Dustin DiTommaso

Experience Director, Mad*Pow

Main Conference: Motivational Dynamics in Health Behavior Change

Health behavior change has proven to be extremely difficult to accomplish, and the adoption and maintenance of beneficial health regimens has surfaced as a daunting task for the average individual. While many people voice a desire to more frequently engage in healthy behaviors, the evidence is clear that human desire and motivation can be undermined and our commitments can be easily broken. If we, as designers, want to create systems to facilitate behavior change, we need to better understand how to initiate and support people's intrinsic motivations while balancing extrinsic design factors to optimize success.

In this talk, we'll take a high level look at the psychology of motivation and deep-dive into key points to consider when creating systems to bridge the gap between people's intentions and their actions.

Workshop: Beyond Gamification: Designing Behavior Change Games

Playing games is the prototypical example for an intrinsically motivating activity and motivation in healthcare is a pivotal issue. Each year, billions of dollars are spent to move our behaviors in a healthier direction to avert crisis such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other costly and painful afflictions. Leveraging the motivational dynamics of gameplay to energize and sustain people through behavior change is a challenging yet profound solution.

In this workshop, we'll double-tap into the techniques game designers use to motivate, engage and reward players through a game's lifecycle combining a playful approach with structured behavior change conventions.

Attendees will learn how to craft a delicate balance of challenge & reward, competition & social support, goal setting & scaffolding, rule definition, interaction patterns, persuasive arguments, meaningful feedback, fun and positive outcomes.

Bio

Dustin has a lifetime love affair with elegant design and nearly a decade chasing the perfect blend of form and function.

Starting his career pulling double duty as a print graphic designer and a sound designer for new media, he quickly learned that the work he created affected the actions of the audience experiencing it, and that this “silent majority” had a voice that needed to be heard and understood. Since that “Eureka!” moment, he has been blending research and design as a means to create value for both people and business.

Dustin's work has been recognized by Yahoo!, Macworld, New York Festivals and the Boston Phoenix. He has taught advanced typography and publication design at Mt. Ida's Chamberlayne School of Design and is an active member in a number of industry communities including Interaction Design Association, Design Management Institute and the Usability Professionals Association.

When not helping clients perfect their digital offerings, Dustin still enjoys twiddling the knobs of vintage synthesizers, hunting down mid-century modern design artifacts and trying to improve his skills as a photographer.