(Design) Principles To Build By

Principles to Build ByStephen P. Anderson | @stephenanderson

A man came upon a construction site where

three people were working. He asked the first,

"What are you doing?" and the man

answered, "I am laying bricks." He asked the

second, "What are you doing?" and the man

answered, "I am building a wall." He walked

up to the third man, who was humming a

tune as he worked and asked, "What are you

doing?" and the man stood up and smiled and

said, "I am building a cathedral."

At your company...

Are people laying bricks or building a cathedral?

What is your

storymantravisionstrategic intentpurposecathedral?clarifying questionflag in the sandrallying cryreason for being

craigslist

A vision is critical.But how do you ensure

consistent design choices?

“...serves to support or reinforce the wall.”

CORE DESIGN PRINCIPLES...

Are a simple set of unique characteristics that make explicit the product specific qualities we value.

Describe the experience we are trying to create.

Insure that new features and additions, (especially from new and extended contributors)

stay true to a core vision.

Are strategic requirements.

Support the larger Vision.

Tenets

CORE DESIGN PRINCIPLES...

Are a simple set of unique characteristics that make explicit the product specific qualities we value.

Describe the experience we are trying to create.

Insure that new features and additions, (especially from new and extended contributors)

stay true to a core vision.

Are strategic requirements.

Support the larger Vision.

Kind of like a creative brief, but for product design...?

Tenets

Not to be confused with...

Design Patterns / Universal Design Principles

Design Guidelines

Corporate (or Company) Values

EXAMPLESIN THE WILD...

Google

SerendipityThe accidental discovery of something fortunate, especially while looking for something

else entirely, is desired and encouraged.

Elegance & CraftsmanshipSolutions are unusually effective and simple, and reflect care for details and nuance.

Sensual Display of InformationWhether by images or simply through text, content is obvious in a glance.

Fun!While we do support efficient searches, we also believe that how you get there should be an

enjoyable part of the experience. Life is better when you have fun along the way!

Custom-Tailored ExperiencesResults are customized per the content, and for individual users.

IntegrityChoose data sources we believe in. Conduct ourselves with integrity. etc.

Microsoft Surface

http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/category/smartfm/

Google Calendar

HTC Hero

“After the Meeting”

Playful & GamelikeGet rewarded and recognized for good work; make a game out of honoring commitments

EqualizingLevel the playing field between different (especially hierarchical) roles

ReflectiveAfter the Meeting holds a mirror up to my behaviors, from which I can learn and improve;

tight feedback loops help me get better

A Safe ZoneCreate sense of security & comfort through a structured environment where expectations are clear;

create a “safe zone” where there is clarity & mutual accountability for assignments

“System Does Work For Me”Automation wherever possible— anticipates needs, follows up with people, etc. System requires very little input from me— only what is essential to be effective

“Pomp & Circumstance”Treat activity as something worth celebrating through highly visual pages

Charmr

http://adaptivepath.com/charmr/

Once we all agree on the design philosophy of the overall house (the design tenets), we can independently go off and design our own room without worrying that the house won’t make sense once all the rooms are done.

The alternative — doing the designs without tenets and in isolation — often leads to a situation in which you either have to do a costly and painful set of clean-ups late in the process or, more usually, you just ship an incongruous design and leave the users to sort it out.

— JENSEN HARRIS | GROUP PROGRAM MANAGER OF MICROSOFT’S OFFICE USER EXPERIENCE TEAM

“

TIPS:

TIP #1Skip the obvious

useful • usable • desirable human • clear • smart easy to use • engaging

“Duh...”

TIP #2Use concrete, specific, evocative language

“provide a good experience”

“joyous to use”

“serendipitous”

TIP #3Ask “What’s the opposite of...”

“Social & Together”

“Be the Best”

“No Numbers”

“Easy to Use”

TIP #4Describe & inspire (don’t specify)

“We value the color blue”

vs

“Open like the sky”

Schema(Keep your design tenets discrete from and parallel to each other)

TIP #5

Fun

Thrilling

Visual

Social

Huh? What’s the difference?

TIP #6Get buy in

TIP #8Short 1 or 2 word statements are memorable

TIP #7Target 4-7 tenets

TIP #9

Tenets should extend and support a core vision (NEVER compete with!!)

http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?854

“Developing Design Principles”

http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/001123.php

“Making Design Principles Stick”

Thanks!This presentation was prepared by

Stephen P. Anderson@stephenanderson

For similar thoughts, please visit my site:www.poetpainter.com