Just another day at the office

You should see what I can do now.  I can scale buildings with no problem at all.  I can jump across from roof top to roof top without a drop of sweat falling on my brow.  I can even hang upside down, pick up a giant hammer and do a crunch back up to the bar, flip down and crush the next villain in front of me.  Not too bad.  And all the time, I’m unlocking more achievement badges as I go from level to level, getting more powers and having a few beers.  You gotta love video games.

Would the games take on a new perspective and incorporate some reality into the video games if it was up to your and your physical prowess to advance in the game?  With the Wii, Xbox Kinect and Playstation the players are the controllers in so many new ways.  You can run, you can punch or wield your sword so that you are becoming slightly immersed in the game.    Let’s face it, it’s a lot more interactive than hitting A, X or B.  Now that you’re the controller, is it possible to now also bring your fitness into check and find out how that can play a role in the game?

For instance, while playing Assassins Creed, it dawned on me as I’m scaling a castle in the snow storm, I was able to continue scaling the entire structure at the same speed.  I never became tired and slowed down.  Now, that last time I was scaling a castle in the real world I started to get a little tired around 100 feet in the air and I had to take a break.  Why can’t video games let you develop and train your characters, just to add a little more reality and build up achievement outside of the game?

Everyone may not want to run and jump in real life

Everyone who plays video games might not be into this idea but I would find it pretty cool to be able to head into the gym with your iPod or Android.  Start your workout and fly through whatever workout you’re doing.  Finish up and plug in your data.   From the phone, you can upload your results to your xBox or any other console.  So if you’ve improved on our pullups, your character can be that much quicker on scaling the castle.  If you increased your deadlift by 20 pounds, you can easily crush the boss on level five in four hits instead of eight hits.  Ran your mile in 7:30, guess what, you can run longer in the game before your character slows down.

The games that could benefit from this reality are numerous.  MMA games, wrestling, all of the EA Sports family of games. WII Fit and other games are incorporating fitness into the console.  Maybe it’s time to start pushing this into the other games and bring on another level of immersion.

Without bragging, our team is not one to shy away from getting work done by any means possible.  So it kind of drives me crazy to not get work done by hand and instead wait for either a system upgrade or some coding to get done so the work can be done automatically.  Disclaimer: I’m also not ignorant to the fact that you can’t do everything by hand.

However, for an initial pass or to get someone to a point that they can get their work done, I have no problem putting in some extra effort and doing something the hard way to help the cause out.  The project that got me thinking was simple but exemplifies my concerns with work styles and speed in companies.  We were asked to put together a metrics report on traffic for one of our sites.  No big deal.  Good ‘ol Webtrends is capturing quite a bit of data and it’s all there.  The problem is that the current exported report is just not telling a clear story to stakeholders.  It’s a mountain of data that causes more trouble than good and it’s not getting the point across.

Our analyst asked if we could create a custom report that was straight to the point and easily digestible.  To me, this sounds like a reasonable request.  This report should generate some ideas, insights and provide enough data to make informed decisions for the next quarter.  And here’s where it turned into a question of a shovel or a backhoe.  To develop an automatic report was going to take a lot of time; effort is not a factor when it comes to a backhoe, it’s time.  So our option to use the backhoe was to sit and wait. I don’t know how long it was going to officially take, that’s another story – stick to your dates,  but based on past backhoe requests it  would be a long time and many quarters would have passed.  No other options were given; we were going to have to wait.

So why wait?  I offered to pick up my shovel and just dig through the data by hand for this first report and get it out the door in a couple of days.  Next quarter, we might have our automatic version ready to go, in fact based on our new template.  If the automatic version isn’t ready to go, well, we pick the shovel up and dig again.  This was met with enthusiasm and more importantly a sense of gratitude.  By putting in more effort, our team was going to meet the stakeholder needs and deliver something that helped the business.  One of the reason’s why I enjoy working in UX is that as a discipline I see that projects and ideas don’t just stop when obstacles are present.  Instead, as a practice we find a way to plow through difficult interactions, difficult strategies or designs by any means as possible and help our colleagues out.  I’d like to see others stop relying on excuses of not getting work done and instead start to tackle work head on and make some progress.  I know project leads and managers can get leery of double work but I don’t think the price of some extra work is more expensive than not working and losing credibility.

