Written by David Charney
Posted: April 30, 2008 (6 months, 3 weeks ago) | 0 comments
I sometimes worry that many of those great words we tend to use such as usability, user experience, engage, and motivate, to name a few, are going to lose their value. I keep seeing these words being used by companies to sell their products and services and then their products and services don’t even come close to providing a usable, engaging, motivating user experience. Don’t get me wrong, it is great to see that these words are getting in the limelight. But it needs to go past the words. These values need to show themselves in the delivery as well. How do we keep these words from fizzling out? We just need to keep doing what we are doing. Keep working hard to deliver the best user experiences we can. …thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder Cats!
That is all. As always… go outside and play.
Written by David Charney
Posted: April 17, 2008 (7 months, 1 week ago) | 1 comment
Hey all. For fun over a few evenings I put this UI design together. I am a big fan of the Apollo space program and thought I would build up a conceptual design based on that. I am actually interested in building a full-on Apollo interactive site where you can interactively go to the Moon. I wonder if I can get NASA interested in the idea…
Update: I had sent out a quick email to Jim Lovell, who owns a restaurant with his son about 5 minutes from me and was lucky to get a short reply (as I have in the past). He said the design looks great! Sweeeeeet. OMG (”Oh My God” for those over 16)! Mr. Apollo 13 likes it! Besides my telling everyone about this I am speechless! I am going to go have a Flavor Ice.
Written by David Charney
Posted: April 14, 2008 (7 months, 1 week ago) | 0 comments
I was doing some research on several learning and training applications that are out there and I started to realize most of them are quite boring. I try to focus but my mind keeps wandering. I would much rather drink my Diet Mountain Dew and ponder what might be causing the strange beeping sound I keep hearing in a distant room. Many of these solutions say they are powerful eLearning applications but all they seem to be doing is shoving text, videos and some multiple choice questions down my throat. Some use words like “interactive” to market their solutions but all this seems to mean is that you can drag and drop the correct word into the blank during one of a series of quizzes and tests. Yawn.
At Illumen, we spend a lot of time developing cognitive learning challenges that use motivating scenarios in subject driven environments to educate the audience. The words educate and learning are important here. The goal to learning is not just in memorization but in understanding and retaining information so it can be applied.
I will get into the topic of motivating experiences in another article. Right now I want to focus on the end goal of a learning solution.
1. Develop the State of Mind
Our ability to think tends to be based on our experiences. Don’t just push facts in our faces, give us scenarios, explain processes, drive our minds to think the way they should on each given topic.
2. Develop Problem Solving Skills
Parallel to the development of our state of minds, being able to use our thought processes to make decisions on each given topic separates us from those that know facts to those that can solve problems.
3. Develop Experience
Being able to to have a strong state of mind and the ability to problem solve stems from experience. Experience stems from the state of mind and ability to problem solve.
I will get into examples in coming articles. For now we must keep open minds and, dare I say it, think outside the box when it comes to these solutions. Speaking of “outside the box”… I figured out what that distant beeping was. Here I assumed it was digital. It turns out it is from a baseball hitting an aluminum bat during a little league game not far from here. Ding! Time to break out the headphones.
Written by David Charney
Posted: March 28, 2008 (7 months, 4 weeks ago) | 0 comments
I gave a short speech to the graduating class of the International Academy of Design & Technology at Chicago. The topic was on the steps between being a student and finding a job. I have had several questions about the topics I discussed and thought I would write up the basics I talked about. I know some of these topics will sound obvious and basic and if you think they are then you are headed down the right track. From talking with students and teachers in the past, I find many students are so overwhelmed by everything in their final stages of school that their next steps seem a little confusing. While every person must find what works best for them, I hope the following topics can lead you in the right direction. I also plan to expand on these topics in upcoming articles.
1. Define Your Goals
Before setting out to find a job, take a seat, find some paper and a pen and start writing down ideas on your long term goals. While you are still testing the waters and understanding what you like doing, creating even rough goals can help to shape your direction. A direction is going to help you strengthen and focus your skills and move up in your field.
Keep in mind your long term goals are not set in stone. You can change your direction at any point in your life as need be.
2. Work as Hard as You Can
This sounds obvious but after talking to many students and teachers, it becomes apparent that the steam can drop off right after graduating. This happens because teachers and parents are constantly telling you to “Work as hard as you can.” every year throughout school. So when many students graduate, their sub-conscious tells them “You are done with school! You don’t have to work hard anymore.” But now is the time to start working harder. And a nice motivator is that now you will be getting paid for it! If you are working a $60,000 project, work as hard as you can. If you are working a $200 project, work as hard as you can. It will get easier, you will produce better work, production will be more fun, and colleagues and employers will pick up on your hard work (which is always good!). So go out there and give it your all!
