The evolution of our work and environment has produced new relationships between disciplines, within digital teams, across organisational verticals, in our local design and tech community, and across borders. I gave this talk as the keynote presentation at the UX Craft conference in Cape Town, South Africa on 4 October 2014.

1. The Elephant and the Dassie
a tale of evolution and kinship
Kerry-Anne Gilowey
@kerry_anne
UX Craft Conference Cape Town 4 October 2014

2. PROLOGUE:
The family photo
album

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5. www.worldwildwebb.tumblr.com

6. ANTANANARIVO
MADAGASCAR
SOUTH
AFRICA
RWANDA
HARARE
PRETORIA
LILONGWE
ADDIS
ABABA
MOZAMBIQUE
MAPUTO
MASERU SWAZILAND
LESOTHO
MBABANE
BOTSWANA
GABORONE
LIBREVILLE REP.
ANGOLA
NAMIBIA
YAMOUSSOUKRO CAMEROON
WINDHOEK
LUANDA
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC
OF THE CONGO
KINSHASA
ZAMBIA
LUSAKA
TANZANIA
DAR ES SALAAM
UGANDA
KAMPALA
NAIROBI
BUJUMBURA
KENYA
BURUNDI
KIGALI
MALAWI
ZIMBABWE
KHARTOUM
ASMARA
SOMALIA
MOGADISHU
ETHIOPIA
DJIBOUTI
DJIBOUTI
BAMAKO
NIAMEY
N’DJAMENA
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REPUBLIC
BANGUI
NIGERIA
ABUJA
BENIN
PORTO-NOVO
BURKINA
FASO
OUAGADOUGOU
TOGO
LOMÉ
GHANA
ACCRA
DAKAR
GAMBIA
BANJUL
GUINEA-BISSAU
BISSAU GUINEA
FREETOWN
SIERRA LEONE
MONROVIA
LIBERIA
CÔTE
D'IVOIRE
YAOUNDÉ
MALABO
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA
GABON
OF THE
CONGO
BRAZZAVILLE
CONAKRY
SOUTH
SUDAN
JUBA

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12. The family tree
Image credit: www.onezoom.org

13. Why are they related?

14. 6JGJ[TCZCRJCPV
Image credit: www.uncyclopedia.wikia.com

15. That’s
evolution,
baby!
Pearl Jam, Do the Evolution

16. CHAPTER 1:
Crossing disciplines

17. Hi! Hello!

18. I am an
Independent Content Strategy
Consultant
Studied English, Linguistics,
Human-Computer Interaction,
Web writing, some basic IA
Information Systems
Copywriting, mostly print
Content strategy, first as an agency
Confab London, IA Summit, Dare
CS Forum Frankfurt, CS Summit,
MIMA Summit, Confab HE
Content Strategy Forum 2012
owner then solo
Conference, Midwest UX

19. Our work is a strange beast

20. ...a strange, fuzzy beast.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/splityarn/

21. Work used to BE SIMPLER.

22. It was TANGIBLE.

23. It had CLEAR EDGES.

24. T here was less SCOPE CREEP.

25. BUTCHER
BAKER
CANDLESTICK-MAKER

26. How about us?

27. Information
Architect
User Researcher
UX Designer
Experience Designer
Interaction Designer
Content Strategist
Product Manager UI Developer
UX Strategist
UX Analyst
Visual Designer
UI Designer
Web Designer
Web Developer
Front-End Developer
UX Architect UI Engineer
Product Designer
Usability Practitioner
Information Designer
Content Architect
Digital Strategist
Usability Analyst
Web Analyst

28. Information Architect
User Researcher
UX Designer
Experience Designer
Interaction Designer
Content Strategist
Product Manager UI Developer
UX Strategist
UX Analyst
Visual Designer
UI Designer
Web Designer
Web Developer
Front-End Developer
UX Architect UI Engineer
Product Designer
Usability Practitioner
Information Designer
Content Architect
Digital Strategist
Usability Analyst
Web Analyst

29. The digital irony

30. dig-i-tal (adj.)
/ˈdijitl/
(of signals or data) expressed as
series of the digits 0 and 1

31. Digital characteristics
Discrete On or off Unambiguous
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/alltheaces/

32. an-a-log (adj.)
/ˈanlˌôg/
relating to or using signals or
information represented by a
continuously variable physical
quantity

33. Analog characteristics
Continuous Spectrum Amorphous
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/angelocesare

34. Continuous Spectrum Amorphous
Which sounds more like digital
design and UX work?
Discrete On or off Unambiguous

35. The advent of digital has
produced fuzziness and overlap.
Image credits: www.flickr.com/photos/nirak/ and www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/

36. Disciplines now overlap in
surprising ways, thanks to
digital evolution.

38. The Pandora Music Genome Project

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44. CHAPTER 2:
Team dynamics

45. Product
Manager
Content
Strategist
SEO
Specialist
UI
Front-end
Developer
Designer
Project
Manager
Community
Manager
Technical
Architect
Usability
Specialist
Interaction
Designer
Web
Developer
Information
Architect
Design
Director
Business
Analyst
User
Researcher
Web
Editor
Copywriter
OUR
TEAM
Technical
Writer

46. SEO
Specialist
UI
Designer
Community
Manager
Interaction
Designer
Web
Developer
OUR
TEAM

47. Product
Manager
UI
Front-end
Developer
Designer
Interaction
Designer
User
Researcher
OUR
TEAM

48. UI
Usability
Specialist Information
Designer
Project
Manager
Technical
Architect
Architect
Business
Analyst
OUR
TEAM
Technical
Writer

