PROOF OF GENIUS #01 — SOCIETY A few seconds that break through online hate

At a Glance

Creator	Lanxiang Vermeulen, UX designer
Project	Lucid — an intervention against online hate among young people
The problem	Online hate is often posted on impulse; blocking and punishing are reactive measures, not real-time solutions
The solution	A built-in delay of a few seconds during which the sender sees their own message again — before it is sent
Recognition	Golden Dot Award Winner

 

The problem: hate at the speed of impulse

Online hate among young people is not a marginal phenomenon, and the standard responses—blocking messages, punishing users—only intervene after the damage has already been done. Moreover, they run counter to the very architecture of the platforms themselves: virtually all technology is designed to maximize speed. Type, send, move on. It is precisely this speed that is the problem: a hateful message is often not a deliberate act, but an impulse.

The approach: not punishment, but understanding

Vermeulen didn’t start with a solution, but with behavior. Observing, having conversations, allowing for doubt—in her words, good ideas rarely emerge under time pressure or by endlessly generating new output. And before asking whether something can be built, she asks whether it must be built.

That attitude stems from her view of the profession: “A bad design isn’t just inconvenient. It can frustrate people, exclude them, or even cause harm.” According to her, good design requires not only technical knowledge but, above all, empathy—“not just with the average user, but especially with those who are often forgotten.”

The solution: Lucid—delay as an intervention

While much technology maximizes speed, Lucid explores the value of the opposite. It creates a moment of delay: a few seconds during which someone takes another look at their own message before it goes out into the world. “Sometimes that’s enough to break an impulse.” No block, no punishment, no moralizing—just a pause.

The ambition now extends beyond young people alone: online hate isn’t an age-specific problem. Vermeulen would like to see Lucid become a natural part of the technology that millions of people use every day.

The Impact

Lucid won a Golden Dot Award, and for Vermeulen, the jury’s motivation meant more than the prize itself: “The best part is that they understand what the project is really about. It’s not about an app, but about the influence that design can have on human behavior,” said instructor Sarah Ben Messaoud

The Creator: Observing, Questioning, Taking Responsibility

Lanxiang Vermeulen was eleven when she discovered that images can do something words sometimes cannot: a photo tells a story; a design influences behavior. Not long after, she began—actually still too young—a design program. “From the very beginning, I felt: this is what I want to do.” That curiosity still forms the basis of her work as a UX designer: it’s not the interface that takes precedence, but the person who has to work with it. Where does someone get stuck? What does someone need? And how can technology provide support without putting itself in the spotlight?

When it comes to AI, she opts neither for enthusiasm nor skepticism, but for nuance. Transcriptions, data analysis, repetitive tasks: great tools—they give designers time for more important work. But she sees a risk that’s discussed less often: much of the work that AI takes over is precisely the work through which young designers learn to see—observing, recognizing patterns, analyzing interviews. “If all that disappears, how will new designers ever learn to see?” And more fundamentally: what does AI do to independent thinking? She recounts a brainstorming session in which she spent hours writing prompts, watching hundreds of suggestions scroll by, and remaining unconvinced by any of them—until she closed her laptop and went for a walk. Only then did the insight strike. “The best ideas actually come to me when I’m not sitting at my laptop. AI helps you work faster. But it doesn’t think for you.”

It’s the same paradox as in *Lucid*: as technology gets faster and faster, the value of slowing down grows. “Everything has to be faster. But faster doesn’t automatically mean better. Technology is fantastic—but only if it enhances our humanity.”

Why This Matters

This is the creative sector at its strongest: no extra moderation algorithm, but a behavioral insight gained in a few seconds that platforms like Android take seriously. Slowing down as a design principle—it’s also precisely the philosophy on which Oddny itself is built. Those who observe, question, and take responsibility transform technology from a driving force into a supportive one.

→ Read more: The art of slowing down — on Oddny in Slow News.

→ Collaborate with young creative talent: check out the Oddny partner proposition.