The woman leaves the room for a moment, and when she comes back, she is dismayed to find that the children have all begun scribbling on the walls.

There are squiggly lines of color everywhere, ruining her pristine, white paint job. Imagine you are this woman. What do you do next? Do you praise the children’s artistic contribution to the decor? Or do you grab the nearest sponge and start scrubbing frantically before the company comes over?

If you’re like most moms, the answer is obviously the latter, but why? Is it because you want to tyrannize the kids? Infringe on their self-expression? Probably not.

More likely, you just want to maintain a sense of order in the house. Three toddlers running amok with crayons would quickly become chaotic. And in a world of chaos, no one is happy; neither you nor the children, even though they were the ones who started the madness.

Defending Design Simplicity

Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said that “perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” That’s a nice quote, but what does it mean in the practical sense?

Sure, it’s telling us that simple is better than complicated. Most of us know that instinctually. No one wants a pen that’s also a steam iron, a soap dispenser, and a toaster oven. But how do we avoid ending up with one? Here’s a secret: it doesn’t just happen.

Source: Quote – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Most people have an idea of the perfect simple, elegant solution to their design problem. The downside is, so does everyone else who has the same problem. Put them all in a room together, and you’ll have no consensus, but pandemonium.

Everyone will contradict each other, and sometimes even themselves, in pursuit of the “ultimate” solution that will be universally beneficial.

In one of the greatest paradoxes of human nature, when everyone has a say in what they think will make everyone happy, the result – invariably – is that no one is happy.

The underlying imperative of de Saint-Exupery’s words is that there must be someone in charge of a process who makes the single, final decision.

There must be one person – or a small, unified group of persons – who will ruthlessly prune the savage garden of the horde, creating a result that is not what anyone said they wanted, but what is truly needed.

They must be able to think globally rather than provincially. They must be willing and able to ignore what people say and focus on what is objectively best.

They must lead, and they must be vigilant about it. Any slack during this crucial moment, the final verdict will unravel the entire operation, resulting in a quagmire of confusion that will suck everyone under.

In other words, they have to act like Moms.

Don’t Make a Mess

People like to believe they’re an important part of a decision making process. And they are – just not quite in the way they think.

A consumer’s role in the design process is both less and more important than it often appears. It’s less important because what people tell you they want is almost always irrelevant.

That might sound harsh, but it’s actually a good thing. Recall the earlier example of the multi-purpose pen. Everyone you question will tell you something slightly different about what they “really” want in a pen.

Some people will want a pen that can light up. Others will want a pen that does arithmetic. Still, others will want one that can write underwater, or that is made out of living plant fibers, or that will give off a heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies.

If you’re a reasonable sort, you’ll want to take everyone’s ideas equally seriously. It’s only fair – the customer is always right.

Plus, you might think all those ideas sound equally as cool – who wouldn’t want a pen that can do all of those things? In magical unicorn land, it would be perfect, a must-have item. But here’s the thing about the real world: when you add features, you get mass, and mass equals mess. Let me repeat that: features = mass = mess.

And a mess is completely at odds with de Saint-Exupery’s words of wisdom above. Nobody likes a mess. That perfect pen dreamed up by your well-meaning consumer test group would be the size of a wine bottle and weigh as much as a brick.

Sure, it would have all the features everyone asked for, but who do you think is actually going to use it? What people say is irrelevant.

As a designer, you must be prepared, like a good, caring mom, to give them what they need.

A consumer’s big, important role to play in a design process – their time to shine – is in demonstrating what they really, truly need in a product. Contrary to the things people say, what they need is extremely important. It is only through solving a need that any designer can hope to have a career. But how do you tell the difference?

If you can’t trust people to tell you what they need (and you can’t), how can you possibly figure it out? Should you guess? Do you simply create things arbitrarily, assuming you instinctually know what everyone’s needs are?

Of course not. That’s just as careless as adding too much mass. Do you embrace your inner creep and watch them intently, observing their habits and formulating an ideal solution based on what you see?

Well… yes.

People love to tell you how iconoclastic they are. Everyone else is one way, but they are different because (fill in the blank).

The truth is, the majority of human beings on this planet are remarkably similar in behavior, even people who might superficially be categorized as “different.”

True deviations from the norm are often frightening – sociopaths and murderers – or patently obvious mental or personality disorders. The rest of us – natives and immigrants, extroverts and introverts, liberals and conservatives, iOS users and Android – we’re all more alike than we typically care to admit.

And when we come together to form a market for a product, our actions as a unit usually prove it. We demonstrate what we really want, what we need, by how we behave; what we buy, when we buy it, how we pay for it, or even if we pay for it.

This is the meat of good design, the thing that makes it revolutionary. You must indulge your inner creep, or your inner mom, and let your market speak to you not with what they say, but with what they do.

The post Avoiding Design by Committee appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

For example, if your client is late to a meeting, you would probably assume they got stuck in traffic. It’s a simpler and likelier explanation than, say, assuming they got temporarily abducted by aliens and had to fight through an endless maze of plant monsters to get to the meeting on time

That’s a prime example of the kind of over-thinking that many designers are prone to. We’ll go over the importance of ditching the unnecessary when developing design concepts, and why it’s so hard to do in the first place.

Not only will you be a stronger designer when you insist on simplicity, but your clients will be much happier with your work as well.

Image Source

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Considering New Options

Here’s a scenario that I think perfectly illustrates how designers can use Occam’s Razor to de-clutter their designs. If you know me, you know what I’m about to say: something about food! Okay, so, you and a group of friends go out to eat at a buffet-style restaurant, and you begin piling up a huge assortment of food on your plate. Your friends are giving you funny looks, but you explain that you’re really hungry and will be eating a lot.

