Strategy Blog: Post

Kevin Vigneault - Project Manager :

When we design user interfaces, we go through a process of whiteboarding and wireframing before we design a full, visual composition. Essentially, we sketch out our work just like a painter or cartoonist or any other artist would. We get the basic ideas down on paper and then refine over and over again. With interface design though, it’s hard to clearly see the process in action because it happens over weeks or months. That’s why I thought it was really cool to watch these videos from Pete Emslie sketching out a cartoon in real-time. I took away a few important lessons from watching this that I’ll be applying to my own UI planning process.

Lesson #1: Sketch the outlines first in the lowest possible fidelity. Getting started is always the hardest part (at least it is for me). So right away, create a really high-level flow for the site. Group together a handful of sections or sub-flows (try not to have specific pages). This allows you to get going really quickly and ensures you’re thinking first about how the whole application will come together - not specific features.

Lesson #2: Refine the important stuff next, save the unimportant stuff for last. As soon as the outline was done, Pete moved right into refining the facial features. These are the most important part of his sketch - they’re the first thing someone will look at. If her eyes are messed up, people will notice. If her pinky is crooked, it’s not a huge deal. That’s just like your website. If your core features are great, people won’t care if your About Us page isn’t complete (or even if you have one).

Lesson #3: Never stop moving the pencil. Each time Pete goes back to his paper to refine the drawing, he makes only a slight refinement. He doesn’t try to jump straight from a rough outline to a really detailed, full-color drawing. If you find yourself stuck when designing your interface, it’s probably because you’re trying to get too detailed, too quickly. Take a step back and think higher-level. Abstract a page if you need to - you can come back later to refine it .

Lesson #4: It’s easier to erase thin, light lines than it is dark, heavy ones. Pete only commits to darker lines after he’s confident that all of his sketch lines are ok. The relation to web design here is obvious. Changing something on a wireframe is easy. Changing something in your code - hard.

Stephanie Hay - Project Manager :

When you’re a smaller company competing with a larger, more established (read: name-brand recognition) one, you have to find new ways to separate yourself from the ingrained competition.  We’ve talked about this often around the lab, particularly in association with brand personality discussions around everything from MINI to Southwest to Coke. 

So Peerless Faucets, as Tom learned, is taking that notion of brand personality and applying it whole-heartedly.  When he chose the Peerless faucet over other brands like Kohler or Moen, for example, he was at first concerned.  However, as he dug into Peerless’ rather personal and hilarious installation instructions, he converted from a skeptic to a fan in a matter of moments. 

It’s not everyday that the user experience of installing a faucet, which is normally led by hard-to-read graphics and poorly labeled directions, is so enjoyable. The instructional content isn’t just funny, but it’s also MUCH easier to follow thanks to their brevity and detail.

Peerless established itself to Tom—and probably lots of other people—as an approachable company that understands you’re a person trying to do something you don’t do everyday. They understand a little humor is the perfect remedy to what otherwise can be a frustrating process, and made their mark by jumping outside of the box to communicate installation in a personable way.

Brian Wynne Williams - CEO & Co-Founder :

This past weekend, I was in Home Depot looking for a somewhat uncommon electronics device. I figured it was a long-shot that they'd have it, but it was worth asking the young guy with the orange apron who happened to wander by aimlessly. Once he understood what I was asking for, he looked both ways (slyly), leaned closer to me, and whispered:

You should go to RadioShack."

I squinted and nodded knowingly -- as if I'd just been given an insider tip -- and thanked him.

But why the whisper?

If you don't have a product that I'm looking for, why would your co-workers or employer be upset with you for sending a loyal customer (I was in that dang Home Depot three separate times this weekend) to a semi-(at best)-competitor who might have exactly what I'm looking for?  You might be missing out on a couple of bucks (assuming I bought the not-quite-what-I-want alternative) but you're solidifying your position as the first place to go for knowledgeable advice and information.  You're sacrificing (just barely) short-term gains in exchange for strengthening the long-term relationship of trust with the customer.  Shouldn't that be behavior be rewarded, not frowned upon?

Maybe it is rewarded and this young guy just slept through that part of training.

Emily Bloom - Regional Director :

Andy Rutledge describes “the client factors” that designers should consider when calculating project price estimates. I’m not a designer, and I don’t do a lot of estimates; but, I loved his post.

He confesses that the pat answer of “I need more information” before estimating costs, while usually true, is sometimes another way of saying, “What I really need is to spend more time talking with this person, getting to know her; her communication skills, her attitude, and her personality.” Getting to know the person is at the core of making a realistic price estimate.

He goes on to describe the “ideal client” and how to estimate the cost of working with someone who lacks these traits. His list of an ideal client’s characteristics jumped out at me because the constellation of traits seems ideal not just for a client, but for a coworker, boss, or job applicant. (Heck, maybe even a spouse? Just a thought.)

I had three immediate questions: What’s the essence of these “ideal” personality traits? Am I like this? (I want to be ideal; who doesn’t?) Ok, so maybe I’m not; but, what should I do?

Continue reading "Effective Teams: Ideal Traits for Creative Partners"

Brian Wynne Williams - CEO & Co-Founder :

I recently enjoyed a Scott McNealy speech in which he discussed the benefits of open source software. One topic was security, and he explained his view that open source software is inherently more secure because so many people have seen the code that there are no "secret" vulnerabilities to exploit. Lots and lots of people have "kicked the tires" along the way.

This reminded me of one of the reasons we launched 4 new blogs recently. A goal was to better connect and share with our communities of peers. By taking what had been internal discussions and putting them out on our blogs -- in some case continuing the "discussion" part via the comments ourselves -- we involved lots of other people to kick around our ideas and help make them better. We fully expect our peers to smack us around when we're off base. In some cases, we're just sharing something we've learned. In others, we might come right out and ask a question. In all cases, when the community does take the time to engage in the discussion, we feel like everyone comes out ahead.

It doesn't have to be a blog. I encourage anyone to take their ideas out of their own company (without violating any confidentiality agreements, of course), and share them. One of three things will happen:

1. If your ideas are solid, you'll earn praise and goodwill for contributing them to the community.
2. If they're shaky, you'll collect valuable feedback to improve them.
3. If they're downright shoddy, you'll figure that out sooner than you would have otherwise, which is still a good thing.

If you share often enough, you'll probably have all three experiences, and you (and your company) will be better off for it.