Like every good New Yorker, my favorite artist is Billy Joel. Despite the fact that he makes music and I make products, I find some of my greatest inspiration from Billy. Each of his songs tells a very detailed, well-crafted story that hooks the listener and takes them for a ride. Similarly, I try to tell a story through my design work, taking the user on a ride through the experience.
To tell a story to my users, it's absolutely crucial that I understand them fully. Whether it's discovering the problem, defining the solution, designing the details, or delivering a product, each step centers on the user, their behaviors, their needs, and their pain points. I look for ways to incorporate research and feedback early and often, and my metrics for success are quite simple: are people using it? Does it improve their lives?
Selected stories:
Cornell University: Research in the Classroom (video)
Cornell Silicon Valley: Designing the Future Through User Experience and Human Computer Interaction (video)
HP: Touch to Share (case study)
Punchcut: Wearables, Trying Them On For Size (article)
FiveStars: Refreshing a Brand (case study)
Chime: Making Design a Core Driver of Chime’s Success (article)
*Much of my work is covered by NDAs and can't be shared publicly. Want more stories? Give a holler!