However, when you finally sit down to dig in, you get overwhelmed with the variety of options in front of you. Where do you jab your fork first? Decisions, decisions. Your friends are having no trouble polishing off their smaller meals and going to get seconds. It occurs to you that you didn’t have to put everything you were going to eat tonight on your plate at one time. There was a simpler solution right in front of you that you didn’t even consider. Oops.

Design works the exact same way. No matter what you want to accomplish in a design, there is almost always a simpler way to do it that will obtain the same result with less distraction and clutter.

Deconstructing a design concept to its bare elements while still maintaining the integrity of the design brief allows you to solve clients’ problems with the power of economy. Always go out of your way to make things less complex, because…

Complicating Things Is Natural

I’m not sure why so many people think that simplicity or minimalism in design is easier to do than complexity. But it’s a pretty depressingly common thing for a non-designer to think.

I’ve personally worked with many people who just did not understand what it took to create a simple design layout. And I didn’t even try to strangle any of them. They say in entertainment that you can never be too rich or too thin. Well, in the design industry, you can never be too patient.

Back when I did the in-house grind, a co-worker once told me that whoever created the SPAM logo was: “just a slacker. I mean, how hard is *that* to pull off?” He was under the impression, like many non-creative professionals, that it was somehow “easier” to create something simple like the SPAM logo because it wasn’t as complex as, say, directing a customer service staff of 50 people (he was a VP of Operations).

Getting A Close Shave

Having designed “simple” logos and directed staff teams, I can say with a fair amount of authority that, if you’re doing it right, the latter is far easier than the former, and here’s why.

As a designer, the most important thing you can deliver to your clients is a way to funnel their core values into a working system. That includes the visuals, of course, but visuals are almost near the bottom of the list for design requirements. Sure, anybody can put some plain text in a box. But the knowledge of whether or not that’s appropriate for the project you’re working on is what makes you the design expert, and not your client.

Always remind yourself that design is about solving a problem and communicating a core idea to your user. Whether it’s a squeeze page on a commercial website, or the can opener in your kitchen, all design should strive to use the fewest amount of elements to make the easiest user experience possible.

If you find yourself stuck in a heavy jungle of clutter, walk away for a minute and ask yourself what simpler way you can use to achieve the exact same effect you’re striving for.

Image Source

The DNA Of Clutter

Nature is predisposed toward complexity. That means that, in general, simple things get more complicated over time. Single-celled organisms evolve into multi-celled organisms, and so on. Evolution is not the most efficient designer, and sometimes nature’s solution to a problem is to just evolve something else to solve it.

Then, once the need for it is gone, it just sort of sits there. That’s why we have an appendix, tonsils, and other weird remnants of things we once needed for survival, but now… not so much.

And it’s not just us. There are plenty of examples in the animal kingdom of species that have vestigial, or formerly useful, limbs, organs, behaviors, and instincts. They aren’t useful anymore, but, thanks to Mother Nature (also known as the worst art director in the universe), they’re there to stay.

What this all means is that we humans are built from the ground up to take simple things and make them complex. Think about a nomadic people’s village versus a modern metropolis in the West or East Asia. Huge difference in complexity, but all human civilizations started out the same – very simple and basic.

To make something simple from something complex is against our very nature. This is why Occam’s Razor exists in the first place. William of Ockham, the 14th Century English scholar who first came up with the idea, knew that people had a tendency to think up fanciful solutions to problems that only needed a simple fix. Try this explanation the next time you encounter a client who doesn’t think design is a “real” job.

If you struggle with simplifying your designs, remember that it’s not really your fault. It comes with having a human brain and seeing things in many layers. But through your designs, you can constantly challenge yourself and your users to take the simpler road.

You won’t always end up with the world’s most elegant solution, and that’s okay.

But by reminding yourself that there’s always a way to do it simpler, you can ensure you’re always communicating the clearest message.

The post Taking the Occam Razor Approach to Design appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

From the moment you make a selection in the store to the moment you get your groceries home and open them, food package designers have carefully engineered each step of your eating experience to make sure you make the choices that are right for you.

As designers, it’s always worth considering how others in different parts of the design industry tackle their own special problems and challenges. So today, we’ll be taking a “field trip” into the design process behind some of the industry’s most successful and effective food packaging designs.

Confidence is Delicious

Here’s a little experiment you can try the next time you’re shopping for food at the store: pick a packaged item. Bread, cheese, yogurt – anything you like. Find a low-priced version of it, and hold it in your hands.

Examine the design, the quality of the materials used to make it. Make a mental note of how it makes you feel to hold it. Do you feel calm? Hungry? Intrigued? Slightly nauseated? Now put it back and do the same thing with a higher-priced version. How do you feel now? Is there a difference in your level of engagement with the product?

One of the most important things food packaging designers consider when creating a package design is the way it will feel in your hands when you hold it in a store. For many consumers, something that doesn’t feel right in their hands can mean the difference between making a purchase and leaving something on the shelf.

Barrelhead Foods by David Cole Creative

You want your users (in this case, food shoppers) to feel confident holding your packaging in their hands, because that sends the subconscious message that “this is a trustworthy food item I can confidently serve to my family.”

If you’re a web or print designer, you can create the same sense of confidence in your own users by being consistent and committing to a uniform standard of quality across every aspect of your project.

Quality design seems to be something most people recognize when they see it, even if they don’t exactly know why. When people purchase something with quality design, it sends a little subliminal message that they’ve made a good decision, and actually increases their opinion of the product regardless of how good it actually is.

You want to encourage your users’ confidence by subtly telling them that purchasing your product (or consuming your content, in whatever form it might come) is, to quote Martha Stewart, a Good Thing. You can do just that by adhering to the highest design standards possible.

Bushwick Tea X Black Seed Bagels by Salih Küçükağa

Smile For the Camera

I don’t know the exact percentage of food packaging which incorporates photography versus that which does not, but just from browsing the store aisles where I live in the US, I’d say that photographic designs are in the minority.

