Categories
Business Design

My aesthetic is solving problems

From Medium

I’m a designer. That means I have strong views on how something can be communicated effectively. It does not mean that I have an “aesthetic” that applies to all of my work.

Can you imagine your doctor applying the same solution to your broken finger as another patient’s critical heart condition? That doctor most likely has a strong view on patient care, but treats individual medical challenges in vastly different ways.

The “aesthetic” of a design solution must change with each client or project. As the good Mike Monteiro puts it, “design is a solution to a problem with a set of constraints.” Designers are problem solvers who use visual communications as their connection to the outside world. Designers are not practitioners who use their own visual styles to solve all problems.

Here are my broad views on what typically works best in design — you’ll often find these strategies used in my designs because they work well, not because they are “mine.”

  • Generous white space around elements
  • Clear differentiation between types of text (headlines, body copy, etc.)
  • Strong use of contrast to separate elements and create depth
  • Removing extraneous information to more clearly communicate a thought, feeling, or piece of content
  • Most important: get out of the way — no one is coming to a web site for the design

The aforementioned Monteiro does a much better job communicate this idea (and many, many more) in his two fantastic books: Design is a Job and You’re My Favorite Client. Regardless of where you read it — or if you’re a designer or client — know that hiring a designer based on their so-called “aesthetic” is the wrong move.

Hire a designer (or an agency) for their ability to ask important questions, understand the problem, research effectively, and explain their choices.

Categories
Business Culture Self

The Itch

I took several interviews in July and August, most of them in Boston. I hadn’t traveled into the city as much as I did when I was young and fun… but there it was again. The Itch.

There’s something about a city – be it Boston or any other major metropolis – that exudes an energy wholly different from that of the suburbs. It’s the hustle-and-bustle, sounds, and sights that make life in the city move at a different pace.

I didn’t travel into the city often when I was very young. Anytime we did, it was an event and came with a sense of nervous excitement. What was going to happen? Where were we going? How would we get there?

Over time, the city pulls you back. I used to joke with a friend of mine – someone who has lived in the Boston area for over 13 years – that when I made a trek into the city for business that I would get The Itch, that unexplainable feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I walked though crowded streets or found a local watering hole for a drink or two.

The Itch is persuasive. It’s almost sensual, slowly pulling you into its orbit. And I scratched it.

I’m now working in the city of Boston for the first time in my life, despite living close by for much of my life. And it’s an exciting experience. The commute into town – I take the commuter rail, the state’s train system – provides an opportunity to share the experience of city life with others. I read to and from my home and feel I’m doing the “right thing” by using public transportation. That dang Itch… it’s got a great public relations team.

I’ve joined the flock of folks who use the city as their place of work, and I have The Itch to thank. Will The Itch wear away over time?

Categories
Business Sports

Brand Evolution: from Tiger to Rory

It was only a matter of time.

Nike hitched their wagons to Tiger Woods at an early age and turned the Nike Golf brand from a novelty to major competitor. The traditional golf manufacturers – Titleist, Ping, Taylor Made, Callaway, et. al – struggled to slow down Nike Golf’s meteoric rise since the late 90s. In fact, Nike equipment was considered a joke, even after Woods began using the clubs. But the brand’s explosion is all thanks to Tiger Woods.

And then Thanksgiving of 2009 happened.

Since the story broke of Woods’s extra-marital affairs, both the Tiger Woods brand and Nike Golf brand have taken a hit. Sure, Tiger won a few tournaments last year and his game looked solid. But Woods hasn’t won a major since 2008 and his popularity has decreased since 2009. What was Nike to do?

Nike did the smart thing, sticking by one of their most successful, famous, and marketable athletes. But they knew the Tiger magic couldn’t last forever. Could Tiger go on to win several majors over the next decade? Absolutely. But with a brand literally built by one star, Nike Golf needed the next step in its brand evolution.

Enter Rory McIlroy. Young. Multiple major victories. Incredibly likable. Sounds a lot like Tiger Woods.

And with Nike’s latest commercial featuring both golfers, the message is clear: Tiger is still a big part of Nike Golf, but Rory is THE part of Nike Golf in the not-so-distant future. The commercial literally shows them as equals, matching shot for shot, until the end… where Tiger says, “you’ll learn.”

Here, “you’ll learn” means much more than hitting a golf ball into a small plastic cup. It means that the brand rollout for McIlroy will learn a lot from the brand rollout of Woods. Within the next couple of years, Nike Golf will develop a McIlroy logo, apparel, and McIlroy-only commercials. As Tiger’s career winds down, McIlroy’s will be doing the opposite. And the Nike Golf brand continues.

