Design Strategy: Building Concentric Circles of Connection
Interaction is connection. But what if you can’t connect? How do you design an interaction for someone who can neither see these words, nor hear you speak them?
In 1887, that was the challenge confronted by Anne Sullivan as she attempted to connect a seven year old Helen Keller to a world she could only feel, only smell. The brilliant connection made – feeling water on one palm while receiving the symbols for it on the other, has been dramatized as an act of seeming desperation. It was anything but – and produced a monumental breakthrough – a complex interaction combining two sensory experiences to construct a new language.
To the countless beneficiaries of this historic interaction, design strategy may seem secondary. But an examination of Sullivan’s disciplined methods indicates that a thoughtful design strategy informed – possibly even inspired – this iconic event.
Effective interaction design calls on a complex web of expertise and insights – from cognitive psychology to interface mapping, from the arcana of academia to the practical experience we all bring from the joys and frustrations of our everyday interactions. Examining extreme users, such as Helen Keller, adds to our design insights. But how often do we get to step back and ask “why”? What am I really trying to achieve with this interaction? Is this the best form of interaction for my user – or is it just the best compromise in a series of trade-offs? If I was given a blank slate – is this the design I would recommend?
The biggest challenge then, is to challenge ourselves. This session will discuss ways to relentlessly question our goals, as we march down a logical hierarchy from the overall design strategy. Or, just as relevant, we can climb back up the ladder from the interaction to the overarching objective. And all too often, we discover that the strategic objective went unstated, the user was never fully understood, and the broader constituency was never considered.
One way to visualize this process is to consider the “rings of inference” used to translate design strategy into tiered design decisions, tying overall strategy to interaction design. This session will help you to consider the design process from the bottom up (when you’re already at the stage of interaction design), or top-down – posing a cascading series of design questions: what is the social or commercial objective? Who are the beneficiaries beyond the end user? What is each audience’s unmet need? What action string is required to fulfill that need? How can that string be made better, faster, cheaper, more intuitive? And ultimately, what form of interaction best serves that function? Participants will be encouraged to share a current design challenge, and work together to craft a design strategy that coherently serves the interaction objectives.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS: Roger Mader & Jake Samuelson
Roger Mader
A global account executive for Doblin, in the innovation practice of The Monitor Group, Roger and his design teams work with companies, particularly in Financial Services and Life Sciences, to discover emerging and unmet needs, craft design strategies and conceive new businesses to capture growth ahead of the market.
Roger has designed innovation strategies for a global bank, and a global pharma company, and the growth strategy for a Big Four accounting firm. He served as an advisor to the advisory and investment firm founded by former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. In 1992 Roger co-founded VIA International, a global consultancy based in London, setting channel and change strategies to transform some of the world’s best-known companies. He launched his career as an original member of Accenture’s Change Management practice, specializing in design for advanced media, where he worked extensively for IBM. With co-author, Jeffrey P. Semenchuk, Roger published “From Production to Connection: The New Model for Market Organization“. He holds degrees in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University. When time and weather permit, Roger and his two young sons return to the Atlantic shores of Nova Scotia.
Jake Samuelson
A consultant in Monitor’s New York office, Jake Samuelson advises clients in publishing, media, CPG, professional services, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and energy. His convergence of marketing and technology strategy helps clients employ collaborative technology and new media to build brands, increase ROI on marketing spend, create ideal customer experiences, and improve organizational efficiency. His recent work involves long-term scenario planning for corporate and government clients, and strategy for innovative nonprofits in the emerging social investing field. Leveraging new media work and many years working in the nonprofit sector, Jake’s current interests lie in helping organizations leverage “social media for social change.”
Jake tries to hide his inner geek, despite hosting a blog entitled: MyGeekySide. He holds a BA with honors in Economics from Harvard University. When not skateboarding and biking the five boroughs, Jake is often caught developing his travel start-up.
ABOUT IxDA’s CONTRIBUTOR:
Noble Desktop
Noble Desktop provides exceptional computer graphics training in web design, print design, and video editing. They teach Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Final Cut Pro classes on a rolling basis in Soho. They also give numerous free seminars on topics such as “Moving From Print to Web” and “How to Send HTML Email.” Noble Desktop was recently named the 4th highest-rated Adobe Certified Training Center in the world, based on student evaluations. Visit their website at http://www.nobledesktop.com
ABOUT IxDA’s SPONSOR
Named for the mathematical term “googol,” Google operates web sites at many international domains, with the most trafficked being www.google.com. Google is widely recognized as the “world’s best search engine” because it is fast, accurate and easy to use. The company also serves corporate clients, including advertisers, content publishers and site managers with cost-effective advertising and a wide range of revenue generating search services. Google’s breakthrough technology and continued innovation serve the company’s mission of “organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful.”
ABOUT IxDA
The Interaction Design Association is a member-supported organization committed to serving the needs of the international interaction design community. Membership is free – sign up at www.ixda.org. Individual and corporate donations of any size are always welcome and can be made on our website as well.
With the help of more than 10,000 members worldwide, we provide a network for advancing the discipline of interaction design. IxDA was founded in 2003 as an online discussion list and in just six years the organization has grown to include over 70 local groups worldwide and an annual global conference on interaction design for interaction designers.
One of the world’s largest local groups, IxDA NYC produces monthly face-to-face community events to gather professionals who design interactive systems and products of all kinds: web, desktop, enterprise, mobile, consumer electronics, digitally-enhanced environments, and more. All interested parties are welcome!
- Author:
- Olga Howard
