As the recession hit and established businesses cut jobs in 2008, an entrepreneurial spike was seen in the US. Many Americans took the opportunity to dig up a long-buried dream of being their own boss while others found themselves forced to dream up a new way to make their mortgage payments. This increase in aspiring entrepreneurs also means an increase in the demand for venture capital. And from this demand, the practice of “crowdfunding” gained momentum.

Crowdfunding is essentially an extension of crowdsourcing, as it applies the same fundamental approach. According to Scott Steinberg on Mashable this is “requesting feedback or recruiting help from public donors via open calls for assistance.” While crowdsourcing is negatively viewed by professionals in the design industry, its cousin, crowdfunding, holds a lot more promise for creative minds.

Rather than soliciting work from numerous sources and paying (often underpaying) for only the one voted the most popular by the “crowd,” crowdfunding focuses on a single innovative product or service. The crowd, largely composed of everyday people, shows their support for these ideas by “voting with their wallets.”¹ Or simply put, contributing funds to that will be used for development.

Scott Steinberg’s article on Mashable, “How to Crowdfund Your Next Big Idea,” talks more about some of the benefits of crowdfunding (including risk mitigation) and predicts that because of its benefits the practice will spread to the product and service development processes of more established companies.

But amidst all this optimism, Marcia Kaplan warns in an article on PracticalEcommerce.com that “all is not well in crowdfunding land.” Her article, “Crowdfunding: 5 Things You Should Know,” aptly points out some of the limitations of crowdfunding. One of the most notable is that “crowdfunding sites cater to one-time creative or charitable projects, not ongoing businesses.” This said, the scope of your idea is something that should definitely be considered if you are thinking about using crowdfunding to raise capital.

She also touches on some of the legal aspects, and the need for sites to be licensed brokers for investors. While this is definitely a concern, Scott Steinberg presents a rather simple, but clever, work-around in his article. He states that because “current regulations prohibit startups from raising money via crowdsourcing… payouts for crowdfunded, non-qualified investors must be tangible returns.” These tangible returns can take the form of marketing swag, or even pre-orders.

There’s been quite a bit of debate among designers about the merits of crowdsourcing, about whether it is here to stay, and about the best way to deal with it. If the recent success of crowdfunding is any guide, then crowdsourcing may be here to stay. But while this may appear largely negative to designers for now, this evolution of the practice has shown that it holds potential to actually assist the creative community in some ways. Now it may just be a matter of applying creative thinking to discovering the rest of those ways.

¹Scott Steinbert. “How to Crowdfund Your Next Big Idea.” Mashable.com

Pinterest.com has been around since 2010. But it has only recently exploded in popularity once being discovered by the do-it-yourself crowd and given a boost with $37 million in funding.

But what is Pinterest, and why is it quickly joining the ranks of other top social media sites?

“Pinterest is an online pinboard” as Pinterest puts it themselves. Users join on an invite only basis (there is a button on their home page to request an invite) and are given access to their own “online pinboard” to collect and organize images from the Web. Some use it to collect ideas for their home, for their wardrobe, or even just to collect images that make them laugh – whatever they want.

In an interview with Mashable, Pinterest designer and co-founder Evan Sharp says that the idea started with the desire for a better system than simply “collecting images on the web in folders on the desktop of [his] computer.” He and his partners wanted a system that would also help to remind them who created something or where it came from, and so Pinterest began “more as a fun project than an aspirational start up.”

But while the concept is clearly appealing to other designers and the DIY crowd, it is the simple design and great usability of Pinterest that has really contributed to the skyrocketing of its popularity.

In the same interview with Mashable, Evan talks about the “bulletin board” layout, saying it is “the thing [he] by far spent the most time working on.” He states that they did around 50 versions of the layout as they tried to make it feel like a personal collection and avoid the now standard timeline-based feed of other social media sites that they felt wasn’t ideal for their purely visual product.

What they ended up with was a system of blocks that users can place content in and organize on their “pinboard” to fill their entire screen. Each block is mostly filled by the image, and the ability to “like,” “repin,” or comment at the bottom makes it “look like its own mini web page.”

One of the hallmarks of great usability is that in retrospect it can often seem like such an obvious solution. Something with good usability needs to be easy to understand, to navigate, and it often is related to something the users are already familiar with. Once something is found that accomplishes this, it feels like the natural solution, even if it was not. This feels like it is the case with Pinterest. Modeling the site after a bulletin board is brilliant in its simplicity, and its appeal is causing waves in the world of Web design. According to Mashable, several sites are following suit with the bulletin board approach including Quora, social video startup Chill.com, and Scrolldit.

Many designers draw connections between Pinterest’s site and a layout plugin called jQuery Masonry, according to the same Mashable article, and it’s easy to see why. But as the article points out, this type of layout was often misused, and Pinterest is the first to bring it to mainstream and highly visible success.

