Think Design Interact — Insights into Interactive Design, Business, Social Media, Websites and Marketing from Tracey Halvorsen, the Creative Director of Fastspot.

If You’re Confused, Chances Are Everybody Else Is, Too.

by Tracey Halvorsen on July 30, 2010

If you have a new idea—a design, an interface, an app, a product—and you start shopping that whatever it is around, pay close attention to people’s reactions. The reason why we sometimes find user testing a necessary and valuable process is because often we have become too familiar with that on which we are working; we can no longer see it from a first-time user’s perspective. You’ve probably experienced something similar when you just kind of let your hair style go a little too long without a cut or color or you put on 10 lbs before you realize it; you don’t see the changes happening because they occur ever so slightly, day by day, until you hopefully realize it and do something about it.

We don’t want to get to the end of a design or production job and realize we were completely off track.

We constantly have people unfamiliar with a project taking a look. We make sure to ask people who aren’t invested in liking it, those who won’t worry about offending if they say, “Ummm—I don’t get it.”

No one likes opening up a process for that potential “I don’t get it” reaction, but it’s absolutely necessary.

An inevitable part of this process goes something like this:

Creative Director or Project Manager: Hey, you, person who has never seen this before, if you were looking to go to college here what would be the first thing you would want to click on?

Person: This is a college Website?

Creative Director or Project Manager: Houston, we have a problem.

Designer: WTF? WTF? Why are you even asking “person”? They don’t know sh*t about design.

Creative Director or Project Manager: Well, person kind of has a point, if you think about it; it kind of does look like a shopping site.

Designer: It only looks like a shopping site to blind idiots.

Creative Director or Project Manager: Let’s ask person #2.

Person #2: I love the shots of the product. Is this a shopping site?

Designer: I hate you.

Creative Director or Project Manager: Okay! It’s only 11 a.m., but we are scheduling a happy hour for lunch. Let’s go!

Three hours later, the designer has calmed down and repaired his or her bruised ego and, realizing this is a battle not to be won by declaring others blind, is now seeing the missteps and figuring out how to change course.

The lesson here? Don’t ignore anyone’s confusion at that with which you are presenting them. You can avoid the situation altogether by learning to trust your own inner voice. It might be hinting at you earlier in the process. ‘Cause chances are, if you’re confused, everyone else is, too.

Disclaimer: If the photo is of your mother or father, or grandmother or grandfather, or any other relative or friend, no offense intended. I came across it on the interwebs here, and quite simply, I was confused.

Tweet This

{ 0 comments }

Getting the Right Clients

by Tracey Halvorsen on July 28, 2010

The Right Clients

Getting the right clients is about as important as it gets when you are talking long term success of an agency, and long term happiness of the people at the agency.

For example, we here at Fastspot don’t believe in putting together excessively long and redundant project documentation during our Discovery phase, chock full of boiler plate information describing the purpose of a wireframe. We expect our clients to either know the importance of a wireframe, or be happy with our explanation of its importance in the process.

Why write a 50 page document when you can have a conversation? Well, some clients expect it, and more importantly, some clients’ bosses expect them to deliver these types of things. This is an example of a client we would most likely determine is not right for us, nor us right for them. This is just one small example in a pool of many.

Learning how to sense when a client is a good match or not takes skills much akin to a matchmaker.

There are tiny innuendos and clues which begin from the moment contact is made, and you must pay attention to these clues to end up with a successful match. Hopefully, the client is doing the same, but chances are you are maybe one of only a handful of agencies they have interacted with over the years, whereas YOU have been playing ping pong matchmaker with clients since day one.

Here are a few things I look for when trying to find the right client:

1. Do they understand what they are asking for?

2. Do they acknowledge scope and timelines right up front?

3. Am I dealing with a stakeholder in the project or a gatekeeper?

4. Are they willing to engage with me on a slightly personal level, where I can infer they have contacted Fastspot because they truly want us to be their agency?

5. Are they asking us to do things we clearly don’t do or say we do? (Ex. print work)

6. Are they asking for things in a realistic format and within a realistic timeline?

7. Do they seem nice? I hate working for mean people.

8. Are they looking for an set of deliverables that matches the level of quality, purpose and intention that my team creates?

9. Are they willing to make themselves available to me or my team to get questions answered? (This initial meeting or call can go far in determining if you are a good potential match for each other.)

10. Do they “get it”? And by “get it”, I mean, well – you know, “get it”. The “it” is probably different for every company.

How do you determine if a client is right for you? Have you ever missed a critical clue and ended up in a project that feels like your life is slowly being sucked out of you? If so, do tell!

