On October 14, this IA embarked on a journey somewhat outside her comfort zone- a design conference. But this wasn’t just any design conference, this was the Gain Conference hosted by AIGA. In the introduction, Debbie Millman said, “Design is being called upon to solve the world’s problems.” This idea echoed throughout the next couple of days I sat and listened to speaker after speaker with an occasional panel. Here is a summary of the conference, from an IA’s perspective.
Different “Experiences”
For an IA, user/customer experience means the user’s needs come first and is what our practice is based on. I found it interesting at this conference that this idea was somehow regarded as a novel and new approach to design. It made me think about how those of us in strategy design view “experience” a bit differently from those in creative design. For an IA, experience design means creating experiences for which they may interact while for a creative, it means creating an experience to which a user can react.
One example of this difference was revealed by JetBlue’s Fionna Morrison (Brand & Advertising) who discussed the importance of having the customer experience first and foremost when considering design. She said design should be, “Nice, Fresh, Smart, Stylish, Witty” – providing examples from a brand perspective as opposed to a user experience perspective. The examples given were about, “Hey, you come have fun with our brand” as opposed to “This is going to make booking and flying with us much easier for you.” Final tagline for JetBlue: You above all.
I also found this disconnect in many discussions that focused on the logo. The first talk that discussed how a logo was conceived was fascinating, the second one was insightful, but by the 100th time I heard about logo conception, I started to tune out. Not because it’s not important but because there is very little interaction to be had with a logo. These discussions centered around bringing the customer to the brand but spoke very little about what they did to improve the actual experience.
Back to People
While I enjoy the aesthetics of the finished design as much as the next person, I was quickly yearning for the human component.
John Maeda President of Rhode Island School of Design spoke about technology starting out text only. Then we got pictures, movies and audio to help us personalize our experiences. Then came the internet and we went back to text only. Then we got pictures, movies and audio. Then we got mobile phones and we went back to text and the pattern continues. He spoke about how as much as technology tries; it will never replace human to human contact. Mr. Maeda left us with his belief that the power of the personal relationships we have with people, not text, is what will pull as back together.
A great example of this approach came in a talk on the design of public space. Robert Hammond spoke about the creation of the Highline in Manhattan. He wanted this to be a design “of the people, for the people” so he reached out to locals in a competition to design the space. After the space was created, programs were developed to encourage more use of the space. People began using the space in ways they never considered and created opportunities around them. While they also talked about the logo, the focus of this talk was more on how people’s ideas and behavior’s influenced design.
Another speaker I was really interested in seeing at this conference was Erica Eden of Smart Design and her presentation on design and gender. I knew her topic would be a great bridge between the creative and the strategy of design. She even declared loudly and proudly, “Design is about people, not things.” Her focus was on how companies don’t consider women in design – instead the old adage seems to be “Shrink it and pink it” when designing a woman’s version of some product. She highlighted ways to consider women in design by understanding to think about emotion first, function second. Understand how she FEELS in the moment she is experiencing your design and understand that feeling may change throughout the day. Than make it work for her. I felt Erica’s talk really captured the essence of what it means to design for both brand and people.
A Greater Vision
By the final stretch of the conference, I had already experienced my “oh, okay” moments and my “ah ha” moments but then began to wonder, “What’s next?” The answer to my question came in a couple of speakers, one of whom actually had the power to stop me from tweeting while he spoke.
Jonathan Harris from Number27 was my number one favorite, inspiring person this whole weekend. It was the way he spoke, the stories he shared, and more than anything, the strength he showed through his vulnerability. I was completely engrossed in his talk. He spoke from an interesting position as both creative and developer, revealing some interesting thoughts. Not only does he dream it but he builds it as he sees it. He learned that when you try something new, your first vision will be wrong – so keep at it. He also reflected on the notion that, “It’s not a question of the beauty of the idea but how does the outcome affect you. Is this thing I’m building making life better?”
Larry Keeley (Doblin & Partner) also had some inspiring words when tackling a new design. He encourages finding fresh frontiers and doing design that matters. “The highest, best use of design is not design products per se, but embedding it into a bigger challenge.” He says that simplifying doesn’t mean throwing out the hard parts- design should be helping people out of confusion. He encourages us to be braver and bolder, seeing the future of possibilities, even when current evidence doesn’t support it.
My New York journey felt good and I picked up new insights for my career and life. Each speaker’s passion only refueled my desire to rethink design and what it means to create experiences. I started out with new awareness, gained new wisdom and completed my weekend with new inspiration. Experience Designer’s both creative and strategy working together really are what will change the world.
Patricia is an Information Architect out of the CM Chicago office.
