Posted by admin on Jan 28, 2010 in
design,
event 
Dr. Robert Epstein's Ideation by 'Shifting'
If you are headed to the IxDA conference next week, come on down to my workshop on team play. We will be playing games, problem-solving, exploring different creative stimulus; more importantly we will be having a blast. Why would I do a talk on play, you ask? Simple, play is a critical part of how humans learn and problem solve. If you want to make truly innovative experiences, you need to be able to experiment with fun, games and creative team play. Candy, markers, toys and imagination included. No batteries required.
The IxDA conference is currently sold out, but you can still register for SXSW Interactive. I will be giving a workshop on design process…more on that soon : D
Tags: conference, IxDA, Play, sketching
Posted by admin on Dec 1, 2009 in
innovate,
prototype 
Quick mockup of a feature list, so feedback and iteration can begin.
So you have started a new project, you have a list of features and requests but not much else. Everyone wants to see ideas asap. Seems simple enough, but where do you start? You have sketched a few things out, but the team should have a chance to play around the experience, right?
In Sketchflow there are several ways to rapidly explore and test concepts. Above I used the SketchStyles to create some of the features with sample data.
Then I made a starter app flow, with a couple of the initial pages of the site and several layout options.
Initial Sketchflow Map with layout options.
Next, the landing page, comped as a wireframe, with labeled content areas and links to the option pages.
Landing page start screen with stickie labels.
The buttons go to different variations of feature placements for the team to test and get a feel for.
Feature placement option 1.
Feature placement option 2.
Now, I can send out these initial ideas to the team and get their feedback, with the in-browser Sketchflow Player. Meanwhile, I can go back and finish flushing out the other features. But I have already started the experience conversation and engaged the entire team. Win-win!
Tags: prototyping, Sketchflow
Posted by admin on Nov 6, 2009 in
give back,
innovate,
inspiration 
Change feels risky, while existing paths seem safe no matter how dated they are.
Things change; it happens nearly every nanosecond in tech. The only problem with this constant reality is our ability to move with the tide in ways that benefit the profession; design, UX, development or otherwise. We get mired in the details, side swiped by edge cases and wrapped up in defining things that won’t matter in 6 months. So let’s do some house-keeping shall we?
Glass houses make better stories
If we can track, articulate and make clear measureable meaning out of what we do and how we do it, our stock inherently rises, internally (your personal value perception at your job) and externally (our industry on whole). The mythical smoke screen around how and what we do should be lifted. We can’t very well create advocates for our work, if no one understands it.
Do something that adds relatable value
No one cares about anyone else’s plight, so why not solve problems that people care about? What larger issues can be made better by a bit of your brain power and talent? If designers and devs can show their skills have reach beyond the screen glare emanating from our cubes, we could then begin to inspire a larger, inclusionary conversation that creates value and meaning.
Expression + Impression = Addition
Often, egos mask collaboration with compromise. Yet, real innovation is a social act, founded on idea interchange and iterative conversation. And the output is well structured, more concrete, better idea with a team of consensus and excitement to make it even better.
Tags: honesty, teamwork, technology, ux
Posted by admin on Jul 10, 2009 in
design,
innovate,
prototype 
A sneak peek at the Dynamic Prototyping cover design.
Chris Bernard and I have embarked on a book for designers by designers. This will be a easy hands-on way to jump in and use Sketchflow in Expression Blend 3. We will also be sharing our thoughts on creativity, design process, sketching, idea capture and prototyping. The books website, www.dynamic-prototyping.com has links to a free chapter of the book and everything you need to get started.
Let me know what you think : )
Expression Blend 3 has launched, you can test it out here!
Tags: Blend 3, design process, prototyping, Sketchflow, sketching
Posted by admin on Jun 17, 2009 in
design,
inspiration 
Testing out SketchBook with the little Bamboo Wacom tablet.
I must admit, I adore AutoDesk. They make great tools, have for years, and everyone I’ve met who works there is a treat to chat with. A few months ago I discovered SketchBook Pro and I’ve had a blast with it ever since. SketchBook is a digital painting/drawing tool, for just about any type of project. It does a nice job mimicking the ‘feel’ of each instrument; markers, ballpoint pen, pencil, chisel tip, airbrush and paintbrush. Of course, I always advocate using pen and paper for idea generation. But it is nice to have a digital option, especially for items you want to take directly into another digital tool on the fly. The latest version of SketchBook outputs nicely to Photoshop with layers. The price isn’t bad either; the full version is $100.00 USD. Their community site has some tutorials, free downloadable brush textures and some impressive artwork to check out, too.
Happy sketching!
Tags: SketchBook Pro, sketching
Posted by admin on May 26, 2009 in
design,
prototype 
You can download the 2 page sketch sheet below. Enjoy!