Or how about this one.  “We don’t know how often that information is accessed?”  But that same person or group is going to develop new content without knowing what is resonating and what is just not worth keeping.  Why is this allowed to occur and how can you prevent mistakes being made or at the least slow down the rush to developing a  misguided product? 

If you’re in the UX trenches at a place where it’s hard to gain traction, you might have an uphill battle on your hands.  If your going toe to toe to get your studies approved or just get cooperation, my advice is hang in there, change plans accordingly and just get whatever you can done.  You need to stick to your goals and get something in front of people because, as I’m realizing lately, your colleagues might just be guessing at what should be done next.  Guessing too strong of a word?  Pay attention in your meetings and digest where the direction of projects are coming from.  Some people will have concrete ideas based on data, others, not so much.   

So whatever you can bring to the table for others to learn more about their own products and their own users probably is more than they have ever known before.  Sure, your data analytics person is running and emailing reports but I don’t think that’s enough.   A survey may go out here and there with the data consolidated into a report.  How far-reaching are those reports, are they getting passed around and what is the story behind those numbers?  Does your company have enough knowledge sharing built into the process that those reports are easily shared or is someone holding the keys to data?    And that’s only one small example, think about what else isn’t being shared or what isn’t really being thought out.

Here’s the thing we need to realize,  UX has the ability to tie the whole story of what is taking place on sites together and view the whole picture from start to finish.   It seems like this shouldn’t have to be considered but I really feel like I need to remind myself that once in awhile.  Other teams and colleagues are not looking at the big picture and when they are, many times in my instance, it is centered around how they can smooth out any problems they have with their job.   Again, pay attention to the answers and solutions people present in meetings.  Consider what they are saying and what are they actually solving?  Does it help a customer?  Or does it make an internal process a little easier but maybe a little more difficult for the customer?

In my situation right now, I’m staring up at giant silos where very little communication takes place across teams, within these teams people aren’t keeping each other in the loop and product goals are not shared and even known in some instances.  To add a little more trouble, within these silos there isn’t a strong set of knowledge as to what is taking place on sites, what can be accomplished from a design perspective, what the long-term goals might be and furthermore, what do our customers needs from us. 

And I love all of these issues from a selfish perspective.  Our team has a chance to make a difference and help these teams see what is going on from a variety of lenses.  We can dig deep into the interaction or design to help identify pain points with little effort.  We have the ability to analyze usage patterns, which thankfully are being captured, and find trends that are either positive or negative circumstances.  We also have the ability to get to our users and learn about their needs and where we need to step up and make a difference.  For the time being, we are charting our own paths and developing studies to feed into meetings and projects.  In some cases, we’ve been asked to deliver.  In others, we see a need and we’re going to  fill it.  There might not be a receptive audience but I feel it’s important for people in UX roles to address issues when they exist and not just hide behind a process or silo.

If you can get your hands on any amount of concrete data or statements;  underground, grassroots, overtime or in any capacity, find a way to get facts.  Than you are ready to go back into those meetings with knowledge to share.   And when someone brings up the fact that “I wouldn’t use that feature” you can counter with “I understand you might not use that feature, however I ran several tests and it turns out our users would like this feature and in fact would like to see it enhanced as soon as possible.”  You might have to stay under the radar and get some guerilla tests going.  You might have to pour through some usage reports on the side.  But in the end, you’ll start to gain some credibility and also have a positive change on your products for others to recognize.  Over time you might not have to beg to get some UX work done, in fact you might have to tell people no.

Sometimes you have to let go

I don’t see why we don’t pile in Green Lantern, SuperMan, Batman, throw in a Pegasus and hit the road in a Weeble Wobble Camper.  Let me rephrase that.  I don’t see why we are not taking our materials, content, sites, issues and just ripping them apart into components and approaching them from another angle when we have a problem or need to update materials.  Or why are we only working through issues in a prescribed manner that everyone has touted as the right way to do the job?

If you’re site is just stuck in the ruts and you know you have great content but it’s just not catching hold, what’s the problem?  This might be a case to throw in a Lalaloopsy into the mix!  Totally change up the approach to solving the problem; change the layout, repackage or update the materials?  Maybe.  But whatever you choose, do it completely different than any way you might have done in the past. Will it work, I don’t know.   Your stakeholders, boss or clients may look at you strange or even a little concerned to go off the beaten path, especially if you walk in with a  Lalaloopsy doll that you drop on the table and proclaim ” I think Sugar Crumb Cookie can help us out today!”  But I think if your set ways have been leaving you high and dry, it can’t hurt to mix and match approaches or tear apart your tactics and head out from a different perspective.

