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Designing shows + experiencesHow-to toolkit* for designing with emotion

Kara DeFrias | 215.262.1111 | @CaliforniaKara

*The toolkit is only 7 pages, so chill. The other 18 are a bloated appendix full of awesome.

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Designing an in-person show or event starts from the

moment someone reads an email or sees a post in

social media to when they walk out the doors at the

end of the day.

Making conscious, intentional choices each step of

the way ensures you deliver awesome across the

board. Whether you’re starting from scratch with a

brand new show, or re-imagining an all-hands or town

hall meeting, this toolkit covers key elements to help

you build out a holistic end-to-end (E2E) experience,

rooted in emotion.

#HugItOutYall

QuickBooks Connect 2014

Getting from show to showstopper

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Emotion trianglebecause we always

have triangles

SpeakersStaff

Attendees

Step 1 | Identify your key audiences

Creating a solid E2E is more than just solving for the

people sitting in chairs watching your show. By also

declaring how you want the speakers and the staff to

feel, everyone feels taken care of.

Take a moment to fill out:

# of attendees: _____________________

# of speakers: _____________________

# of staff/crew: _____________________

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Attendees Speakers Staff

1. ex: valued

2.

3.

4.

5.

1. ex: taken care of

2.

3.

4.

5.

1. ex: appreciated

2.

3.

4.

5.

Next, think about the touch points for your event as you’re filling out this page. Use words that carry weighty emotion and power. 3-5 should do fine. Starter list of emotions in the appendix.

Step 2 | How do you want folks to feel?

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Just like a play has beats so each actor knows the rhythm

of a scene, build out an attendee journey line* that lays

out key moments of your show. This is based on: 1) your

agenda and 2) the emotions you identified in Step 2.

To the right is the journey line created for the D4D

workshop during QuickBooks Connect 2014. We knew

that after spending a full day listening to speakers then

going to a concert, folks would need a pick me up.

We pivoted on a traditional journey line and made it

aspirational, drawing the main journey around how we

wanted them to feel primarily, then what we think they’ll

feel in each moment. Doing it this way gave us a more

holistic view, we believe, overall.

Step 3 | Create a journey line

*Bonus points for creating journey lines for speakers and staff, but #LetsBeHonest, you’ve got time to do just one, and the attendee one will do. Blank journey line in the appendix.

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The environment you create will be directly

influenced by how you want folks to feel and the

space you’re in. Some key questions to ponder:

1. What’s the venue like? Cavernous and hard to

fill, or intimate? Are there spaces you can use

to fulfill on the emotions you want to evoke?

2. What are some opportunities to delight in

unexpected ways? Instead of having a coffee

stand, could you have a barista?

3. What music will be playing as folks enter and

leave? Upbeat tunes are great to build

momentum, but if you’re show brand is

solemn, adjust accordingly.

Step 4 | Think beyond the people

The Park at QBCon 2014.

Picnic lunch at TEDxIntuit 2012.

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The easiest way to get your whole team on the same

page is by creating a design persona for your event. Do

this early on to keep the sponsor (who’s most likely the

highest person telling your story widely), organizers,

communications, production, marketing, and social teams

delivering a consistent experience.

Popularized by Aarron Walter’s UX team at MailChimp, a

persona includes an overview, brand traits, personality

map, voice, visual lexicon, and engagement methods.

There’s a sample persona included in the appendix to

show you what that looks like.

Step 5* | Create a design persona

The QBCon persona.

*This step is for overachievers. I hear ya, you don’t have time to build it. But I’m telling you, even if it’s just

a short one, do it. And if nothing else, at least take a whack at the Brand Traits section. #SuckItUp

Tools and samplesaka, the Appendix

Attendee journey line

QuickBooks Connect design persona

Persona: Overview

Cora Hansen is the behind-the-scenes face of QuickBooks Connect (QBCon), and the embodiment of the show personality. Cora’s smart, friendly demeanor communicates trust, and her approachable nature lets people know this show is centered around them and their needs.

Cora empowers small business owners, accountants, developers, and entrepreneurs to unleash success on their own terms with an innovative, open tone that deftly balances an air of practicality without coming off as academic. Her helpful style takes away any artificial barriers between “us and them” to create connections for attendees. Cora likes to create unexpected delighters in a surprising, yet familiar, way so folks feel at ease—designing something they may not have expected.

She knows the devil’s in the details, and as a result overmanages the level of detail to create a holistic end-to-end experience for everyone. She devises ways to celebrate our attendees individually and collectively, letting them know they’re not a lone wolf but part of something bigger. Cora shows attendees she “gets them” by providing content that goes beyond theory to things they can actually put into practice right away.

In the end, she wants folks to think, “It’s not what I am…but what I could be” because she believes in them and is here to support them in their journey to grow and succeed.

 

Brand traits

Personality map

The voice of QBCon is conversational, aspirational, and above all talks to people in a way that you might overhear any number of spaces or places where companies start (dorm room, garage, and kitchen tables) and creativity thrives (parks, coffee shops, and public squares like Union Square).