Of course it was only a matter of time before marketers too took interest in Pinterest, and I’m sure the recent study shared on Mashable titled “Pinterest Drives More Traffic Than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn Combined” has only increased the rush to find out more. But then again who can blame them? Lots of people are interested in Pinterest, even Mark Zuckerburg.

Why was this asked over and over? Why was the question phrased as if the two are mutually exclusive? There is a strong appeal to the handmade and handcrafted, particularly as technological gadgets make it easier than ever to create mathematically perfect shapes.

This photo of an ‘analog Photoshop’ came across my Facebook feed a few days ago. It was immediately popular and re-shared several times. (Sorry, friend on Facebook, whom I don’t even know that well… this one isn’t new. It was shot in 2008. )

Analog photoshop, shot and designed by Wanda Kamarga

So what’s the appeal to the hands-on, real ‘Photoshop’?

In part, the detail (the locks on the Layers panel, the small pots of paint in the Swatches panel) is as alluring as the imperfections. The measuring tape is a tiny bit angled, the T for the Text tool is a tiny bit askew. The entire effect is incredible, don’t get me wrong. But why IS it so incredible? It’s a less-perfect version of something that designers use practically every day. It exists in the tangible world of three-dimensional objects and is imperfect, as the tangible world tends to be.

This imperfection is key to the attraction.

Psychology Today ran an article about imperfection and attraction, specifically regarding the allure of the imperfection over the perfection.

“Author Jeff Riva claims: ‘I love imperfect characters; both while reading and while writing. Most of the characters I create have some or the other imperfection in them. Imperfection is actually the new perfection. The smudge of Imperfection in characters adds an unexplainable and undefinable appeal… Imperfection makes a character more real.”

To err is human, after all, and our world is full of imperfections.

The computer allows us to push past the imperfections into the perfect. Mathematic circles are at our fingertips and begging to be used. Straight lines have never been straighter and text lines up like magic.

Yet so many designers tell us to work out our concepts on paper before turning to the alluring brilliant screen. We’re told to sketch our ideas, to brainstorm, to let loose. We’re encouraged to draw because, we’re told, the brain is freer without the constraints of technology, without wondering how to execute a function. We’ve been using pencil and paper reliably and without software updates for decades. We can easily let our imaginations run wild without wondering how to coerce the software to make the text go in a circle.

The brain can move more freely without the constraints of technology.

Too few imperfections lead to a creepy level of discomfort, which is called the Uncanny Valley. The uncanny valley describes a point at which a human-like animation or robot looks too close to a human and generates a feeling of revulsion or distaste. The interesting part is that this is not a linear progression, but a very abrupt one. Human beings will be fond of or empathetic to an object that is human-like but is clearly not human (think of adorable stuffed dolls, for instance). But once the dolls become too close to the ‘perfect’ human being, we’re immediately creeped out (this is why some baby dolls are just, plain creepy).

The animated film Shrek initially hit the uncanny valley with the princess character, Fiona. She was just a bit too close to life-like, causing children in the audience to cry. Computer animation can strike the uncanny valley by creating a character that was too perfect. So perfect that it was creepy.

Computers can create perfect lines and shapes, but often sterility, as well. This sterility is related to the uncanny valley concept; each may be very precise and technically correct but lacking in some sense that we can’t even put a finger on. What is it missing?

In some part, the answer is the human hand and using our tools wisely. By starting with a hand drawn sketch, your designs are springing from your imagination, not from a set of pre-determined shapes. Sketches are not just happy accidents and charmingly imperfect. Sketches lead to clean and well-thought-out designs. The computer is a tool with which we can execute the design; it is not a substitute for design. Milton Glaser was more biting, “Computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking.”

Glaser may have loved New York, but he didn't love computers.

Microwaves save me time when I defrost frozen leftovers or melt butter, but I’d never use it to cook a lasagna or bake cookies. Used for its intended purpose, a microwave can save time and energy but it’s no substitute for my oven. A computer can save time and energy (would you like to lay out type by hand?) but is no substitute for a sketch.

By first creating a design by hand and allowing the imperfections, the crazy whims, and the ridiculous concepts to pour out, we can then refine the best designs. Avoid the sterility of your Mac, dive deep with crayons or colored pencils, chalk or charcoal. Make a mess. Use that mess to let the brain run free. Use the computer later, to work on your designs organically. Allow a little bit of imperfection, of humanity and soul to shine through.

Image from HOW Design

Are you curious about what other designers in your field – and in the industry overall – are taking home on pay day? Now you can see if you need to increase or decrease your rate of operation with clients or finally ask for that raise.

HOW Design has released the 2012 Salary Survey to give all creatives and designers an idea of where their pay ranks and, even in this flux market, how they are increasing in some industries.

In order to give a complete and truthful report, HOW needs your help. Take the survey and read the results in the November 2012 issue of HOW. You have until May 31 to complete the survey, but don’t delay! This is important for all of us, especially you!

A note from HOW: “Responses will be completely anonymous. U.S. residents only, please. BONUS: We’ll be giving away a free DesignInsider membership to three survey respondents drawn at random.”

