Phygital & Design

The Future will be Phygital. This term, created from the fusion of the words "physical" and "digital," has become part of everyday language to indicate the integration of the physical world with the digital one.

The human-machine interface, better known by the acronym HMI (Human-Machine Interface), represents the point of contact between the operator and the industrial machine or between the consumer and the objects of their everyday life.

In the industrial context, which is increasingly digitalized today, there is a need for interfaces that are even more attentive to concepts of cognitive ergonomics, usability, and accessibility.

HMIs capable of facilitating and streamlining production process times represent a great opportunity, as shown by the figure in which in 2022 the global HMI market size was $4.9 billion, with a forecast of $7.3 billion by 2027, and $10.8 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 10.8%.

The design of UX (User Experience) and UI (User Interface) has become an essential skill for the development and success of the product for which the entire experience is redesigned, both in the industrial field and in the consumer goods market.

According to a study by Forrester Research, for every dollar invested in UX design, one gets an ROI of between 2 and 100 dollars. For example, a good UI can increase the conversion rate of a website by up to 200%, while a better UX design can increase the conversion rate by up to 400%.

The digital world has transformed: we are approaching the era of "Zero UI", whose final goal is a "hands-free and screen-free" user interface, supported by AI capable of deciphering the stimuli coming from voices, gestures, facial recognitions or brain impulses. In the United States, 40% of users today prefer to use voice commands and the percentage is increasing dramatically.

With these assumptions and needs, we are witnessing a growing interest in the HMI world towards aspects related to design and, in particular, towards usability, accessibility, and ergonomics, which often translate into choices based on the principles of the User Experience.

Design concerns behaviour and, for this reason, it will transform and improve our lives in all areas: from work to cars and from health to entertainment.

This will involve collaborative work between designers and teams of technicians, neuroscientists, linguists, psychologists, and marketing experts to break down that barrier between reality and imagination.