Dan Klyn, a speaker at the IUE2009 conference, is an information architect by trade, and has sought out to create a book via collaboration around the lessons that IAs and XAs have yet to steal from "regular-old architects".
regular-old-architects seem to do a better job than information architects in the schematics-and-models phase of a project. their trade is an ancient one, and i suspect they've learned some things about the creation and use of abstract representations of design intent to secure client buy-in and sign-off.
His goal is to help those in the design and marketing profession avoid those dreaded client words: Now that I see it! It's this type of miscommunication and misunderstandings that leads to last minute changes and bad decisions, because the client didn't really understand until it was too late.
What can we learn from architects:
1. Start with the joints (points of stress)
2. Progressive disclosure: a logical, smooth storyline
3. Detail generates character
4. Embrace collaborative authorship
5. Get physical, get emotional
Sure, these are good lessons for information architects, experience architects, user experience designers, etc. But I would argue that there is a wider moral to be learned from each one of these points. We should all be testing out friction points in projects and presentations, spending our energy wisely on the pieces that create character, give our clients a reason to care... These five lessons from real architects teach us how to tell better stories and thus how to create better work.
1. Start with the joints (points of stress)
Often we focus so hard on the puzzle pieces, that we forget to see if they really fit together. The night before a client presentation, the team members come together to realize that one of them has a square peg and the other has a round hole.
This applies to design... when one team mate is working on the shopping cart functionality of an ecommerce site, while the other is working on promotion or search. The lines where they overlap is what leads a user from place to place, but it's often a forgotten experience, and thus you create some weak joints and your website breaks.
But it also applies to strategy and research. We have researched how new moms socialize online, and we know what new moms look for in a new vehicle, but have we thought about where and how moms look for information about vehicles online? A + B does not always equal C. The joints are what get us the really good insights. The transitions are what tell the real story.
2. Progressive disclosure: a logical, smooth storyline
The next concept comes from the website, Boxes and Arrows, and it is around progressive disclosure. This is the idea that each view of a building like the Taj Mahal tells you something interesting and tells you exactly what you need to know without overwhelming you with detail. It's a logical flow as you approach it from the silhouette to the detailed intricate tiles.
Progressive disclosure is an enticing striptease of information. It's building a story arc. If you put a persona up on a screen with everything you need to know about a person... if you put the home page design up first... all the sudden it becomes too much information with no story. It's easy to derail a meeting with nitpicks about the details. And the information that is relevant is lost in the noise. Tell us what we need to know, when we need to know it.
3. Detail generates character
But before I make detail sound evil, it's too the contrary, Dan made it clear that detail is what generates character, it is what makes components seem real. It's more about focusing on what details are important to the overall story. It's not about building out one module across 50 wireframes that all look the same. It's about filling in the details where it matters, and leaving the rest fuzzy... up to imagination.
"Too much detail can not be given to produce a distinct Character in every building, not only in great features, but in minor details..." John Soane
To me, this means knowing not to make your whole presentation, your whole pitch to a client eye-poppingly gorgeous and perfect. It will never be. It's knowing which ideas can be expressed through a single sentence on the screen or a personal story you tell... and which ideas need to be taken all the way into a functioning prototype for someone to understand the real character of the campaign or a web experience.
4. Embrace collaborative authorship
We all like things better if we've been involved in creating them. So for that reason alone, collaborative authorship is a smart strategy. When everything is new, there is a lot to pick over, change, and dissect. When you've been involved with the journey, you understand how things evolved and that there actually is a strategy behind them (yeah!).
The other reason to embrace collaborative authorship is that "threeminds" is better than one, especially when one of those minds is the actual client. Differing viewpoints is the special sauce that makes for exceptional experiences.
5. Get physical, get emotional
We are human, we have five senses. We like things to touch and feel and play with. Never underestimate the power of a paper prototype or real persona artifact that you can pick up and examine.
There is so much lost by getting trapped in the world of the screen, resigning to PDF wireframes or powerpoint pitches. We lose the pleasure of the tactile experience. It becomes flat, it becomes unnatural, and very easy to misunderstand how it will really work.
Marta Strickland
Strategists & Planners
Comments (1)
This post blew me away. I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately. Its true Architects will begin to shape the world in ways we have never seen. There is just more money in the digital world so architects will evolve in this direction. This isn't the best example but check out http://odopod.com/inside/
The founders went to school for architecture.
Cool stuff thanks for the post.
Posted on April 17, 2009 22:25