Actors draw from various acting techniques to portray characters truthfully, including Stanislavski's method of understanding a character from the inside out and the outside in. Strasberg's method uses emotional recall and sense memory to illuminate roles. Adler emphasized research over emotional memory to understand a character's perspective. Meisner's technique uses improvisation and spontaneity to generate emotional truth. The document argues that like actors, UX designers can research users, develop personas and scenarios, test concepts, and design interactively to understand users and improve experiences. Both actors and designers aim to understand users and situations fully to create believable and meaningful experiences.

1. Pretending for a living
Why actors are all UX designers
Jon Dixon
jon.dixon@bunnyfoot.com
@bunnyfootsays
www.bunnyfoot.com

4. The ‘method’
Constantin Stanislavsky
‘the system’
Stella Adler
‘given circumstances’
Lee Strasberg
Sanford Meisner
‘the method’
‘in the moment’

5. Stanislavski’s ‘system’
Multi-variant, holistic and
psychophysiological.
MODERNISM
Objectively observable and
quantifiable behavioural events.
NATURALISM
CONDITIONING
AFFECTIVE MEMORY
BEHAVIOURAL PSYCHOLOGY
The actor creates the character “from the inside out” and “from
the outside in”…

6. Strasberg’s ‘method’
The performance is the ultimate
expression of a complex psychology….
AFFECTIVE MEMORY
EMOTIONAL RECALL
The actor summons emotions from from
SENSE MEMORY
their own life to illuminate the role.
BACK STORY
The play / film is the climax of the character’s existence to date…

7. Adler’s school(s)
Rowing back on the ‘emotional
memory’ in favour of experience and
research.
RESEARCH
SITUATIONS
The actor puts themself in the place of
the character rather than vice versa.
SENSORY IMAGINATION
INSIGHT
PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT
The psyche upon which the actor calls must not be the actor’s
own, but the character’s…

8. Meisner’s technique
Based on improvisation and
accessing an inner emotional life to
inform a performance.
‘IN THE MOMENT’
TASKS / OBJECTIVES
The actor generates truth from
spontaneity.
DOING
LISTEN AND RESPOND
PICKING UP THE ‘IMPULSES’
Acting is “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances…”

11. RESEARCH
OPTIMISE
learn about your
long term
Business
Support
learn about your
regular
Competitors
Monitoring
learn about your
ongoing
Customers
Optimisation
MODEL
ARCHITECT
research
define
Customer Models
explore
Customer interaction
develop
Testable concepts
DESIGN
define the
Information architecture
develop the
Interaction design
document with
Blueprints & instructions
Creative concepts
evolve and
Develop the creative
develop
Design guides/assets

12. Living truthfully under imaginary circumstances
What actors do…
RESEARCH, TRAINING, CULTURAL IMMERSION, SITUATION EXPERIENCE, PREPARATION
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, EMOTIONAL RECALL, AFFECTIVE MEMORY
TEXT ANALYSIS, LINE-READINGS, IMPROVISATION, STORIES
READ-THROUGHS, WORKSHOPS, REHEARSALS
CAMERA AWARENESS, VOICE TRAINING, MOVEMENT, COSTUME, MAKE-UP
PERFORMANCE AWARENESS, READING THE AUDIENCE, REPETITION

13. Living truthfully under imaginary circumstances
What UX Designers (can) do…
ETHNOGRAPHY, DEPTH INTERVIEWS, ONSITE IMMERSION, ANALYTICS, DIARY STUDIES
PERSONAS, SCENARIOS, MENTAL MODELS, EXPERIENCE MAPS
TASK FLOWS, PAGE FLOWS, CUSTOMER JOURNEYS, STORYBOARDS
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURES, WIREFRAMES, PROTOTYPES
INTERACTION DESIGN, VISUAL DESIGN, CODING
FORMATIVE TESTING, MULTI-VARIATE, SURVEYS, ANALYTICS…

14. Model from the ‘inside out’ as well as the ‘outside in’
The experience is the climax of *the user’s+ life to date
Know not just the situation but the meaning of that situation
Conceptualise, design and test ‘in the moment’
Live truthfully under imaginary circumstances

15. Don’t worry…