#SXSWi Session Notes: Anatomy of a Design Decision

These are my raw notes from this session.Self Design is when you design for yourself. This works when there area ton of users just like you. And, you, yourself have to use the product everyday. A notion called dogfooding. That means that anything in the design that frustrates you, you will improve it.Unintentional Design happens when we focus on the architecture rather than the actual use. This works only when users will put up with whatever we give them.Genius Design. David Potet, specialize in school websites (New City Media). It is about using our own knowledge based on experience. Works when we are solving the same problems repeatedly.Activity-Focused Design. Has to do with who we are designing for and what do they do. Focusing on the activities and designing specifically for those.Six Flags thinks about the activities. Disney focuses on the experience.Experienced Focused Design. When we are designing for the entire experience.College websites fall under the spell of girls under trees.It doesn't matter where the search box is, as long as it looks like a search box. Rules don't work. Style guidelines don't work.Rule based decisions are the opposite of informed decision. Rule based decisions prevents thinking. Design doesn't work that way. Design wants thinking.If you got something done, then you had a process. A methodology is repeatable. Dogma is the faith. That certain things have to just work. Techniques are the building blocks that go into every step of the process. Tricks are techniques that aren't used quite the right way. Trick is a tool that we use probably not in the way it was intended, but if I stop to get the right tool, I would waste time.The best companies didn't have a methodology or dogma. The worst did. Rules don't work. The companies that use techniques and tricks were using informed decision making. The best designers spend 2 hours every two weeks watching someone actually use your design. The design will improve dramatically.Every design style has it's purpose. As designers, Ned to understand what it means to use it successfully. The great designers know what style they are using. they use the same design style throughout the process. And everyone on the team used the same style. The more advanced the style, the more expensive it gets. Agencies can't go beyond Genius Design because to produce a great experience, it costs a lot. It has to come from in house - decisions have to be made operationally. The more advanced the style, the better you get.What do you want you be as a designer?