The Value Of Investing In Design

As companies become more aware of the value of design and the expectation that consumers have for a good experience, a key question lies in the value of design. How much time should you invest in design? How much money do you have to invest in design to see a return? At what point in your product’s lifecycle should you focus on design versus simply features?

These are all great questions that are hard to answer because it’s very dependent on the context of the specific product — its resources, team, stage of development, and audience.

Justifying the value of investing in design is always a challenge (in my experience). There’s constant pressure to get to market because of competitor concerns or simply because a company has tied themselves to a launch date (which I really don’t recommend).Continue reading

The Product Of You: Why I Haven’t Launched My Own Product Yet

I’ve been working for myself for a little over a year two. A lot of my friends and family tend to ask one of two questions.

First, they ask if I’m going to stay in New York City. Given that I’m not tied to an office or an employer, many people assume that I’d choose to live somewhere more economical. The answer to that is a post for another day … but after being in New York City for nearly 7 years, it’s home for now.

The second  and more common question people ask is concerning why I haven’t launched my own product yet. Most people think that I have an idea in the back of my mind that I’m working on. The truth is, I have a lot of ideas. But, none that I want to dedicate myself to right now. Continue reading

What Science Says About The Effect of Stories On Our Brains

Storytelling is quite the buzz word right now, and to me, it’s almost reached the level of being cliché. It seems most chatter about storytelling focuses on how to talk about your product to consumers … but I want to go a step further and focus on how storytelling can be applied to our process of creating products.

I know that if a lot of people were to approach their colleagues or bosses about applying tactics from storytelling to the product development process, they wouldn’t get a lot of support. Many people dismiss the idea of storytelling. But the truth is, there is real science that supports the power of stories.

Think about a time when someone told you a story that you just couldn’t stop thinking about — a movie or a book. Continue reading

Getting Started In User Experience Design: Consider Your Intentions

It’s no secret, the field of user experience is quite popular and demand for UX professionals is increasing as so many companies recognize the value of a good experience — and more importantly, the expectation that people have for a great experience.

But, before you decide that you want to get started in UX, you should consider your intentions.

Do you want to get into user experience because it’s popular? Or, are you considering a career in user experience because you think it’s a good match for you — your passions, interests, and strengths?Continue reading

I’ve Changed My Mind About The Friends & Family Launch Strategy

When you’re launching a product, a common step is to invite your friends and family into the beta. Often times, it’s not just an invite. It requires multiple emails, Facebook messages, and invitations to “like” your product or company’s page on Facebook.

I recently stumbled across some old messages I’d sent to friends and family for products I’ve previously worked on. Frankly, I was embarrassed at how desperate the messages sounded. What in the world was I thinking when I hit send on those messages? It sounded like a telemarketer trying to fill a quota.

I’ve changed my mind about the friends and family launch strategy. Continue reading

Getting Started In User Experience Design: Tools of the trade

A lot of people ask me what tools they need to learn in order to get started in user experience design. The truth is, I really don’t like this question! There’s a misconception that knowing a tool will somehow elevate you in the job market.

It doesn’t matter how well you know how the tool. What matters is what you do with that tool. What matters is how you use that tool to communicate ideas, to rapidly test concepts, and to help create a story that everyone on your team can participate in and contribute to.

My career started when someone gave me an early copy of Dreamweaver and Photoshop and told me to make a website about something I was interested in. So, I made a website about a fake ski resort. Though seemingly a silly exercise, it was fundamental in my understanding of how design and technology must work together. In doing that little project, I remember being less intimidated by actuallyContinue reading

Crafting A Perfect Pitch & The Role Of Personality In Business

If you’ve been following my blog and tweets for a while, you know that I’m a big fan of Shark Tank. The most interesting part about Shark Tank is watching how well (or poorly) the entrepreneurs pitch their products. Some people nail it, while others are so terrible you almost wonder if they were just hired as actors to play entrepreneurs on television!

A great example of this is the doctors who pitched RoloDoc which I wrote about a few weeks ago. Marc Cuban said that RoloDoc was the worst pitch he’d ever seen on the show, and all the Sharks agreed!

So, what makes the perfect pitch? What are the traits necessary for a great entrepreneur? Barbara Corcoran, a Shark Tank judge and NYC real estate mogul, was recently interviewed by Henry Blodget of Business Insider.

Continue reading

Everyday UX: The User Experience Of CitiBike

As a user experience designer, in the back of my mind I am always critiquing and improving experiences that happen to me in my life. Here are some insights I had while trying out CitiBike.

On Sunday, my cousin was visiting from London and we wanted to make a full day in New York City. So we met at 7:45 am and got CitiBikes near Wall Street.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience. We rode the CitiBikes from Wall Street to 84th Street where we discovered the beautiful world of Riverside Park and found out where the Boat Basin Cafe is. We then headed back down the 59th Street where we thought we’d get a mimosa at the Plaza Hotel, because what else do you do at 10:30am on a Sunday morning in Midtown? As we learned, there’s a law in New York City that you can’t serve alcohol on a Sunday before 12pm. Who knew?!Continue reading

Why Discipline Must Trump A Digital Detox

Over the past few months, there’s been a lot of talk about the idea of taking a digital detox. Earlier this year, the word digital detox was even added to the Oxford dictionary. The Oxford definition is:

digital detox (n): a period of time during which a person refrains from using electronic devices such as smartphones or computers, regarded as an opportunity to reduce stress or focus on social interaction in the physical world: break free of your devices and go on a digital detox.

The notion of a digital detox is being embraced by the travel industry with many hotels offering digital detox packages where they will confiscate your tech devices upon checkin to the hotel to ensure you fully disconnect from your digital life. This summer, I learned that there are retreat centers and camps for adults that offer digital detox programs. In August, I tweeted my reaction to these Continue reading

Everyday UX: Google’s Gmail Interface

As a user experience designer, it is your job to be in constant observation of the world around you. Sometimes, you’re too close to something to see the problem. Sometimes, you need other people to help you see the world through their eyes.

A few days ago, a friend of mine borrowed my computer to send an email. She had cut and pasted some text into the message body and asked me how to change the formatting of the text. Quite easy, or so I thought.

Looking over her shoulder, we spent about two minutes trying to figure out how to change the formatting of the text in the body of the email. Continue reading