Take the HOW Design 2012 Salary Survey and leave us a note in the comments below telling us what you thought about the questions and how useful you think the survey will be.

‘Untitled’ by Nunca, 2011, Spray Paint on DC3, all images © of Eric Firestone

A continuation of “Nose Job,” an exhibit that debuted in the summer of 2011 and included 22 reinterpreted nose pieces of WWII planes, the natural progression was, of course, to use an entire plane. The planes in this exhibition range from DC7s to F106s and are painted by contemporary and street artists including How & Nosm, Retna, Andrew Schoultz, and Nunca among others. Re-imagining the once great giants translates the use of the planes from battle to beauty. On display, the metal war heroes take on the vibrant personalities, and sometimes political views, of the artists working on them. The transformation from the purpose of destruction to art is one that will resonate with the involved artists for years to come.

For artists like Andrew Schoultz, who featured work at Art Basel Miami Beach last year, this project is an opportunity to honor the machines and their service on a large-scale and attract a completely different audience.

'Flying Tiger’ by Andrew Schoultz work in progress

The exhibit runs through May 31st, 2012 so if you find yourself in the Tucson area, it is highly recommended you do not miss this. For more information, rates, and hours visit Pima Air & Space Museum. Not going to be near Tucson by the end of May? View a detailed photo review of the exhibit at TheFlopBox.

Since 2002, Abigail Smith has worked with a host of arts and non-profit organizations. After seeing and being involved in many humanitarian efforts, she has now shared a collection of some of the most attention grabbing ones with us.

Access to Life – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Created in partnership with Magnum Photos, this traveling exhibition has visited major cities all over the world including Tokyo, Paris, New York, and Rome. Highlighting the lives of HIV-infected persons throughout one year of antiretroviral treatment, the resultant photo-essays are poignant and provocative. In some instances, we see a person near death radically transformed by the treatment into a healthy member of society. In another, we are confronted with a stark black and white photograph of a casket, because the treatment has come too late. Either way, what remains is an incredibly accurate portrayal of the battle against this life-threatening pandemic. View the online exhibition at: http://www.theglobalfund.org/accesstolife/en/

Greenpeace – VW Darkside

With this short one-minute video, Greenpeace compares the Volkswagen car empire to… Darth Vader and the Death Star. Gimmicky? Sure, but what else would be expected from the people that brought you Kleenex Kleercut and the KitKat Killer? Gimmicky or not, these viral video campaigns have yielded real success, mobilizing hundreds of thousands around the world to speak up against big brands, highlighting corporate irresponsibility that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. In the instance of the two aforementioned campaigns, this public outcry led to a concrete change in policies from the corporate giants. What’s to come from the Darkside is yet to be revealed. http://vwdarkside.com/

2015 Quilt – Product (RED) and the One Campaign

A fine piece of interactive design, this digital AIDS Quilt aims to far out-square its real-world counterpart. With just a moment of internet slacktivism, you can add your name to the quilt, and somehow contribute to the nebulous goal of eliminating AIDS by 2015. While the site may lack clear political goals, it makes up for that with its aesthetic value that any designer could appreciate. Worth a gander for Justin Bieber’s square alone. http://www.2015quilt.com

D’une toile de tente à un toit (From a Canvas Tent to a Roof) – Médecins du Monde

Image copyright Alain Bachellier

This little-known French humanitarian organization quickly climbed to international headlines when they decided to start distributing tents to homeless persons in the streets of Paris. By spraying a simple logo onto these prefabricated tents, the organization was able to make visible the problem of homelessness in the city, as communities began to utilize the tents on the streets and along the banks of the Seine. The Parisian public mobilized, and by the 4th month of distribution, the organization won an impressive 50 million Euros from the French government for their cause. Proof that you don’t need a big communications budget to achieve powerful results. Learn more about the effort here.

Note: This is part 7 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

Subjectivity is the curse of design, and designers. Fortunately there’s a valuable, but often overlooked phase in the design process that can remedy this situation – testing. Testing provides designers a chance to see which design solutions will potentially work best. Testing also provides a counter balance to one of the biggest traps designers face – selecting designs based solely on their aesthetic merit as opposed to what’s most effective. Testing challenges some deeply held beliefs of designers, who’ve been taught that “good looking design” is by its nature better for clients and their businesses. However, in some cases, the best-looking design is not always the most effective.

Scott Young, President of Perception Research Services, recalls a packaging project for a well-known sports drink. The design for the product was strong and generally accepted as being visually appealing and sophisticated. But there was a problem. The product was lagging on the shelves. The design did not successfully express important brand attributes like performance and intensity, nor did it visually differentiate the product from the competition. Even thought the design was well regarded and well crafted, it failed at the most important level – to help the product breakthrough the clutter of the shelf. After testing, the design was updated, and while the new design was not as visually stunning as the original design, sales increased.

Designers have a number of methods for testing design at their disposal. The following are two of the most popular approaches.

