Breathtaking Collections of Images - and implications for the future

Get Ready to Throw Your Apps Away

We think of them as "permanent" and that's gotta stop. Mini applications don't have to live longer than any given event and there are lots of great news ways to think about event apps. We are in a creative space now where we apps can be thought of as "experience support systems" - or ESS. Think of using apps to embellish the virtual worlds for your customers.

- Imagine going to a restaurant and using their iphone app to order, read reviews, and get wine recommendations (just for that night).

- Imagine going shopping and downloading the "SALE" of the week app, with special pricing just for you.

- Imagine watching American Idol and voting from your Android with special incentives.

- Imagine going to a ball game and using an app to anticipate the plays and win tickets, and maybe even get your name on the big board in the 9th inning.

Apps don't have to be permanent anymore. We've got to learn how to integrate them into our content strategies, marketing and curation plans. We've got to throw out the ones that don't work and build app strategies that enhance our customer's experiences. I'm ready. Are you?

My New Job Description: Value Designer

We've said the word "Website" too much now ... and it's lost it's meaning. Website Website Website Website I make websites get up a website we need a website website website.

Let's take a fresh look at what we are really doing? When we design and build websites, we open up a very public place where people can visit and make a personal determination of value. Are you offering value for your people? Maybe instead of calling ourselve "website designers" we should call ourselves "value designers". Every once in a while we have to shake up our language so we can see our failure points.

What would a "value designer" do?

Here's my new job description:

WANTED - proactive designer who uses their skills to add value for customers by:

-- rethinking ways to meet customer goals

-- inventing new ways to get customers speedy access to what they want

-- adapting old ideas in new ways to make information more powerful

-- asking questions constantly that challenge "web" ideas we take for granted.

I want to think more clearly about the people we serve on that "website" and I want designers to help me do it. Value Designer. We might just put that on our business cards.

What is a browser?

Next time you design a website, or any other kind of online property, remember what you see here in this video. We live a life of internet specialty. Regular customers are in another place.

What does it take to run a UX Team?

What kind of leadership does it take to have positive impact on business? It's important for me to know because my team designs a $multi-million web property and I have to keep them interested, and engaged. I need their brainpower. I need their talent. There's a lot of revenue that sits squarely on their UX design. The adoption of my product line is in their hands to a large degree.

The fact is that there's a 40% swing in productivity from effective leaders to low-impact bosses.

Here are some of the dimensions that the leadership experts rate:

1. Emotional Intelligence
2. Crisis Handling
3. Change Initiatives
4. Skills to Manage and Inspire
5. Self-Control
6. Social Skills
7. Levels of Empathy
8. Social Awareness
9. Self Awareness
10. Pace setting

Book Review: ‘Stitches’ a groundbreaking memoir in graphic novel format | INDenverTimes.com

Book Review: ‘Stitches’ a groundbreaking memoir in graphic novel format | INDenverTimes.com

I have a belief that with the advent of the iPad, there will be great pressure for all novels to become "graphic novels" and "film like" experiences. One of the best graphic novels ever is "Stitches" by David Small. You can read more about it here.

The iPad will demand skills of a "story architect" - an Information Architect/Film maker hybrid who can unfold a drama using every available interaction the iPad affords. This is a brave new world for designers... and a big opportunity. I'll be writing more about this through the year as I struggle with my own graphic novel, "The Mad Man's Circus".

Your Big Fat Stupid Power Point Makes Me Catatonic

I'm not really as harsh as that title would imply, but geeze folks, "powerpoint" is a language that hypnotizes people. There has been a lot written about "presentation style" and there are experts out there who can really teach you how to present. I am not one of those experts, but I am ranting based on my life as a Creative Director and User Experience Designer. If 99% of Powerpoints are lousy experiences then my design team must operate in the 1%.

Presentations are meant to awaken, challenge, and inform. Powerpoints tend to sedate, obfuscate and confuse. After exposure to nearly millions of them here are a few observations.

Observation #1: There's a lack of clarity of purpose. Clear points are rare. If you missed the memo that said you should have clear goals for a meeting check out the tatoo above. I'm using that tatoo to make a memorable point. Meetings are distribution points where information is shared and actions are planned. Be clear about the information you are sharing in your Powerpoint or your audience will be confused. Tatoo this on yourself.

Observation #2: The audience looks at the screen, but no one looks at the audience. Does anybody stand up in front of a room anymore? Our new, slick meeting rooms force us all around a table and enable us to focus toward a screen. Very few folks stand up with the screen and look back at the audience. Instead, there is a "narration" of slides. By simply standing to the side of the slide projection, you get a chance to "read" the faces of your audience. If you read their faces you have a shot at understanding how they are responding. You have no chance if you watch the wall.

Observation #3: The language on the slides is "corporate speak". I've seen at least 10,000 slides this year that are so copy dense they look like rotating shades of grey up on the screen. Topping off the density issue is the remarkable, obtuse language style used: corporate speak. (Wikipedia can help me here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_speak )

SAMPLE OF "Corporate Speak"

At SampleCo, we have proven we know how to seize iteravely. We will architect the term "enterprise". We think that most visionary web applications use far too much XHTML, and not enough Unix. We will harness the commonly-used term "cross-platform, efficient". What does the term "bleeding-edge, global" really mean? Is it more important for something to be bricks-and-clicks or to be holistic?

Observation #4: Most presenters read the slides as if they were recipes. Now, read that "corporate speak" to me like it was a bedtime story... or a recipe.

Observation #5: 5,000 slides in 30 minutes, or camping on 1 slide too long - Lots of presenters think millions of dense grey slides is a good idea. Lots think that they have one super slide that they must drill into our heads.

Here's my big thought: If you can't engage your co-workers, you can't engage your customers.

Antidote for PowerPoint Sedation:

1. Set up room ahead of time - consider setting the stage with music before folks enter to give them the sense that what is coming is planned and important
2. Set clear goals for the meeting
3. Limit slides to 10
4. Stand in front of your audience and look them in the eye
5. Make your points memorable
6. Never use more than ONE WORD on a slide
7. Speak your "benefits", "rationales", "big ideas"
8. Call on colleagues to enhance the communication
9. Practice the presentation with colleagues to make sure the point gets across
10. Have clear next steps and action items at the end of the meeting