The Imperfection Artist

Using real data to create more authentic and empathetic products - from a talk at an internal Cisco design conference

Transcript

1. Stewart Curry I M P E R F E C T I O N S The Imperfection Artist Using real data to create more authentic and empathetic products d.zone 2017 Alarm Bell from Monsters, Inc. Pixar Animation Studios 2001
2. Tia Kratter • Pixar employee since 1993 • Art Director of Brave • First worked on Toy Story • Make the world more authentic and real by adding imperfections I M P E R F E C T I O N S “Imperfectionist”
3. I M P E R F E C T I O N S It's very easy in the computer to create something perfect. What they really wanted from me was to beat up this world. When I got my first business card from Pixar, it said “Tia Kratter, Imperfectionist.” Scuff marks, splats, scrapes, divots, dirt, that kind of thing.
4. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Monsters, Inc. Chipped Alarm Bell
5. I M P E R F E C T I O N S The Uncanny Valley The real world is flawed, it’s worn and it’s messy. Anything too perfect feels a bit off to us. We need to see the dust and scratches.
6. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Wabi Sabi An imperfect beauty Shino chawan (tea bowl), Japanese artwork. 1917
7. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Soetsu Yanagi — The Unknown Craftsman “ We in our own human imperfections are repelled by the perfect, since everything is apparent from the start and there is no suggestion of the infinite.”
8. http://www.stonebonewoodcloth.com/wabi-sabis
9. Wabi Sabi • Iterations and feedback loops • Agile development • Wireframes and sketches • Prototypes • Constant improvement I M P E R F E C T I O N S in product design
10. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Imperfect beauty We don’t need to make something that lasts forever or is perfect and complete. We can focus on the quality of what we make, and how it evolves as it is used.
11. I M P E R F E C T I O N S How to be imperfect The Simpsons, “Bart vs. Australia" Season 6 / Episode 16
12. https://www.reddit.com/r/theydidntdothemath/ comments/6srxnq/basic_math_counting_to_5/
13. Embrace Imperfections • People aren’t perfect • Tools aren’t perfect — or they are too perfect! • Systems, data, inputs — all imperfect! • Design for imperfect people • Design for boardrooms and real people, not billboards and models • Use imperfect data to challenge our assumptions and understand our users I M P E R F E C T I O N S Designing products for real people
14. Imperfect Real People Not everyone is a model! I M P E R F E C T I O N S
16. r How marketing sees users
17. Actual users
18. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Product design ≠ Marketing Design Beautiful imagery and perfect copy is ideal for marketing material and billboards, but it’s not a good fit for product design. Product designers are interested in the hands-on experience, not billboards.
19. Real People… Having real images of diverse people and situations can give us a better understanding of our users and how our designs work in real life.
 
 https://www.diverseui.com I M P E R F E C T I O N S …come in all shapes and sizes
20. Real People… By making our designs inclusive we open our products up to people with a wider range of abilities.
 
 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ design/inclusive I M P E R F E C T I O N S …may have limits to their abilities
21. https://twitter.com/SlowSlownews/ status/895661487607492608
22. Real People… Stack Overflow allows for a 5 minute grace period to edit comments before locking them I M P E R F E C T I O N S …make typos
23. Real People… People find work-arounds, hacks, and new uses for what we make. I M P E R F E C T I O N S …don’t use products as we intended Frisbie Pie Tin / Frisbie Pie Pan
 Circa 1940
24. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Slack Where work happens Slack has many thousands of online communities using it outside of the intended workplace use-case, but won’t support blocking people to mitigate abuse.
25. I M P E R F E C T I O N S GoFundMe Social Fundraising Most people use GoFundMe to raise money for themselves, a friend or loved one during life's important moments… like medical expenses, education costs, volunteer programs, youth sports, funerals & memorials - even animals & pets.
26. I M P E R F E C T I O N S GoFundMe Social Fundraising or a fried chicken addiction!
27. Nokia Lumia Contacts I M P E R F E C T I O N S
28. Andrew’s Mum Contacts I M P E R F E C T I O N S
29. http://www.anorak.co.uk/289837/strange-but-true/man- posts-letters-in-dog-poo-box-for-two-years.html/
30. http://www.superherohype.com/news/402907-new-terminator-will- reveal-why-the-t-800-looks-like-arnold-schwarzenegger#/slide/1 Rise of the Machines AI’s aren’t perfect either
31. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Empathy Matters Age of algorithms We are building tools that have a powerful impact on people’s lives and perceptions.
 
