Planning for Success: Design Like a Pro

@rd2incrd2inc.com

Chris Ronan 

    @cronan

    http://blog.rd2inc.com/archives/author/chris-ronan/

Leia Scofield      

    @leia

    http://blog.rd2inc.com/archives/author/leia/

A Design Studio + Lab + Partner

For companies who want to be the best in their line of business.  And, for those who recognize the importance of delivering on design innovation as a valuable tool to take on their journey

what does "RD2" stand for?

R = ResearchD = DesignD = Develop

The name, further explained:

http://blog.rd2inc.com/?p=677

tools

Some of our tools are obvious

     Text editors

    Graphic design software (Adobe Suite)

    Staging servers and environments

Some are less obvious

    User Experience Plan

    WordPress

    Drupal

Yes, we use Drupal too

[bending spoon pic]

But why do we love WordPress?

[light saber pic]

From this...

To this...

what's the big design challenge?

design is subjective

That's the challenge and the beautiful thing all rolled into one

Applications of design that work best can

perform:

In a subjective world

In an objective world

sub·jec·tive [suhb-jek-tiv]

-adjective

"existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought" "placing excessive emphasis on one's own moods, attitudes, opinions, etc.; unduly egocentric."

ob·jec·tive [uhb-jek-tiv]

-adjective

 "not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased: an objective opinion." "verifiable"

Subjective:

We picked these colors because...It was the color of my first bicycle

They're the color of my dog's eyes

Because I think this color palette is beautiful

Objective:

We picked these colors because...They support the mood of your overall company

message and go to market strategy

They are in the corporate style guide

They exemplify a fundamental change or

direction in management

They best convey the mood and message I'm

trying to communicate

how do you design like a pro?

Step back and add the big, three letter filter...

WHY

Apply "WHY" to everything

Do it deliberately and with discipline...

...apply it to every idea, every widget, every category, every tag, every banner, every suggestion

or your website could start to look like this

framework for design

Step away from WordPress

Plan

Explore

Give yourself a context for "WHY"

STEP 1: define your goals and objectives

The overarching reason or purpose

The highest level mission

The key summary

Often found through core values

Goals and Objectives (Examples for Businesses)

"Unleash the power and authenticity of our strongest assets: our employees and our customers."

"Encourage brand loyalty and referrals from existing customers"

"Educate prospects about our brand"

Goals and Objectives (for People)

"Share my knowledge"

"Make friends"

"Increase my notoriety"

"Increase notoriety of my cat"

Spend some time thinking about goals

Try them out on friends

Tie all your decisions back to goals

meet christine - the client

Age: 32Location: East Dallas • Private Yoga Instructor• Specialized methodology• Needs more clients

Christine's Goals

STEP 2: identify your audience

Target Audience Definition & Personas:

A detailed picture of each member of your

audience in a “day in the life of” scenario

Often created from real life individuals who are

interviewed and/or studied

Motivations and activities are observed,

discussed, and documented

It's about Personas, their demographics,

and data related to their experiences

Data

google analytics

quantcast

woopra

polls

surveys

who is looking at your site?

what time of day? what day of week? where are they coming from? what pages do they visit most?

what are they searching for?

what are they browsing with?  do they come back?

location? language? age?  gender?  education level?  income?

Is this who you want your audience to be?

What do you need to change or improve to

make your audience the right one for your

goals?

WHY?

Personas

christine's personas

Persona: Julio

Age: 24Location: Uptown Dallas • Ready for one-on-one lessons• Looking for a personable expert• Internet Savvy

Persona: Joy

Age: 29Location: Carrollton • Busy mom• Long-time client of Christine's • Can't always make private

lessons

Persona: Naomi

Age: 42Location: Tulsa • Proficient in yoga• Wants to learn Christine's

specialty• Can occasionally attend a

workshop

Now your WHY has a WHO. 

STEP 3: know your competition

Know and document your competitors

Do your Personas find them more

compelling? Why?

Make screenshots

Write your likes and dislikes 

christine's competition

STEP 4: find your inspiration

It's not just about your competition

It's not just about others in your space

It's about completely different sources of

inspiration

Shoot it, snag it, scrap book it

Then document what inspires you about it

STEP 5: plan your content

Arguably your most important asset

Create an outline for anticipated content

Organize early

Write early

This informs the designer

This informs the developer

Don't forget to ask WHY 

Pages?

Categories?

Tags?

Types of content?

Ads?

Posting frequency?

Multiple authors?

Plan and write as much content as you can

BEFORE you start designing.

christine's content

Pages: About, Contact, Class Schedule Content Types: Photos, Video, Events, News Categories: Lessons, Links, Events, Photos, Announcements, Workshops Tags: Specific poses, locations, details

STEP 6: list your features

List your desired features

Every dropdown, every tag cloud, every

widget

Weigh them against your goals and

objectives...asking why.

How would your personas respond?

Spam Prevention

Contact Form

Stats

Downloads

Related Posts

Comments

christine's features

STEP 7: 

outline your needs

Wire Framing

Prioritize your features and functions

Score each and every item

Apply them within a wire frame and be

careful not to increase your scope!

And remember: this is not design yet!

christine's outline

design like a pro

Whether it's you, a design partner or a vendor,

now you have a collection of the most

important elements to inform design

If you follow a process or method with

discipline before you start design, you're

giving design a real chance

This is the plan for your big idea.

It's your blueprint.

Imagine you are building your home.

You need the architectural plan before

ordering the lumber.

so remember...

STEP 1: define your goals

STEP 2: identify your audience

STEP 3: know your competition

STEP 4: find your inspiration

STEP 5: plan your content

STEP 6: list your features

STEP 7: outline your needs 

and always ask...

WHY

thanks! and let the force be with you!

@rd2incrd2inc.com