Monadic Testing: The monadic method of testing ideas is considered the most reliable way to find what designs are most effective in influencing audiences. Here’s how it works: First, a single design idea is shown to one audience. The audience are then asked to rate the design based on a set of criteria. By testing the design on its own, not only does the testing take on a real-life scenario, but designers are able to get an unbiased opinion from audiences about likes and dislikes. Seeing the design by itself helps an audience focus on the best individual design solution. Concurrently, other designs may be tested with other groups. After all tests are complete, including relative test responses, a determination can be made about which design best met the criteria.

Sequential Monadic: Sequential monadic methods are used as a cost-effective approach to design testing, providing both a monadic evaluation and a comparison evaluation. In this approach two options are shown to audiences, one after the other. The use of this method tends to cause some variance in scores. If the first option is very strong, this may cause the second one to rate poorly—significantly lower than if it had been scored on its own.

When testing their work, designers need to consider three critical factors.

Context: Designers need to think about the environment in which the designs will appear. If it’s packaging design, they need to consider the realities of the shelf on which the design will appear. Visibility and shop-ability is critical. How will the design break through the clutter? With one hundred products on the shelf, will the consumer be able to find what they are looking for?

Competitive Context: Designers need to think about their designs in relationship to the competition. Do the designs create a dimension that the brand owns? Is the company fun, inviting, innovative? Are these ideas coming across clearly?

Time: Most people merely glance at design, taking in only very basic information, like the brand name, the product name, the main visual, and possibly one claim. Designers need to ask themselves if their designs are working within those tight time constraints. Is the design getting one or two key points of differentiation across? Many times, clients want to jam as much information as they can into a design, with the expectation that their audience will take the time to read everything they write. But in most circumstances, most notably packaging, design must communicate quickly and clearly to be effective.

Through the testing of design solutions, designers create accountability for their work. In the final part of this series we’ll look at another way that designers can bring a strategic perspective to their work – through the early definition of the client organization’s goals, and then using those goals as a way to focus design activities.

Reading is transitioning from print to the screen. For many, the convenience and transportability of devices like the Nook, Kindle, iPad, and even smartphones outweighs the pleasure found in the tangible aspects of a physical book. They are willing to trade the smell of a new book, the texture of the paper, and the subtle warning of closure as the weight of the open book shifts to its left side in exchange for a slimmer option that includes more reading choices and other useful or entertaining functions. But as Andreas Carlsson and Jaan Orvet have pointed out, there is another thing being sacrificed – and unnecessarily.

Typography has also long been a part of the reading experience. But even with all of the technological advances and the move of so much text from paper to screen, Web typography seems to have been pushed to the back burner.

In their article on SmashingMagazine.com, Carlsson and Orvet point out that Web typography is subject to “many unknown and fluctuating parameters, such as operating system, system fonts, the device and screen itself, the viewport and more.” They go on to identify the modern Web browser as being one of the must crucial in displaying typography, and its lack of support the “single biggest hurdle to good Web typography.”

So they began an open source project to solve this problem: Open Typography. Using JavaScript and a custom font-file, open typography gives designers a way to adjust some of the things that they’ve identified as absent in most screen reading experiences, such as:
· Kerning and spacing of individual characters;
· Basic ligatures (fi, fl)
· Lining and old-style numerals;
· True small-caps;
· Replacing uppercase with small-caps for abbreviations;
· Language-based quotation marks;
· Spacing of ! ( ) [ ] / ; :.
(See the complete list here)

See Carlsson and Orvet’s article for more details on how it works.

It is an open source project, so it admittedly may be a bit “buggy right now” and need more development. It is a step in the right direction though, and while it may only be a work around we can all take some comfort in knowing that the problem is not only recognized, it is beginning to be addressed. Hopefully Web browsers will take the hint soon. Now if we could only make it feel like paper…

Image from 'BustedTypewriter' on Etsy

Buuren has been described as an “acrobat” by some and crazy by many. He travels the world to compile his stereographic shots, each one as breathtaking as the last. Some of his most interesting work is in China, as the density of buildings offers a varied and interesting skyline.

“I started to make the total landscapes in the Netherlands when I was climbing electricity pylons,” Buuren tells Co.Design. “I was stunned by the beauty of the landscape I thought I knew so well. From above the mundane seemed more divine. So I continued to do this and extended this to cranes, bridges and buildings and other countries all over the world.”

Buuren has climbed to dizzying heights, composing the shots, feeling the adrenaline, and finally, putting the pieces of the collage together. This kind of adventure is almost addicting to Buuren, as it becomes not just a work of art, but also an expression and proof that he has risked his life to capture what you a see.

But where, you might ask, was his most dangerous location? “A ladder outside a high-rise building on the 55th floor,” he says. “Because I didn’t bring a security belt, I had to tightly grip my hands on the small roof platform. …It’s funny how you can get used to heights. After a while I have no problem walking over the edge without any security, as long as there’s no wind.”

