SXSW – Day two

March 14, 2010 at 5:17 pm

Pain Free Design Sign Off.

This talk was delivered by Paul Boag. The talk encompassed how the design process and in particular getting design ‘signed off’ can be pain free for both the client and agency.

Paul discussed that the designers main problem was this… ‘You believe you do everything right.’ Because of this, ‘the ‘big reveal’ when a final design is first shown is often disappointing for the client who, invariably, had a load of thoughts in their head that you knew nothing about.

Paul made the case that the problem lay with designers and that ultimately -we are all too defensive.

We limit the number of revisions in contracts. We don’t produce multiple design. We only produce design when it’s finished. We control and discourage clients sharing with their colleagues. Result = the client feels like we think they’re an idiot!

The skills to solve the problem: we already have them.

We often get in to the heads of the ‘user’ but not of the client (who is in the first instance our ‘user’ even though the site may not be intended for their use).

So, what do clients want:

•To understand the process. What’s going to happen.
• Reassurance about decisions.
• To feel in control.
• To be confident in the end result.
• To personally like the site. (this is important as the site won’t be kept up to date etc if the client doesn’t like the site)

But How?? Through collaboration not confrontation. Paul then offered his ’6 principles of collaboration’.

• Ensure that the client understands their role in the project. This helps them understand the process, and helps them to feel in control. A clients job is to find problems, a designers job is to find solutions. Often clients offer solutions ‘make the logo bigger’ etc… what the designer really needs to know is ‘what the problem is’. If we ask ‘why’ when a client want’s a change made, we’re in a better place to recommend solutions.

• Have a strong methodology. This reassures clients of the process and ultimately the end result.

• Include the client often and early. This helps ensure that a client is engaged with the project and ultimately that they have helped to shape the outcome.

• Educate the client about the decisions being made. This gives the client ammunition to help explain your design to their colleagues. This is fundamental and allows them to take ownership over the decisions that have been taken when you’re not in the room to explain them.

• Ask for specific types of feedback from the client. Don’t ask clients ‘what they think’, ask them ‘what they think their users will think’. This allows them to understand who we’re designing for. ‘I don’t like the green’ becomes ‘will my clients like this green’. We should trust clients to know their users and business objectives, therefore this is comfortable territory and will further illustrate their part in the methodology.

• Avoid saying no. Allow the client to make the decision to say no by educating them on the consequences of decisions.

How does this look on a live project?

• Kick off meeting: This is where a clients enthusiasm for a client should be harnessed. It’s important to get everyone who will be making decisions excited about the design stages – if the CEO will have ultimate sign off, get them in the room.

In this meeting it’s also key to outline the roles of everyone on the project – that the process is collaborative, and that the success of the design is equally a shared responsibility. Designers should be asking provoking questions so the client can get their head in to the right place early on.

• Inspiration: Asking clients ‘what sites they like’ won’t work. Instead we should send across some links that we like, that we think they will like. This way we lead the area we should be leading.

• Moodboards: Spend an hour or so creating a mood board. This allows the time to discuss many design elements before the design has started. We can explain the styles, typography, colours and ask direct questions related to design content in a shorter amount of time. This can help educate why a solution will be suitable and help the client understand wether or not their own personal opinion is different to those of their users.

• Wireframes: This allows the agency to separate content from design. This is key as it allows the time to discuss the content outside of the content in context. Often a client will see a design and start talking about content. If a wireframe has been completed, the content will be agreed prior to the design phase.

• Design mockup: If all the above has been completed, this won’t come as a surprise to the client. Ideally the designs should be presented face to face and the earlier design stages should be referred to in rationalising why you have taken certain decisions on the design.

• Design testing: This allows real users to respond to the design and informs both the designer and client who have been close to the project. This gives a key signpost to wether the user will take the correct points away from the site at first glance as well as determining at a more content driven level, if they will keep coming back.