I didn’t mean for that to be used that way

Like I said, I don’t think Fischer Price designers thought “We need to make sure that Batman will fit in the swing in the back of the Weeble Wobble Camper.  Get Jenkins on the line, we need those measurements, now!”  But he fits pretty nicely, the one in the back, not his brother on the floor. I think UX should facilitate the knowledge that content and products can take on different forms and uses, kind of like the Wonder Twins.  This might be post release of a product or site.  It might be during the research phase of a new release.  Whenver possible, it’s important to acknowledge and think about how your materials may be used from another person’s perspective.  Maybe you have a site devoted to nutritional habits.  You might be targeting nutritionists, trainers or even doctors that can use your content as materials for their clients.  However, maybe there’s an entrepreneur making a new all in one breakfast bar and wants to know what top 10 fruits and vegetables to include, she might use your site for basic research.  Or maybe her competition thinks deep fried fruits are all the rage and uses your materials as the core benefits of their deep fried watermelon treats.  Different audience than maybe you intended.

I think it’s worth understanding that you’re material might have a totally different life when it’s out in the general public.  So maybe once in a while it might be worth brainstorming how else your content can be utilized out of it’s intended context, it could lead to some new ideas or products.

Keep in mind,  this is not a request for PMP certification for someone who is primarily peforming UX work.  However, I have been working on projects where there’s been a lack of effective project management, sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it creates havoc on a project. Based on my past experience, I have been able to blend the two disciplines together to keep a project moving forward while other teams and individuals are having issues either meeting deadlines or just getting work done at all.  UX wasn’t the beacon of light to guide everyone but we were able to press on and bring people up to speed with us rather than act the part of the anchor.  So here’s a few tips that might help you in a project that’s starting to collapse.

Project Dependencies

You have to know where your project sits in the big picture and what other dependincies are either impacted by your project or are going to knock your project off track.  I’m a sucker for Gannt charts.  I like to have a higher view of all tasks that are involved in a project and look for potential roadblocks.   For my projects, I typically build out at a high level my tasks, their dependencies and milestones within my teams responsibilities.  Rarely do I break these down to the hour but instead stick with days as my duration.   If possible, I also try to  include other teams tasks to ensure we’re on track with the overall project.

If you don’t want to go the Gannt chart route, you can use Excel, PowerPoint or even a well organized piece of paper.  Either way, it’s important to see how steps of the project are interlocked and working together.   The point is you need to know your place in the chain and your inputs and outputs.

From a selfish perspective, you don’t want the UX portion of the project to be the bottleneck, especially if you know you can make a big impact and provide insight with the type of work you’re doing.  If you’re ahead of the curve in relation to project deadlines and insights, you or your team might be more influential when it comes to harder selling points.  This is a big plus for UX teams and a tremendous way to build credibility.  Also, if you understand project dependencies you have the ability to see where you can help others.  Projects are more rewarding when teams work well together.  If you or someone on your team have skills and the time to help out a designers, developers or business analysts it’s one more way to help move a project along on time.

Manage your resources as accurately as possible

To manage your timelines effectively, it’s important to understand that resources are critical, we all know it.   You’ve probably experienced the agony of not having the right amount of people on a project.  To finish the job you had to dig deep and just complete the work on extra hours and little sleep.  It’s thrilling and satisfying to do that once in awhile, yet you can’t sustain that type of activity over a long course of time.

I’ve worked with colleagues who are not aware how much work one person can do or even four people can do on a UX project.  This is where you need to step in to help with your knowledge of UX. Make sure that you truly know how much work it’s going to take to complete a usability study, a card sort or a set of wireframes.  Many times, ballpark figures are perfectly fine, especially if you’re internal.  If you’re at an agency or freelance, tighten the hours down some more.

The goal here is that you  want to let others know about how much of your time and people  you need to devote to a project or if it’s going to take more to get the job done.  On any project, you don’t get a hero badge for slogging through countless hours because resources were off track.  In fact, you’re doing yourself  more harm than good.  On the next go around your  project manager, clients or stakeholders might expect you to to work under the same conditions as the last project.

Provide guidance and warnings

Tell the truth and don’t hedge your bets.  If you know your deadlines, your dependencies and you know what harmful issues are brewing in the project or your tasks, you have the right criteria to forecast when something is going wrong with your project or if it’s smooth sailing ahead.  If you see issues and think your deadline is in jeopardy, make sure you communicate this important fact with the team.

