Host: Dr Chris Parker
Email: c.parker@lboro.ac.uk
In this episode of Practical UX, we go beyond buttons and screens to explore what’s next for user experience: trustworthy AI, physiological synchrony in social VR, foldable device ergonomics, designing for the moments after a crash, and a bold provocation to design for human connection, not screen time.
Why explainable AI changes user behaviour by improving trust calibration (and why “AI literacy” talks aren’t enough).
How people’s heart rate and skin responses can sync in VR, offering a powerful new metric for co-experience.
What a foldable phone’s hinge teaches us about emotional ergonomics and multi-state interface design.
How post-crash UX should prioritise clarity, calm, and familiarity when fear overwhelms cognition.
A provocative case for Relation Artefact Design (RAD): tools that help us look at people rather than screens.
Explainable AI & Trust (mushroom task) — journal article
Leichtmann, B., Humer, C., Hinterreiter, A., Streit, M., & Mara, M. (2023). Effects of Explainable Artificial Intelligence on Trust and Human Behavior in a High-Risk Decision Task. Computers in Human Behavior, 139, 107539.
Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563222003594 (ScienceDirect)
Physiological synchrony in Social VR — preprint
Kloft, A. M., Fabinc, J. M., Hirsch, L., Slezas, A., Hachmann, H., Cunneen, M., Brandt, S. S., Sams, M., & Welsch, R. (2025). It’s Always Better When We’re Together: Physiological Synchrony and Shared Experiences in Social VR. (Preprint).
Link: https://sciety-labs.elifesciences.org/articles/by?article_doi=10.21203%2Frs.3.rs-7134151%2Fv1 (Sciety)
Foldable smartphones UX framework — journal article
Liu, Y., Dong, L., & Rau, P.-L. P. (2025). Unfolding the User Experience: A Comprehensive UX Framework for Foldable Smartphones. International Journal of Industrial Engineering, 32(5), 1396–1412.
Abstract page: https://journals.sfu.ca/ijietap/index.php/ijie/article/view/10935
Direct PDF: https://journals.sfu.ca/ijietap/index.php/ijie/article/download/10935/1871/65113 (Public Knowledge Project)
Post-Crash UX (multi-modal guidance) — conference paper
Cho, Y., Kim, H., Ku, M., Yu, S., & Lee, J. (2025). Post-Crash UX: An Empirical Study on Multi-modal Interfaces for Immediate Driver Response. In AutomotiveUI Adjunct ’25 (ACM).
Link: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3744335.3758486 (ACM Digital Library)
Provocation: Relation Artefact Design — journal article
Clemmensen, T. (2025). Stop Doing User Experience Design, Start Doing Relation Artefact Design. Interacting with Computers (Oxford University Press).
Link: https://academic.oup.com/iwc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/iwc/iwaf044/8283768 (OUP Academic)
If this episode sparked ideas for your project, class, or lab, please follow/subscribe on your favourite podcast app and share with a colleague. The next great design conversation might start here.
Do you have questions for the show, or want to suggest a paper? Email Dr Chris Parker at c.parker@lboro.ac.uk.
