FRONT - A Strategy, Design and Technology Studio

There are some widely different but equally successful approaches to design (compare Apple and Nintendo), and some who argue that most design processes are all much the same.

I think that this discussion about creative process presents a tough question about the role design can play in creating exceptional experiences online: is design simply about making a site visually appealing, or does it play a more central role? Even more importantly, how does design matter to the work that we do?

To shed some light on the matter, I asked this question on Twitter “Putting together an article and wanted to ask you all: what do you think the role of design is / should be in web projects?”

Why does all this matter anyway? Its essential to get projects off to a good start by developing ideas that can be shown to solve problems that both the client and users care about. After all, this is what clients hire us for – to bring our expertise to bear in a way that generates a long term return beyond the project costs.

At Front, we have strong ideas about what makes effective use of the web, so I’d like to share some of our thinking and experiences on how great design can help companies raise their game online…

Good Design vs Great Design

At FRONT, we see design as far more than just aesthetics. That’s not to say that looks are unimportant – our reputation as a studio is built on beautiful work – but that design is really about problem solving.

Great design goes beyond superficial by trying to genuinely understanding consumers’ needs and wants, then translating the range of possibilities into solutions that offer customer value and opportunities for the client. A stunning site that doesn’t meet the needs of its users, or create any value for its owner is not great design if it solves no problem.

Design communicates on every level. It tells you where you are, cues you to what you can do, and facilitates the doing.
Jeffrey Zeldman’s discussion of style vs design.

What separates an exceptional website from one that is simply run of the mill is a strong central premise, a clear vision of what the site is trying to achieve. Without this, its hard for a user to recommend a site to a friend or colleague, making it hard for awareness of a site to spread. Its this core idea that underpins the experience you offer your audience and that makes a site something more than a random selection of content and functionality.

What problem should we solve?

The most interesting – or obvious – problem isn’t necessarily the right one to solve. To deliver a solution that holds real value we need a deep understanding of the issues and a clear vision of how to tackle them.

Why don’t all websites benefit from this? Firstly, because its hard to find out what people genuinely need. People are messy and complex  and getting reliable right input or good feedback on ideas isn’t straightforward.

Secondly, projects often start with specific questions or challenges: will my site be accessible? How will the navigation work? However, seeing design as problem solving challenges us as individuals to work collaboratively with clients to find out what they really need before diving into the nuts and bolts of a project.

Every project should be brilliant and remarkable

Great design means first building a deep understanding of the company, its customers, brand, market, competitors, strategy and positioning. It means being able to think independently and carry out methodologically sound research to generate insights that are meaningful and reliable. It means meeting the people who are going to use what you’re delivering to find out how they see things.

Its this approach that helps us to build a clear vision – working as one team with the client – of what the project should achieve and to continually challenge this. By seeing great design as problem solving, we critically evaluate what’s needed. It allows us to ask “why would I use this site?” and be confident that the user experience we’re creating is a compelling one.

As an interesting aside, Tim Brown of global design firm IDEO talked about the importance of play in design thinking in his TED talk:

Why does all this matter? Its essential to get projects off to a good start by developing ideas that can be shown to solve problems that both the client and users care about. After all, this is what clients hire us for – to bring our expertise to bear in a way that generates a long term return beyond the project costs.

Some Examples

ID Works
Independent Digital wanted to commission a new site that provide easily accessible, up-to-date information about online advertising across a range of brands.

To deliver this, we looked at other relevant sites to understand the competive landscape, and talked to actual customers (which ended up as the showcase video on the site’s homepage).

We worked together with the client team to build a shared vision - to make the Independent Digital site the number one destination for advertising online in Ireland.

Our approach was really about helping Independent Digital build relationships with their customers by building the customers understanding of online advertising. This is what helped us come up with a site that goes beyond brochure-ware and engages its audience by delivering original content, discussion and user generated content and signposting valuable and interesting content from elsewhere on the web.

Journey to the Titanic
BBC Newsline correspondent Mick McKimm undertook a fascinating journey to lay a plaque at the wreck of the Titanic. Following the success of Mike’s reports on BBC Newsline and the broadcast of “A Journey to Remember”, the BBC wanted to make the footage not broadcast available through an interactive learning site.

The challenge on this project was to deliver an experience and a visual treatment of the material that would build on the deep-sea element of the project. To do this, we developed a visual language that tightly linked the site’s core premise to its visual design.

My Blue Nose Friends
It’s not often that you get a chance to work with a company who are in the process of shaping and developing a new brand, but sometimes the stars align, and great things happen. Carte Blanche Greetings came to us to see how the web could support the launch of their new brand, My Blue Nose Friends.

The site had to establish the story behind the brand, help build excitement in the run up to launch, and put allow users to form their own attachment to the characters.

Philippe Starck on Design

What’s the impact of solving the wrong problem?

So what happens on projects that lack design thinking? Failing to deliver the benefits that were expected – and which justified the project cost – is an obvious consequence. The National Audit Office on common causes of project failure cite the lack of clear link between the project and the organisation’s key strategic priorities, including agreed measures of success as their number one cause in their report on ICT project failure.

In customer terms, failing to solve the right problem means that an opportunity to retain and delight customers is missed. Business processes – organisational routines that provide the engine for any team – also suffer: focusing on the most interesting challenges, rather than the most rewarding, is habit- forming. Instead of continually focusing on problems and opportunities that yield the best return, teams get used to the scattergun approach.

Tackling the wrong problem, or failing to use the right approach to start projects, misses the opportunity to develop the people and skills needed for long term success.

Other Approaches to Design

I think we have a clear view at Front on how design thinking makes the way that we deliver projects unique and distinctive, but we’re not afraid to be challenged and to hear what works elsewhere. How do you see the role of design?