Tweet This

{ 0 comments }

Less is Best

by Tracey Halvorsen on July 26, 2010

Gears of War...or Over Complication

If you want, you can make the simplest task the most complicated waste of time imaginable with almost a guaranteed outcome of non-completion. Now why on earth would we choose to do this? Well, there are a few reasons we tend to do this, and hopefully by identifying them early, you can avoid them and keep it simple. Remember, doing less things perfectly is better than doing more things in a half-assed manner.

“If you are never really done with it, you can never be held accountable for things that don’t work.”

1. By over-complicating the task, you avoid having to “hand it off”, where it now becomes something out of your control. (Control freaks – this one was for you.)

2. By continuing to noodle with a task or adding complexity, you can avoid having to ever find out if you did it right or not. This is a typical “fear of failure” behavior.

3. You think if it’s not complicated, it has less value, therefor you will be seen as less impressive or successful. We all know people like this.

4. You presume to know what the client or manager will say in response to your completed task (be it a statement of work, a design change, or an initial presentation), so you start trying to answer all the hypothetical responses before you ever get the dialog started. This is often a symptom of control freaks or insecurity.

5. You over-complicate because you can’t back your mind out of where you are in the task. You can no longer see it from a big picture perspective (or even a different perspective) so you get stuck trying to find solutions which all require a high level of complexity due to the fact that you are so immersed in the task or process. The only way to avoid this is to ensure you are getting team feedback and input at critical stages of your process.

6. You don’t want to say goodbye. Once you finish something, it’s truly up for critique, criticism and additional input. If you are never really done with it, you can never really be held accountable for things that don’t work, and you convince yourself that even though you can’t complete it, one day it will prove valuable to something else. This is the hoarder behavior.

So, do any of these behaviors describe you? Have you found ways to avoid over-complication? How do you help others follow the path of least resistance? I’m sure I missed some, so tell us – how else do we manage to over-complicate what could be simple? And why?

Tweet This

{ 6 comments }

Why RFPs Don’t Work (for the client OR the agency)

by Tracey Halvorsen on July 21, 2010

If you are getting ready to embark on a large Website project, or any project for that matter, you probably have some companies in mind whose work you admire. You also have probably short-listed these companies because they are experts in their field. These companies know more than you do about this process, and you are admiring of their work because this level of expertise and know-how clearly shows.

So, why on earth would you send them a 50+ page document, asking for time consuming and meaningless tasks to be performed like financial audits, staff resumes, exact response formats following your outline and 10 printed and bound copies making every environmentally conscious member of that company cringe at your insensitivity? Note: I realize the paper copy request may only offend those of us working exclusively in the digital realm.

Why would you force these companies you admire to answer pointless questions which hint at a misguided pretense that you know more about this soon to be embarked upon process than the company you are requesting a proposal from does?

Why wouldn’t you reach out, have a discussion, and then ask that company what the best next steps would be in order to get a proposal?

I don’t presume you should know the first thing about how to develop a successful Website project, after all, that’s why you are sending me the RFP in the first place correct? I am also much too busy to be anything more than annoyed at your RFP if it asks me to jump through multiple hoops and provide meaningless data. Why would you ask me to waste my time and my firm’s time doing counter productive things which will tell you little about us, our process, or what we would create for you, in response to a document which tells me very little about you?

And worst of all, how could you think these canned, dry, worried over and b.s. riddled proposals you might get back will truly help you make an educated decision?

To me – it’s a prime example of waste begetting waste. If you tossed the stupid RFP in the can and just got in touch, you actually might connect with the perfect agency for your needs. Then again, I’ve been called an optimist and told I should never seek employment in the government sector.

Post Rant Note – Yes I do realize some public institutions and organizations are required to follow a strict process to ensure fairness in the procurement process. But my point is that even within that sterile process, it’s pretty easy to let an agency know why you want them to give you a proposal, and make that extra effort to connect. If you don’t, people like me assume you are simply sending us the RFP to fulfill an internal requirement to solicit a certain number of responses, which people like me find quite annoying.

Tweet This

{ 6 comments }

Empowering Your Team with “Yes”

by Tracey Halvorsen on July 20, 2010

Who on your team or in your organization has the power to say “yes”? When a final call is needed, a decision must be made, is your organization made up of people or managers who have the ability to say “yes” or are they more likely (and expected) to say “no”? If everyone is saying “no” as ideas, propositions, etc. get pushed upstream, when does anything ever have a chance to reach a “yes”?

If you need organizational change or forward progress, one of the most important things you can do is identify and empower people, teams, managers or directors to say “yes”. Then it’s your job to stay out of it, not micro manage that process, and definitely don’t undermine it by countering every fledgling attempt at a yes with a CEO-like swift “NO”.

