I was asked the other day about strategy and what that meant for client engagements. Obviously an open ended question, with few parameters. There was no use case study to help construct a foundation nor was there any sense of timeline for this imaginary engagement. So I gave my best response at the time but I have been thinking about ever since.
articles within the ‘Strategy’ category
Question what you ask
In life we ask questions to elicit information we need. But the questions we ask may not motivate people to deeply reflect, or inspire a careful response. The idea of exchanging information through questions and answers is something that we take for granted. We don’t always think if the question is the right one or if the answer needs more thought. It is unfortunate because great questions can be the inspiration for groundbreaking or alternative solutions, especially in design.
Questions Issues
It has to be Readable
There are so many key phrases in the design industry and for the last decade the technology industry has supplied the design industry with even more jargon. We now talk about sustainability, ROI, stakeholders, experiential design and usability as we have evolved from paper, to screen, to multitouch to gestural… and the list keeps growing. But every time I sit down with clients I try and take them back to the core purpose of having empathy with their audience and making sure that their message is eminently readable.
An exercise in readability.
Positive Deviance
On Wednesday, November 10, 2010 I participated in a session that dealt with the practice of Positive Deviance (called PD after this). This conversation was facilitated by Erika Bailey who calls herself a ‘Human Systems Consultant’. I have had the good fortune of talking with her in the past but I never had the opportunity to hear her speak.
The Power of Positive Deviance
Question what you ask
In life we ask questions to elicit information we need. But the questions we ask may not motivate people to deeply reflect, or inspire a careful response. The idea of exchanging information through questions and answers is something that we take for granted. We don’t always think if the question is the right one or if the answer needs more thought. It is unfortunate because great questions can be the inspiration for groundbreaking or alternative solutions, especially in design.
Questions Issues
It has to be Readable
There are so many key phrases in the design industry and for the last decade the technology industry has supplied the design industry with even more jargon. We now talk about sustainability, ROI, stakeholders, experiential design and usability as we have evolved from paper, to screen, to multitouch to gestural… and the list keeps growing. But every time I sit down with clients I try and take them back to the core purpose of having empathy with their audience and making sure that their message is eminently readable.
An exercise in readability.
Positive Deviance
On Wednesday, November 10, 2010 I participated in a session that dealt with the practice of Positive Deviance (called PD after this). This conversation was facilitated by Erika Bailey who calls herself a ‘Human Systems Consultant’. I have had the good fortune of talking with her in the past but I never had the opportunity to hear her speak.
The Power of Positive Deviance