QBCon always uses “we” and “us” to show we’re in this together—and that we’ll stand up for folks. We’d never say something cold or robotic, and prefer “won’t” over “will not” because that’s how humans actually speak to each other. And another thing: let’s not get hung up on “she/he” when a “their” sounds more conversational.

Sure, there are times we’d like to shout at the computer, too—but you’ll never come across ALL CAPS on buttons or headlines. Now that you mention it, even Title Case Can Kind of Look Like Shouting, What With All The Up And Down – so QBCon avoids it whenever possible.

If QBCon were standing in front of a mirror in the morning, it’d throw on cool jeans (but by god, not skinny jeans! Or Dad—or mom—jeans…ugh…) and an awesome pair of smart shoes.

When you have questions, or there’s something difficult to figure out, QBCon gets straight to the point so folks know we’re here to help them by connecting them to insights, tools, and knowledge.

Voice

Greeting Welcome back, Todd. Nice to see you again.

Error Feedback Let’s try that again.

General Message Hey attendees. Yeah, you. You’re changing the world, the economy. And when you thrive, the world thrives. That’s pretty cool.– or – We get it. Success is personal to you. Us, too.

Critical Failure FATAL ERROR! Just kidding… QBCon wouldn’t say it that way.Looks like we’re having a bit of a hiccup on our end. Rest assured, we’re working on it and hope to have it back up and running for you soon.

Voice (cont.)

Color. The colors in the QBCon palette convey bright, yet calming, shades that echo the look and feel of the QuickBooks product.

Visual lexicon

Typography. QBCon typography conveys a conversational tone while maintaining a crisp, clear voice. The primary font is Manus, to be used in headers and situations where we want to grab people’s attention. Take care to not use it for more than 80 characters, as readability suffers at anything greater than that. The secondary font is FS Albert, and is used in most situations due to its ease of scanability.

General style notes. Interface elements convey an open, bright, airy feeling, and should not be cluttered in any way.

Visual lexicon (cont.)

Surprise and delight

Scott Cook, Brad Smith, Dan Wernikoff, other execs greet folks at Registration.

Actual users welcome folks to the show at Registration to start the ecosystem. (Accountants welcome small biz/devs, entrepreneurs check-in accountants.)

Viewing rooms/simulcast lounges to watch the show from, and/or a room where you could get work done.

Personalization

Swag bags and gifts inside personalized based on which track they’re signed up for: the bag itself is the same across everyone, but what’s inside is different for devs vs. accountants vs. small biz and entrepreneurs.

Discoverability

Alerts and notifications based on info the person gave us during sign-up. Example: New track sessions that people might be interested in pushed out via the mobile app.

Engagement methods

QuickBooks Connectvision doc and design principles

QuickBooks Connect

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What EMOTION do you want the person to feel?

What SPECIFICALLY are you going to do to make a STEP CHANGE in ease?

How significant is the BENEFIT that we are delivering – in MEASURABLE terms? How

does it go BEYOND EXPECTATIONS?

What is the STARTING POINT?What are we NOT doing? (users, scope…)

List of emotions

AFFECTIONATEcompassionatefriendlylovingopen heartedsympathetictenderwarm

CONFIDENTempoweredopenproudsafesecure

ENGAGEDabsorbedalertcuriousengrossedenchantedentrancedfascinatedinterestedintriguedinvolvedspellboundstimulated

Feelings inventory (helps with Step 2)

Courtesy of the Center for Nonviolent Communicationhttp://www.cnvc.org/sites/default/files/feelings_inventory_0.pdf

EXCITEDamazedanimatedardentarousedastonisheddazzledeagerenergeticenthusiasticgiddyinvigoratedlivelypassionatesurprisedvibrant

EXHILARATEDblissfulecstaticelatedenthralledexuberantradiantrapturousthrilled

GRATEFULappreciativemovedthankfultouched

HOPEFULexpectantencouragedoptimistic

INSPIREDamazedawedwonder

JOYFULamuseddelightedgladhappyjubilantpleasedtickled

PEACEFULcalmclear headedcomfortablecenteredcontentequanimousfulfilledmellowquietrelaxedrelievedsatisfiedserenestilltranquiltrusting

REFRESHEDenlivenedrejuvenatedrenewedrestedrestoredrevived

Attendees feeling elated, animated, and awed at the Train concert at QuickBooks Connect 2014.

Creating the rundown

Who’s going to kick the day off? What energy will it bring and how will it set the tone for the day?* Figuring out the rundown is my favorite part of the day.

The minute-by-minute list of what happens is called a rundown, and it starts off by putting each part of the day on a whiteboard (one speaker and moment per sticky), and moving stuff around until it looks good. Consider:

• Who do we have speak right before break to create a buzz?

• Who will get folks back in their seats?

• Do we have to much ‘serious’ content in a row? Can we break that up?

*ProTip: this should be reflected in both your design persona and your emotion triangle.

The rundown

TEDxIntuit 2012 rundown.