It’s the same argument as managing your resources.  Calling attention to an issue ahead of time is more valuable to the project than trying to make a work around or develop a poorly executed “plan b”.  Disclaimer: if you can, however, be quick on your feet and develop a solid plan b that still gets the job done; by all means do it.  I think UX professionals have an extra sense and skill-set to react quickly and improvise.  But please, if there are no options, call it and work with the larger team to address the issue.

These tips sound basic and they are in fact really basic project management skills.  If you’re working with a good project manager and they are on top of all of the teams, you’re probably in great shape. But if you’re on your own or struggling with other teams that aren’t doing a good job of managing their work, these might help you through the rough spots.

Target is a weekly destination for our family and we always drop a nice chunk of change at the door.  One of the things the boys, and I admit myself, love to do is play the Wii and Playstation 3 demos.  Nintendo upped the game, no pun intended, with a cool touch screen that lets you browse DS releases.  I recorded myself using the touch screen, granted in a horizontal angle.  It was cool to use it and I wonder if more stores and products can use this type of feature.

A couple notes on the interaction

First of all, for little kids, some of the features are completely out of range.  My six year old could not reach the top level games and navigation.  He may not be the main target for this application but kids are convincing and if they can show a parent something cool, well your almost there to a sale.

Second, the buttons and drop downs were very “touchy” and had to be hit in the exact spot.  Several times I wanted to advance a page and I kept clicking a button edge instead of the actual number.  End of the world, well no, but someone may give up and not stumble on a potential game that they would purchase.

Where else can we use a giant touch screen?

Kicking around a few ideas, it becomes apparent that this could be fun to see in other situations.  Some of these ideas are probably already floating around, either in a digital format or even a book or flyer.  Hell, touchscreens are used to order food in Sheetz gas stations so this isn’t revolutionary.  And yes, I admit to ordering gas station food.  Anyway, throw in a little digital magic, some insight to consumer needs and we might have a new way of sharing information and ideas for products that were not so obvious to customers before.

One observation I noticed as I was sketching out some of these ideas is that this concept works well with products that you can’t see every detail or pull off of a shelf.  For instance, I’ve listed the book store concept and I don’t think this is as strong as the hardware or grocery store idea.  It’s pretty easy to walk over and grab a book off the shelf and flip through it to see if it’s worth buying. But getting directions on how to build a fence to keep your annoying neighbors at bay, a totally different goal.   That aside, here are a few ideas and a couple rough sketches for a giant touch screen.

Home improvement store a.k.a Hardware store

It would be a nice touch to walk up to say the gardening aisle and be presented with a list of projects that could be filtered on different criteria to fill your already busy weekend with more projects.

Let’s say you want to add a flower garden in your backyard.  Rather than just run through the gardening section guessing what flowers might look good or work in your climate you could instead pull up different photos that list the types of flowers available and where they’re located in the store.  Or better yet, pull up a full guide on installing a flower garden including the tools you need.

Adding a couple electric outlets to your kitchen.  Call an electrician if you don’t know what you’re doing.  Still crazy enough to do it?  Fine, pull up a few step by step guides and the listing of tools and supplies you need.  Ignore the electrician behind you, he just wanted to get your money anyway.

Book store

So simple but could be a blast.  Kids could pull up the latest titles and see what’s selling well, what’s popular with others.   If they like a few books, see where they’re at on the shelf and go grab it and browse through it even more.  As mentioned above, probably not overly innovative, but with a few twists it could make for an interesting way to learn about new books and authors.

Grocery store

Yes, plenty of choices to get recipes online.  But I still would like to see a full listing of recipes in a store that also carries all of the ingredients.  Also, why not provide the usual listing of recipes.  For families on the run that still want to cook meals in their home, list them out.  Vegetarian?  No problem, full line of recipes available.  Also, why not build in the ability to send it to your phone via text or even scanning the recipe barcode right from the screen.  All ingredients and directions at your finger tips.  This could be a new way to get some new ideas for recipes on the fly in a store or even another way to expand people’s pallets.

Again, these are just a few ideas based on a pretty cool experience at a normal Target run.  So over time I’d like to see where we’ll see more displays and information via touch screens in everyday settings that go beyond your typical electronics or video game display.

