About the Book
Humannoyed is a narrative nonfiction book about what it means to remain human in an increasingly automated, disjointed, and data-driven world.
With humor, vulnerability, and clarity, the author explores the widening disconnect between the systems we rely on—education, healthcare, labor, communication—and the human needs they’re meant to serve. Through personal reflections, speculative vignettes, and accessible systems thinking, Humannoyed offers a warning:
If we don’t begin designing the world for humans, we’ll lose the very things that make us human.
The book is structured around the idea of “The Great Disconnect,” and charts a path through the five major barriers contributing to digital alienation: Access, Ability, Belief, Education, and Overwhelm. Alongside these, it introduces a reimagined version of Maslow’s hierarchy, called Being Human, as a framework for rethinking our design priorities.
Rather than offer a prescriptive solution, Humannoyed aims to spark a movement, emerging from the readers and communities the book inspires.
Imagine a designed reality where human dignity is the starting point, not a reward.
Humannoyed
I have this nagging feeling we should be doing something.
-> the back cover
I work in tech. I design systems meant to make life easier—interfaces that connect platforms, save time, smooth over the chaos. I know how the sausage is made. But even I can’t shake this feeling that maybe the sausage is… off.
We’ve built a world of automations and shortcuts.
We get groceries without talking to anyone.
Our cars park themselves.
Even the to-do list tries to finish itself before we do.
I feel like we’ve lost track of what it means to be human, and we’re so blinded by the next new thing that we can’t remember why we joined this rat race in the first place.
That’s what this book is about.
Not rage. Not despair. Just that low-grade static in the back of your mind whispering, “This can’t be it.”
I call it being humannoyed.
Part human. Part annoyed. All tangled up in a future we didn’t exactly vote for, but are expected to keep up with. When I look around at this so-called “seamless” society, I have questions like:
-> Why do we feel more overwhelmed the more “help” we get?
-> Why is everyone either burnt out or numbed out?
-> And what exactly are we automating toward?
This isn’t a book about going off-grid.
It’s a book about getting back in touch with the reason for the grid.
If you’ve ever thought, “I should be doing something, but I’m not sure what,”
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by a world that runs on updates and notifications,
If you’ve ever wanted to hit pause without falling behind—
Welcome.
You’re not broken.
You’re just human. And maybe a little annoyed.
About the Author
Kristy Mapp is a UX designer, systems thinker, and former architectural designer with a track record of turning complex human needs into intuitive solutions.
Her professional journey spans interior design, church leadership, photography, digital product design, research, and user experience strategy. Highlights include:
- Designing cross-platform user experiences for WebPros, a global web infrastructure company
- Creating a comprehensive customer lifecycle system for a surveillance company
- Leading workforce-wide research projects to uncover organizational gaps
- Developing outreach and engagement systems for Bay Area Church, including an original magazine, wayfinding infrastructure, and communications plan during Hurricane Harvey’s aftermath
- Architectural design and project management for build-to-suit facilities across Houston
With a blend of intuition, empathy, and creative strategy, she brings a unique voice to the growing conversation about the cost of unchecked technological acceleration—and the possibilities for designing systems that serve real people, not just platforms.