The shots where he puts himself into the composition give you a sense of the danger and the human element involved in his daring masterpieces. Buuren’s work is currently on traveling exhibition through Europe. If you are ever lucky enough to be able to see these pieces in person, we strongly recommend it.

Images from http://www.scapes.nl

Communication and language are constantly, organically shifting. Letters and words are universal, but language changes by location, slang phrases change with fads, and dialect changes by region. The modern alphabet has stayed consistent for centuries; what has changed is the life surrounding our letters, and the means by which we can manipulate them. We have shifted from endless pen and paper and the time with which to write languorous letters to frenetic emails and missives containing just 160 characters. As designers, it’s our choice as to how we manipulate those letters and use them (or choose not to) in our work. Typography is a large element of graphic design (and one I am particularly partial to) and not one to be ignored!

Typography uses letters, plain and simple. Playing with words and letters is not a new phenomenon and is not confined to the realm of the computer. Let’s check out the work that was created before Facebook became the third-largest ‘country’ in the world and before computer graphics! Typewriters were clunking, loud machines with a fixed font set and limited capabilities. Folks got creative, though, and used typewriters to create type-based illustrations in the 1940s, per this Popular Mechanics instructional guide:

Owls were popular in the 1940s, too. Check out those eyes!

Typewriters are far more limiting than, say, Adobe Illustrator, but those limitations can also be freeing. Without the options of font style, size, or the multitude of options available to graphic designers, typewriter artists worked creatively with the available symbols to draw caricatures, shapes or landscapes.

Keira Rathbone is a contemporary British artist who uses a typewriter to create beautiful and layered drawings.

Speaking of typewriters, an orchestra consisting of typewriters came out of Boston! Letters (and the machines they are made on) can be used in creative and totally unexpected ways. I don’t think Rev. Rasmus Malling-Hansen (the inventor of the first typewriter) ever suspected his machine would be used as a musical instrument!

The allure of using typography to create a visual message was not lost on artists during the Futurist movement in the early 20th century. F.T. Marinetti turned letters and symbols over to create a visual as well as literal representation of the words on the page.

F.T. Marinetti used expressive type to push beyond the literal words to create visually rhythmic work.

In the very early days of the internet and email, computer users used symbols available on their keyboards (ASCII) to make filled shapes, lines, and shading to create visual pieces. We still use ASCII to ensure a proper tone with smiley faces, and to create a heart <3 and some may remember when the kindness of a friend could be represented by a single rose: @}-,-`- . Gmail chat users have the benefit of a pig face :(:), monkey face :(|) or crab V.v.V for their most crabby needs. If you have a situation that needs more cowbell, Google has you covered +/’\ . (Note: type these key combinations in a Google chat box and send the message. The keystrokes will turn into the emoticons they represent.)

Typography offers designers the opportunity to use letters to create something brand –new, to stand for something besides a part of the alphabet or a representation of a sound. Type can be used as a painting tool, which Sergio Calvo does very successfully here:

by Sergio Calvo

or as a texture that doubles as a message and leads the eye through this ad for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

Christopher Labrooy creates a three-dimensional world around letters here:

Typography is, ultimately, just letters. Letters are meant to be read and sounded out as we were taught when we first learned to read. But those letters are also SHAPES.

While it is entirely possible to just stick letters on the top of an advertisement and call it good, if we take the extra time to consider the letters as individual shapes, to consider their place in the design as well as the literal message they represent, we will create strong and engaging work. When we twist the letters around to use their shapes as design elements, we add an additional level of depth to our work. The words double as a visual element and a literal message.

Use the inherent limitations of typography to your advantage to make creative, fun, and thoughtful work. Be creative!

There is nothing more frustrating than getting out of your car, only to hear your phone crash to the pavement–face first of course. As you pick it up with one eye closed, hoping to diminish the damage with limited vision, you see it: the dreaded spider screen.

To combat this terrible turn of events, Corning has designed a nearly indestructible material called Gorilla Glass. This is nothing new, but the second generation of said material was revealed at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this month. Gorilla Glass 2 has taken the stress out of the fracture for both the manufacturer and the consumer. This glass is built to withstand damage like no other glass before it. Chemically treated with an ion exchange process, this glass is fitted with a sort of armor, protecting your most precious devices with ease.

And because there is nothing else quite like it on the market, Corning has cleaned up in the device world. As manufacturers design thinner devices, the components must also follow suit. This glass supports consumers’ drive toward thinner form factors and heightens image quality as well as touch sensitivity.

The second generation of Gorilla Glass is 20% thinner than before and Corning engineers are continually improving the quality. “What’s unique about Gorilla Glass is that because of its inherent composition, it can allow those larger ions to penetrate the surface more deeply to increase the compression tolerance and tolerate deeper scratches,” explains Gorilla Glass engineer Dr. Donnell Walton to Smartplanet.

So next time you drop your phone or tablet, or happen to kick your TV (though unlikely, we will not dismiss the possibility with the Superbowl coming up), take peace in the fact that a Gorilla has your back.

