in-house design: the power user's guide
DESCRIPTION
In-House design can be a different place to work if you are a freelancer or work for an agency. This presentation explores some pros and cons of working for a large enterprise.TRANSCRIPT
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House DesignThe Power User’s Guide
Joe Dyer @joeplanet
In-House Design the power user’s guide
1224
256
Trophy Club, Texas@joeplanet
In-House Design the power user’s guide
3My Resume22 Years of Experience
In-House Design the power user’s guide
4Who Should Experience this Presentation?This is your last chance to bail out
This is a look at the pros and cons of working for a large company
Freelance or agency designers interested in working in-house
Advice specific to in-house designers to increase their value
In-house designers looking to have more influence
Not an easy gig. Here are some ideas to help
Some tips for in-house design managers
In-House Design the power user’s guide
WARNINGLARGE BRUSHES IN USE
In-House Design the power user’s guide
6Where are Designers Working?Everybody’s working for the weekend
Partner in large company
Partner in small business
Employee of a large company
Freelancer/Contractor
Student/Hobbyist
0 17.5 35 52.5 70
2.0%
7.6%
61.1%
26.0%
3.3%
Source: Findings from the A LIST APART Survey, 2011. Percentages are based on 15,707 responses to this question (100% of all respondents).
In-House Design the power user’s guide
7
40%
60%
Where are Designers Working?Everybody’s working for the weekend
Agency
In-House
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
PRO
In-House Design tends to favor stability
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Starvation diet outside of ‘brand’
CON
In-House Design the power user’s guide
PRO
Access to clients and stakeholders
In-House Design the power user’s guide
The Chain O’Command
CON
In-House Design the power user’s guide
PRO
Predictable hours and vacations
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Dress codes
CON
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Benefits and Bonuses
PRO
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Dull work areas, usually cubicles
CON
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Company name recognition
PRO
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Budget for creative tends to be less
CON
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Continuously mold the product into something better
PRO
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Opportunity to see how the product affects real people
PRO
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Building the team
UX Education & evangelizing
Building the team
UX Resident Expert
Creative environment
How to succeed in the enterprise
Building Your In-House Practice
In-House Design the power user’s guide
22Bike Shack, Baby Bike ShackSo come on and bring your jukebox money
In-House Design the power user’s guide
23Being Able to Explain What You DoThe 30-second elevator pitch
“Design is a profession based on conception on helping to define an opportunity, then developing a solution that will fulfill it.” !
“What Every Business Needs,” AIGA
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
30Everyone is a Designer, Right?The Oatmeal, definitely not used with permission
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Just be careful about putting stuff all over the walls
It can be hard to distinguish genius from psychosis
In-House Design the power user’s guide
33You Have to Be the ExpertEstablish your reputation in the art and science of design
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
“The life of a designer is a life of fight: fight against the ugliness.”
— Massimo Vignelli
In-House Design the power user’s guide
!
BUILDING THE DREAM TEAMIn-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
38Sort of Like Casting a Motion PictureA Movie is Only as Good as the Supporting Cast
In-House Design the power user’s guide
39Hiring for an In-House Design TeamLike Soylent Green, it all comes down to people
‣Hire problem solvers; Adobe products never solved a complex design problem
‣Hiring people with broad skill sets increases your team’s ability to be flexible and responsive
‣You should be staffing smarter people, not cheaper people
People are the most valuable resource any in-house team can have
In-House Design the power user’s guide
40Team DynamicsEspecially tricky with creative teams
‣Think before you give constructive feedback; be relevant and concise
‣ Include positive feedback, don’t just hammer on the negatives
‣Use language like, “This works because“ instead of “I like”
‣Everyone’s opinion matters, regardless of role
As managers & teammates:
In-House Design the power user’s guide
41Managing Can Be Hard, Even Harder with CreativesThere was this one time I wanted to hire some dude whose name was a number …
‣Challenges of managing creative professionals
‣Generalized skill set; varies greatly
‣External pressures (“what is it that you guys do again?”)
How is managing UX teams different?
In-House Design the power user’s guide
42How to Succeed in the EnterpriseWalk there walk and talk their talk
‣Find an important internal champion
‣All enterprises are built on processes — embed yourself in all of them
‣Stop hiding behind the complex jargon of design
‣Yes, start reading as many business books as you read design books
You mean I have to start reading management books?
Get this book
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Usually requires organizational change Evolve into a experience-driven culture
Streamline user workflow Eliminate product silos
Simplify patterns Excise work for the user Anticipate and solve needs
Pattern reuse Unified nomenclature, concepts
Info architecture/layout Fonts, colors, stylesPrinciple based
User centered
How Do you Succeed if You Walked into a Mess?You might have a lot of products … where to begin?
Source: “Fixing a Broken User Experience, Smashing.com , 11 Feb 2011
UX Culture
Unified Experience Strategy
Behavior Optimization
Consistent Behaviors
Visual Consistency & Simplification
Hierarchy of Effort
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Creative EnvironmentIt’s more than just a great place to work
In-House Design the power user’s guide
Creative EnvironmentIt’s more than just a great place to work
In-House Design the power user’s guide
46Online Creative EnvironmentSomething I call ambient Management
In-House Design the power user’s guide
47Ambient ManagementIt is definitely not spying
In-House Design the power user’s guide
OUTSOURCE
KEEP IN-HOUSE
OUTSOURCE
TIME
VOLU
ME
Skills we do not h
ave
Skills we do have
Skills we also have
High cost to outsource
Low cost to outsource
Line reflects transition in skill sets needed to complete the job effectively
Speciality skills used too infrequently to maintain in-house !In-house: Develop good people, focus on high value design, increase strategic impact !!!!!Outsourcing: Maintain service levels, maximize, cost effectiveness, improves team health
The In-House Creative Service ModelWhen you outsource and when you don’t
© M. Floriani 2007In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
49Parting ShotOne last big advantage to working in-house
PRO
Use the resources that being in-house provides
In-House Design the power user’s guide
In-House Design the power user’s guide
QUESTIONS?
“The future will not be like the past. The future will be built by those who will take risks and action to invent the world they want.” - Vinod Khosla
@joeplanet