3. Developing Your Portfolio
Your portfolio is your presentation of yourself to others. It must show off your abilities and work in a quality fashion. Choose your best work for your first real portfolio, even if it is only a few pieces. Spend a little time upgrading any “not so hot” work that just needs some tweaking to be another good piece. It is pretty easy for professionals to tell that a portfolio is all student work but it is also pretty easy for us to tell if there is strong potential. And if a project was created as part of a group, make note of what you did.
If you are having difficulties knowing how to present your work, take a look at what others have done. Note elements you like in the design or presentation and let that stem new ideas.
Pet Peeve: Please don’t name your resume “resume.pdf”. Name it something like “yourLastName_resume.pdf”. It makes it so much easier to store everyone’s resume in one spot!
4. Finding Your Job
I am sure your parents have mentioned this a few billion times. I have three quick tips…
The first tip in finding a job is to look for one. I see too many students that don’t quite open their eyes wide enough to the internet, the paper, or even just cold calling a bunch of companies to request an interview.
Networking is number two on the list. Find events that make sense based on your interests. Go to these events and meet people. Ask them if they know of any more networking events and go to those as well. Keep doing this and soon you will build an umbrella of professionals and potential employers who can help you grow professionally. Online forums is another great way to network yourself to the masses.
Finally, my last tip, which works with my previous tips, is to spend the time looking for a job. If possible work a regular work day. Start looking at 8am and relax after 5pm. This will get you used to a schedule and give you some time to work on your portfolio, research, make calls, network, go to interviews, and get that job!
Note: Don’t let yourself get stuck in a job forever too. If you are not happy with what you are doing and the job doesn’t follow them long term goals, it might be time to take a step back and make a move. Don’t give up too easily. Give your job a chance and work hard at it. Test the waters.
5. Have Fun
My last tip… [drum roll]… Have fun! This is it folks. This is life. Don’t get stuck only looking forward to after work or the weekend. Look forward to work. It is up to you to decide the attitude you are going to have every day. Keep it high and keep smiling even when all hell is breaking loose. Stay creative, work hard, and have fun at work!
Good Luck!
Written by David Charney
Posted: February 16, 2008 (9 months, 1 week ago) | 0 comments
Being a creative director I am often asked by people “Why push the visuals?“… It is a good question which can crop up anytime you propose spending some good time and money to better the look and feel of a project. This question can be interpreted several ways:
1. Why should I spend a lot of money just for the cool factor?
2. Why spend the time on the design?
3. Why use 3D when we already have graphics that show everything?
4. Why spend any more money then is absolutely necessary?
5. Why rework all… - actually - I think you get the idea…
These questions pop up almost constantly… or let’s say mid-constantly. So what do I say to these questions? Good question. First, pushing for really powerful visuals - the 3d, the design - is not always the right way to go for every project. Take a step back from any project (look behind yourself first) and think about the scope of the project, the goals and objectives, the audience, and the long term possibilities. How will the audience benefit from the visuals?
What is so great about visuals? Why spend the time? What is the audience going to get out of it other than the “cool” factor? I feel another list coming on…
Number 1
A more graphical user interface can provide a more intuitive user experience. Spending more time on the look and feel, navigation, and creativity of project can increase ease of use and even be a motivator to continue exploring.
Number 2
Interactivity can provide a more “hands-on” feel to the user. It can allow them to make a connection by providing feedback. This can be key when expressing information, understanding, and retaining it. Fun is another word that comes to mind. Someone enjoying themselves can pick up new things without even realizing it. Again a motivator.
Number 3
3D can entertain and educate. What if you have the best video footage in the world but it can’t quite show the nerve that needs to be avoided during surgery. 3D can tell that part of the story by fading back the anatomy to show just what to be aware of. Again… motivating.
Number… where am I… 4. Number 4
If long term goals call for several applications that all work together, then developing a good brand structure can help bridge that gap. Thinking ahead can determine how much to push the visuals. Motivating.
Number 5
Motivation.
Number 6
Cool factor. Yep. Sometimes it is good to just be cool.
My time is almost up. You can start getting the idea. It’s not all about the cool factor, although it can help as it breaks down into several smaller reasons to push the visuals. A budget is important but if it makes sense for the benefit of the project talk over why pushing the visuals can be important both short term and long term. Think back to all those projects that you actually remember, enjoyed, and told your friends about. Did they have a little something extra to them?