Yves Béhar is a visionary. Founder of fuseproject, a San Francisco based design agency, Béhar aims to break into new markets and disrupt old ones by bringing a humanistic approach to his work. You may remember him for the world’s first $100 laptop for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization.

In the video below, Béhar shares the seven principles that define his unique approach to the design process in this presentation and states the importance of a designer’s involvement in a project from conception to execution. “Being there all the way,” is what Béhar contributes to his success and compassion in his projects.

Yves Béhar :: Why Designers Should Be In Love With The Process from 99% on Vimeo.

“Design brings stories to life. Life brings stories to design.” Béhar’s drive and determination to improve life is contagious and inspiring. He is truly one to watch in the design industry.

If you want to hear more from Béhar, our previous interview with him touches on some inspiring and successful projects to improve the lives of people around the world.

Note: This is part 6 in an 8 part series by design instructor and NoD author Dave Holston. To view Dave’s previous entries please click here.

Customers. Audiences. Users. People. However you describe them, they are the reason that businesses and organizations exist, and ultimately they determine whether an organization succeeds or fails in the marketplace. As more and more organizations look to design for strategic advantage, a greater emphasis is being put on understanding how design motivates audiences. When combined with business analysis, audience research fills in the who, what and why of the design puzzle. Once solely the purview of marketers, designers are now empowered to conduct their own research, allowing them to make discoveries and gain insights first hand.

Todd Wilkens, design researcher at Adaptive Path and author of Subject to Change: Creating Great Products and Services for an Uncertain World, reminds designers that when conducting audience research that they need to think of audiences as complex people with deep emotions and motivations, not just as neat models whose only purpose in life is to “gulp products and crap cash.”1 Darrell Rhea, former CEO of the design research firm Cheskin and founder of Darrell Rhea Consulting echoes this point, telling us that designers can create meaningful design experiences for people by understanding how the design exists in the context of their lives. More often than not, understanding context starts with active collaboration between designer, client and the audience. Far from being “studied” like lab animals, the people formerly known as “users” are now active participants in the design process. As participatory design research pioneer Liz Saunders of MakeTools notes, we are moving from a “market driven era to a people driven era,” where co-creation brings designers and audiences together to solve design problems.

Some typical collaborative audience research approaches include the following.

Workshops: Design sponsored workshops help clients and audiences express their needs by walking them through verbal, visual and drawing exercises that facilitate problem-solving discussions.

• Verbal techniques include a range of methods, from simply asking for a list of descriptive words, to sentence completion exercises, bubble drawings and storytelling. People are most comfortable working with language, and these methods are often a good starting point for discussions and brainstorming activities.
• Drawing is one of the most powerful tools designers can call on. This technique allows workshop participants the freedom to express their thoughts in a spontaneous way without having to rely on the confines of language. Many of our thoughts are held deep within our subconscious, and rarely surface though conventional means. Drawing frees people from having to provide rational answers to questions and provides them an opportunity to express themselves on a deeper level.
• Images offer another means for uncovering hidden ideas and relationships. Photo sorts, moodboards and collage techniques provide visual insight into how audiences perceive ideas. Many image related techniques have their origin in the psychological Thematic Appreciation Test, developed in the 1930’s to help psychologists find patters of meaning, with the goal of revealing underlying feelings and ideas.

Focus groups: Though much maligned over the years, focus groups are a powerful tool for gathering insights. They are not, however, a good way to vet or test new ideas. But they can provide context for them, as well as help in their generation. Dyad and Triad focus groups offer another level of insight, allowing designers to check larger focus group responses with smaller two or three people interviews. These smaller groups, sometimes made up of friends (you’re much more likely to tell the truth if your friend is sitting next to you), provide a “truth check” and help battle the group think that often goes on in larger focus groups.

Interviews: One-on-one interviews use closed and open-ended questioning and generally take on a conversational tone. A typical interview lasts about an hour, and it is based around scripted questions aimed at illuminating a specific problem or issue. The primary advantage of a one-on-one interview is that the participant cannot be influenced by others and is more likely to give an honest reflection about a topic.

With business and audience research collected and analyzed, the designer has “prepared their mind” for the creative phases of concept and design development. Once design explorations have been developed, designers are faced with another important question – which design option will best meet the needs of the client? In the next part of the series we’ll look at an often overlooked design phase – design testing.

1. The Clue Train Manifesto

I’m not going to argue about the validity, legality, or legitimacy of his work. What I’m going to comment on is the inclusion of the audience as an integral part of his work.

Nicholas Barber, a film critic, writes about his own “Banksy Experience” here. The description of the piece focuses on his personal experience of stumbling across it, considering its meaning, its origin and its ephemeral nature. That’s more to consider on a morning commute than a large latte.

Barber comments on the surprise and delight in “finding a Banksy,” and this positive emotion is carried through and applied to the entire piece. The charmed surprise at the unlikely discovery, the question of authenticity, the mystery of the psuedonym combined with the temporary nature (as British authority have come down on graffiti, which this, technically, is) makes the work quite alluring.