However, there are benefits to this kind of food packaging, which I personally thing some food packaging designers could make better use of. Obviously, the biggest benefit to including a photo is that the consumer can see the actual product that they’re buying without opening the package.

Nowadays, this can be a tricky way to sell food, since people are more cynical than they used to be. You know, for example, that the food-styled photography you see in television ads is usually not what you’re going to get at the store or the drive-thru window. So seeing a photo of perfectly styled food can actually lead to disappointment.

However, there’s an interesting thing that happens the majority of the time, and it’s why food stylists are able to stay employed. It’s related, in part, to the feeling of confidence I mentioned before. When people see something of quality, they’re more inclined to feel they made a good decision, and – here’s the important part – they’re more likely to be charitable in their opinion of the product they’ve purchased. Simply put, presentation is everything.

When I was in culinary school, our chef instructors always used to stress how important it was that we make our plates look as delicious as we possibly could, even if the food was mediocre. Why? Because it’s common knowledge that the better something looks, the more positively people respond – especially if they’re going to be putting it in their mouths.

In design school, I heard and witnessed the same phenomenon – the students who presented “blah” ideas exceptionally well almost always outperformed those who presented awesome ideas poorly.

Of course, presenting an awesome idea well is ideal, but it’s less important to make every single thing pixel perfect. Putting a perfectly styled photo on a food package (or in an advertisement) counts as good presentation, and consumers generally respond with confidence.

When you take on a customer-facing design project, you are making a presentation. You can directly control how most of your users will respond to your product or content by presenting it well, even if it’s not perfect.

Nori Takeout Sushi by María Luisa Castro

The Food Gods Have Spoken

According to the very accurate, scientific research of, um, me browsing through the grocery aisle, the vast majority of food packaging design does not use photography. Rather, they use graphic elements to hint at a specific set of values which strike a chord with the consumers who are most likely to buy that item.

The Clif brand of energy bars, for example, includes several different types of packaging in their multiple varieties of products. Believe it or not, each of these different packages is designed to appeal to a slightly different sub-market of consumer. The majority of the product line of energy bars feature no photography on their opaque wrappers – just a simple design and vector illustrations of a guy rock climbing or doing some other type of extreme sport.

That has nothing to do with the actual food item itself, but it does suggest to the customer the kind of lifestyle they can aspire to if they eat Clif bars. The “Builder’s” line of protein bars features photography, for a certain type of consumer who tends to be more practical and serious about living an active, health-conscious lifestyle. The people at Clif know this – they target specific segments of their market in different ways, in order to appeal to all their consumers effectively.

When you connect with your target audience – when you really explore what they want and how to reach them, you can create their world with your designs. It sounds kind of godlike, but it’s true. Creating products and content for a specific group of users allows you to zoom in on their likes and dislikes; their hopes and fears.

Using this information, you can engineer the experience they have with your content or product by catering directly to the type of person they are.

Once you know your users’ ideal lifestyle, you can then create it for them, suggesting it to them whether they’re in the grocery store buying ingredients for dinner, or whether they’re reading the summary for an ebook online. Food packaging designers know this when they cater to the “lifestyle” of their target market.

Tomiris by Svetlana Nikolayeva

Narrowing It Down

Everyone is different. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no such thing as a “general audience.” There are only different microcosms of people who have many different tastes and preferences. Many designers think this makes their job more difficult, but in fact, if you learn to embrace it, it can make design much more straightforward.

Not necessarily easier, but knowing your specific audience can take much of the guesswork out of figuring out what will sell. It takes a bit of work to pinpoint your exact type of user, and what he or she really wants (partly because people tend to be horrible at articulating what they actually want), but it’s definitely worth it.

The post The Secret to Successful Food Packaging Design appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

For example, I take my routine to the next level. I start each morning the same way: I turn on my computer and open the apps I need – all in the same order. Maybe I’m a bit obsessed?

But this behavior goes further. It also applies to the way I build websites. There are certain styles and layouts that I’m comfortable with.

Don’t get me wrong – I do like some variation in how things look. But I also have a preferred way of working. Thus, I become unnerved when someone asks me to change.

There’s both a level of fear and frustration when leaving one’s comfort zone. But it can be a more rewarding experience than our brains will allow us to believe.

Let’s explore why projects outside of our sweet spot can cause such discomfort. Along the way, we’ll discuss some things we can do to meet these challenges with enthusiasm (or cautious optimism, at least).

Finding Your Design Happy Place

Success breeds complacency. That’s why, in the world of sports, it’s incredibly hard to win multiple championships in a row. Maintaining that same level of intensity is difficult.

In web design, successfully completing a project makes us feel great. But it can also result in becoming formulaic in how we do things.

Our process may evolve in some areas. But overall, we do what has led to positive outcomes in the past. It’s a natural reaction.

This approach is also great for efficiency. Especially when we have multiple projects to manage. Repeating these steps allows us to get more done in less time.

That is, until someone comes along and disrupts our happy little pattern.

Thanks for Ruining a Good Thing

Has a client ever asked you to create something that isn’t your style? It can throw you off your game.

I’ve been in this situation before. A client wants a unique layout for their site. Hearing this makes me feel a bit insecure. They were well within their right to ask. But I immediately felt like I was going to fail.

What was I so afraid of? They’re asking me to go beyond my comfort zone. Since I haven’t built this type of site before, how can I possibly succeed? Maybe this project will destroy my confidence. What if I disappoint my client?

This is an irrational way to approach the situation. I’ve been at this for long enough to where I should know better. But, like it or not, that’s usually my first reaction when life takes me to unexpected places. I don’t count it as one of my strengths.

Take a Deep Breath & Come To Reality

The biggest hurdle in these situations is taking the first step. Maybe it’s the fear of failure or the sense that you aren’t good enough. But it seems that the longer you avoid doing uncomfortable things, the worse you feel.

