The Philosophy of Function

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Brad

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently was reminded of papers I wrote back in college for some philosophy courses that oddly deal directly with my professional life as a User Experience Designer. This next paper really resonated with my internal Interaction Designer, as it deals mainly with function and behavior.   Please bare in mind that my skills as a writer were not the greatest back then and I’m slightly embarrassed at the state in which I found them, regardless I hope you enjoy. Continue reading →

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The Physical and Non-Physical World

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Brad

Last weekend at the IA Summit, I was reminded of some papers I wrote back in college on various areas of philosophy. I was surprised to realize that many of these papers oddly enough dealt with the very thing I find myself doing everyday as a User Experience Designer. Below is the first of several papers I’ll be posting from this time in my life, please bare in mind that my skills as a writer were not the greatest back then and I’m slightly embarrassed at the state in which I found them. Continue reading →

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Why I AM a Designer

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Brad

Disclaimer: This is NOT meant to be a statement of general definition. I wrote this article to myself, in an act of self reflection. Since I’m an open person, I felt it was necessary to put this out there for the world to see and comment on.

Do you consider an architect a designer? Is the work of an industrial designer design? If you answer yes to either of these questions, than why is it that some people define the act of design for the digital world to only belonging to the visual side of things? I’ve recently been criticized for calling myself a designer, a user experience designer to be exact. One of my favorite quotes regarding the ambiguous definition of design is “Design’s fundamental role is problem solver”. While this is a great definition of design, it doesn’t really help to justify calling myself a designer, even though my primary role is to solve problems. (Note: The actual title that is prescribed to me is meaningless. What matters to me is the fact that I am recognized as designer, and that the work that I do is design.) Continue reading →

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6 Months Down, 6 to go

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Brad

Ok so the title isn’t 100% accurate since it’s actually been 7 months, but it should go to show how behind I am with my fatherhood writings. The first half of Tristan’s first year has been crazy, hectic, and completely wonderful. Being able to sit back and watch him figure out how to do something is enlightening. Observing him learning reminds me how to learn things too, something I’ve forgotten somewhere along the way. Continue reading →

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Innovate St. Louis

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Brad

Later this month, the very first St. Louis Innovation Camp will be held. This is a unique event in St. Louis, hosted and organized by a group of people that are tired of seeing all the crazy cool things happen on one of the coasts. For a long time now there has been a ton of untapped talent in the St. Louis  area, and those that really do shine normally end up getting whisked away to one of the those alluring coastal cities. Hopefully, St. Louis can finally peek it’s head out of the bushes and show those other cities it knows how to play with the big dogs too. Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Selling User Experience

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Brad

Based on several articles I’ve read over the past months, and the session Eric Reiss gave at last years IA Summit on ‘ROI: Speaking the Language of Business‘, I wrote out this mind dump of how I think about selling User Experience. These ideas are fairly rough and are intended to see how closely my thought process aligns with that of my peers. Hope you enjoy! Continue reading →

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2010 New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Brad

I’m normally not one for making New Year Resolutions simply because I know I wouldn’t be able to follow through with them. By posting them here, it’s my hope that I can use this post as a prolonged ‘To-Do’ list for the new year and be a gentle reminder that I always have something I could be working on. Between now and Dec. 31st, I’m going to be adding things to this post as they come to me. I know some of these resolutions will require the help of other people, so I’ll need to step out of my comfort zone a bit and be more willing to ask for help from my peers. Hopefully, by the end of 2010 I will have made some headway on this pesky things and be a better person for it. Continue reading →

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Conversation on Failure

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Brad

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on Jeff Parks i.a. podcast. This was my first time being both interviewed and recorded, and kudos to Jeff for making it an awesome experience! The conversation we had revolved around failure and why it’s so important for designers. The topics include concepts I brought up in my three part posting on the importance of failure, and feedback we received on the wiki he set up. Thank you to Christian Crumlish, Daniel Szuc, Jan Jursa, Valeska O’Leary, and Eric Reiss for that feedback btw! You can listen to the podcast either here or via iTunes. Hope you enjoy!

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The Importance of Failure for Designers – Part 3

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Brad

In the final part of this series on the importance of failure, I’ll be getting a little philosophical on the subject. Part 1 and Part 2 covered some practical means to take advantage of failure. The final two methods are meant more to change the mindsets of both individuals and organizational leadership to encourage an environment that takes full advantage of failure. Failure always has a negative connotation to it, and these final two approaches are perfect for finally putting a positive spin on the subject. Continue reading →

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The Importance of Failure for Designers – Part 2

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Brad

In Part 1, I showcased the first two methods for dealing with failure and learning from it. Part 2 will focus on activities that can be during a retrospective, or stand alone. These next two methods have a certain risk associated with them due to the emotions that can arise during the resulting conversations. If done successfully however, the passion these emotions invoke can help solidify the lessons that are available to be learned. Continue reading →

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