings a unique perspective to each project; she strives to deliver innovative, sustainable designs that help students and teachers to thrive. Chelsea integrates with the architecture team from the earliest stages of the project, which encourages a holistic design achieved through thoughtful concept plans, renderings, and concept plans which engage the client in the process of design.