Too often the human in Human-centered Design is really just this one user, just this one time.
How might we warm the user experience
Whether you’re a designer, educator, architect, or anyone else who shapes human experience, you’ve probably noticed we often over-index on the individual.
Transcendent Experience (ZX) broadens the focus of UX design from the individual, momentary needs of a task, to the warm and meaningful contexts of belonging.
UX Design
prioritizes one user in one moment
upstream and downstream impact ignored
critical human relationships ignored
challenging for the user to connect with the world around them
ZX Design
prioritizes a holistic sense of interconnectedness
helps a user realize gratitude, reciprocation, purpose, and shared cause
much easier for the user to connect with the world around them.
I’m a designer and research expert specializing in the fields of Human-computer Interaction and User Experience design. I’ve helped organizations such as Toyota, Samsung, and McDonald's embrace human-centered design for over 25 years.
Lately, like many of my clients and colleagues, I’ve felt something missing from the strategic priorities of design. When we over-index on the individual user we miss
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I propose the term ZX as a new perspective on User Experience (UX). When the two terms are compared, the shortcomings of the latter are self-evident; the tools and methods of Human-centered Design must be applied to connecting the user to the world outside their own skin as opposed to the isolating service of their individual and ephemeral needs alone.
The Shakers warmed user experience by prioritizing self transcendence and human connection. Later, these same principles were championed by psychologist Abraham Maslow and put into practice by Fred “Mr. Rogers.”
Cultures around the world refer to principles of human connection collectively with the same word; “warmth.”
Science, religion, and philosophy tell us that warmth is essential to the biological brain and spiritual heart alike.
The Shakers warmed user experience by prioritizing self transcendence and human connection. Later, these same principles were championed by psychologist Abraham Maslow and put into practice by Fred “Mr. Rogers.”
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ZX Workshop May, 2025
Join us at Esalen in Big Sur, CA!
Our first independent ZX event will be at Esalen, a stunning, radical, and inspirational backdrop for learning about and developing a new design philosophy.
Within the rich material culture of the Shakers we see a carefully, and intentionally crafted user experience. The prevailing characteristic of that experience is warmth.
Like the comforting smile of someone we might describe as having a “warm” personality, the experience within a Shaker world is one of trust, support, reciprocation, and belonging.
Source and Inspiration
The Shakers exemplified both the principle and the courage to practice design in a manner that looked after the human experience of life on earth.
Principle One
The Shakers exemplified both the principle and the courage to practice design in a manner that looked after the human experience of life on earth.
Principle Two
The Shakers exemplified both the principle and the courage to practice design in a manner that looked after the human experience of life on earth.
Principle Three
The Shakers exemplified both the principle and the courage to practice design in a manner that looked after the human experience of life on earth.
April 2026
ZX26 will bring together experts in Design and Shaker culture at the stunning Hancock Shaker Village.
CalArts, May 2025
Lecture on Designing Warmth at California Institute of the Arts, San Francisco, CA. w/Hugh Dubberly
Rosenfeld Media, February 2025
Lecture on Designing Warmth for Rosenfeld Community, Rosenfeld Media, w/ Louis Rosenfeld
Parsons School of Design, March 2024
Lecture at Prototyping Utopia Residency, Parsons School of Design, w/ Killeen Hanson
SCAD, May 2024