Be of Value!

How would you feel if you had the power to help someone find their purpose. Over the weekend, I had the privilege to design merchandise for Cercle In, a record label just outside Newark, New Jersey. Before executing the design, the client shared his vision; we discuss brand awareness, strategy, and concepts. I shared some feedback, went home with ideas cooking in my head. I did competitive research then produced the first line of apparel for Cercle in. Seeing the positive feedback with a series of fire emojis makes the time spent on this illustration worthwhile. Most of all, I gave someone hope that he is one step closer to his dreams.

The moral of the story be of value. In times of uncertainty It's easy to spend your days focusing on self, but generosity requires work. The world needs more generosity now more than ever.

Four reasons why a UX designer can become a Film director

Over the weekend, I enjoyed doing one of my favorite things in the world, which is editing music videos. Yes, when I'm not drawing up wireframes and conducting research, I shoot film.

Since the arrival of this dreadful pandemic, which devoured millions of jobs across the country, including my own, I chose to resort to my hobbies of shooting film until a position opens back up for me. Anyways, I was working with underground afrobeat artists just outside of the DC area in a safe Covid free environment.

After exporting my music video's final edits to send to my clients for review, it dawned on me the similarities UX Designers and film directors share. You may be thinking, "What a reach?". In the process of brainstorming ideas for this post, I will admit the goal was to come up with seven reasons why a UX designer could become a film director. That number quickly reduced down to four after considering all factors. However, by the time you complete this blog post, I guarantee that you will have the confidence to tap into your inner Martin Scorcese designers and vise versa for filmmakers. Ok, maybe not. What you really might be thinking is, "what do I care? I'm not into filmmaking," But I believe the parallels these two industries share will interest you. If you are a newbie to this industry, this will help you understand the UX industry a bit more. So sit back and enjoy the ride.

1. Defining User Needs

In the case of a musical artist, their users would be their fans. After learning the client's requirements and restraints, my approach would be to go to where the fans reside digitally: youtube comments, blogs, social media, and hunt for data to obtain information for storyboarding. Similarly, a UX designer will conduct field studies and go to where potential users reside, gather task information and understand user's needs to get data for journey maps, personas user cases, and user stories. Field studies are among the most valuable methods for setting a design project's direction and discovering unmet user needs. Without defining user needs, there is no direction for a UX designer or a film director.

2. Exploring User Needs

Similarly to the UX industry, there is a lot that goes into preparation. For a film director, the bulk of planning resides in preproduction. My favorite tool for planning is storyboarding. When constructing a storyboard, I use text, images, and diagrams because people react to different communication forms.

The three critical documents would include a shotlist - a written collection of shot descriptions, including proper scaling, angles, camera movement, and character blocking. Images: a collection of pictures from magazines, blogs, movie clips, and sketches to help put the idea to life. Lastly, diagrams - what is the overhead? Budget? Floor plan? In the same tune, a UX Designer exploration process will include competitive analysis, journey mapping, task analysis that help map out critical features—writing up user stories to look for perverse incentives and consider social implications. Card sorting to provide a structure through the lens of the user. All elements help provide a clear path to a successful outcome. The most important part of this process would include feedback from team members. Lack of feedback can result in poor results.

3. Testing

Testing. On the day of the shoot, filmmakers take the time to test camera equipment, lighting, sound, character blocking, going over scenes with actors, locations, shooting multiple takes. Poor filmmakers jump right into shooting and lose out on quality shots in the process. On the flip side, a UX designer uses tools like qualitative usability testing to track usability over time and bugs. Without proper testing, you can guarantee a negative outcome.

4. Validation

At this point, the video is shot and edited, and ready for final review. The filmmaker will then send the video to client for feedback. The client reviews all shots, ensuring that the storyline makes sense and there are no errors.

The video is also sent to a few fans to get their final thoughts on the visual. After careful review of all feedback, the editor will make their final edits. Finally, the client will organize a listening party in which their closest fans will come in and review their work before it gets released to the world for consumption. Similarly, the UX designer will orchestrate surveys and review usability bugs to pay attention to user sentiment.

Did I rock your world yet? For those who are still skeptical, I agree that there is a clear distinction in craftsmanship between the two industries. However, there are also clear parallels in discovering and exploring user needs and the testing of the product. Also, feedback is essential during this overall process. In-conclusion, designers, I hope you added a camera to your shopping cart. It's time to start shooting. You never know, you might pick a new hobby or find your work on rotten tomatoes.