As designers and agency owners we constantly manage the chaos of mastering a craft, being diverse, all the while trying to differentiate ourselves and adapting our processes and deliverables in an industry that changes at lightening speeds. As if the web wasn’t difficult enough, the advent of mobile product design and service design has created an entirely new industry and career paths, completely disrupting everything we knew about engagements, processes, deliverables, and expectations of design teams and agencies. Face it, the industry is constantly changing and so should we. Let’s learn to embrace change and use it to intentionally position ourselves for constant reinvention and how to fashion the skills and environments necessary for creating meaningful products in the modern age and beyond. Presented at Owner Summit 2015, Austin Texas

1. ADAPTING TO
CHANGE
ANTHONY ARMENDARIZ
@MANTWAN
#ADAPTINGTOCHANGE
OWNER SUMMIT 2015 ・ AUSTIN, TX ・ @MANTWAN @FUNSIZE ・ #OWNERSUMMIT #ADAPTINGTOCHANGE

2. FUNSIZE.CO
@FUNSIZE
Austin, Texas

3. 1996
ARTIST/
DRAFTER
MULTIMEDIA
DESIGNER
FRONT-END
DEVELOPER
WEB
DESIGNER
INTERACTIVE
ART
DIRECTOR
CREATIVE
DIRECTOR
INTERACTION
DESIGNER
VP OF
UX &
DESIGN
PRODUCT
DESIGNER
3 TIMES
FREELANCE
DESIGNER
2 TIMES
AGENCY
OWNER
2014
EXPERIENCE
DIRECTOR

4. OVER 18 YEARS, I’VE HAD 15 TYPES
OF DESIGN JOBS
AND HAD TO CHANGE ABOUT EVERY
1.2 YEARS

5. WHEN WE HIRED THE BEST PEOPLE
WE COULD, I HIRED MYSELF OUT
OF A DESIGN JOB.
#FIRSTWORLDPROBLEM

6. AS AN OWNER…
DESIGN
DIRECTOR
PRODUCT
DESIGNER
STRATEGY CEO
CFO
ACCOUNT
MANAGER
ACCOUNTS
RECEIVABLE/
PAYABLE
BOOKKEEPER
MARKETING
HUMAN
RECOURCES
OPERATIONS
OMG
HOLY SHIT

7. IN THE LAST 2 YEARS RUNNING FUNSIZE,
I’VE HAD TO LEARN AND MANAGE 11
DIFFERENT JOBS AND SKILLS
I CAN’T DO ALL OF THIS!

8. PART 1
DAMN IT FEELS GOOD
TO BE A GANSTA
OWNER SUMMIT 2015 ・ AUSTIN, TX ・ @MANTWAN @FUNSIZE ・ #OWNERSUMMIT #ADAPTINGTOCHANGE

9. EVERYONE WANTS WHAT WE CREATE.

14. THE TOOLS WE CREATED
CREATED MORE OF US.

15. JOE WILLIAMS • @STUDIOROHAN
As a designer, you’re constantly trying to
improve. In this industry, if you are
standing still, you’re falling behind.
“

16. PART 2
OUR HISTORY: ROOTED
IN CONSTANT CHANGE
OWNER SUMMIT 2015 ・ AUSTIN, TX ・ @MANTWAN @FUNSIZE ・ #OWNERSUMMIT #ADAPTINGTOCHANGE

17. THE MACINTOSH
1984

18. “Anyone with a computer regardless if they had any
experience or not could produce design. I felt the
quality was inferior and that it lacked the artistic
touch. In my case I decided I would find find a new
career rather than compete with rapid work.
ISRAEL ARMENDARIZ (MY DAD)

19. DVD ROM BOOM
1994

20. ANTIQUE SITES
1994

21. FLASH
1999

22. DESIGNED WEB SITES
1998?

23. “TAKING YOUR TALENT TO THE WEB” - JEFFREY ZELDMAN
2001

24. KHOI VINH AND THE “GRID”
2005

25. FLASHWEB BASED PRODUCTS
2006

26. ADAPTIVE AND RESPONSIVE DESIGN
2004-2010

27. WE CREATED AN ENTIRE NEW INDUSTRY
FULL OF DESIGN SPECIALTIES AND JOBS
THAT DIDN’T EXIST BEFORE.
(UX, IA, iXD, Visual Design, etc, etc.)

