It’s not about new ideas, it’s about getting new ideas made….

In my recent position I’ve been reintroduced to the world of heavy documentation. There’s something to be said about a methodical and precise approach to building quality products, but I tend to get impatient with the urgency to get products to market. The idea of design has become much more than just making plans for something great. I cite the quote below:

“It’s not about  ideas, it’s about making ideas happen” (http://the99percent.com/)

I think about this statement a lot. Certainly the in web design world this is very pertinent. In other worlds it’s not as immediate but still relevant. Think about the entomology of the term Architect. It literally means someone who creates plans to be used in making something. In my case “Information.”My desk is across the hall from actual architects for some of the most extravagant hotels and resorts in the world. In speaking with them I get excited to realize we have much more in common than just our titles.  The process is indeed a close parallel. Though web apps are much more forgiving even if we have a zero bug policy. Neither one of us are actually putting the code together or laying the bricks. But the real difference is in how the ideas get made. Which is why Information Architecture is losing it’s foothold. The skills to build the object are closer in nature and much easier to acquire than buildings. All it takes is an RSS feed from KillerStartups.com to realize that the knowledge of how to build products is being implemented at a blistering pace. Hence the catch all phrase Interaction Designer.

(A great foray into another post: Observations on Designers)

“We make our buildings and thereafter they make us…..”

I’ve been thinking alot about this quote which I found on the Case Western School of Design site.

“We make our buildings and thereafter they make us.”
Winston Churchill

It really is a powerful statement about design and architecture. It’s no real mystery, given that we are in an advanced age of creating buildings for specific purposes that design of buildings is important. Do a free flow of all the specific types of buildings that have special architecture created for having experiences; Churches, Temples, Synagogues, Arenas, Stadiums, Studios, Galleries, Showrooms, Theatres, Homes Theatres, Great Rooms, Resort Hotels, Conference Centers…. and many more.

I’ve found in my career, that I am of a better mood, and happier if I’m surrounded by an environment that adhere’s to open communication. It’s not required, but it feels a lot better. I think that’s the phenomenon behind sites like http://wherewedowhatwedo.com/.

I suppose it could also be said about the design of products as well. Does the design of our products make who we are?

 

 

11th Anniversary whoops…

So I’m a bit late on this but didn’t want this “UX FAIL” to go by without a mention.

The Google 11th year anniversary logo celebration was such a usability issue that I got several emails from friends telling me to look at the spelling error on Google. But I have to wonder if they let it roll just to get/keep people talking.

Quick Quote: User Research

“Until you’ve got ice cream spilled on you, you’re not doing field work.”

- Randy Pausch

Visualizing; The Real Power of Design

The business world is all about Design Thinking these days. As I contemplate weather or not an MDes/MBA is worth the time, and opportunity cost, I’ve become very cognizant of just exactly why the business world is so seduced by what they previously might have labeled, touchy feeling or to bohemian for the real world.

To start with they can’t help but be amazed by numbers like this. ” The Design Council’s latest research study has come up with a way of measuring return on design investment for the first time. According to the report, Design in Britain 2005-6, ‘design alert’ companies achieve an average return of #225 for every #100 invested in design.

The report also reiterates that companies investing in effective design significantly outperform their rivals on the stock market. Shares in ‘design-led’ businesses have outstripped key stock market indices by as much as 200 per cent over the past decade, says the report.” Design Week |August 2, 2006, | Scott Billings | (http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-149146326/study-pinpoints-firms-return.html)

And there’s about ten other studies that show similar results. This is very helpful for talking to those traditional business types.

While the numbers make their heads turn, the devil is in the details of how design led companies win. However it’s really very simple.They do exactly what those old school biz folks have always done, they just do it with a greater fidelity and better understanding.  They Visualize and attack!

In the past few months I’ve spent a lot of my commute time listening to material that focuses on Self Development, Positive Attitude and the power of Faith. Regardless of what source you prefer to follow on this topic, they all tell the same story of being able to visualize before you realize an idea, thought, process or product.  It’s no wonder that Design Thinking has become the new hot topic in business. Design is the essence of creating a good plan and being able to truly see it in your minds eye, then sharing it effectively.

The act of designing requires the designer to be in touch with it’s audience and create an experience for that fits their needs. And it requires the designer to be human.  In a world where experience is everything, traditional businesses cannot afford to separate themselves with the clinical type approach as they’re used to.