The solution is to get to work. Eliminate any distractions and spend some quiet time with your project. You may find that a decent idea can grow into something better. Pretty soon, you’ll be on your way to a successful outcome.

Problem-solving is a part of design that doesn’t always come naturally. When you’re handed the same problem over and over, you solve it the same way. But when handed a more unfamiliar riddle, you might be unsure of the answer. Uncertainty is uncomfortable, after all.

For me, the initial panic usually gives way to laughter. I wonder why I ever worried in the first place. Practicing patience and allowing myself room to experiment often leads to positive results.

With that in mind, here’s what I’m going to tell myself the next time I face a similar project. Maybe it will help you, too.

• You’re Not Being Punished – Being uncomfortable can be the worst feeling. It’s as if a curse has been put on me. I know that’s not the case (at least, I don’t think it is). But it’s important to remember that this is just another challenge in a life full of them. Others have been through far worse.
• You Might Fail Initially – Your first idea may not be the best one – but that’s OK. You have to start somewhere. Design is a process. And it’s particularly tough when you’re swimming in uncharted waters.
• You’ll Get It – Eventually – Working a different way often requires some trial and error. It also takes a bit more time. Patience and persistence are keys. If you keep working, you’ll end up with the right answer.
• The Experience Will Make You Better – Oftentimes, the best way to combat being uncomfortable with a project is to force yourself to do it. The reward is that you’ll feel more confident about having taken it on. You’ll also be able to lean on this experience when facing future challenges. That’s good because another one is always just around the corner.

It’s All Part of the Job

When you think about it, web design (and life) would be pretty boring if we did things the same way every time. Still, going outside your comfort zone is hard.

Your initial reaction may be to run as fast and far away as possible. But that leads to complacency and stagnation. Neither trait is good for your career.

It turns out that the key to dealing with these situations is to work through your fears and preconceived notions. Along the way, you’ll find that your design skills are much more flexible than you might have thought.

The post Taking Trips Outside of Your Design Comfort Zone appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Nevertheless, there are pockets of independent retail shops in New York that have been quietly staging their own cheesy rebellion for years. These renegade shops continue to sell raw cheeses – preferred among gourmets for their supposedly superior taste and texture.

However, you can’t simply walk into one of these shops and pick up a raw round of cheese off the shelf. You have to specifically ask for it. Most people wouldn’t think to ask, and so they never know about the whole world of illicit flavor hiding in plain sight.

This, my friends, is an example of design mythology in action. A compelling story that piques your natural curiosity and makes you wonder if you yourself could ever stumble across something so unusual.

The best part is that it’s not merely something for cheese sellers – designers can master this skill as well, using their own personal stories to craft a compelling narrative that captivates clients as well as viewers.

Maybe not as cool as illegal cheese, though. I mean, come on. That’s pretty epic.

Persona Design

The British street artist Banksy is known for his anonymity almost as much as he is known for his work.

This is done deliberately – it builds up a powerful persona that people recognize (or, in Banksy’s case, don’t recognize) immediately. They will hear your name and instantly recall how weird you are, or how many risks you take, or how excited you get when talking about your work.

Whatever your unique personality and communication style is, you can use it to transform your persona from dull to dynamic. Even if you think you’re not that exciting, you can still capitalize on some quirk of yours that will grab people’s attention.

Even being “boring” can be fascinating as a persona. American comedian Jerry Seinfeld is quite famous for being an average, everyday Joe. It’s how he built his comedy empire and became a legend on television screens across the country.

So don’t be afraid to be exactly who you are, and never underestimate your appeal to your niche market.

What others may find dull or strange or confusing, your audience will absolutely love.

Design As Performance Art

You can definitely harness the same process for your design work as well and create a compelling experience around the production of your work for your clients and your users.

Many artists and designers use video to display their creative process to the fans of their work. People love to watch a creative person working; if you’ve ever tried to sketch in a public place like the zoo or the subway, you know this. Many strangers won’t be able to resist tilting their heads around trying to get a good look at your sketchbook.

When you display your own unique production style, clients and users will take notice, and your work will take on a life of its own in the stories people will tell each other about it.

You want those stories – that mythology – to take root in every aspect of your production and your marketing. It’s the single most important part of your reputation as a designer.

Telling The Story

Storytelling is the most essential component of creating a mythology around yourself as a designer. After all, how else to get your mythology out there except in story form? But storytelling is a double-edged blade.

Sure, you have to get good at telling your own story. But it’s also important to consider the stories other people are telling about your work.

What people say about your designs and how they say it is vital to getting the best clients. You can definitely influence people’s opinion of your work based on the mythology surrounding it.

People are more likely to respond positively to design that has good mythology around its creation than to design that has little to no mythology.

Sources of Inspiration

If you really want to stand out from the crowd, don’t take inspiration from the same things everyone else in your industry is. Find something else to embrace, perhaps from a different industry or discipline, and co-opt it for your own work.

Remember that it’s perfectly okay to steal ideas, just as long as you steal enough different ones.

If every designer is obsessed with one particular trend or style, and you’re just not into it, that’s perfectly okay. Read books, look at new and different designs, and discover even more things that will help you develop a totally unique visual style.

It takes more work, but if you’re willing to dig deeper, you’ll stand head and shoulders above all the copycats who are too lazy or afraid to strike out on their own.

It takes time to develop a mythology around your designs. Don’t expect it to happen overnight – people need time to get to know who you are as a designer and to adapt to your unique offerings.

Attracting quality clients who will rave about your work will help tremendously, as it will lend your business a credibility that you can’t get any other way.

Remember, people are willing to tolerate almost any amount of eccentricity as long as others can verify that you can be counted on to deliver the results they want.

The post Developing a Sense of Mythology Around Your Designs appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Personally, I’m in the ‘love it’ camp, and today I’m going to share with you six ways that you can leverage the power of sushi to improve your designs. Yes, really!

