The average ratio of designers to engineers within a company will be something more like 1:4 rather than 1:8 or 1:10 as forward-looking design becomes more critical and teams require greater multidisciplinary and specialized skills. The Future of Design in Technology Julie Zhuo, Medium, May 12, 2015
Leading design is equipping others
Anne’s approach has been different. When she joined the team, her first assignment was to go through what the team had already done. She found most of the screens to be poorly designed, with a lot of jargon and extra work for the users to do simple things. She immediately scheduled usability tests and invited the… Continue reading Leading design is equipping others
Converse, All Star Chuck Taylor II, and customer research
Calhoun’s mandate to the All Star team was simple: Assume we don’t know our customers as well as we think we do — get to know them better. Copcutt did so by playing roadie to his son’s London-based rock band, Zoax. He spent weeks at a time tagging along as they played beside bands with… Continue reading Converse, All Star Chuck Taylor II, and customer research
Playing hide-and-seek with yourself
Using an interface or acting out a flow that you have designed can be a little bit like playing hide-and-seek with yourself. Your inability to fail at using the design might not hold much relationship to the quality of the design itself. Get your design into someone else’s hands early on to help keep your… Continue reading Playing hide-and-seek with yourself
West Elm and its design-knowledgable handymen
The more time West Elm employees spend with a customer, the more chances they’ll have to pitch additional products and establish what every lifestyle brand covets: an emotional connection. Why West Elm Wants to Be Your Handyman Kyle Stock, Bloomberg Business, 2015-06-11