In the world of Self Development what you Visualize over and over again, becomes real and eventually you actualize your thoughts. (See the story of the Illinois Institute of Technology as told in “Think and Grow Rich” .)

Design is the act of visualizing.

Catch the Wave?

We all knew it was coming right? I mean we thought this was where messaging, email, and twitter was heading. The idea of both real-time, static, and persistent conversations seemed like the logical next step. I’m just not sure anyone really was trying to tackle it all at once….except uh google.

What do you think?

P-typing tools-r-us!

Now that we’ve turned the proverbial corner in IxD regarding our deliverables, I wonder what folks think of the current tools out there that allow teams to design and interaction in full motion rather than static explanation.  So here’s my quickie poll. If there’s something missing. Please comment with others you like to use and explain why.

The birth and death of an IA

I recently took a new position as a Sr. Manager of Information Architecture for Marriott.com. (A property that creates $6+ billion dollars of revenue annually.) While I’m proud of my new position, the term Information Architect actually kind of creeps me out. It’s really an old term and does not accurately describe what I perceive to be the greatest value of my work nor my personality. I much prefer the title User Experience Designer, UI Designer or even Storyteller.

The whole “industry” of UI/UX Design has been self defined for years, but now as colleges and universities, actually have majors in the field, it seems appropriate to settle on some common terms of description.

The general level of understanding of the principles and importance of the user experience, has been elevated and so therefore, the traditional role of wireframes, is losing, or already has lost,  it’s power and need. Very often product ideas are expressed from concept to code within days.  I still believe those that focus on and claim some expertise in the user experience to be of supreme value, but the demands of the role have changed so that the soft skills of being able to communicate the right experience in the right way has become much more valuable. The business sponsor may have an idea of what they want, the coder make it all work and enhance it with great creativity, but the User Experience Designer is still the only one totally focused on how the story of how the product should work with the expectations and limitations of the primary beneficiary. The user.

A good User Experience designer should understand people, cognitively, with a sensibility of empathy and intuition.  A good User Experience designer must be able to communicate that  story effectively and motivate others to be able to execute their special skills to build the most optimal experience. I sometimes call myself the head cheerleader. But to ad the right sense of professionlism let’s just keep it at User Experience Designer.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here are some similar comments from Chiara Fox.

Over obsessed with sexy products

I’m a tinkerer. I also to love to sit around and dream up plans for cool stuff. That’s probably why I love being a User Experience Designer. But very clearly there is a ying for everybody’s yang. Or maybe I should say everyone has a double edged sword, where your strengths can also be your weaknesses.

A while ago I became obsessed about making diy projects that have a professional look to them.  I kept thinking of little problems in my daily life that I’d want a cool solution to.  It wasn’t hard to think of a couple of nuanced things and decided my life could use a charging station for all things hand held.

First I searched to see what commercial products there were and indeed that solidifed my mind as to why I didn’t need to buy one. most of the cost anywhere between $20-$45. So I searched all my DIY blogs to find cool ways to make one makezine, hacked gadgets, gomistyle, instructables all provided neat examples.

Finally I had to sit down and ask myself…What is a charging station? Hmmmmmm.

Charging Station = Powerstrip.

Here’s pic of my DIY Charging station Cost $4.95.

“Perfection is attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away…”

-Antoine DeSaintExupery

SXSWi 2009 Fast Approaching can you feel the buzz?

With SXSW 2009 fast approaching I reminisce to a posting from my personal blog about SXSW. Last year was my first year at the conference.  I think these sentiments are just as relevant today, probably even more so.

In many ways conferences are like summer camp for adults. You meet a lot of new people, run into some old friends and learn a lot in a condensed amount of time. You feel as though you’ve found long lost friends, people you knew in a previous life because you’re bound by the common interest. There’s usually some drama created by the nature of debate. And while most of the happy hours and parties start at the end of each day, there’s sheer joy in connecting with like minded people.

It’s been at least two weeks since I returned home from the SXSW interactive conference. As I organized my notes into a somewhat comprehensible archive, my managing director asked all those in attendance to create a 60 sec (or so) video preso about their experience at “South By.” Given all the other duties I had to do that week this seemed a little daunting, since I really wanted to take more time to build out the message. In the end what I had time for (cobbling together some pics and vid) actually expressed the core essence of my experience which expresses the real education I got from of the event. Clearly there is power in cutting out the extraneous.

The background music is one of the bands I discovered in Austin they’re featured in one of the photos. The People’s Party – We AM One.