Nike’s stance on McIlroy sets them up for the next couple of decades in continuing the Nike Golf brand story. All McIlroy has to do is keep winning… and stay away from the ladies.

Categories
Business Culture Self

Family

I no longer work for HB.

The reasons aren’t important – what’s important is my relationship with HB during my time as a designer and interactive strategist. The company – especially the Creative team – watched me grow from a boy into (arguably) a man as I bought a house, got married, and became a father. The “trifecta” of life events were all shared with my HB family over 6.5 years.

But it’s the last 48 hours where my family truly worked their magic.

There’s my immediate family who I go to for emotional support in moments of confusion. They are available, open, and supportive with no strings attached. I’m blessed to have them in my life.

Then there’s my extended family and friends – all of whom offered words of encouragement, a few laughs, and suggestions for next steps.

And it’s amazing the work my professional network family has done in so little time. I’ve had an unexpected number of folks – some of who haven’t heard from me in years – graciously offer an introduction, recommendation, or a helping hand. Their words alone mean the world.

And finally, there’s my HB family. I’ve invested so much time with them during my tenure as an HBer. There were lots of tears as we parted ways this week – because emotions are prevalent in any family. They’ve looked out for me and will continue to do so in the coming weeks and months.

Thank you to my HB family for an amazing ride. Maybe I’ll get to introduce you to my new family, wherever they will be.

Categories
Business Design Measurement Strategy

Gut versus data – the eternal question

From the HB Blog

I used to be a math geek. When I was a grade school and high school student, I displayed advanced behaviors with regards to numbers and their interrelationships. I nearly attended a technical university in order to continue exploring mathematics.

Funny track for a designer, no?

Today, as someone who designs experiences for other humans, I rely less on my knowledge of numbers and more on my intuition. The ubiquitous head-versus-heart argument has always intrigued me so I recently scoured the web for some additional insight. Here’s a sampling of what I found:

But that means us too, as leaders, need to have the guts to go with our intuition sometimes instead of hiding behind the numbers. Hiding behind the numbers is the easy way, because even if it goes wrong, it’s easy for us to say that with the information we had it seemed pretty clear that that was what we should have tried blah blah blah. What’s harder is making a decision because you feel like it’s the one that needs to be made. Your gut tells you it’s the right one. You won’t have the luxury of hiding behind the numbers if you’re wrong, but at least you’re actually thinking and making decisions instead of doing what the numbers tell you to do. – workplace MOJO

Don’t get me wrong — you need data. You should be gathering all the data you can from the very beginning. But you also need to know that your data is not absolute — it’s incomplete, and you simply don’t have enough of it to base your decisions fully on data. You gather all the inputs you can, but your decision really boils down to both using your head AND trusting your gut. So while there’s no exact formula, when it’s time to make the decision of whether to make a change or stick with your original business plan: gather your data, consider all the advice, and take some time to listen to what your gut has to say. – The Accelerators blog

Howard Gardner, a Harvard professor and psychologist, said “gut instinct is basically a form of pattern recognition.” Our brains can process more information on a more sophisticated level than most of us realize. These complex systems — battlefields, financial markets, company cultures and corporate strategies — require a different kind of thinking based on the informed gut. In these situations, you will never collect enough data or be able to weigh every alternative in order to rationalize an analytical decision. However, your subconscious has already amassed sufficient cues to tell your gut how to move forward. All you have to do is listen to it, trust your instincts and make the best decision you can with the limited information available. – Austin Business Journal

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards… you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. – Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement speech, June 2005

Did you need data to choose your life-partner? How about your alma mater? Was there deep analysis that led you to choose the name of your first-born? Likely, not. But you still can’t tell your board or your leadership team that you need to launch a new service offering, because ‘your gut says so’.” The Reaganesque ‘Trust But Verify’ works for us. Use your guts to lead you to a hypothesis. Use your intuition to decide on how best to verify it. Then, go get the data and build the case to win over your peers and bosses. Sooner or later, the decision-makers will need to trust their guts to make the call. After all, even when the evidence is beyond the shadow of a doubt, the decider needs to take a leap of faith when the time comes to choose.” – Corporater World

In the end, the debate continues, but one strategy remains clear: balance helps with decision-making. Both your gut and the numbers need to play critical roles in both design and business decisions.