 This train stall was down to a tragic incident, but made the brands involved look heartless.
32. I M P E R F E C T I O N S People are Inspiring By using real data, and designing for real people, we can validate our ideas and create features that people will love. By listening to them, we can generate new ideas. Through inclusive design, we can be ethical, responsible designers.
33. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Imperfect Data Communication is messy Lieutenant Commander Data
 2338—2379
34. I M P E R F E C T I O N S “ One should be immediately skeptical of presentations that lack adequate sourcing or presentations that contain only tendentious or highly selected, cherry-picked sources.” Edward Tufte The History of Rock 'n' Roll, 1955-74
 from Edward Tufte's "Beautiful Evidence"
35. https://www.reddit.com/r/CrappyDesign/comments/ 6tfl8m/my_sons_educational_alphabet_puzzle/
36. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Mockups Designing for the real It’s easy to create an effective design when you have complete control over what shows on screen. By using real data we can challenge our assumptions and test our designs more effectively. Unsolicited Facebook concept
 https://www.behance.net/gallery/23597009/Facebook-Concept-Redesign
37. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Designing a photo app Assumption: Let’s organise people’s photos by day Modern Design Tools: Using Real Data
38. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Josh Puckett — Modern Design Tools: Using Real Data “ Using real data forces us to ask questions like these, revisit our initial assumptions, and ultimately make better design decisions.”
39. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Example Not a good avatar If I attempt to make my Google avatar from a file that isn't obviously a decent photo of my face, Google lets me know. Are you sure people will recognise you in this photo? It doesn't seem to have a face in it.
40. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Chat Cross talk In an ansyncronish conversation, it’s sometimes hard to follow what’s going on. We have no control over who says what, and when. It can sometimes be hard to know who’s replying to who ! " #
41. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Imperfect Situations Life is never neat
43. Anger over 'appalling' cabinets named Dublin's 'mini-Stonehenge' Irish Times Susan @susanbrodigan
 https://twitter.com/susanbrodigan/status/893024577370173440
45. “Ah you wouldn't even notice it” https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshopbattles/comments/6rawhd/psbattle_new_electrical_cabling_cabinets_on/
47. Imperfection Situations • Direct sunlight! • Loud rooms • Flakey internet • Missed emails • In transit I M P E R F E C T I O N S Meanwhile, outside the studio…
48. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Example Insecure connection When Chrome detects you’re on an insecure connection, it refuses to auto fill credit card details. http://littlebigdetails.com/post/148149377838/chrome-when-it-detects- youre-on-an-insecure
49. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Example Speak up! Google Hangouts notices when you’re talking while your microphone is muted http://littlebigdetails.com/post/147044397283/hangouts-notices-when- youre-talking-while-your
50. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Example Twitter’s “GIFs” “An MP4 can be twice as smooth and thrice as pretty, but still come in at a quarter the file size. For Twitter, that means lower bandwidth bills. For you, that means less waiting around for GIFs to load.” Gasp: Twitter GIFs Aren’t Actually GIF
 https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/19/gasp-twitter-gifs-arent-actually-gifs/
53. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Example “Adult” products Amazon replaces the product name with the order number when you order something that could be embarrassing if it appeared in a notification! http://littlebigdetails.com/post/137622133283/amazoncom-the-order-with- the-number-as-a
54. http://www.stonebonewoodcloth.com/wabi-sabis I M P E R F E C T I O N S Real People Empathy and understanding Imperfect Data Challenge and validate our assumptions Imperfect Scenarios Delight our users
55. Takahiro Kyono Leonard Cohen - King's Garden, Odense, Denmark - https://flic.kr/p/jeufQu Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There's a crack in everything That's how the light gets in Leonard Cohen, Anthem
56. I M P E R F E C T I O N S Thank you Stewart Curry d.zone 2017