Stand-Up Comedy & UX

Stand-up comedy is a great place to gain empathy as a UX designer.  There are so many examples of comedians calling out ridiculous scenarios that are brought about by terrible user experience.

A great example of this is Demetri Martin's bit on paper towel dispensers.

Or even something as simple as this little gem from Mitch Hedberg:

"I opened up a yogurt, it said 'Please try again' because they were having a contest I was unaware of.  But I thought I might have opened the yogurt wrong."

Recently, I've been listening to stand-up comedy as homework.  It has the added bonus of providing a great start to the day as I walk to the office.

For some extra reading, check out "Seven Things Designers Can Learn from Stand-Up Comics" by Michael Bierut.