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Always adjusting to the changes of the design and business sea.
“(…) why leading design firms are contracting or exiting the business just when it has become more relevant than ever to corporate America. (…) What does this mean for the future of design as an independent field of practice in 2015 and beyond?”
(Robert Fabricant a.k.a. @fabtweet ~ Wired) ~ courtesy of tonveldhuis
Compelling case study of how Intuit embraced UCD to the max.
“Brad Smith describes Intuit as a 30 year old startup where all 8,000 employees are entrepreneurs, and it is everyone’s job to create, invent, and improve their customers’ lives. The most powerful tool they have to do this is user-centered design, which allows them to improve their customers’ lives and create delightful experiences. As long as they hold on to that – regardless of what method they wrap around it – they’ll continue to be successful.”
The time has come to deliver on the promise of Design.
“Design is entering its golden age. Now, like never before, the value of the discipline is recognized. This recognition is both a welcome change and a challenge for designers as they move to designing for networked systems.”
(Mary Treseler a.k.a. @marytreseler ~ O’Reilly Radar)
Without a good theory, all data can be equally usefull.
“As an educator, I’m painfully aware of the challenges of curricular design. Far and away the largest challenge in building a curriculum is fitting the quantity of material into a realistic course structure. It’s a zero-sum game; for each topic I add, I have to remove something. Design, like other professions, is going through a process of increased specialization, and that means there are more skills to learn in order to claim deep expertise. I end up agonizing over every detail, every class.”
Evidence-based design for the experiences of the customer. But how to get answers from a tsunami of data.
“Although big data has been a huge focus of industry discussion for quite some time, most large corporations have not yet embedded a framework into their operations that would let them harness its real potential.”
(Shefik Bey ~ UXmatters)
Data is just the raw material for storytelling, understanding and insights. Design is its process to get there.
“Bold claims have been made about applying big data to solve the world’s problems, from health (Fitbit) to saving energy (Nest). Data is all around us, appearing in slick devices and colorful dashboards, yet focusing on the technology can cause us to miss the people who have to use it. Our job as designers is to communicate information. A clean design with big numbers and charts looks good, but how can we make sure people actually understand the data?”
(Stephen Turbek a.k.a. @stephenturbek ~ Boxes and Arrows)
Design as the new normal.
“Design is finally receiving the attention and respect of non-designers. Jeff Veen talks about a different dynamic, one in which design plays a leading role in the development of products and services.”
(Mary Treseler a.k.a. @marytreseler ~ O’Reilly Radar)
Food experience without food is no food experience as well.
“User experience is a method of engineering and design that creates systems to work best for the intended user. In order to design in this way, users must be included in the design process through user research and usability testing. If user research and usability testing are not practiced, then UX is not being practiced.”
Progressing on the design maturity path for all designers: from wicked problems to complex systems.
“For many years, together with a number of design educators, I have been discussing how design can address the complex socio-technological systems that characterize our world. The issues are not new: many people and disciplines have grappled with them for some time. But how can design play a role? Do our educational methods, especially the emphasis upon craft, prepare designers for this? What can design add?”
Allways surprised by new research journal findings.
“The papers included in this special issue cover a wide range of approaches and case studies and discuss different aspects of design for children and older people.”
Wrestling with a major UX challenge through the force of digital product development processes
“(…) how UX can be integrated into the process is the topic of ongoing discussions between UX professionals and with other stakeholders within the organization.”
(Kris Lohmann ~ CoreMedia)
Major tech player enters the world of digital design for the enterprise. Oh wow!
“Whether we design for them or not, our products and services are framed by six universal experiences. Each experience offers opportunities to solve unmet needs and emotionally bond users to products. These are not product states, they are user experiences. When someone is “trying” your product or service, they should be doing the same thing as “using” it. From the technology perspective, there is no difference. But the context – and therefore the connection with the user – is very different.”
To lead the UX tribe, in theory and in practice.
“(…) we’ll discuss the need for great leaders in User Experience, describe some qualities that are characteristic of all great leaders, and consider some unique factors that make a UX leader great. Although UX leaders share many leadership traits with other disciplines – including business, product management, and engineering – leading UX research, strategy, and design requires particular strengths as a leader.”
(Jim Nieters and Pabini Gabriel-Petit ~ UXmatters)
Look in the mirror, not to the other.
“Before you redesign your site, make sure that you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your current design. Garner design ideas and alternatives by studying your competitors. The focus of competitive tests is not to crown a winner, but to gain deeper insight into why design elements work or fail so we can make informed decisions moving forward.”
The message is coming through. Slow, but consistently.
“(…) a clear link between a strategic approach to user experience and financial performance. Revenue growth, margins, valuations and share price performance were all higher for these companies relative to their respective peer group. These companies outperform because they provide consistently outstanding user experiences that help their customers succeed.”
(Gabriel Lowy ~ APM Digest)
Keep remembering, the map is not the territory.
“An experience map is a large visual of the path a consumer takes — from beginning to end — with your product. The goal of this map is to get everyone on your team on the same page about the customer journey — so it is to be shared. In addition, the map must be an easy-to-understand, self-contained unit.”
(Demian Farnworth a.k.a. @demianfarnworth ~ copyblogger) ~ courtesy of @thomasmarzano
Like the formats ‘What UX Design can lean from (…)’ or ‘The difference between UX Design and (…)’.
“User experience is an emergent property of an entire organization, not just one group. When user experience is so closely associated with design, it allows non-designers to feel like user experience isn’t their responsibility. This association also sets up designers to fail, because they are given a charter they cannot deliver on.”
(Peter Merholz a.k.a. @peterme)
How Design can solve the wicked problems of the world.
“DesignX is a new, evidence-based approach for addressing many of the complex and serious problems facing the world today. It adds to and augments today’s design methods, reformulating the role that design can play. Modern design has grown from a focus on products and services to a robust set of methods that is applicable to a wide range of societal issues. When combined with the knowledge and expertise of specialized disciplines, these design methods provide powerful ways to develop practical approaches to large, complex issues. We seek a radical reformation of design practice, education, and research. It is time for a new era of design activism.”
We just have to wait for a Turing test of website designs. Was it a synapse or an algorithm?
“However, if you’re doing the job of a web designer properly, The Grid has no way to compete. No artificial intelligence will ever replace a human designer, because design is largely about emotional intelligence. Good design extends into every facet of a website, and it’s not about computers talking to each other, it’s about human beings communicating.”
(Benjie Moss a.k.a. @BenjieMoss ~ Web Designer Depot)
Articulating the new role and opportunity of designers in the digital and physical world of now and beyond.
Jon Kolko: “The switch to an empathy focus is actually really easy. You need to watch behavior, so that means actually watching people do things. We talk about watching people work, play, and live because sometimes the things they do are actually not that utility driven.”
(Nick Lombardi a.k.a. @NickLombardi482 ~ O’Reilly Radar)
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