Digital Design in 2011 [INFOGRAPHIC]

Some say, "the web is dead." Whether this statement is true or false, "the web" certainly isn’t the only digital platform where your business will need to have a presence. 2011 brings significant changes to the way your business will need to think about digital design.

Lifestyle Modeling for Mobile Application Design

User experience designers emphasize the importance of conducting primary behavioral research to inform digital application design (traditionally web applications). The need for behavioral research, to better understand end-user lifestyle, is even more important when the chosen platform for the application is a mobile platform. "Mobile" IS a lifestyle (rather, a collection of lifestyles), as mobile applications are designed to be taken into different physical environments, both online and offline. Because mobile applications are used in such a wide variety of situations, guessing about how consumers interact with them could be a critical mistake. Because environment influences behavior, ethnographic research, conducted in the context of different environments, is a valuable way for user experience designers to accurately identify, prioritize, and model the user interface of mobile application features.

The following are some quick tips to help plan a contextual inquiry aimed to inform a mobile application user interface:

1. Identify the mobile application's target, end-user segment. Generally, research recruiting efforts should aim for an end-user segment which is most likely to adopt the proposed mobile application. This segment will form the basis of the screening criteria for the research study.

2. Choose a recruitment platform that is a likely destination for the target participant segment. If the company that is funding the research already has a mobile application in the market, the researcher may consider utilizing the mobile application's customer email database to solicit participants for the upcoming application research study. If not, the researcher should consider alternate methods to recruit the target segment. Using the Google pay-per-click advertising platform is a great way to reach likely customers, when study solicitations are set to be triggered when users perform keyword queries related to the topic of the mobile application, and modified with the phrase, "app."

3. Develop a line-of-questioning that makes some informed assumptions about primary mobile use cases.  I would never recommend biasing the research by influencing customer responses with suggestions about how the participant "might" behave in a given situation, but making internal assumptions simply makes research easier. A school of thought exists that exploratory research should be unencumbered (not biased) by preconceptions.  This school of thought poses risk to the outcome of the research, in my opinion, because it leaves the potential to waste precious time with end-users, and precious funds from clients, on irrelevant findings. Taking a more structured approach, when planning for contextual inquiry, requires the development of open-ended questions that seek to validate theories. In this manner, a research moderator can control the flow of the dialogue, keep the interview relevant, and not bias the research with the moderator's "point of view."

4. Meet participants for lunch or coffee prior to the contextual inquiry. Seriously. The key to contextual research is natural, end-user behavior. Think about it. There can be significant reduction in participant nervousness or social anxiety if the participant and the researcher break the ice for for a few minutes prior to the study. Since the topic of the research is mobile behavior, plan to meet the participant close to where the application would likely be used ("on the go"), and make small talk with the participant for 10-15 minutes.

5. Watch the participant use a similar mobile application to the one being developed, in the context of where the participant would likely use the application. Begin by asking the participant to recreate a task that was recently performed, or perform a high-frequency task. Ask the participant to verbally describe the task, as it is being conducted. Observe how the participant performs the task, as well as how the environment around the participant is utilized in the completion of the task. What information is needed to perform the mobile task? What is the task sequence? The answers to these questions will help the mobile application design team develop the high-level information architecture for the mobile application, as well as the user interface design.

5 Ways to Get the Best Work from Creative Professionals

Creative professionals do their best work when very specific conditions are met. As a Creative manager, it is important for you to be aware of the environment that you are creating, in order to get the best results from your Creative team. 

The following are 5 ways to create the optimal environment for excellent Creative output.

Protect their time – Dedicating focus to projects and challenges is extremely important for Creative professionals. This is especially challenging in an agency setting. However, creating a protective shield around your team is your job, as manager. It takes proactive resource forecasting, management and communication with other managers who are looking to utilize members of the Creative team. Your effort, here, will be rewarded with in-depth problem solving, as well as energized and calmer team members.

Protect their egos – Creativity is all about ego. Being inspired is the key to Creative excellence. It is nearly impossible to be inspired with a hurt ego. When providing feedback, criticism, and instruction to Creative professionals, it is best to be mindful of your delivery and tone. The ego is fragile, but capable of producing amazing things. Respect large and small egos on your Creative team.

Give them a stimulating work environment – Inspiration has much to do with environment. Environment doesn’t just refer to work environment, although that’s important…but also to the culture that you’ve created in the workplace. Since behavior is also related closely to environment, you can engineer the type of behavior you wish to encourage by creating the right physical spaces to influence positive behaviors. For example, if you, as we all do, aspire to encourage collaboration amongst team members, create open spaces where people can see and interact with each other on a daily basis.

Inspire them with strong strategic direction – While time may not permit you, as a manager, to produce the detailed deliverables that are required for project delivery, you need to establish the broad strokes that set direction for your Creative team. If you are used to generating big ideas and strategic concepts for business development efforts, you should be regularly pitching innovative ideas of strategic value on your existing accounts. Your Creative team will begin to riff off of your thinking and think through the details. Your team should depend on you for higher-level conceptual thinking. 

Give them plenty of context regarding business objectives and likely end-user behavior – Strong Creative concepts for clients requires business and end-user context. Conduct brainstorms with your team by giving the proper set-up and context about the client’s specific needs and the likely behaviors of the client’s customers. Insist that every idea that is produced from your Creative team can support either a business objective or a customer need.