Ahead of the sketching workshop I will be doing in Dallas at the Big Design Conference this week, I made some new sketch sheets to share. It’s 2 pages, one app and one browser sheet.
Happy sketching everyone!
Download sketch sheet .pdf!
Tags: prototyping, sketching
Posted by admin on May 20, 2009 in
innovate,
inspiration 
Jared Bienz Presenting to Web Design Meetup in Houston
It seems that most everyone involved in product and technology service is open to process change and would like to see things get better. I have talked here about getting unstuck, collaboration, fixing our process, but writing about it doesn’t feel like enough.
Tony Tulathimutte wrote this wonderful, insightful chapter on Remote Research that got me thinking, why not SHOW people how you work/how it’s done. Every facet in execution of product or project process could most likely use a fresh set of eyes at the very least, if not a total makeover. It’s not just usability lab testing that could use an overhaul and a workshop to learn from; cross-team collaboration, manager influence and expectations, product development and lifecycle, design strategy conveyed in business strategy.
If you have a workshop or a practice that should be a workshop, let me know, I want to attend. DM or @reply on my twitter page. There is nothing that gets me more excited than fresh, passionate ideas. Next time I am in San Francisco, Tony, I would love to watch one of your observation sessions.
Tags: design process
Posted by admin on May 18, 2009 in
design,
prototype 
Navigation wire up in Sketchflow. Note: I trimmed the right click options for clarities sake.
Us designers may find ourselves designing a touch or gesture based interface on the fly or being asked to provide interaction in an early prototype for clients. The struggle comes in as we start to tackle expressing and selling a movement or navigation without building the entire experience and spending hours working with the developer to flush out what is actually feasible.
Here I have built a simple site project and created several pages to be explored by a client. First I linked my button to its destination page by right clicking and selecting: Navigate to, then selecting ‘Gallery’ (once you have created some pages in Sketchflow, it will show you those page options as places to navigate to in your prototype project).
Showing 2 ways to navigate thru the prototype with the Sketchflow Player.
Next I launched the feedback player by pressing F5, or Project>Run Project. Here you can navigate thru the project pages you have created with the navigation provided by the Sketchflow Player or in the more traditional manner by clicking on the buttons directly.
Creating these assets and wiring them took me about 5 minutes. This simple project is ready to share and collect feedback from team members and clients. And the code created is real, continuously editable, can be enhanced and richened as the project progresses.
For more Blend 3 details, visit here.
Tags: prototyping, Sketchflow
Posted by admin on May 11, 2009 in
design 
Barcelona, Spain circa 2004
The thread that bonds the tech/dev/agency community together is the client horror story…shared around the campfire reminiscent of childhood; just add beer and a good peppering of contempt. After a full day of client work, last minute changes, the all afternoon conference call, and a shortened deadline and you have the perfect recipe for the epic client saga for your friends.
My personal favorite client story goes like this: R&D exec from X corporation, the one that shoves all the pastries we set out for the meeting into his face, slams 3 cups of coffee as he waits for the meeting to begin, accumulates a massive sugar/caffeine rush then gracefully TAKES OVER my pitch (this is back in the fully tricked out potatochop comp days, I netted about 60 hours into 3 screenshots). Yes, that is right, a presentation hijacking. He rose from his seat walked up to me at the projection screen and told ME how the site was going to work. Which, I must admit, made me want to scream for about 30 seconds. Then I had a revelation that changed my view of clients to this day…He was REALLY excited…about what I designed (and high on sugar, coffee and possibly his ADD meds). I went from being furious to quietly taking a seat and listening to his ideas.
I found this quote last weekend from my favorite designer Stefan Sagmeister (talking about the year he took off from client work).
“I realized that the anger I sometimes had toward clients was not necessarily about the clients. It was within me. When I didn’t have clients to tend to, I was just as angry…”
From the book, How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer, by Debbie Millman, page 55.
Tags: client work, design presentation
Posted by admin on May 5, 2009 in
event 
I sketched this as I was thinking about the transition from anything is possible to reality.
If you are interested in Sketchflow in Blend 3 or Silverlight there is an amazing chance to get your feet wet with it, right around the corner. These sessions will be small-size, personal and very hands on.
Resident Silverlight expert, Michael Scherotter , Media Experience Evangelist from San Francisco, will be auditing the Silverlight classes and brings a ton for technical, social media and motion expertise.
The invariable Chris Bernard and I will be talking about dynamic prototyping and Sketchflow on Thursday, May 14th. This class will require an NDA, but you will have the first chance to drive on Blend 3 and Sketchflow. This will also be an opportunity to provide your feedback on the software that will be directly communicated to the Expression product team; you will be helping to impact the future of our product offering!
Lots of talented agencies will be on hand, Cynergy and Thirteen23 to name a few.
All MGFest details are here.
Tags: Austin, Blend 3, Silverlight, Sketchflow
