Research is communication

(contributed by Scott)

Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain suggest in their first article from an ongoing column Insights from Research that…

Consumers have two ways in which they can communicate with companies: through their purchasing behaviour and through user research.

I quite like the way they position user research as a way to define potential relationships…

If a decision to purchase is the final word in a conversation between a company and consumers, user research makes the first impression. Just as communication is an interaction between people, user research is an interaction between a company and its market. It lets a company get to know the people who are its potential customers before making a decision about establishing a relationship with them.

Making design principles stick

(contributed by Scott)

Kate Rutter from Adaptive Path provides a really useful overview of how to keep design principles working as the product evolves.

She suggests effective design principles:

• Inspire ideas
• Translate to real-life situations
• Help the team decide between options
• Challenge the team to ask useful questions
• Are specifc to this product
• Make for special and unique experiences

She also elaborates on the five ways to make design principles stick:

• Make them visible
• Keep them fresh
• Tell stories with them
• Make them social
• Go public