Not only will the power of “yes” get you moving, it will force your team to own its mistakes, be less fearful of change, embrace new ideas (instead of shying away from them), and give them a much stronger sense of ownership within the organization. And for what it’s worth, a sense of ownership from your team is more valuable than anything, and worth a few missteps along the way if it gets you there.

What do you think? Does your company or organization give you the power to say “yes”? Or are you expected to say “no”?

Tweet This

{ 1 comment }

How To Work Towards Achieving Fun

by Tracey Halvorsen on July 12, 2010

2009NunsHavingFunCalendar In today’s hustle and bustle of fast rising and falling markets, public offerings, venture capital investments and other equations of valuation, we often forget about one of the most important aspects of value in our lives, fun. Walt Disney knew this, Steven Speilberg knows this, every parent preparing for Halloween or a birthday party knows this. Fun is the thing of untold riches. Fun, if harnessed correctly, can offer a reward no monetary investment can guarantee – a wonderful memory.

Ironically, the logistics of organizing fun are often the short-fallings of achieving the fun we seek. It seems, if fun is what we seek, we suddenly treat the process much like a first time cake baking class comprised of first graders focused on eating nothing but frosting, easily whipped into an anticipatory sugar feeding frenzy and fixated on nothing more than pure, uncut, fun. How shall we deal with the crazed masses?

True fun is often the result of careful and calculated planning, usually by the organizer, who is sacrificing their own hopes of fun for the greater good (think party planner, wedding planner, etc.) This “planner” must choreograph the event to ensure fun is had by all who participate, be they a sugar craving 8 year old or an insecure middle aged office worker. And I thought my job was challenging!

Often the ideas that we know deep down might be fun, also will propose to place us in a situation we aren’t comfortable with. This is the key to having fun, it’s part of the scary part where we get outside of our normal habits and let ourselves play. This used to be natural to us all as children, but we have grown to be much more rigid and self deprecating as we age. We have to assume that part of a truly fun experience might involve some level of discomfort – that should be a goal!

To achieve fun, we have to treat the planning for the fun much in the way we plan for a normal event or project. There are target audiences, goals, barriers for entry, etc. If we leave it up to the universe, chances are the fun will sputter out, be isolated, and ultimately not be fun. However, if we treat it like a job, and if our goal is fun, we can succeed. If we find ways to gently nudge the participants into a situation they might be uncomfortable within, but is well planned out and has solid objectives in place – fun can be achieved! Here are my rules for achieving fun:

1. Keep the barrier of entry low
2. Ensure the pain is worth the pleasure
3. Don’t ask. Tell.
4. Leave something to the unknown – “Let’s see what we come up with!”
5. Don’t leave room for critics in the process
6. Trust your gut
7. Test it out, if it’s not fun for you, move on
8. Don’t be afraid of silliness, part of “fun” is letting yourself go
9. If you aren’t a little bit scared, you probably aren’t having fun

Tweet This

{ 0 comments }

Ignore Your Alumni and They Will Go Away

by Tracey Halvorsen on June 22, 2010

I was pretty darn excited when I got a scholarship offer to attend the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), and even more excited when I made the life changing decision to actually go there versus the safer route of a liberal arts college with a strong studio arts program (my anticipated course of action). Once I decided, I was all in. I made the most of my education and of every opportunity I had, and when I graduated, I felt very strongly about the place that had fostered all that learning and growth.

It’s not hard to find me, or other grads from CIA. We are out and about on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube. We don’t have organized events like reunions or get-togethers (you know, artists hate that kind of crap), so we depend on the occasional alumni magazine or email blast from the school to know what is going on. And, during fits of nostalgia, I will visit the website and look for areas where I can connect with past alumni, check that my info is up to date, or even see if there are ways I can stay involved with CIA. Sadly, my knocks at the door are left unanswered.

If I feel more like an afterthought then a critical brick in the foundation – I will go away.
If I feel more like an output instead of a family member – I will go away.
If you come at me out of nowhere, with your open hand asking for my money – I will go away.
If you express no interest in my successes, and in ways I might be able to support you – I will go away.
If you seem confused and indecisive as to who you are – I will go away.
If you don’t cherish your community of graduates – we will all go away.

I see amazing stories of success and perseverance, of growth and insight, posted daily by my classmates on Facebook and elsewhere online. It’s a damn shame that my undergrad isn’t more involved in connecting with us, sharing our stories, seeing what the end result has been from our years at art school. But it’s OK, I stopped caring a long time ago, and I went away.

Are you an organization or school trying to reconnect with your alumni? Here’s how to start.

1. Know your stuff. If you are responsible for engaging with alumni, you better start studying and researching. Find out who were the top grads, who went to live in foreign countries, who was stirring up stuff during school. What was going in in 1990? If you don’t know, you better start figuring it out.