10 "next steps" for unemployed, creative professionals

There shouldn't be any secrets about what creative agencies look for when they search for talent. In fact, all companies should publish blogs describing, in great detail, what type of individual they look for, and exactly what candidates need to do to land a job (or a career). Distinguish yourself from other candidates by being innovative, demonstrating subject matter expertise, and being entrepreneurial in the pursuit of employment. It also doesn't hurt to be proactive, accessible, and energetic, when cultivating your professional persona, conducting your career search, and meeting with prospective employers.

The following are concrete steps to take to build credibility and increase the likelihood of landing a great job. 

1. Identify professional goals and obstacles to achieving them - Wage war on unemployment by taking a strategic, methodical approach. You've taken great pains to plan killer strategies for your clients, why wouldn't you give yourself your own "A" game? Begin by identifying what makes you happy, professionally. Where would you like to work? What would you aspire to do? What kind of lifestyle do you want? Once you've answered these questions, begin outlining an approach to achieving your goals. You'll need to understand what obstacles lie in your path. Do you need an advanced degree? Do you have to move? What kinds of skills do you need to acquire? Write down all conceivable obstacles. In the end, you'll have a chart outlining what you need to do to achieve your ultimate career objectives. Begin your "barrier removal plan" by prioritizing your list of action items to removing career barriers. Grab a calendar and start planning milestones and deadlines. You'll feel more confident when you wake up every morning, marching towards an objective that removes another barrier in your path to achieving your professional aspirations.

2. Finish, publish, and promote your online portfolio - Obviously, now is the time to be very promotional about your experience and subject matter expertise. Take the time to finish your online portfolio, so that it is easily accessible as a link in an email, blog post, or tweet. Accompany your work samples with case studies to illustrate how you helped businesses achieve real results. Provide easy ways for interested parties to contact you. You are less likely to land an interview if you aren't prepared to show some real work samples or deliverables.

3. Read industry news/blogs - An overwhelming amount of industry information and intelligence is accessible daily, via every conceivable digital channel (TV, web, mobile, alerts, email, etc.). Stay up-to-date, and make reading industry news a part of your daily routine.

4. Develop and document points-of-view on relevant industry topics - Now that you are "plugged in" to the latest industry trends, begin formulating point-of-views on relevant topics. Write-down your thinking and reinforce your theses with secondary, market research. Go to slideshare.com to research relevant topics. The more you gather informed opinions on industry trends, the more you will be able to engage and hold relevant conversations with prospective employers.

5. Start blogging - Good writing skills are important to advancing your career as a Creative professional. Develop this skill by reading, and eventually, writing, your own blog posts. Since you documented your points-of-view on various industry trends (step 4), you'll have plenty to write about. Blogging can help you generate content that will be indexed on Google, so your name is more likely to appear in relevant search results. Blogging will also enable you to update your social media profiles, especially Twitter and LinkedIn profiles.

6. Publish an article or two - While blogging can help you increase your likelihood to appear in relevant, industry searches, publishing an article in a relevant, industry trade can help you to boost your professional credibility. Make sure any published articles are linked to from your online portfolio, as well as your social media profiles. Mention published articles in conversations with prospective employers.

7. Design and execute a social media strategy to increase your social influence - Some may view being overly self-promotional as a negative personality trait, but, guess what? That's exactly what you need to do to distinguish yourself from others looking to land your perfect job. Make sure employers know that you understand how to market yourself in the most contemporary fashion. Be sure to execute a well-planned social media strategy that is targeted to getting your point-of-view, writing samples, and industry expertise noticed by prospective employers. With your online portfolio and contact information acting as your "point-of-conversion," begin blogging and micro-blogging to develop interest in your points-of-view. Make sure to link to your online portfolio frequently, for more information, or to learn how to get in touch with you. Insert Google analytic tags in your blog, so that you can see which social media platform refers the most traffic to your online portfolio.

8. Attend relevant industry conferences - Since industry conferences tend to be expensive, try to identify the ones with the most relevant "foot-traffic." Get 100 business cards printed, and aim to hand them out after having meaningful conversations with like-minded individuals. Make sure your business cards have your social media and online portfolio URLs printed on them. Don't forget to collect the cards of the professionals who might be most influential in your future career. When you are back from the conference, write a follow-up email to each person you met. Try to keep in touch with these contacts. The goal is to expand your professional network, and get your name out there.

9. Follow and "Direct Message" hiring managers at target companies on Twitter - The beauty of Twitter is that it has the potential to create a direct linkage between you and hiring managers of companies that you want to work for. Stay connected with these companies, and network with their managers, by seeking them out and following them on Twitter. Engage them in conversations about the medium in order to illustrate your subject matter expertise, even before you have an opportunity to land an interview. You can present a different viewpoint as long as it doesn't come off as emotional or antagonistic

10. Be accessible and open  - Even though you've developed a unique point-of-view (step 4), blogged about it (step 5), published it (step 6), and promoted it across social media channels (step 7), it doesn't mean you should close your mind to other points-of-view. Being Creative means doing things differently. Try to listen to other points-of-view, and adopt other people's wisdom, in order to evolve your thinking and maximize your social, and professional, influence.