The Business of Design

If you’ve spent any time at all in marketing and branding you are almost certainly familiar with Al and Laura Ries seminal work published in September 2002 “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” and its follow-up “The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding”. While I am a big fan of these works and generally agree with most of the author’s conclusions, there are still places where I see exceptions. The definition of immutable means something timeless and unchanging and a law as described in academic or scientific terms infers a rule or governing system wherein a single exception would invalidate it. For example, even a lone substantiated case of an apple with normal mass dropping from a tree and then floating up into space would violate Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation. The authors use pretty strong words in their books, so consequently confer a confident sense of unwavering certainty about their ideas and theories.

Their 10^th law of Internet Branding, “The Law of Divergence” states that “Everyone talks about convergence, while just the opposite is happening”. Essentially what they are getting at is that companies trying to create products that combine technologies, features or mediums are mistaken and inevitably doomed to failure. They do use some very valid examples and of course the history of business is replete with these. However, one convergent device they hold up as an example may have seemed a solid demonstration a few years ago when they wrote these books, but increasingly appears to be a poor choice of examples. I’m talking about convergence in mobile devices that they so carefully disparaged in the book.

They talked first about Compaq’s CEO Michael Capellas’ assertion that mobile devices would start to converge and that combining PalmPilots, telephones and CD players etc. into a single device would be inevitable and desirable. Ries and Ries totally discredited this assessment and said that “it will never happen” Oh Really? They go on to describe an event in Helsinki where a man in the audience pulled out his Nokia 9110 Communicator as an example of convergence already happening. The authors made the all too common mistake of assuming that this brick-sized device would continue to compare unfavorably against their much smaller Nokia cell phone (talk only) and so forever doom this embryonic convergent device trend. Maybe they weren’t thinking about Moore’s Law or maybe they didn’t remember using those giant Motorola handsets in the 90’s that more closely resembled a World War 2 Walkie-Talkie than the tiny little mobile phones we are all using just a few years later. Perhaps they weren’t thinking about the massive gains we have been making in Broadband for both guided media (landlines) and wireless over a very short period of years.

Either way, the writing was totally on the wall as far as I am concerned and that poor guy in Helsinki who was shot down in flames really had it right. In my opinion, it really wasn’t that hard to anticipate the kinds of features and functionality that mobile devices such as Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android OS and RIM’s Blackberry would provide in a single small handset. People are not only making calls and sending text messages (SMS) with their cell phones, they are surfing the Internet, sending and receiving email, watching videos, playing games, taking and sharing high-quality photos and listening to music from their own custom playlist. GPS provides location awareness and touch-screens create wonderful opportunities for easy navigation and great user experience. The list goes on. These are truly convergent devices and they are quickly becoming ubiquitous in our culture.

It is true that technologies such as Wi-fi, 3G and the forthcoming 4G networks afford mobile devices the kind of bandwidth that virtually removes any objections about speed or connectability. However, it doesn’t totally explain the incredible market penetration these convergent mobile devices have enjoyed recently. Great design that takes advantage of technological advances to vastly improve navigation and user experience tend to create a rich environment in which people find real value in these devices. While the technology is certainly amazing and paves the road for this situation, it is equally the emergence of compelling design solutions that are making the difference here. I think it is great design that allows these convergent devices to really break the Ries’ number 10 Law of Internet Branding.

There is no doubt that these convergent devices have become incredibly successful in communications, entertainment, social and business ecosystems. The data all support this conclusion. For example, a recent release from The Nielsen Company states that “web visitors using a mobile device increased 34% year-over-year, from 42.5 million mobile Web visitors in July 2008 to 56.9 million in July 2009”. These are not inconsequential numbers and help support my assertion that the “Law of Divergence” is not really a law after all.

Similarly The Center for Media Research has released a brief based on a survey by Transpera and InsightExpress which finds that “avid mobile video users represent a unique audience that may not be reachable via other digital media, as well as an audience profile that is attractive to brand advertisers”. The report also states that “62% of mobile video users surveyed, use their mobile phone more than they use a computer to browse the Internet…”

I contend that it is powerful, innovative design that has really been the deciding factor in large scale consumer adoption of these convergent mobile devices. It is Industrial Designers working with device manufacturers to create small, affordable ergonomic handsets with sleek aesthetically pleasing lines and affordances. It is innovative Product Designers providing new applications that engage users and make them want to interact with these devices. It is Interactive Designers, User Experience Experts and Information Architects that design sticky User Interfaces (UI) that allow consumers to interface effectively with applications and devices.

Great design is helping to break this branding and marketing “law”. Remember, a law really only needs one valid exception to be proven incorrect. I guess the lesson for me here is to exercise caution when you are making absolute statements about fact and truth. I still greatly admire Al and Laura Ries and have learned tons from them over the years,  but I do think it’s important for us all to be more cognizant of marketing rhetoric and conjecture vs. facts.

Build a Better MouseTrap by Dale Cody

Despite the increasing levels of understanding, respect and collaboration that Designers and Developers have been nurturing over the years, I still sometimes see individuals from both camps attempting to erect and maintain unnecessary walls of separation in their respective job functions. You can evidence this in many discussion forums involving User Experience (UX), User Interface (UI), Application development and many other related topics. I don’t know how much of this is a form of professional protectionism and how much might be the result of personal self-aggrandizement or whatever, but I do think it’s an attitude that is not helping anyone.

In most, but certainly not all the cases I’m talking about there is at least a veneer of civility and respect afforded those not in whichever author’s group, but the message is usually pretty clear: “we are the experts in this particular topic area and you should leave all meaningful discussion and relevant conclusions to us…” In other words, you are not really qualified to comment on this, so please just sit back and observe or learn from us. I find this kind of attitude incredibly short-sighted and unproductive.

In much the same way that the brain utilizes both the left and right halves for optimal functioning, the best interactive products and applications result from a collaborative relationship including designers and developers. Like most people, this partnership is not a black and white, all or nothing kind of situation. Absolutes can provide comfort to some people in some situations, but they are very seldom the case. The world exists in shades of gray and so too does the creation of interactive applications.

We are not only part of the design and development process, but we are also frequently real-world users of the product or service. As such, our opinions and experiences are valid. This does not mean that we should discontinue or devalue proper user testing processes and methodologies, but it does imply we should listen to both ourselves and our colleagues as equal stakeholders in the process of creating great products and user experience.

In fact, the trend I have been experiencing over time is a blurring of skills and expertise between design and development, not their compartmentalization or mutual sequestration. Many design professionals working in UI/UX have found it useful or necessary to develop skills in at least some front-end Web languages such as HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS and JavaScript. In some cases they take it further into areas including PHP, MySQL, ActionScript 3 and others. I have also seen many developers work to become increasingly sophisticated designers in their own right. Some of these professionals have achieved such skills and balance in their abilities that labels distinguishing the two have essentially become meaningless. I really envy these talented individuals.

The most successful projects I have ever worked on have involved real collaboration and communication between functional groups and individuals with complementary, but differing skills and opinions. There have been uncountable instances where my own perspective or objectivity has been greatly improved by a colleague’s differing viewpoint or expressed opinion in an area that might normally be considered my realm of expertise. These exchanges usually hold real value for me and ultimately for the end user as a result. While I’m at it, I extend this philosophy and approach to all functional groups participating in this dynamic including QA, Marketing, Project Management etc.

If you are not doing so already, I highly recommend really listening to and understanding those of your colleagues with different skills and experience. Work to develop a relationship based on mutual respect, open collaboration and close communication in order to grow better synergies. It’s not always easy, but it’s nearly always beneficial to the individuals, the organization and the end-user of your products and services.