The Busy Creator Podcast with Prescott Perez-Fox

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Joining an Established Agency to Build Workflow & Culture, with Nick Spriggs Sep 05, 2016

Show notes

Nick Spriggs (@ncsfoo) is a partner at Vector Media Group in New York City. Though he wasn’t one of the original founders, Nick’s role at Vector has been to grow the design and branding offerings to complement the development and marketing capabilities previously in place.

In this conversation, we discuss cultural differences among designers and developers, office rituals used at Vector, how to keep your remote colleagues in the daily mix, and best practices to keep an entire team communicating clearly and working productively.

Catch up with Nick on the website for Vector Media Group.

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Show Notes & Links

Nick & Prescott are co-hosts of The New York City Podcast Meetup
Past guest Vijay Mathews is a mutual friend
Nick is a native of Australia, came to the US for University in 1999
Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design

"Somehow a year in New York turned into 14."

—Nick Spriggs

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Prescott ran afoul of the Visa situation when he graduated from a UK university
E-3 Visa for Australians, TN NAFTA for Canadians, et al.
Christina Canters, a past guest on The Busy Creator
The Museum of Mathematics
Vector’s output is mainly websites & apps
Their studio is rooted in branding, typography, traditional graphic design
Nick likes the term “Product Designer” in the rare cases when it actually applies (thought beyond the page or the pixel, to the inter-connected parts and a bit of the “how”)

"Clients sometimes don't understand what the term 'Design' means."

—Nick Spriggs

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The “explosion of explanation” can be exciting for a client
Designers are trained to observe, critique, discuss our work; clients, not so much
Vector was created around 2008 by Matt Weinberg & Lee Goldberg
Vector is staffed with “Creative Developers”, not just code monkeys
Nick was invited to join as a partner after working together as a collaborator previously
Vector [still] takes on pure development projects, as well as a few pure design projects. Most stuff is collaborative, though.

"You really have to be on your game when explaining something (to remote teammates.)"

—Nick Spriggs

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Reddit, and the “well, actually” culture
Vector has started creating a Darts-scoring app as a side project
They also created a “Project Hub” for client milestones & assets. (Click to enlarge)
Client dashboard (as static HTML)
Basecamp
“Clock Discipline”, the habit of tracking your activity hour-by-hour
Ken Carbone on fixed-costs project fees
Matt Inglot of Tilted Pixel
Consigliere
Vector provides staff with laptops, allowing transportability and work-from-home
Google Hangouts on Air will become YouTube Live
You can now do VOIP calls in Slack
GoToMeeting
Zoom
UberConference (and their hold music)
9 Habits of Highly Creative People
Adam Harrison Levy uses wood-stacking as creative distraction
Formula 1 Racing

"A big part of building the business is just time management."

—Nick Spriggs

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Todd Henry books “office hours”, a time where your team can access you
“Distractioneering”, when social media companies distract you on purpose
Nick Spriggs on Twitter
Nick Spriggs on Facebook
Nick Spriggs on Instagram
Nick Spriggs on LinkedIn

Tools

Techniques

Keep clients excited & enthusiastic beyond the project itself (if they can’t stay energised, it’s hard for you).
Bring clients “in” to the process (wireframes, sketches, etc.)
Have clients describe “found objects” in early phases; let the client use their own language so we can use it later
Allow designers & developers to cross-involve each other
Learn to hold quick, informal meetings internally
Involve developers into design-led processes; they too can participate
Formalise kick-off meetings to involve the whole team, when possible
Use retainers with clients; set aside blocks of hours ahead of time to ease minds and control workflows
Schedule “reverse meetings”, time where you’re actually at your desk working and no one can distract you
Take a screenshot at a random time during the day; see what everyone in the shop is working on

Habits

Use collaboration to inspire ourselves
Observe the politics of your client’s company
Bring your remote employees to headquarters for occasional workshops/retreats
Explain with clarity when sharing with clients or remote colleagues
Hold daily Standups, even with remote staff (via video call)
Celebrate the project conclusion (close-out, hand-off, etc.); create office rituals around milestones along the way
Track your time internally — as individuals and as teams — for your own learnings, regardless of how you bill the client
Visit the quirky coffee shops in your neighbourhood
Take the time to walk home (even if it’s 1 hour or more)
Take a 10-15 minute walk when you feel “stuck” or distracted

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Building Community and Finding Personality Strengths as a Creative Introvert, with Designer Cat Rose Aug 22, 2016

Show notes

Cat Rose (@CreativeIntro) is an independent graphic designer and founder of The Creative Introvert, a website and community for creative professions who share introverted personality types.

In this conversation, we discuss the oddities of life as a freelance designer, the observed behaviour of creative pros and where they fall on the introverted/extroverted continuum, and the challenges of building online communities and creating compelling content.

SPONSOR

This episode is sponsored by the new eBook Building Brands: A Practical Guide for Creative Pros to Develop Strategy and Design Identity.