All of those scenarios are possibilities.  But while recently reading a passage from Emotionally Durable Design: Objects, Experiences and Empathy, it started to sink in that manufacturers and consumers might need to start addressing how many versions of phones, mp3 players, gaming consoles, cars, appliances and more that we need over a lifetime.

“Landfills around the globe swell with fully functional appliances – freezers that still freeze and toasters that still toast – their only crime being a failure to sustain empathy with their users.”

Unfortunatlely, everyone isn’t going to find a new use for an old piece of hardware or appliance.  By volume and population alone, think of how many items are thrown out?  Compound that with our appetite, myself included,  that when something is groundbreaking or extremely interesting you can’t keep the masses held back for too long.

After reading that sentence, it feels a bit akward to run out and grab a new device of any kind.  So what is the answer?  Where can we improve this situation.  Here are several questions that we should begin to address.  These are probably difficult to answer but could be worth exploring .  It will be interesting over the next few years to see how pressing this issue becomes and if there are innovative answers that come forward.

1. Is it possible to update shell’s and/or cases for phones?   Maybe even appliances?   Can we go beyond a software update for phones and develop an interchangeable body for larger physical changes?  For instance, with the new iPhone and the front facing camera, could there be a way to accommodate such a radical change with an older phone?  Financially and economically tough but there’s probably a solution out there.
2. Can we provide an incentive to not dump things just because it’s not the latest version?  Maybe financially. Or just make it beyond convenient to dispose of electronics that cuts the landfill out of the loop.
3. Is it possible to reinvent something rather than just put it to the curb?  Your guess is as good as mine.  However, used frying and vegetable oil has the capability to power vehicles.  What could the guts of a refrigerator be used for?

The Art of Game Design by Jesse Schell
This has been a tremendous read. Schell owns a video game company in Pittsburgh and is a professor at Carnegie Mellon . Beyond those two accomplisments, he has incredible enthusiasm in his book and lectures. The book introduces the idea of design lenses that developers and designers should use when creating their video games. Needless to say this could be applied to UX and other work.

If you have some time, check out Schell’s presentation on games at the DICE conference. I literally stumbled across this on Twitter, value everyday, and was impressed with his candor and thought process around the psychology of games. Again, maybe not a direct line to UX and our work but it definitely is flowing the same way.

A fine line : how design strategies are shaping the future of business by Hartmut Esslinger
Design thinking is floating all around us and some people are into it and others just don’t buy it. Either way, Esslinger is the founder of frog design and has a pretty strong track record. When you can be embedded in Apple and consult for Steve Jobs, well, you’re no slouch . That said, he has a very strong and positive view of how design can solve problems. The most important thing I read in this book is that he addresses design problems from a possible solution and doesn’t get bogged down in the process right away.

Sketchbook: Conceptual Drawings from the World’s Most Influential Designers by Tony O’Donnel
Pure inspiration. Page after page of different designers sketches. There are words in this book somewhere, but I was enamored with the sketching and didn’t bother to read what they had to say about their process. See process idea above.

Sketchbook

I’m watching the Angels/Twins game on ESPN Monday evening and Joe Mauer is up to bat.   In typical sports television fashion, his stats for last year are flashed on the screen, below the video feed.  And I’m annoyed to see this.

Cut to a commercial break anywhere in the United States.  This weekend the iPad came out to the usual Apple and media fanfare.  It looks great and has so much potential.  And I’m annoyed to see this.

Here’s why I am annoyed.  It is 2010 and I want a little more from my “digital” cable.  Why the hell can I not point my remote, let’s even say a Wii-like remote if were going to get bold here, and click on Joe Mauer and see his stats load in the left hand of the screen?  (Another disclaimer, we are one of the last families in the world without a flat panel television.)  With those stats, I can interact and see his up and downs last year, perhaps commericals that he’s starred in or better yet the products he plugs.  And I can buy them!  I can buy MLB endorsed and licensed products from my television  Being a baseball fan and on top of that an Indians fan, I can help support the team from my home.  Do you hear that Larry Dolan?  I can give you some money so you don’t have to let two, yes two, Cy Young winners go back to back to other teams for some kids who may or may not even be on the major roster later this summer!

