Category: Process+Best Practices

Elegance: The Forgotten Small Stuff

In any project or effort, there is big vision, small details and everything in between. It all matters, but it’s the details that are most noticed by the end user.

Well, not so much noticed as felt. This is an important distinction.

What is felt is delight…or annoyance. Clarity…or confusion. Satisfaction…or stupidity.

It would be one thing if the customer intellectualized what didn’t work. But most often, they feel lazy, tired or stupid. In The Design of Everyday Things, author Donald Norman explains that people tend to blame themselves when something doesn’t work, even if the flaw is in the design.

In this great TED talk, ad guru Rory Sutherland describes with humor the bad decisions businesses and organizations foist on unsuspecting customers. Read more

That’s How We’ve Always Done It

Have you ever found yourself saying this as you start a project?

Have you ever imposed this criteria on a hired consultant or firm? Read more

Why Put the Why Before the What

“We need a flier (brochure, website, logo),” is how most design projects are initiated. That’s when the possibilities start to dissolve.

Maybe it’s a mandate from on high.

Maybe it’s what you’ve done every year.

Maybe you hope the flier will clarify what you want to accomplish. But that’s backwards.

Even when you really know you need a website or an annual report or an event logo, you should first ask why.

A brochure or a flier is merely a form — the what. They are just vehicles for your message.

The form could be writing in the sky.

The form could be a wine and cheese party with a presentation.

The form could be a short video. Read more

Is Your Marketing Budget Working Smarter, Not Harder?

“I want to work smarter, not harder in 2012,” a friend resolved at an annual New Years Day party where guests reflect on the past year and state intentions for the new one.

Working smarter often involves working harder at first, but not harder on the same old stuff. Working smarter means putting systems in place that conserve time, energy and money. But that work often means asking hard questions. Otherwise we would set up resource-saving systems more often!

Which brings me to marketing budgets. It’s easy to squander time and money, two equally valuable assets. Read more

Take a first step. Figure out the rest later.

“Ship often. Ship lousy stuff, but ship. Ship constantly.” —Seth Godin

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Diving in head first not only goes against conventional wisdom, but it goes beyond most people’s comfort zones.

We’re always told to plan, to be level headed, to be prudent, to be structured. The only problem is that our fear, doubt, procrastination, worry, perfectionism, definitions of success (add as necessary) trick us into staying put. But we believe that our delay is really prudence. Read more

Which Doors Will You Close So Others Can Open?

How do you know when it's time to close a door? Often we have to close doors before we can open new ones. Here, I explore the reasons we avoid closing doors, even if it would benefit us to close them. December is a good time to reflect on this.