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South by Southwest Interactive 2010 Notes

They may not be as creative as all the sketch-based notes out there, but here’s what I got out of some of the South By Southwest Interactive panels I went to this year:

Mood boarding for getting a good sense of the style
Concept sketching for early stage visualizing of various pieces
Process: Design, research, design, build
Storyboard lifecycles of various processes
Concept sketching diagrams helps with information architecture (ex: relationship of components leading to navigation decisions)
Concept sketching abstractly can help with interface prototypes
Process: See, sort, sketch

Meetings blow up your day and turn your work day into work moments, they should be optional
Workday in general is being interrupted all the time, it’s the biggest timewaster in an office
You’re not as creative when you’re working too hard and just trying to get things done
The more you work, the more work comes up, it becomes a vicious cycle
The only thing that matters is productivity over the longterm, what you’ve accomplished in a week or a month
Estimates/promises are really guesses, deadlines are never accurate
Tip: Just say no, good enough is fine, you can always do less
Tip: Put together a list of items within a given timeframe (like two weeks) and drop the least important that there is no time for
Tip: Restate the problem to make sure you’re heading towards the same original goal
Tip: Give up – realize that what matters is not the work done, but what’s left to do and whether it’s worth doing

Influence is all around us, from friends, to ads, to architecture
Marketing, through persuasion helps overcome the paradox of choice
It’s good to understand the cognitive biases that affects human decision-making
Determine the primary objective and target behavior for the user
Motivator: Authority and trust – leaders people look to, Trust indicators: common details (like contact info), pictures of team, pictures of actual customers
Motivator: Social proof – looking to others around us to determine what to do, Examples: Reviews on Amazon.com product page, customer testimonials on websites
Motivator: Loss Aversion – limiting supply can drive demand, Examples: Ebay auctions, Woot.com products
Motivator: Likability and Gifting – rewarding and reciprocity, Example: Amazon.com free shipping for orders over $25

The better the design: the easier the reading experience, the deeper the engagement, the more connected the consumer, the stronger the brand relationship
The goal is to combine the fidelity of print design and flexibility of the web
Great magazines aren’t possible without robust content
Design goals: content, content, content, walk-up usability, revolution through evolution

Amazon Treasure: Engage Through Content – Reviews are very important to buying decisions, the helpfulness question helps present positive reviews from the negative reviews
Amazon Treasure: Don’t Fear New Ideas – Experiment, there are risks to experiments
Amazon Treasure: Eliminate Tool (response) Time While Delivering Confidence – multiple security levels (no cookie, cookie, login, credit card verification)
Incremental change is a good approach versus complete redesign
Amazon Treasure: Never Forget the Business – You have to start with the business model to design a great experience

Tags: conference, design, flash, gtd, ideas, interaction, interface design, internet, marketing, story, web design

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