All in all I think this is sound advice for agencies. It was good to hear points which are fairly self evident if you think on them, presented in a clear and concise way. It also helps us (as agencies) attribute a value to what, at first glance, can seem an extensive initial design process to a client (particularly for those who’ve dealt with freelancers or agencies offering a site for a few hundred pounds). Good design is communicative, and if time isn’t spent ensuring the brief is communicated early on, I believe the success will be limited.

iPad: New Opportunities for Content Creators

This next talk was a much shorter format. Speakers from different industries were asked to give short 5 minute presentations on how (if at all) the iPad will change they way they deliver content. The notes are bulletted so hopefully will make sense!

• 75+ million iphone units sold to date, and counting.

• Is there room for a third category of device in the middle? Unlike the launch of the iPhone where there was an existing smart phone market and the MacBook where there were existing latops, the iPad is creating a new market. Short answer – yes.

• ChangeWave data suggests that the pre-launch demand for the iPad exceeds by 3% that of the original iPhone. Significantly for the eReader market shows a 40% occupancy for iPad already. Just on the Apple Store the Valcent Financial Group shows pre-orders yesterday at 51,000 in two hours. 90,000 in six hours.

• Bill Jensen – Village Voice. They own 14 newspapers with 1.3 million papers on the street per week.

How can periodicals thrive?

• Print is hurting. Some organisations are making a transition to digital.
• Digital growth of 70% year over year for the past 3 years.
• Weeklies can thrive as 90% of business is local.

Mobile – Periodicals are there, but iPad is a different ball game.

• People don’t want to read a 6000 word story on an iPhone app.
• The focus has been on ‘non reading’ short content – the iPad should get people back to reading.
• The iPad delivers a focus on DESIGN and READING. Tablets solve the design issues -reading on mobile is too small, reading on the web isn’t pleasurable. The ads and design on iPad will look better – therefore ads will become more valuable.

Shervin Pishever - Social Gaming Network.

• 76% games top grossing apps in the app store
• App market project by 2013 is $30 billion
• Projects are 20 million iPad units in 2013.

• The iPhone has allowed developers to produce good looking, multi-player games over 3G. The iPad will push the boundaries further for gaming.

• Screen real estate. more going on, better game flow.
• Processing power, immersive experience. The chip is incredibly fast, even compared with the iPhone.
• Convenient size, easier handling.

This means… new usage occassions, boosting the creative frontier, boosting engagement. The users for the iPad will be appealing to a certain type of user who typical spend high online.

Jason Grigsby - cloudfour.com

Opportunities for web developer.

• We’re spoiled with the iPad- standards based browser. It’s familiar in terms of aspect ratio 1024 x 768. The broswer is faster and more capable – great JS engine, and people will likely be using on wi-fi. it’s almost the perfect browser.

• Native vs web vs hybrid. Native apps on the iPhone are less important on iPad. The web based applications are more important.

• People can type on it (and easily!) – it’s about creating not just consuming. Think iWork etc.

• Content with well defined form – layout wise it’s designed for reading. It fits traditional book grids and unlike other e-book readers it isnt ‘formless’. Vertical scrolling is a remnant of non-touch computers – expect this to fade away. .

Katherine Tasheff - Hyperion.

The publishing industry – what do we do now?!

For the past 500 years the physical book has been the business model. It’s unsurprising that the industry hasn’t evolved – historically it’s been robust with no reason to evolve. That’s changed.

In the past 3 years the iPhone and Kindle have changed the rules (a little) iPad will change it (a lot),

Video can now be integrated in to books. The market will generate $1 billion in the first year. The iPad mimics the book experience like nothing else – book sales have declined 5% since the ereaders came out.

The oppertunites for publishers are apps and the book store. Currently books underperform on the app store, even though they outweigh games in terms of numbers. People aren’t willing to pay if it’s not a better experience. The iPad experience will be better – it creates the gap in the industry that publishers have been waiting for.