Ghost in the Pixel

Lately I’ve been interested in how to shape a positive constructive culture of design critiques at Citrix. Not just “yeah it looks nice” but serious discussion, deeply focused on the aesthetics, but also functionality, information architecture, flow analysis, etc. All those aspects that interrelate and comprise the total user experience of a software product design. What’s the terminology to use, some baseline of concepts and approaches? Below are some links I’ve been studying…

>> Scott Berkun’s advice on how to run a design critique

>> Design Criticism and the Creative Process

>> Lessons from Tim Gunn of Project Runway

>> Facilitating a useful design critique

>> Watch out for the “uncanny valley”

>> Developing the mind for “design literacy”

Just compiling some good links I’ve been studying lately as I ramp up on defining our mobile UX strategy at Citrix for various apps and services. Enjoy!

General ideas on mobile UX

>> Emergent computing paradigms

>> Mobile archetypes and metaphors

>> Designing for different screen sizes

>> Design the mobile experience first

>> ProTips on designing for mobile

Mobile UX trends

>> Trends article 1

>> Trends article 2

Mobile UX guidelines / emulators

>> Various guidelines

>> Various emulators

No, not talking about the Prius :-) I’m referring to hybrid designers.

I remember when I first started working I would introduce myself as an “interaction designer” or “UI designer” focused on making flow diagrams and wireframes. Now with my expertise in visual design and dabbling in web-based prototyping, I find myself saying that I’m a “hybrid”, tackling multiple sides of a design problem with ease.

No more bucketing someone into either “visual designer” OR “interaction designer” OR “prototyper”. That kind of silo-ing is neither helpful (given the need for fluid studio style collaborative environs and org structures to match the rapid pace of designing / iterating / building) nor practical as new generations of designers become comfortable with hi-fidelity toolkits and creating visuals themselves. Increasingly companies like Google, Twitter, Facebook, are looking for designers who can code and cut their own PNGs with craft, diligence, and expertise of design judgment.

Indeed, the rise of the hybrids is now upon us! To design higher quality products that are innovative, can work across devices & screen types, support rapid iteration cycles on lean schedules & budgets (and slimmer org structures), it’s not enough to just be able to do one thing–you’ve got to be able to multiple aspects of a design very well to demonstrate your value, versatility, and rigor as a designer.

And it just makes sense from a total design perspective. Shaping the visual style impacts the interactions and interface layout, and vice versa. Knowing, or to be more accurate, anticipating the impact on the code makes you that much more nimble and effective to adjust on the fly, generate smarter solutions, dismiss inferior options, and craft a more well-thought out comprehensive product / service / system. After all, no product (or UI) exists in a vacuum on its own, but always part of a broader more value-rich ecosystem. Bringing a full 360 set of skills to the table only empowers you as a designer to shape that general direction, a stong vision defensible to persnickety engineers and stodgy product managers or execs.

Another thing–if you want to gain genuine mutual respect among your product development peers (esp engineers) being able to tackle multiple aspects of a problem only ups your ante in their eyes, increasing your value and reducing the possibility of being cut during annual re-orgs and layoffs.

Maximize your design efficiency, Amplify your total skillset. Extend your talents and respect level. Be a hybrid. The future of design belongs to those who have a diverse repertoire (like a diversified financial portfolio, with hedges and bets and gains placed strategically where it makes sense).

One of the common frustrations I face as a designer of digital products / interfaces / software is not just dealing with stubborn engineers or misguided marketers, but also trying to explain myself to random strangers at social events, like a holiday party :-) There is no one single easy compact description…unlike doctors, lawyers, accountants, or even programmers who luckily (or not?) have a typical “gestalt” that people form in their minds about who they are, what they do, what the resullt of their labor is–even if they are stereotypes to a large extent.

But as a designer who deals with the information architecture (navigational paths and content buckets), layout of controls and content (interface design), and feedback / functionality / affordances (interaction design), it’s challenging to coin a neat little phrase I can easily throw at a social event without seeming nerdy or abstract…or somehow defensively trying to justify my existence!

Here’s a few approaches I’ve attempted in the past:

– “I’m a web designer” (Great! Can you help my grandma use Photoshop to do that?)

– “I design the visual interface of hi-tech products” (So, you’re the guy who makes those pretty icons? I love the red ones!)

– “I’m a product designer at a software company” (Huh?)

– “I’m a software designer” (Wow, I heard programming is really hard. Do you have to go to India alot?)

Most recently I’ve settled on saying that I’m a designer at Citrix in Silicon Valley, helping make our software apps user-friendly and attractive. Then I reference my iPhone or Google, Facebook, Yahoo, etc. That seems to be working so far… Responses tend to be hopeful interest with some follow-up curiosity questions about the project complexity, tools, team, travel, etc. Key words that pop up are “simplicity”, “easy”, and “usability” which suit me fine. On the extremely rare chance I’ve met another designer like myself, then we have a wonderfully rich, deep discussion of philo and process ;-) But that’s super rare.

On Quora I posed this question about how designers like myself intro themselves, which generated several salient responses on how to deal with that awkward social moment of “hmm??”:

http://www.quora.com/Designers/How-do-IxD-UI-UX-designers-introduce-themselves-at-holiday-parties

 

After several fits and starts I’m finally getting serious (maybe!) and writing a book based upon my professional experience as a designer in Silicon Valley. Whew. Let’s see if this works :-)

So far I’m thinking it will be written, designed, and published by me, as a purely knowledge-driven creative endeavor.

My ultimate intention is to have a series of 3 books: Mastering Design, Advancing Design, and Reinventing Design…every ten years! Yes, the grand scheme is a 30 year project. So I should be 65 when it all ends ;-) Actually I’ve completed my first ten years so hopefully the next two decades will fly by.

What will be the focus? Mastering Design, the first book, will detail my own particular journey of “mastering design” post-graduation from CMU, emphasizing the core themes that emerged in the course of working at a variety of contexts/situations, the critical best practices that enabled my growth and evolved “view of design”, and some projections of the future of designing for hi-tech products / services / systems.

Note: It is admittedly very much biased towards Silicon Valley view of things, since that’s my frame of reference so far.

This is not a how-to methods or techniques book, nor a book about general design field, nor an introductory text for total newbies to see if they like design as a career. Hmm, actually it might be something useful for newbies… My target audiences are really those in the field of UX / IxD / UI design early in their careers, struggling to make sense of the chaos of multiple clients, tedious corporate projects, with intellectually articulate language that provides structure, relevance, and guidance to the issues of designing hi-tech embodiments.

The book will have three general content sections:

1. Emergent Themes

2. Critical Practices

3. Cautious Futures

And of course introductions and epilogues, etc. I want to frame the overall text as a “hero’s journey” in a sense, that is still very much ongoing. Another aspect is the nature of “being thrown into a situation”…The chapters will be very much personal reflections, with anecdotes, references to other texts and designers, and of course plenty of real examples from my own work and those in popular parlance like Google, Facebook, Apple, etc.

This is all evolving in my mind (and sketchbooks as I sketch out ideas, outlines, etc.) so stay please tuned…