49. Product
Manager
Content
Strategist
Technical
Architect
Front-end
Developer
Interaction
Designer
Design
Director
Business
Analyst
User
Researcher
Copywriter
OUR
TEAM

50. YOU
ARE
HERE

51. YOU
ARE
HERE

52. YOU
ARE
HERE

53. YOU
ARE
HERE

54. YOU
ARE
HERE

55. YOU
ARE
HERE

56. YOU
ARE
HERE

57. YOU
ARE
HERE

58. You might also need
to fill more roles.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/h4ck/

59. BROADER knowledge
=
GREATER team understanding

60. Lenses Roles

61. Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/box-brownie-brian/

62. Your lens
affects
what you
notice,
and how
you see
the world.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/box-brownie-brian/

64. Processed with Kazunori Asada’s simulator

65. Processed with Kazunori Asada’s simulator

66. “... a content
strate gist’s
heart...”

67. We can use each other’s tools

68. Customer journey maps
for discovering content gaps

69. User interview techniques
for creating better content

70. Care more about one
another’s work.

71. CHAPTER 3:
Disintegrating silos

72. Vertical edges are dissolving

74. Diagram by
Richard Ingram
@richardjingram

75. Diagram by
Richard Ingram
@richardjingram

76. Content used to belong
exclusively to the Marketing
department.

77. (Copywriting, like movies, used to be even worse.)

79. CONTENT

81. Marketing copy Forms Interface
copy
Intranet
content
Terms
of
service
Call centre
scripts

82. But let’s move out a few paces.

83. This is not your grandfather’s website.

84. Point of sale
Outdoor club
Legal contract
Customer care
platform
Financial
management
portal
Advice column
Travel agency

85. Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/padday/

86. It’s no longer about the
structure of your organisation.
It’s about your customer’s
cross-channel journey.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/padday/

87. Silos are becoming permeable
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/astrid/

89. !
Design team Stakeholders

90. Collaborators
☺

91. Say NO to
the Big
Reveal.

92. Sara Wachter-Boettcher
Content Strategy Consultant
Editor in Chief at A List Apart

93. CHAPTER 4:
The local community

94. Sharing our toys

96. We need more of that, right here.

97. community of practice
(noun)
a group of people who share a
concern or a passion for something
they do and learn how to do it
better as they interact regularly
–Etienne Wenger

99. ATTEND
SHARE
SPEAK

100. But there’s more!
Grab coffee with another [insert your job role here]
Grab coffee with a [insert different job role here]
Chat with other UX people on Skype
Start a Slack group to discuss work
Get a small dinner group together to chat about a
niche topic
Organise a weekend away to talk shop

101. CHAPTER 5:
UXers without borders

102. Yes, we live in a faraway land.
One bajillion miles
Cuh-razy far
Uncountable distances

103. But... you know...
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/jmt/

104. Let’s not isolate ourselves.

105. There’s no reason for us
to lag behind anymore.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/qcom/

106. Culture is not bound by
geography.

107. Responsive design
Agile methodology
Business constraints
Prototyping
Accessibility Mobile UX
User research
Web form design
Task analysis

108. Read widely!
Books, magazine sites,
blogs, slide decks,
Twitter feeds

109. Reeaaddiinngg lliisstt
Smashing Magazine
www.smashingmagazine.com
New Thinking
www.gerrymcgovern.com/new-thinking
Rosenfeld Blogs
www.rosenfeldmedia.com/blogs
The Pastry Box
www.the-pastry-box-project.net
UX Booth
www.uxbooth.com
A List Apart
www.alistapart.com
Responsive Web Design
www.responsivewebdesign.com/podcast
User Interface Engineering
www.uie.com/brainsparks
Luke Wroblewski’s Writings
www.lukew.com/ff
Web Standards Sherpa
www.webstandardssherpa.com

110. @cennydd
@jmspool
@monteiro
@karenmcgrane
@Abby_the_IA
@cwodtke
@beep
@halvorson
@jcolman
@lukew
@seriouspony
@zeldman

111. Travel!

112. December 2009

113. April 2010

114. A few conference ideas
IA Summit
www.iasummit.org
Webstock
www.webstock.org.nz
User Interface 19
www.ui19.uie.com
Web Directions
www.webdirections.org
An Event Apart
www.aneventapart.com
Midwest UX
www.midwestux.com
Smashing Conference
www.smashingconf.com
Confab
www.confabevents.com

115. Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/bagogames/

116. Find your people.
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/bagogames/

117. EPILOGUE:
We’re all elephants
and dassies

118. The evolution of our work and
environment has produced new
relationships.

119. ACROSS
VERTICALS
BETWEEN
DISCIPLINES
ACROSS
BORDERS
WITHIN
TEAMS
IN OUR
LOCAL
COMMUNITY
Relationships

120. Embrace them
Image credit: www.flickr.com/photos/vidyo/

121. This thing only goes if we
collaborate.

122. Erika Hall
Co-founder of Mule Design
Author of “Just Enough Research”

123. The end product isn’t great
content; it’s a great THING.
Erika Hall
Co-founder of Mule Design
Author of “Just Enough Research”

124. Thanks for listening!
Kerry-Anne Gilowey
kerryanne@augustsun.co.za
http://augustsun.co.za
http://about.me/kerryanne
@kerry_anne