Why?

The viewer is expressly and specifically involved

Banksy’s pieces often require the viewer to mentally fill in the gap. The viewer is an integral part of the piece; the action of stumbling upon the painting unexpectedly in the first place is the very first step in a Banksy piece. His pieces are scattered around the United Kingdom, on street signs, on abandoned buildings, on sea walls. Finding one takes the viewer off-guard; no one expects art on the way to work in the morning.

A rat is stenciled in a universal No sign under the words No Stopping. The sign turns from a common traffic sign to a commentary on the 9-5 workers’ rat race; the No symbol is now a rat exercise wheel.

Simple.

Or not.

Often, the piece relies on the commonality of the audience, of the collective consciousness.

What can we take from Banksy’s art as artists ourselves?

Certainly I do not think we should all start running around painting on all the walls in our hometowns under the cover of night. But I do think that we could all stand to consider the part of the audience in our work and the role that the audience can play. The viewer does not have to be passive. In fact, the viewer can be a very active part of art. How can we, as artists, engage our audience to create an experience that the audience will remember and retain? How can we, as designers, create work that leaves a strong and clear message?

Barber’s description focuses on his personal experience, starting with the moment he sees the piece unexpectedly. The moment of unexpectedness is described as “lucking into a new artistic experience.” Who wouldn’t want their art described that way? By inviting the audience to close the visual gaps, we’re including the audience in our process.

This piece uses white paper wrapped around trees to follow the horizon and blend in with to the greater backdrop of mountains or horizon line. What would it be like to come across this piece as a hiker?

Installation art invites the audience to literally take part in a piece, the audience IS the process. In this case, the process is the art; the series of photos during the process is art, and the final ‘product’ is art, as well.

This Yoga instructor created a flexible business card that requires the reader to twist it to read the contact information.

The Food writers’ guild logo is reminiscent of the optical illusion of the vase and two faces in the negative space. Not only does the viewer see a pen then a spoon, but makes the next leap of logic to connecting the symbols to the activities they each represent.

Each of these are clever or charming, and each one leaves a distinct impression on the audience, because each one requires input from the viewer. By continually respecting the intelligence of your audience and leaving a small mental task to be completed, you have connected with your audience. By not underestimating the audience, we can all create brilliant and beautiful work.

Recent political events and uprisings have cemented the internet’s
importance in communicating and coordinating such events. Today the
internet is again finding itself at the forefront of a protest, only
this time it is not just the scheduler but the “meeting ground.”

You may have noticed today that some sites have been “blacked-out,”
including major sites like American Wikipedia, the Cheezburger
Network, and reddit. Or perhaps you’ve noticed the tag on Google’s
homepage. This “blackout” is to show opposition to the Stop Online
Piracy Act (SOPA), or House Bill 3261.

SOPA was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Lamar
Smith on October 11, 2011. The goal of the law as stated in its full
title (and the goal of its predecessor in the Senate, Protect IP, or
PIPA) is “To promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and
innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other
purposes. “ The bill hopes to give the US Department of Justice and
copyright holders more tools to combat copyright infringement coming
from websites hosted outside of the US. Currently any lawsuit between
a US company and a website overseas is futile, for obvious reasons.

You can get more information on what exactly these “tools” are here.

Opponents of the bill argue that it goes too far, claiming that its
wording opens a dangerous door to infringement on free speech and the
potential for government censorship. They also argue that it will be
ineffective, given simple work-arounds, and that it risks disrupting
the security of many websites and their visitors.

But rather than filling your ears with yet another opinion on SOPA or
giving you the details that you already know or could find in
a minute’s Google-ing, I really just want to make one small
observation.

Today the internet is again proving its importance in spreading
awareness of issues that do, or will in time, directly affect us all.

If you’d like more information on SOPA and PIPA this CNET article,
“How SOPA would affect you: FAQ,” is a good place to start.

We want to know: Do you think the social good often promoted online outweighs the negative effects of such things as piracy?

With CES 2012 come and gone, the tech industry is left in its wake of new devices, gadgets, gizmos, and software. Recently, the auto industry has become a major player in this biggest tech show of the year. And with laws tightening on the use of cell phones while driving and a continuing push for a more “connected” driving experience, auto makers have accepted the challenge of safely incorporating smartphones into their vehicles.

As customers demand that technology be increasingly found in the driver’s seat, automakers have been forced to balance this need with new safety features such as the ability to detect distraction or drowsiness in the driver. But they’re also paying attention to the safety effects of UX.

“You’re already used to using your phone,” said Paul Mascarenas, chief technical officer at Ford, in an interview with The New York Times, “We’re trying to create a seamless experience from your home or office into your car.” With a consistent user experience drivers will be less distracted by their devices, as they will not have to learn to navigate yet another digital system.