2. Listen! Set up your Google alerts, your Tweet Deck columns, your hashtag monitors and see what people are saying. Then, respond and join the conversation. Of course, avoid inflammatory situations, but if there are things you can add to, find interesting, or want more info about, engage!

3. Ask for help. Use your networks to expand your audience. Don’t try to do it all alone, get your networks to help by spreading the word, directing others to you, and providing information.

4. Start a dialogue. Sure most of you probably already have your Facebook and Twitter pages and accounts (what you don’t? Go do that now!), but how often do you engage with your “fans and followers” in conversation? Start out by typing “Hello Alumni! What is everyone up to these days? Send us your stories so we can brag about you!” If you hear crickets, try again – and get more and more specific until you start getting responses. Still crickets? Seed your Facebook page with responses. Ask questions some of your most recent alum or even current students can answer or respond to, and get the ball rolling. After all, no one likes to go first.

5. Lastly, keep it up. If you don’t have someone dedicated to fostering these relationships at your institution, you are already behind the eight ball. This should be a daily occurrence, on multiple networks and in a variety of engaging and authentic manners. Not only on social networks like Facebook, but on blogs, features brought into your own Website, the development of alumni portals where classmates can reconnect in meaningful ways, sharing of success stories, announcements on Twitter. Celebrate your alumni and the community it represents.

Tweet This

{ 0 comments }

Are Online Social Networks Good or Evil?

by Tracey Halvorsen on June 18, 2010

I was invited to be a guest on National Public Radio recently to discuss the topic of Clay Shirky’s newest book, Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age, with Clay and host Dan Rodricks on WYPR.

We discuss why people are giving up television for online digital activities that pool their intellect, energy and time, and how that is changing the world we live in. From lolCats to the oil spill, people are connecting online to form communities and becoming more engaged, especially when you compare it to the amount of time we all spent passively watching the televised sitcoms of the 70s and 80s.

Have a listen and feel free to share your thoughts on the topic – its definitely not a dull one! Click the link to listen to theMP3 of Tracey Halvorsen and Clay Shirky on Dan Rodrick’s Midday Show on NPR.

Tweet This

{ 2 comments }

Custom Branded Email Signatures Made Simple (sort of)

by Stacy Spakowsky on May 27, 2010

Fastspot is a huge proponent of having a consistent brand and presence in all arenas. As such, we have implemented custom branded email signatures. Our preferred email client is Mac Mail app and we’ve found that, while these signatures are professional and polished-looking, the process of installing/implementing them is nothing sort of a multi-step nightmare. We’ve switched up our signatures around five times in the last couple of years, so I’ve become the unofficial Fastspot e-signature expert. Here is the process, broken into as few steps as possible (bear with me):

Create an HTML signature. Our goal was to integrate our logo and the color scheme from our branding while also adding links and icons to our various social media outlets. We experimented with background images vs. in-line images and ended up finding that in-line images are more compatible across the various email clients and Web mail services, such as Gmail.
Open the HTML signature file using Safari.
Choose Save As… from the Safari File menu. Save the file as a .webarchive format. This is the format Mac Mail app uses for signatures. For the sake of these instructions, I will call this file “signature.webarchive”.
Open Mail Preferences. Choose the Signatures panel. All Signatures is the default view; you will see your email account(s) and various numbers of signatures assigned to each listed below that. I have four different email accounts filtering into Mail, so I have four signatures total and one default signature assigned to each account.
Click the plus sign to add a new signature and title it whatever you like. I will call this file the Mail signature file.
Close the Preferences window and Quit Mail.
Copy your signature.webarchive file.
Go to your Library>Mail>Signatures folder in Finder.
Paste the signature.webarchive file into the Signatures folder.
Find the new signature file you created in Mail Preferences, the Mail signature file. Mail creates signatures with non-sensical alpha numeric names. To find the file you just created, find the one whose creation date is “Today”.
Copy the alpha numeric name of the Mail signature file. Rename that file whatever you like. I tend to use the keystroke Command+X to cut the title and then rename the file “X”, as well. You can delete this file if you like; you will not be using it again.
Rename the signature.webarchive file to the alpha numeric name you just copied. Just paste the name in place.
Open Mail Preferences. Go to the Signatures panel.
Click and drag the new signature to your email account in the left column. This assigns the new signature to that email account.
Click the email account in the left column. Use the Choose Signature drop down at the bottom of the window to assign the new signature as the default for your account.
Close Mail Preferences.
Open a new email message. The new signature should appear automatically in the new email composition window.

Simple, right? Only 17 steps for a professional and cohesive look for your company. Okay, so it’s not “easy”, but when the majority of your communication happens via email, it is fully worth the effort.