1. Tell a Story For Your Clients

Traditional sushi chefs in Japan are known for chatting with their customers at length about the local ingredients so essential to their cuisine. If you sit down at their restaurants, they will regale you with stories about the work they do, informing you and engaging you at the same time.

Restaurants are social environments – we go out to eat when we could easily stay in because we want to be around other people while we enjoy a (hopefully) delicious meal. People, like this guy, have since turned this traditional, sociable behavior into an international legend, comparing every sushi experience to the pleasant, informative one they had in Japan.

As a designer, you too can leverage this narrative power when you engage your clients. People respond well to storytelling – it makes you stand out from the pool of other designers who never use this tool.

Make sure you have a story to tell about your work. Do personal projects you love, and make a habit of explaining your unique and fascinating process to potential clients. They’ll definitely be interested as long as you keep it brief.

2. Simplicity is key

For many Japanese people, eating a little raw fish with rice is a complete meal. The story you tell with your work need not be complicated or overly dramatic. The more you simplify your process, the easier it will become, and the more work you’ll be able to accomplish.

Take writing this article, for example. If I hadn’t started out with a process to keep things simple, I would have spent far too long going into details that aren’t necessary to tell the story.

Simplifying your process isn’t easy, but once you develop your own system for tackling your work, it will definitely make your life much less hectic.

3. Uncover New Paths

Originally, the rice in sushi served a very specific purpose – to keep the fish preserved as it traveled from the fishing docks to the fish markets. To accomplish this, the rice was fermented and consequently had a very strong flavor that few could stomach.

It was traditionally discarded until the 18th century, when people began reducing the fermentation levels and including it as part of the actual dish. Now, sushi rice is the most common ingredient in most types of sushi. Making the rice part of the flavor profile opened up a whole new range of possibilities for flavor combinations.

Coming up with a function, or a solution to a problem you didn’t even know was there is a crucial part of design. Imagine if chefs still threw away their sushi rice before they served you your meal. We’d be missing out on so many different types of delicious sushi – nigiri, temaki, gunkan, and all those delicious rolls we Westerners love. How sad would that be? Good thing someone figured out how to prevent this tragedy from happening.

As a designer, your job is to navigate uncharted territory, making use of things that others miss or overlook. Have a bunch of throw-away supplies, research, or junk mail staring you in the face? Look at it again with new eyes and see if you can’t create a ‘sushi rice’ moment of your own.

4. Details, Details

Because they work with raw fish, which can contain harmful microorganisms, professional sushi chefs are specially trained to pay attention to certain characteristics of the fish that most commercial inspectors don’t bother with. Things like the smell of the fish, its color, firmness, and sterility are examined much more closely to ensure a safe dining experience for their patrons.

Designers can learn a lot from this ultra-specific attention to detail. As you are a decision maker, expected to come up with solutions to your clients’ problems before they even realize the problems are there, you need to learn how to think like a sushi chef and closely examine your designs for tiny flaws that others might not see.

Be relentless; weed out whatever doesn’t belong and don’t be satisfied until you’re sure you can present your clients with the absolute highest quality designs you can possibly create. This does two things: one, it puts more awesome design in the world (and who doesn’t need more of that?), and two, it signals to your client that you are different from all the other average designers out there who just turn in work that’s ‘good enough.’

5. It’s All About the Presentation

The reasons for inspecting sushi and sashimi ingredients aren’t all dire and health-related. Fish used for sushi and sashimi is also inspected for its visual appeal. Only the most attractive and flavorful cuts of fish are used, and great care is taken to make sure the beauty of the fish is retained once it arrives on your plate.

More creative chefs have signature styles of presenting their sushi – things that make their dishes unique to them and which inspire a mythology among their customers. Does that remind you of anything? Sushi is definitely a designed product, from inspection to presentation.

In fact, I can’t think of another traditional food that incorporates more conscious design into every aspect of its creation than sushi. Everything from the way sushi chefs select their ingredients, to the way they proudly tell you about them at the restaurant is a carefully orchestrated production – almost a performance.

You can definitely harness this process for yourself in your design work, and create a similar production experience for your clients and your users. When you develop your own unique production style, clients and users will take notice, and your work will take on a life of its own in the stories people will tell each other about it.

You want those stories – that mythology – to take root. It’s the single most important part of your reputation as a designer. What people say about your designs, and how they say it, is vital to getting the best clients. Plus, you can actually influence people’s opinion of your work based on they mythology surrounding it.

People are more likely to respond positively to design that has a good mythology, than to design that has little to no mythology.

6. Juxtaposition: the ‘Secret Sauce’

In the West, we don’t really pair unremarkable cereal staples with other, much more flavorful dishes. Except for pasta, which, of course, comes from Asia and is traditionally made from…rice. Go figure. But in Asia, chefs and cooks do this all the time. Rice is used as a palate cleanser and a kind of ‘shock absorber’ for the spicy and flavorful foods it normally accompanies.

Sushi is no exception. I suspect the reason Japanese cooks began including rice in their sushi dishes was that they wanted to experiment with different types of flavors for the fish – flavors that would be a bit too strong if consumed by themselves, without the rice as a ‘buffer.’

When you employ this practice in your designs, you are having the same effect on people’s eyes and brains that sushi has on their palates. Simplicity paired with tiny moments of intense detail or “flavor” is a philosophy you can use to create designs that are intriguing and unexpected.

How else can you draw design inspiration from sushi? Could you really, really go for a Hawaiian roll right about now? I know I could…

The post Leveraging the Power of Sushi to Improve Your Designs appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Even so, as someone who has worked in web design for over two decades, I’m still amazed at the number of people who scoff at spending more than the bare minimum on their site. This is particularly troublesome when it comes to software or services central to a website’s core functionality. It can be a very shortsighted approach.