Show Notes & Links

Cat lives in Brighton, England
Prescott has visited Brighton, as well as Rottingdean, and the University of Sussex
Farnham, a picturesque town in Surrey with a 10th century castle [av_video src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxTrwF3rbrE' format='16-9' width='16' height='9']
Cat remains a graphic designer, started as an illustrator
Behance
Spaghetti code
Cat draws people's pets
Prescott chatted with Matt Inglot on The Freelance Transformation Podcast
Flash (dead in name only)
How to use Sketch for print design (if you're a complete animal.)
InDesign and Illustrator aren't great for pixel design
"Leg It"
The Irish Goodbye
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, system for determining personality types
The Big Five personality traits, aka the Five Factor Model (FFM)
Introvert-Extrovert spectrum
Ambivert (both introvert and extrovert)
Brighton Pride parade, a most extroverted affair
People with "I" in their Myers-Briggs result aren't considered for management roles
Would you ever go to the movies by yourself?
Bill Gates, a well-known, successful introvert
Empathy is an introvert super-power, as are deep though, analysis, etc.
Limiting self-beliefs, rather than introversion per se is what holds people back
Get Your Art Out Summer Camp, a four-week course from The Creative Introvert
Learning styles (visual, written, auditory, etc.)
Is there a link between learning styles and introversion/extraversion?
Mignon Fogarty aka Grammar Girl, a guest on The Busy Creator Podcast, ep. 67
"Applesaucing", re-using your content across multiple forms
Pat Flynn wrote two articles (1, 2) about repurposing your site/podcast content
Upcycling and Downcycling, terms from Recycling
Masterminds vs. Accountability Partners, which do you prefer? (Introverts prefer partners.)
Meetup.com
The New York City Podcast Meetup
Malcolm Gladwell's Connectors
The Rule of 3 and 10 for growing organizations
The Creative Introvert
Cat Rose on Twitter
Cat Rose on Facebook
Cat Rose on Instagram
Cat Rose on LinkedIn
Cat Rose on Pinterest

Tools

Techniques

Set a brief for yourself to make fine arts more of a "project"
Build lasting relationships as a freelancer, even with your last employer
Go minimal, if you can. Don't use a mouse and keyboard.
Learn quickly, trust that you can teach yourself new tools
Repurpose your content to serve different audiences (written vs. spoken vs. infographic)
Be careful when creating a community
Test and iterate, even on morning rituals
Replace "routine" with "rhythm"
Approach fearful projects in tiny increments (a six-second video vs. a feature film)

Habits

Use the software for its intended purpose!
Adapt to clients and their workflow
Compose your thoughts before filming/recording yourself; not everyone is an improviser.
Wake up 4:30-5:00am for early yoga, journaling, meditation
Do "the hardest thing" during coffee

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Wearing Many Hats As a Designer for a Software Startup with Andrew Berkowitz Aug 08, 2016

Show notes

Andrew Berkowitz (@TheWitzCarlton) is the Head of Product for Tradeversity, a buying-and-selling platform for university students. After gaining experience in a large corporate setting, Andrew has jumped in to startup life, enjoying the struggles along the way.

In this conversation, Andrew shares some of the workflows required in a young, small, and nimble company, as well as his experiences testing personal productivity methods and morning routines.

Catch up with Andrew on his own show, The Global Startup Movement

Show Notes & Links

Andrew is “Head of Product” for Tradeversity
Early stage startups require the wearing of many hats

"Design is the question of taking what's in the mind and manifesting them into reality."

—Andrew Berkowitz

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Tradeversity is exclusive to higher education students
Andrew graduated from Virginia Tech
.edu, .ac.uk — educational TLDs
Sharepoint, and other internal marketplaces within corporations are rather outdated

"Product Design is more like being an inventor than a designer."

—Prescott Perez-Fox

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"The most important aspect of building a product is gaining empathy for users."

—Andrew Berkowitz

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Ideo
Design Thinking can mean different things
5 elements of D-Thinking: gain empathy → define problem → ideation → prototype → test & iterate
Andrew worked at a large bank before joining a startup
Scrum Master (in Agile Project Management)

"The speed at which a project is moving is directly proportional to the energy involved."

—Prescott Perez-Fox

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"Innovation comes from failure; Having the freedom to fail allows us to innovate."

—Andrew Berkowitz

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Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson on Amazon and on Audible
Andrew runs his own podcast, The Global Startup Movement
Nootropics, cogntive-enhancing pills
Nootrobox
Andreessen Horowitz, Venture Capital firm
“Sprint Pills” as an alternative to coffee

"The culture and the habits are more important than the tools."

—Andrew Berkowitz

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"The tool you use should reflect the system you've set up, and the mindset behind that."

—Prescott Perez-Fox

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The 1800 Exercise
Tradeversity was launched from a content award — $20k and a year’s worth of office space
Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill on Amazon and on Audible
Conspiracy, from the Latin conspiratare, meaning “to breathe the same air”
Virtually Reality, and opportunities for collaboration
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline on Amazon and on Audible

"A Virtual Reality device is an empathy machine."