28. AT THE SAME TIME…THIS IS WHAT
MOBILE LOOKED LIKE

29. AND THEN CAME THE IPHONE.

30. EX.
LEAFLETS

31. NOW MOBILE WEB MATTERED

32. THEY WERE DESIGNED BY DEVELOPERS.
Sound Familiar?

33. DISTRUPTION IN DIGITAL SERVICE
DESIGN AGENCIES
A PARADIGM SHIFT

34. WE SET ASIDE MANY OF OUR PREVIOUS
SKILL SETS TO SPECIALIZE IN WEB
AND MOBILE DESIGN
SPECIALIZATIONS

35. LET’S POUR ONE OUT FOR
THE HOMIES WE’VE LOST

36. “To change is difficult.
Not to change is fatal.
WILLIAM POLLARD

37. PART 3
ENTER PRODUCT AND
SERVICE DESIGN
OWNER SUMMIT 2015 ・ AUSTIN, TX ・ @MANTWAN @FUNSIZE ・ #OWNERSUMMIT #ADAPTINGTOCHANGE

38. DIGITAL
ECOSYSTEMS

39. ELEMENTS OF A DIGITAL PRODUCT
MARKETING
TV WEARABLES
CUSTOMER
SERVICE
WEB PRODUCTS
?
MOBILE PRODUCTS
AUTOMOTIVE

42. future predictionsLET’S TAKE A GLIMPSE INTO
THE FUTURE

43. SCREENS, SCREENS,
AND MORE SCREENS

48. MOVIE
HER

50. WEB DESIGN IS ONLY 15-20 YEARS OLD.
MOBILE DESIGN IS MERELY 7 YEARS OLD.
WEARABLE DESIGN JUST TURNED 1 YEAR OLD.
AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTS ARE BEING BORN.
IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING

51. WATERFALL
DOESN’T WORK

54. DEVELOP
& RELEASE
DESIGN
VALIDATE
& TEST
DISCOVERY &
REQUIREMENTS
THE SCHEDULE. WASH, RINSE AND REPEAT
2WK.
SPRINT

55. “At times of change, the LEARNERS are the
ones who will inherit the world, while the
KNOWERS will be beautifully prepared for
a world which no longer exists.
ERIC HOFFER

56. PART 4
EMBRACING
CHANGE
OWNER SUMMIT 2015 ・ AUSTIN, TX ・ @MANTWAN @FUNSIZE ・ #OWNERSUMMIT #ADAPTINGTOCHANGE

57. CHANGING EXPECTATIONS
IN CLIENT SERVICES
A

58. “As companies bring more and more design talent in
house the role of the external agency is evolving.
You’re seeing fewer agencies of record and fewer
relationships were a company is simply giving over its
digital and design capabilities to someone else and
instead realizing they to own it themselves.
PETER MERHOLZ, UXDISOVERYSESSION.COM

59. Page Title
GIMME MORE. GIMME MORE.
GIMME GIMME GIMME MORE!
REALITY: PRODUCTS ARE NEVER DONE

60. WE’RE IN THE BUSINESS OF
BUILDING MODULAR HOUSES
NOT CATHEDRALS.

61. BUT WE STILL HAVE TO SET SAIL

62. BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS WITH YOUR CLIENTS
• Partner not client, partner not agency
• Equal division of ownership, commitments, and work
• Meet long-term financial needs
• Address both short and long term goals
• Keep pace and quality high
• Keep regular communication between project teams
• Talk to them often

63. YOUR TEAM MUST EMBRACE
• The time, financial, or resourcing constraints.
• Generating quick ideas as a team to validate before investing.
• Favoring lean, quick, and sometimes, half-complete work.
• Failing fast and often.
• The ability and desire to pivot at any time and embrace change.
• That it’s NEVER ever, ever, ever done.
• Listening to users is critical.