There are a number of factors regarding why clients can be stingy with spending on their website. What they may not realize is that they’re taking some risks in doing so. Let’s look at some of the reasons why clients may skimp on their website and what you can do to counter it.

It’s a Free (or Really Inexpensive) World

Perhaps part of the problem here is that the old adage, “You get what you pay for”, may not be as true as it once was. With free open-source software making up so much of what we use to build and maintain websites, it’s no wonder that some clients might just expect the world for a dime. After all, with everything WordPress does for free, it’s easy to see why someone might expect that all of their needs can be covered without significant cost.

But this has even driven the definition of “significant cost” to change in some people’s eyes. I’ve seen people hesitant to spend an extra $50 on a commercial plugin that would fit their needs perfectly. While it’s understandable that not everyone can afford extra costs, this trepidation is not limited to just those with tight budgets. Large, profitable companies can also push back against even the smallest of expenditures.

This mentality also shows up in other web-related areas that have pretty much always had a cost associated with them, like web hosting. Again, it’s smart business to get a good deal. But there comes a point when you need to recognize that exceedingly cheap services may not provide the level of support and reliability required to get the job done.

That’s really the risk you take with trying to get away on the cheap. Whether it’s a plugin, hosting service or something else – doing it based only on cost is usually going to come back and bite you in the end.

The Designer’s Dilemma

Sometimes, it can feel like the process of advising clients on software and services can get a little too personal. You make recommendations based on what will help you do things the right way and provide the best outcome for everyone involved. But oftentimes you feel like you’re also being asked to personally justify the cost.

“Why can’t we use a free alternative?”
“Why do I need to spend money on this at all?”

While it’s a client’s right to ask questions, the kind asked above can seem more like an interrogation – almost like you’re trying to get away with something. But don’t take it as a personal affront. It may simply be that they don’t quite understand the situation. In fact, it may be more about your own ability to communicate the how and why of it all.

Learn to Think Like a Business Owner

The expectation that the software and services that help to make a website work will be free (or incredibly cheap) is something unique in the business world. It’s unlikely that you’d see the same type of expectation when we’re talking about buildings, vehicles or even computers. Most business owners realize that those items have a cost attached to them.

But, to some, that idea that everything web-related is low cost still resonates. Ask them to shell out for a physical product and it’s not such a big deal. Ask them to pay for premium hosting and you may get a blank stare in return.

That’s why it’s up to us – the hired experts – to provide clients with a bit of education in this area. Part of the challenge here is to explain the importance of whatever expenditure we’re asking them to make. The goal is to help guide them to the conclusion that their website is just as (if not more) important than the other parts of their business.

Once they see their website as an investment crucial to their own success, the budget can start to loosen up a bit. While a client may not be able to physically hold a custom plugin in their hands, we need to show them the real-world effects it can have on their bottom line.

In other words, the key here is to speak to them in their own language. This is especially important when communicating with clients who aren’t very tech-savvy. So, instead of just telling them they need a $50 plugin, explain how that $50 investment will provide returns for their business. Instead of saying “You need this…” it should be, “You need this, and here’s what it will do to help you reach your goals…”

Breaking the cycle is a matter of opening ourselves up and providing more than just the basics. So, the next time you discuss a project with a client, put forth the extra effort to lay things out in a way that demonstrates the real value of what you’re proposing. Show them how it makes things better for their customers and, by extension, their business. You might be surprised at how different their reaction is.

The post How to Explain to a Client Why Investment in Their Website Is Crucial to Their Success appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

You can’t always see it, but you’ll feel the difference when using an interface with optimized UX. Whether you’re creating an e-commerce app to run on multiple devices or developing a new cloud-based platform, a well-designed UX can ultimately set your product apart from the competition.

Why UX Matters More Today Than Ever Before

In the current era, most people interact with some form of technology on a daily basis. From using a smart TV to access the latest weather report to accessing work applications on a smartphone, technology is more hands-on, valuable, and user-friendly than ever before.

For technological advancements to continue to take root in society, hardware and software professionals must focus on creating a seamless experience. Devices, websites, and applications that are too difficult to use or learn fall to the wayside in favor of solutions that intuitively make more sense.

While UX is a fairly new field, some professionals have been working on optimizing end-user experiences for 10 to 15 years.

Today, every business with a digital presence has a stake in successful UX. On the business side, UX drives market visibility, adoption rates, and customer satisfaction. Content producers, coders, graphic designers, web designers, information architects, and SEO strategists all play a role in creating a positive user experience.

Dissect the Main Elements of Strong UX

The user experience is something that, if done well, end-users will never notice. When web pages, applications, and devices are designed with UX in mind, a user can focus on the purpose of the product – typically a message or interaction.

Many UX professionals take an outcomes-first approach to UX. Instead of looking at core components, create a list of the user-outcomes a development team wants to achieve. These typically include:

• Functionality: A positive UX is both learnable and forgiving for users from all backgrounds. For an eCommerce site, for instance, a user expects to intuitively access product information, graphics, video (if applicable), user reviews, and a streamlined checkout experience. This component requires UX teams to focus on navigational cues/hierarchy, forgiving formats, and responsive design.
• Value: Every piece of digital content should provide value. In the eCommerce example, value might translate to a rewards program and/or the easily accessible information a consumer needs to make a purchasing decision. This component typically connects with content, content layouts, and information architecture.
• Satisfaction: When humans interact with technology, the interaction can elicit an emotional response. You never want the response to be frustration, anger, or confusion. UX means creating an interaction that leaves a user feeling content, satisfied, or even happy. To create satisfaction, UX professionals work closely with UI professionals to create micro-impressions and use psychologically rewarding colors, graphics, and interactions.

You may see these basic components in many different forms, but these three items span every discussion of core UX criteria. In the image below, UX is described as “look, feel, and usability.”; Other terms you may see to describe the same essentials include adaptability, efficiency, desirability, and user-friendliness.

