As designers and agency owners we constantly manage the chaos of mastering a craft, being diverse, all the while trying to differentiate ourselves and adapting our processes and deliverables in an industry that changes at lightening speeds. As if the web wasn’t difficult enough, the advent of mobile product design and service design has created an entirely new industry and career paths, completely disrupting everything we knew about engagements, processes, deliverables, and expectations of design teams and agencies.
Face it, the industry is constantly changing and so should we. Let’s learn to embrace change and use it to intentionally position ourselves for constant reinvention and how to fashion the skills and environments necessary for creating meaningful products in the modern age and beyond.
Presented at Owner Summit 2015, Austin Texas
15. JOE WILLIAMS • @STUDIOROHAN
As a designer, you’re constantly trying to
improve. In this industry, if you are
standing still, you’re falling behind.
“
18. “Anyone with a computer regardless if they had any
experience or not could produce design. I felt the
quality was inferior and that it lacked the artistic
touch. In my case I decided I would find find a new
career rather than compete with rapid work.
ISRAEL ARMENDARIZ (MY DAD)
50. WEB DESIGN IS ONLY 15-20 YEARS OLD.
MOBILE DESIGN IS MERELY 7 YEARS OLD.
WEARABLE DESIGN JUST TURNED 1 YEAR OLD.
AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS ARE BEING BORN.
IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING
55. “At times of change, the LEARNERS are the
ones who will inherit the world, while the
KNOWERS will be beautifully prepared for
a world which no longer exists.
ERIC HOFFER
58. “As companies bring more and more design talent in
house the role of the external agency is evolving.
You’re seeing fewer agencies of record and fewer
relationships were a company is simply giving over its
digital and design capabilities to someone else and
instead realizing they to own it themselves.
PETER MERHOLZ, UXDISOVERYSESSION.COM
59. Page Title
GIMME MORE. GIMME MORE.
GIMME GIMME GIMME MORE!
REALITY: PRODUCTS ARE NEVER DONE
60. WE’RE IN THE BUSINESS OF
BUILDING MODULAR HOUSES
NOT CATHEDRALS.
62. BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS WITH YOUR CLIENTS
• Partner not client, partner not agency
• Equal division of ownership, commitments, and work
• Meet long-term financial needs
• Address both short and long term goals
• Keep pace and quality high
• Keep regular communication between project teams
• Talk to them often
63. YOUR TEAM MUST EMBRACE
• The time, financial, or resourcing constraints.
• Generating quick ideas as a team to validate before investing.
• Favoring lean, quick, and sometimes, half-complete work.
• Failing fast and often.
• The ability and desire to pivot at any time and embrace change.
• That it’s NEVER ever, ever, ever done.
• Listening to users is critical.
64. FLEXIBLE SCOPE FTW!
• No project schedules. Only a start and end date.
• No fixed deliverables, just the services you’ll provide.
• No promises to deliver anything specific to the client.
• Promise a team with consistent effort. Velocity, not hours.
• Provide a standard weekly sprint or monthly price.
Learn More: http://goo.gl/QwrauI
76. “We’re gonna hold out to hire a Product
Designer who knows iOS, Android, Windows,
and is great at user experience but also
talented at branding and illustration.
A BOSS I HAD WHILE AT EVERNOTE
77. “I’m wary of overspecializing….
I think a challenge with product design that
the Bay Area faces is that it’s almost
becoming too generalist…
PETER MERHOLZ, UXDISOVERYSESSION.COM
78. UX IS A TEAM RESPONSIBILITY
GOOD OR BAD, A UX IS A RESULT OF
WHAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM CREATES.
IT’S NOT A ROLE.
80. “Photoshop is not the canvas.
The technology is.
MATTHEW ARMENDARIZ • @MATTCHEW
81. INTERACTIVE
AUTHORING
WEB 1.0 &
WEB 2.0
RESPONSIVE &
MOBILE DESIGN
PRODUCT
DESIGN
SERVICE
DESIGN
FUTUREPAST
REQUIREMENTS OF SKILL AND SPECIALIZATION OVER TIME
THE HALF-PIPE EFFECT