So why am I annoyed about the iPad?  Well, I’m not really mad about the device but more about the fact that there are large segments touting it as a game changer.  I think it is for newspapers and magazines a game changer.  In fact, they should be sending Mr. Jobs a few gift baskets in appreciation of him throwing them a lifeline.  And I think it’s a smart device.  However, that device is for a small segment of the world’s population at this time.  It may become entrenched in the market at some point but it will take time.  Television, on the other hand, is ubiquitous, especially in the United States and other developed countries.  It is in millions upon millions of homes who are also pulling their feed from a digital channel.  This could be a big game changer in my opinion.  To take a medium that was simply a consumption medium and give the user population the ability to interact with it on a new level would be a massive disruption.  That is powerful and so doable that I’m annoyed I don’t have it now.

Here are a couple more ideas for this concept.  If you’ve got some more, well,  add them to the comments.

American Idol – I don’t watch it and don’t care about iu, but for those that do, if you heard a song that you like and want to download it, well click on the “button” next to the soon-to-be star and it’s yours.  But wait, “it’s not up to snuff, I heard it live just 3o seconds ago.”  Ok smarty pants, give me 10 minutes to clean it up.  Ok, it’s on your DVR and email.  Next!

Movies – this came from the ever intelligent @hartless(Brian Hart).  Executive: “So cheap budget movie, how are we going to make money?” IT/Director: “Well, we can use product placement and let users click on various items in the movie and order them from “said” warehouse and supplier.”  Back to exec: ” So? What do we get out of that?”  IT: ” Oh, we structured a contract to take .02 of the cut.  In other words, we financed a chunk of this horrible vampire-zombie love story.”  Exec: “Well…. I love it!”

Cooking channel – “Bamm! Buy my ingredients and spice mixture that I’ve combined and said it’s my own and that  I use on this show every day.”  Get it?  Good.

Sports/betting – oh no, controversy.  Well, guess what, people bet on sports.  A lot.  So here we go.  Announcer: “Basketball star is up to the line.   He’s a 33% free throw shooter. ”    Gambler:  ”Not today.  80% , he’ll make it. $5″ and click bet.   Announcer: “It’s in!  Looks like he’s on a roll.”  Good?  Bad?  I don’t know, but either way it puts you in the game.  Betting = bad.  Ok, how about this?

Announcer, “Basketball star is up to the line.   He’s a 33% free throw shooter. ”    Social network annoying person “Not today.  80% , he’ll make it. Do you hear my @friendofannoyingsocialnetworkperson?”  @friendofannoyingsocialnetworkperson “Whatever, he won’t make it.”  Announcer: “It’s in!  Looks like he’s on a roll.”  Social network annoying person “Face!”

C-Span – Ever watch Washington Journal on a Sunday morning?  I have.  I don’t want to call in on the Republican, Democratic or Independent line.  Let’s chat right there, right now!

These are but a few minor examples.  Again, probably others are on their way and talking and planning.  But it’s 2010 and all my remote can do is suck down a previously recorded movie or purchase one.  Pick it up!

Sketchbook

Stacey and I took some photographs this morning of my sketchbook.  The results were very impressive and look incredible.  But as we were taking the pictures it was cracking me up when I realized how our “studio” was set up.   In the end, we got images like the one on the right in the matter of minutes.  Nice quality shots.

Our studio was an ironing board, a chair, an old black sweater and the sunlight shown below.  Pretty simple but effective.  However, we did get a little fancy when we realized we could lower the ironing board to the right height to capture the sunlight better and get a better focus.  Progress already.

So What?

The more I do UX work (even life in general) the more I realize that the thoughts and outcome outweigh the tools and sometimes even the process.   A recent post on the IXDA discussion boards echoes this theory.  Most job postings ask for every methodology and tool under the sun for a position that won’t use all of them.  Why are they asking for these skills?  Is it to get the most qualified person and canvas as many people as possible?  Or is it a lack of understanding what people actually do to create products?

So when it comes to UX work, we should not be worried if the mockups were done in Omnigraffle or paper.  It’s the content that matters, the story and the application that will be developed from these sketches.

Our "studio"

Think of it this way, when you order a dinner do you walk back into the kitchen and inspect the pans that are used to sear your tuna, the right forks are being used, what knives were used to slice and dice vegetables.  No, you don’t.  But you’re concerned if the food tastes good(and depending where you eat, sanitary, but that’s another story.)

While a slight oversimplification, it is still a point of view that needs to be reinforced.   Yes, there are other factors when doing this work but I don’t want to see this field and the people who hire UX practitioners get stuck in the weeds on this topic.   Tell me what we’re aiming to do with a site, who it’s made for and UX can fill in the details and inform decisions from there.