Image Source

UX in Practice

Compare the Uber interface with a local cab company. Within a few moments on the website, any average user can identify the UX-optimized site. You can probably identify which is more user-friendly just by looking at the screenshot. Uber’s mobile app and desktop site feature simple, actionable cues, comforting colors, and responsive interfaces.

The typical cab company, on the other hand, has a busy-looking site with so many different navigational cues that a user might forego the digital cab-hailing experience altogether.

In the case of the cab industry, the effects of poor digital UX have had repercussions on businesses. In LA, taxi travel has dropped 20% since rideshare apps came to the marketplace. People of all ages prefer the user-friendly, straightforward, and transparent process of booking a rideshare car.

Your Checklist for Successful UX

UX is an area of design that is constantly in motion. Once you optimize one area of a site or application, it’s time to revisit another. Keeping the three essential outcomes in mind, here are some guidelines that UX professionals need to remember to create a seamless and compelling digital experience for end-users:

1. Speed is Important: Speed issues associated with remote geographical locations are acceptable. Speed issues associated with poor design choices are not. Optimize each component to ensure fast transition times for apps and websites.
2. Remember that UX Extends to all Digital Products: If you have a website, an app, and/or a software product, give each of them a familiar look and feel. A user should know they are using your brand’s product. Navigational cues, layouts, core colors, and workflows should follow the same patterns.
3. Create Layouts that Direct Users: A user-friendly format should direct the user’s line of sight as well as their actions. Instead of focusing on the number of clicks a user has to make, think about creating clarity during the process. Each task flow should feel simple and confirm a user’s actions.
4. Incorporate Multiple Fail-Safes: Have you ever clicked on something before you were ready to submit it? Give users an opportunity to undo, modify, or save input.
5. Focus on Micro-UX: Small interactions can make a major impact for an end-user. Asking for readers to engage in a poll, incorporating gamification tactics, and giving users progressive tips can all engage the user and add value to the experience. However, use caution when adding micro-UX features to a product. Too many additions and/or unintuitive additions can quickly backfire.
6. Use Data to Inform Changes: UX professionals must focus on the user-outcomes as well as the technical aspects of a process. Validate design choices with strong consumer Leveraging User Data for Improved UXdata-backed KPIs that go beyond a traffic count. Look for individual feedback as well as metrics on the number of time users spend on the page and where they go as they navigate.
7. Work Closely with Other Team Members: UX professionals need to know what content creators, UI designers, and other team members are doing to create a seamless experience. Focus on collaboration between departments that have a stake in the digital experience to maximize a product’s potential.
8. Remember the Business Side of the Project: In the real world, UX team members aren’t solely focused on product development. Think about how every design choice impacts a brand’s budget, reputation, and schedule. Develop strategies that consider tech decisions and business outcomes.
9. Engage in Ongoing UX Educational Opportunities: Like many other tech fields, UX is constantly evolving. The prescribed methodologies of today may not work for the user experiences of tomorrow. Use online courses, forward-looking seminars, and trade publications to maintain current knowledge of UX trends and philosophies.

UX is an art and a science. Creating a phenomenal user experience requires knowing the tech, the user, and your team. Keep the essential components in mind, and then focus on the technology and design trends that fit your company’s brand personality.

As long as you’re thinking about the end result and the individual steps it takes to get there, you’re on the right track.

The post A Primer on the Essential Elements of Successful UX appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

I have a confession to make: when I started writing this article, I was stumped at how to best phrase my main idea. I had something important I needed to tell you wonderful readers, but I just wasn’t sure how to do it.

Then it hit me that I wasn’t approaching it in a writing voice I recognized as being “mine.” I was attempting to get too lofty with my idea (since it’s so important and all), and missing the point of my own message. How’s that for irony? In your face, Alanis Morissette.

I eventually decided to scrap what I was originally going to write about, and start over in my own personal style. I love telling stories, and I think that’s where I shine as a writer. Plus, I’m incredibly modest, as you can tell.

So, what is voice? What is personal style, and how can we creatives develop it? One thing’s for sure – it’s not just something for writers to think about. Creative professionals of all stripes struggle with developing their own unique way to express their ideas, especially with so many amazing people out there doing things we admire and are inspired by.

It can be hard sometimes to separate what you admire from who you are, but it’s certainly doable. The key is knowing how to interpret the feedback you get from others.

Translating The Conversation

It’s entirely possible to say one thing dozens, and sometimes even hundreds of different ways. Typography is the best way to illustrate this point. A poster that doesn’t hold back with the chunky slab serifs is going to have a completely different emotional impact than one that uses a delicate, understated script – even if the message is exactly the same.

The design language you use will be different depending on who it is you’re trying to reach. I say language quite deliberately because I compare what we do for our clients as designers to what an interpreter does for two people who speak different languages.

Interpreters create commonality and facilitate conversation between two opposite forces, much the same way that a designer facilitates a communication between their client and their client’s audience. You take what your client has to say and tell it to their audience in a way that’s clear for both parties to understand.

When you develop your own personal design voice, you are effectively alienating those people who don’t care for your style, just like a baby’s brain closes itself off to all of the potential sounds a human being can make in favor of the particular set it learns from its parents.

When you’re born, you can effectively speak every language. But the more you learn and listen, the more certain words and sounds take precedence over the others.

By the time you can talk, you’re communicating in whatever your first language is, excluding all the others you could have learned instead. It’s impossible to try to learn every single language in the world, so why should you try to earn the approval of every single person with your design work? The best way you can use your own voice is to reach people who want to hear your specific message.

The world in general wants you to be bland and inoffensive, easy to understand and digest. But your niche audience wants the compelling visual narrative that only you can give them.

When Inspiration Becomes Copying

Without a doubt, the best way you can expand your own design fluency is by learning from others. Like I said, there’s a ton of exciting, creative work out there that inspires us all, and the argument has certainly been made many times that there’s “nothing new under the sun” in terms of ideas. But there comes a time when design inspiration can go too far and veer off into plain old copyright infringement.