Technology within vehicles has become a key part of differentiation for automakers. Kia has muscled its way back into the auto industry and the minds of consumers with sleek body designs and a completely connected and technological interior. The previously low-budget auto maker has made a name for itself at CES with its Next-Gen Uvo2 system, initially debuted in 2007, to combat Ford’s Sync. Gone are the days of the Geo Metro; welcome to the age of Google Maps, park assist, crash notification and a slew of other techy necessities at a surprisingly reasonable price.

Ford, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, BMW, and Mercedes are also taking advantage of technology to meet consumer demands for a more connected cockpit and an overall safer driving experience.

We want to know: Do you own a car with these advanced technologies? Tell us how you like it and would a “seamless user experience” help you be a safer driver?

I love watching documentaries and reading books about famous artists. What inspires me most about the lives of creative personalities is that they have all gone through times of desperation and uncertainty along the path to greatness.

Steve Jobs endured the most challenging period of his life after he left Apple in 1985. More than a decade of struggle dubbed his “Wilderness Years” helped Jobs become even more convinced of who he was and how his ideas would change the world. He emerged from that period to become the “Thomas Edison of our day.”

Frank Lloyd Wright, perhaps America’s greatest architect, frequently retreated to the desert during his “wilderness years” where he “endured a… wilderness of the spirit, of professional isolation and of physical and emotional uprooting”.¹

I believe we all have wilderness periods in our lives that we must learn to navigate. I have lived the past few years with an ever-increasing amount of stress in my life and disappointment in my career. I convinced myself that I was a no-talent fraud who would be better off farming radishes than being an artist. I was working too much, while accomplishing too little. I was spread too thin and involved in too many things I had simply lost interest in. When it all started to affect my health, I realized I had reached a point where I needed to take an inventory of everything in my life and just reboot. I am emerging from that dark place right now and here is what I discovered.

When you feel you have hit a wall, or cannot continue on the same path using the same methods you have used in the past, you need to change course. Life seems to happen in phases where what worked five years ago is ineffective today. By choice or by force, you eventually take a path through the wilderness to face new realities and make new choices about who you are and what you must do in the next phase of your life. Sometimes this is called growing up. Yes, it’s scary, difficult and discouraging, but it’s necessary and exciting to discover what new possibilities are in the clearing beyond the trees.

When you hike in the wilderness, you must consider what you really need to survive. You begin by casting off what is not needed to complete your journey because your chances of survival are greater when carrying a lighter load. There is baggage we have all carried for so long that is just not relevant to our lives or careers anymore. We need to first decide what we DON’T want to do (at least for now). I have decided to stop working 12-hour days because I value time more than money. I discovered that I really don’t want to be a creative director if it leaves me no time to create my own work. I like designing Web sites, but don’t like building them. When I become too overwhelmed, I don’t want to do anything… and that’s just fine.

Once I discarded the things that seemed indispensible I came to enjoy the peace that comes with letting go. I was now free to develop new ambitions and focus on new dreams that are appropriate for my age. I made a detailed list of things that I want to accomplish this year and over the next decade – short and long-term goals in development of my spirit, body, family, finances, career, and so on. I want to paint on canvas, simply for the love of it. I started yoga with my wife. I lost 25 pounds while in the wilderness and will continue on the path of better health. This spring I will resume training in Tea-kwon Do now that my daughter is old enough to do it with me. I am a bass player who now plays guitar. I am designing coins for the United States Mint (a life-long dream of mine), along with other exciting plans on the horizon that I could not see while I was in the weeds.

If you lose a dream, then enter the wilderness to find a new one. We must all have something to look forward to in life and a hike in the woods may be just the diversion you need to help you reexamine your priorities. Further advice on hiking is don’t go it alone. Sharing your struggles and dreams with close friends helps get you through because someone you know has probably been down that path before.

Whatever you enjoy doing, try to take it a little deeper. If you sketch on notepads, paint a mural. If you like fonts, design one of your own. If you are a corporate designer, use orange and purple. Read more biographies. Try apples in your salad. Serve at a food pantry. Play a djembe. What I remember most about growing up was that there were so many new places, people, art, music, and more, all waiting to be discovered. We need to keep that level of excitement throughout our lives so we will be better prepared for the challenges and discoveries that come with our next walk in the wilds.

1. Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life By Ada Louise Huxtable Penguin, 2008.

2012 marks the 24th year of HOW Design’s longest-running design competition, the Promotional Design Awards. Launched in 1988, this awards program is the only one to focus on recognizing promotion work.

Here are some reasons you should enter, as outlined by HOW Magazine:

You can browse previous winners here to get an idea of the level of design and competition for 2012.

Best of Show prize winner gets truly royal treatment, with a free trip to the 2013 HOW Design Conference including round-trip airfare, hotel and registration AND an award presentation at the conference.

This contest is a great opportunity to be recognized for your work. Whether it’s for a client or for your own company, promotional work makes the world go ‘round and HOW understands that.

Enter the contest here, pay your minimal fee, and let the competition begin! The deadline is March 1, 2012, and winners will be announced by October 2012. No entries will be returned, so be sure to kiss them goodbye while you have the chance.

Good luck, designers!