64. FLEXIBLE SCOPE FTW!
• No project schedules. Only a start and end date.
• No fixed deliverables, just the services you’ll provide.
• No promises to deliver anything specific to the client.
• Promise a team with consistent effort. Velocity, not hours.
• Provide a standard weekly sprint or monthly price.
Learn More: http://goo.gl/QwrauI

65. 5
LOVE AND LEARN ALL OF THE MOBILES
B

66. THE WEB IS GREAT BUT THAT’S JUST
PART OF A LARGER ECOSYSTEM

67. LEARNING IOS IS BARELY
SCRATCHING THE SURFACE

68. TAKE YOUR RESPONSIVE TALENT
TO MOBILE

69. “
ME
If a designer who codes is a unicorn and a
designer who can't is a dinosaur than a designer
who doesn't know iOS/Android is a fossil.

70. C
GROW FUTURE PROOF TEAMS

71. “
STEVE JOBS
It’s not just about how it looks and feels.
Design is how it works.

72. A PRODUCT TEAM
PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT
PRODUCT DESIGNER ENGINEERING
MARKETING
&
COMMUNICATION
DESIGN

73. PRODUCT / PROJECT MANAGEMENT / PRODUCT STRATEGY
PRODUCT
OWNER
APPROVALS
CUSTOMER
RESEARCH
&
USER
TESTING
PRODUCT
ROADMAP
REQUIREMENTS
GATHERING
PRODUCT DESIGN
PROJECT
PLANNING
ENGINEERING

74. PRODUCT DESIGN
BRANDING
PROTOTYPING
IMPLEMENTATION
DESIGN
IA &
INTERACTION
DESIGN
CONCEPTUAL
DESIGN
VISUAL
DESIGN
PMENGINEERING

75. ENGINEERING
FRONT END
DEVELOPMENT
MOBILE WEB
DESIGN
TECHNOLOGY
BACK END
DEVELOPMENT
IOS ANDROID
PRODUCT DESIGNPM

76. “We’re gonna hold out to hire a Product
Designer who knows iOS, Android, Windows,
and is great at user experience but also
talented at branding and illustration.
A BOSS I HAD WHILE AT EVERNOTE

77. “I’m wary of overspecializing….
I think a challenge with product design that
the Bay Area faces is that it’s almost
becoming too generalist…
PETER MERHOLZ, UXDISOVERYSESSION.COM

78. UX IS A TEAM RESPONSIBILITY
GOOD OR BAD, A UX IS A RESULT OF
WHAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM CREATES.
IT’S NOT A ROLE.

79. IDEATE, ITERATE, VALIDATE, REPEAT
IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT WHAT THE USER
WANTS AND NEEDS. NOT YOU.

80. “Photoshop is not the canvas.
The technology is.
MATTHEW ARMENDARIZ • @MATTCHEW

81. INTERACTIVE
AUTHORING
WEB 1.0 &
WEB 2.0
RESPONSIVE &
MOBILE DESIGN
PRODUCT
DESIGN
SERVICE
DESIGN
FUTUREPAST
REQUIREMENTS OF SKILL AND SPECIALIZATION OVER TIME
THE HALF-PIPE EFFECT

82. BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE
DEPTHOFEXPERTISE
T-SHAPED
TEAMS

83. LEAD, FOLLOW, CONTRIBUTE
AND GET OUT OF THE WAY
D

84. DO WHAT YOU LOVE
LEAD BY EXAMPLE

85. THE BEST LEGACY OU CAN LEAVE BEHIND
IS TRAINING THE FUTURE GENERATION.
GET OUT OF THE WAY

86. “
@RYANCHRIS • GOOGLE DESIGN
The hardest thing for a founder is
believing that not all decisions need
to come from you.

87. WHEEW!
THANK
YOU
@MANTWAN @FUNSIZE
OWNER SUMMIT 2015 ・ AUSTIN, TX ・ #OWNERSUMMIT #ADAPTINGTOCHANGE