In 2010, copyright representatives for Dutch author Dick Bruna successfully sued Japanese heavyweight Sanrio for copyright infringement over Sanrio’s white bunny character, Cathy.

Bruna, who created the white bunny character Miffy in 1955, said explicitly that Cathy was “a copy” of his famous children’s book bunny, who was very popular in Japan several decades before Sanrio began licensing their character designs. But Sanrio’s Cathy was pretty obviously done in Sanrio’s own style – the bunny character looks very much like their iconic Hello Kitty.

Was Sanrio merely designing in their signature style, or was it in fact a deliberate infringement on Bruna’s copyright? There are plenty of incidences of simultaneous design, when more than one person comes up with the exact same or a series of very similar ideas at around the same time. But as a general rule, unless you can prove in court that you were the original holder of a copyright, it’s not really a good idea to fall victim to that kind of unknowing.

Doing your research, involving yourself in the creative community, and making sure you know who your competition is are vital steps to maintaining your reputation as an original designer with an original voice.

As Albert Einstein said, “the secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Being inspired means not being ignorant of what your peers are doing.

Remember, your main goal as a freelancer is getting repeat customers who respond well to your unique voice. If you’re telling your own stories and drawing from your own personal experiences, it’s virtually impossible to create designs that look just like everyone else’s.

You can’t help but be original when you’re being authentic.

The post Finding & Using Your Own Design Voice appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

The colors are wrong, the type is inappropriate, the composition is hideous – it’s just a mess, and you eventually write it off as a failure. Sometimes you have the luxury of hiding the whole thing in a folder in the very back of your hard drive, where no human eyes will ever come upon it.

But what happens when you have a project that’s due in to your client at 8AM, and it’s currently 3AM and you’ve got absolutely nothing decent to present? Do you curl up into a ball and declare yourself a failed designer for all time?

Or is there another way to approach this inevitable feeling which will leave you, if not satisfied, at least able to continue on with your life and your career with confidence? Let’s explore, shall we?

Prepare To Fail

You’ve probably heard it said that failure is a necessary part of success. That’s fine to say and all, but in my scenario above, when it’s 3 in the morning and you’re sobbing uncontrollably, chances are you’re not going to simply repeat that adage to yourself and snap out of it.

The key to really believing that failure is a necessary part of your process is conditioning yourself beforehand, so that it doesn’t come as a complete shock to you when you’re actually in the trenches.

Keeping your mind sharp with creative exercises every day, that are unrelated to your work, will gradually introduce you to the idea of failure, because trust me – you’re going to fail at many of those exercises.

Force yourself to keep to a schedule for your personal projects just like you schedule your paid work. There’s no worse feeling than failing to complete a project when you have yourself as the client.

It’s much worse, in my experience, than bombing on a paid assignment. At least you’re not expected to hold yourself accountable. But once you experience this unique form of torture often enough, you’ll find that it will actually help you start working faster and more efficiently.

You’ll become used to the idea that you’ll have to give it a few extra tries before you get it right, and by the time your next freelance assignment comes along, you’ll be ready to fail with gusto. Well. Maybe not gusto. But at least with some kind of dignity.

Through the Valley of Insight

In the book Switch by Chip and Dan Heath, there’s an exercise from Tim Brown, the CEO of design consultancy firm IDEO which I think is especially useful to designers “learning” how to fail.

In the book, Brown is said to provide his employees with what he calls a “project mood chart,” which informs people how they will feel at various stages during any given project.

The chart itself is shaped like a V – at the left point of the V, there’s a label that reads “hope.” This signifies the rush of excitement you feel when you first start on a project. You’re relaxed and focused, everything is going swimmingly and you’re absolutely sure you’ll get everything in to the client on time.

The label on the other end of the V reads “confidence.” This represents the way you feel after you’ve finished a project successfully. You’re high on positive energy; you’ve kicked ass and your client wants to marry you. Sweet. This is how every designer wants to feel after it’s all over – proud and accomplished. The trick is getting there.

The third label in the V-shaped diagram reads “insight.” This is the point between “A” and “B,” and it’s where all the failure and depression and late-night drinking binges lie. Everyone has to cross this valley and gain the insight they need to get to the confidence of a successful job well done.

It’s like crossing a desert – many never make it. You can almost imagine dry skeletons of your fallen design comrades as they gave up and got stuck in the valley forever.

Some gave up on creative work altogether and became secretaries or accountants. You don’t want to be one of those people.

You chose a creative field for a reason, and the sooner you develop the mental toughness to cross the unpleasant valley, the more prepared you’ll be for when you have to do it all over again next time.

Isn’t being a designer fun?

It’s Not Really Failure

Here’s something about failure that you might find interesting. Most of what we normally refer to as “failure” isn’t actually failure at all. If you’re stuck in the middle of a project that’s going nowhere fast, you can feel like there’s nowhere to go but down and write the whole thing off as a lost cause.

But if you learn to develop persistence, you’ll eventually realize that, despite things not going so smoothly at first, your momentum will eventually start to pick up and you’ll inexplicably find the energy to begin scaling the side of the mountain to victory.

Your confidence will grow the more ground you cover, and eventually, it will overcome your sense of doom and the “failure” will show its true nature as a mere pothole in the road.

Conclusion

Everyone goes through periods where they feel like nothing is working right. And, no matter how much experience you gain as a designer, crossing that valley from hope to confidence is going to be unpleasant.

Even with my years of experience as a writer and designer, there are still times when I need to go back and read or look at something encouraging – a quote, a sketch of my eventual project, or even an article like this one, to give myself a boost to keep on going.

Giving yourself encouragement when you need it is essential to learning how to fail “properly.”

The post As a Designer, Is Failure a Necessary Part of Success? appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.