discuss design without losing your mind

DISCUSSDESIGNWithout Losing Your Mind

ADAM CONNOR @ADAMCONNOR

Conversations can hurt.

It’s laid out too much like [popular service]. We should be different.

The new Spotify design is perhaps even worse than the old Spotify design. The visual hierarchy and underlying IA are terrible.

No. That won’t work. What if we do it this way...

It needs more flululululuh!!The wireframes are still not answering our problem and are not providing enough an easier solution for the page.

Change the order of the screens so that the 3rd and first one are switched.

It doesn't have enough spunk.

What kind of company shuts down a much-loved service like Google Reader but keeps the vegetative Google Plus?

We're disappointed in this solution. We're going to have our own designers come up with one.

Looks ugly. Make it pretty.

What. The hell. Is this?

I would never use this. I don’t like the layout.

We should make that a dropdown instead of radio buttons.

None of this is what I asked for.

This is terrible. I have no idea what the lines mean.

I like the paper form better.

I'm just not feeling it. I don't know what, but it isn't right yet. Just needs to be more innovative.

Make it look more like SharePoint.

Here is a rewrite. My intention is to sharpen the language, make it more precise.

The new Spotify design is perhaps even worse than the old Spotify design. The visual hierarchy and underlying IA are terrible.

No. That won’t work. What if we do it this way...

Change the order of the screens so that the 3rd and first one are switched.

What. The hell. Is this?

We should make that a dropdown instead of radio buttons.

None of this is what I asked for.

Here is a rewrite. My intention is to sharpen the language, make it more precise.

“Good lord! That’s awful! An inebriated cocker

spaniel could have done better!Reaction

“Good lord! That’s awful! An inebriated cocker

spaniel could have done better!

“You should have made all of those radio buttons a

drop down [,because…]

Reaction

Direction

criticalthinking

critique

“If the objective is for users to seriously consider the

impact to their bank balance before making a

purchase, placing the balance at the bottom of the

screen at the same size as all the other numbers

isn’t effective because it get’s lost in all of the other

the information.

Critique

“Good lord! That’s awful! An inebriated cocker

spaniel could have done better!

“You should have made all of those radio buttons a

drop down [,because…]

Reaction

Direction

We need tools & a plan.

What was the creator trying to achieve?

How did they try to achieve it?

How effective were their choices?

Why is or isn’t what they did effective?

How did they try to achieve it?

What was the creator trying to achieve?

How effective were their choices?

Why is or isn’t what they did effective?

How effective were their choices?

What was the creator trying to achieve?

How did they try to achieve it?

Why is or isn’t what they did effective?

Why is or isn’t what they did effective?

What was the creator trying to achieve?

How did they try to achieve it?

How effective were their choices?

INTENTAt their foundation is

There are two facets to critique,

Giving & Receiving

Giving critique with the wrong

intent is self focused.

Giving critique with the right

intent is objective focused.

When giving critique...

Use a filter. Gather initial thoughts and reactions. Revisit them in the right context.

When giving critique...

Don’t assume. Find out the reason behind thinking, constraints, or other variables.

When giving critique...

Don’t invite yourself. Get in touch and ask to chat about the design.

When giving critique...

Lead with questions. Show an interest in their process and learn more about their objectives.

When giving critique...

Talk about strengths. Critique isn’t just about the things that aren’t working.

Receiving critique with the right intent takes

humility & restraint.

When receiving critique...

Remember the purpose. Critique is about understanding and improvement, not judgement.

When receiving critique...

Think before responding. Do you understand what the critics are saying?

When receiving critique...

Participate. Analyze your proposed solution alongside everyone else.

When receiving critique...

Set the foundation. Use prior agreements and objectives to get everyone on the same page.

Design Reviews

Standalone Critiques

Collaborative Activities

Critique is a skill. You need to practice.

Choose who you critique with carefully.

Think before you speak.

Start small.

Keep in mind…

Avoid problem solving.

The designer is responsible for next steps.

Everyone is a critic.

Everyone is equal.

Rules of critique

Set the right foundation.

Set your foundation with...

Personas User archetypes that describe their average behaviors, goals, expectations, knowledge, etc.

Set your foundation with...

Goals Desired, measurable outcomes of the user interacting with the product or service. Can be user oriented, business oriented or both.

Set your foundation with...

Principles Statements, often worded as rules, that capture the desired qualities or characteristics of the final solution.

Set your foundation with...

Scenarios Short narratives that the describe the desired behaviors, thoughts, emotions, etc. of the user as they move through a use case.

Design Reviews

Standalone Critiques

Collaborative Activities

Synthesize Observations

Create or Refine

Observe & Evaluate

Synthesize Observations

Create or Refine

Observe & Evaluate

Critique is about iteration and improvement. So long as you’re looking to improve on whatever it is you’re doing, you’ve got an

opportunity for critique.

Who gets an invitation?

Start things off on the right foot.

Facilitating critiqueCritique Goals

Round Robin & Quotas

Direct Inquiry

Six Thinking Hats

Facilitators

Active Listening

Yes.You will have to deal

with difficult people.

What comes next?

Design ReviewsStandalone Critiques

Collaborative Activities

Design Reviews

also have their

challenges.

Design Reviews

also have their

challenges.

Don’t rely on them for critique.

Take control.

Pretend you’re dealing with difficult people.

Recap objectives.

Solving the review problem

Design Reviews

Standalone Critiques

Collaborative Activities

The ever popular brainstorm…

Divergent Thinking

Divergent Thinking

Divergent Thinking

Convergent Thinking

Divergent Thinking

Convergent Thinking

Divergent Thinking

Convergent ThinkingCritique

critiqueis at the core of

collaboration.

THANK YOU!For more thoughts on

critique, communication,

and collaboration, check

out discussingdesign.com.

!And look for Discussing Design from O’Reilly Media in 2015!

Adam Connor Experience Design Director

!

@adamconnor adam@adamconnor.com

Aaron Irizarry Sr. Product Designer

!

@aaroni aaron@thisisaaronslife.com