This document discusses the key aspects of great design and design processes. It outlines 10 things to know: 1) Design can change businesses, 2) Design is more than pretty pictures, 3) Great design talks benefits not features, 4) Great design thinks in flows not screens, 5) Great design doesn't make the user think, 6) A great design process starts with a great story, 7) A great design process uses design as a lever, 8) A great design process gets the team out of the office, 9) A great design process has a bible or style guide, and 10) A great design process repeats and refines.

1. 10 things you need
to know about design
Jason Putorti
Designer in Residence
Follow me @novaurora

2. Who am I?

6. What is 1 Design can change businesses
design?
2 Design is more than pretty pictures
Great 3 Talks benefits not features
Design
4 Thinks in flows not screens
5 Doesn’t make the user think
A Great 6 Starts with a great story
Design
Process 7 Uses design as a lever
8 Gets out of the office
9 Has a bible
10 Repeats & refines

7. 1
What is design?
Design can change
businesses.

8. I need your bank passwords.
Trust me.

12. P O W E R E D b y S E R V I C E™

15. I’m on twitter.

16. You should follow me
on twitter here.

17. +173% increase
in clicks

19. 2
What is design?
Design is more than
pretty pictures

20. Design thinking
The essential ability to combine empathy,
creativity and rationality to meet user
needs and drive business success.

21. User experience
How your product works in the real
world, or how a person feels about using
your product.

23. ‣ Going through the sign up flow
‣ Completing a task in the product
‣ Error message in the product

24. Customer experience
The sum of all interactions a customer has with
your company, positive, or negative.

25. ‣ Going through the sign up flow
‣ Completing a task in the product
‣ Error message in the product
‣ Viewing your home page
‣ Reading a marketing email
‣ Dealing with customer service

26. ‣ Going through the sign up flow +5
‣ Completing a task in the product +10
‣ Error message in the product -5
‣ Viewing your home page +1
‣ Reading a marketing email -10
‣ Dealing with customer service -5

27. Your brand is how
customers feel about
you

34. 3
Great design...
Talks benefits
not features

35. 20 colorful
Understand vs configurable
your money charts and
graphs

36. Comprehensive
Remove your
vs fuzzy-matching
personal data
algorithm locates
from the web
your records

38. 4
Great design...
Thinks in flows
not screens

40. Log In
1. User enters email address into
email field.
2. User enters password into
password field.
3. User clicks Log In button.
4. System validates login
information. If okay, User is
taken to Overview page.

41. Take note of task
flows in your product

42. 5
Great design...
Doesn’t make
the user think

45. Requires
Obvious
Thought
“Is that a
Click!
button?”
“Is this what I
Click! want? Should
I keep looking?”

46. Make it obvious
what’s clickable.

47. People don’t read,
they scan

49. Minimize noise

51. Omit needless words

52. Users pick the first
reasonable option.

55. You can’t make
everything self
evident.

58. 6
A great design process...
Starts with a
great story

59. “Does everyone on your team know
what the experience will be like
interacting with your offerings five years
from now?”

60. How would it work if it were human?

61. How would it work if it were magic?

62. “Because everyone on the team has
the same vision, they are all on the
same page for what it takes to
succeed.”

63. 7
A great design process...
Uses design as a
lever

64. MARKETING
“The best marketing tool you can have
is a well-designed application.”

65. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Align your revenue with valuable and
legitimate user tasks.

66. BRAND
Negative interactions drive negative
social media.

67. MARKETING+PR
“No amount of money can buy the
media to fix a boring product.”

68. 8
A great design process...
Gets the team
out of the office

69. “In the last six weeks, have your team
members spent at least two hours
watching people experience your
product or service?”

70. 9
A great design process...
Has a bible

71. Trust & Credibility

72. Startup Brand czar
Larger company style guide

73. 10
A great design process...
Repeats & Refines

74. Allot product cycles to
improvement

75. “In the last six weeks, have you held a
celebration of a recently introduced
design problem?”

76. What is 1 Design can change businesses
design?
2 Design is more than pretty pictures
Great 3 Talks benefits not features
Design
4 Thinks in flows not screens
5 Doesn’t make the user think
A Great 6 Starts with a great story
Design
Process 7 Uses design as a lever
8 Gets out of the office
9 Has a bible
10 Repeats & refines