Assess the Cost of Liminality in Service Design
I've previously written about Liminal UX, but grey spaces go further. These aren't just transitional moments in an interaction flow—they're the overlooked infrastructures between decision points and outcomes.
Even in government, we often diagram frontstage and backstage service moments. But grey spaces? They live between the diagrams. They're invisible, unclaimed, and unmodeled.
Grey spaces are the magic users assume is happening behind the scenes. A food order? You expect someone is cooking. A delay? Maybe the kitchen’s slow. These are recoverable frictions because we understand the mechanics. But public service infrastructure doesn’t often offer this transparency or trust cushion.
Designing for grey spaces means acknowledging the limits of transactional metaphors—and the reality of interdependence in civic life.
Invisible Friction and Asymmetry
Unbanked people have limited ways to receive money. In the past, wire services required ID, location matching, and verification. Now, with payment apps, money can move instantly with just a username—and no recourse when mistakes happen.
The bar for error is lower, and the consequences higher. And in digital-only systems, reversibility is often not an option.
Another example: a rideshare driver is in a car accident while carrying passengers. The platform may deny liability if they determine the trip wasn’t “active,” even if evidence suggests otherwise. The driver bears the burden, the passengers are stranded, and the system absolves itself.
In the past, a cabbie would have radioed dispatch or called another cab. Now, platform logic redefines relationships and responsibility. Grey spaces are everywhere, and their costs compound daily.