Abstract
We must admit that, when we first read the theme of World
Usability Day 2024 – Design for a Better World – we experienced a moment of hesitation. What does better really mean? And, above all, better for whom? This is far from a marginal question: with great power
comes great responsibility, but we would add that responsibility also derives from small powers. Not only as a reminder that every action we take – as human beings, and even more so as designers – produces
effects that extend well beyond our initial intentions, but also as a way to avoid what we might define as the band-aid effect: the temptation to address complex issues through superficial or episodic solutions, driven by the best intentions yet incapable of affecting the structural causes of problems, or even at times worsening them or generating new ones.