—Andrew Berkowitz

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Marie Poulin, not part of the “cult of 5:00am”
Entrepreneur on Fire
Andreesson Horowitz Podcast
The Tim Ferriss Show
Amazon Kindle
Audible
Gadgets have to fit “The Three B’s”: Beach, Bed, Bath
Millennials read more than Baby Boomers
Amazon opens brick-and-mortar book stores
The Global Startup Movement
Andrew Berkowitz on Twitter
Andrew Berkowitz on Facebook
Andrew Berkowitz on LinkedIn

Tools

Tradeversity
Walletpop
Craig’s List
Agile Development
Whiteboards
Trello
Nootropics

Techniques

Understand the emotions of your users. This will bring insight.
Employ Design Thinking; bring in real people and get your hands dirty
Experiment with “packaged services”
From a corporate setting, the thing you can learn most is working with diverse teams
The 1800 Exercise: describe how projects get done in the year 1800 (using only parchment & quill)

Habits

Keep Trello tidy; not started → in-progress → done
Have regular Sprint-planning and Retrospective meetings
Wake up around 6:00am for yoga, weightlifting, or running
Feed your subsconscious mind until it takes over

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Everyday Productivity and Striving for Excellence After Losing All Sense of Sight, with Author & Entrepreneur Tanner Gers Jul 25, 2016

Show notes

Tanner Gers (@TannerGers) is an author, entrepreneur, and paralympic athlete. Blinded in a car crash at age 21, Tanner has learned entirely new methods of communication and working.

In this conversation, Tanner discusses some of the technology — both lo- and hi-tech — he uses to experience the world in the absesnce of sight. We also share all-purpose productivity tips and examine his morning routines.

Show Notes & Links

Tanner describes himself as "Creative and Successful", hence the Creative Success Podcast
"I get the most fulfilment from serving other people."

—Tanner Gers

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Tanner is a Paralympian sprinter
Tanner is also a speaker, author, blogger, podcaster, producer, and coach
Todd Henry, and other writers, have been on the show previous (here, here, and here, for example)
Tanner embarked on a "personal development journey" after being struck blind
"I use Technology to do everything, and I'm so grateful for it."

—Tanner Gers

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ADD
The importance of reading to your children
Tanner turned to music (and dancing) in his new blindness. That turned to creative writing for lyrics, and other prose.
"A picture's worth 1000 words. I was quite the talkative person; I would overcompensate for the lack of visual input."

—Tanner Gers

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Screen reading software, build into Mac OS X, iOS as "voiceover"
Jaws, screenreader for Windows
Ray Charles
Blind people are remapping their senses via "sonar"
Human Echolocation
The British boy learning from "Bat Boy"
Spark from CBC Radio
Spark 268, the episode covering sight-aiding and other sensory technology
"I'm very blessed to know what a 747 looks like, what a sunset looks like, what blue looks like."

—Tanner Gers

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Dan Greene, born blind now writes missile-guidance software for Raytheon
Putting Your Pen to Paper, episode 5 of Creative Success show
Braille — Grades I and II
Tanner had a question about "Quest Ion"
Morse Code
Tanner took a sleep study; was disturbed 100x in 6 hours
"Installing a daily routine will take your game to the next level."

—Tanner Gers

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"Education is what remains after you've forgotten everything you learned in school."

—anonymous

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Prescott studied Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
Laminar Flow
Adiabatic Compression vs. Isothermal Expansion
Thermal Expansion Valve (Refridgeration)
"When you split the atom, energy escapes. When you switch tasks, attention escapes."

—Prescott Perez-Fox

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Amy Porterfield
Hal Elrod (leader of "The Cult of 5:00am")
Professional Rugby League in America
Creative Success Show
Tanner Gers on Twitter
Tanner Gers on Facebook
Tanner Gers on Instagram
Tanner Gers on LinkedIn
Tanner Gers on YouTube

Tools

Brainport, let's you "see" with your tongue
Jaws

Techniques

Turn off technology when it's time to focus on content
Develop a verbal memory so you don't have to re-read what you just wrote
Sleep with earplugs if you wake easily due to noise
Sleep with music at low volumes (like Prescott has done since 1999)
Test different methods; don't blindly follow gurus
Alternate hard days with lighters days regarding fitness training. Use those recovery days.

Habits

Stick to your daily routines
Go through mental routines first thing in the morning (gratitude, etc.) before you get out of bed
Serve someone else early in the day
Read daily and track/remark on what you read
Block your day into half-day chunks

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B-SIDE: How to Speak with Confidence On The Mic and In Person, with Christina Canters Jul 18, 2016

Show notes

Christina Canters (@CJCanters) is the founder of The C-Method and host of the Stand Out Get Noticedpodcast. Her work as a speaking and confidence coach has taken her around the world, including recent appearances in Chicago, Florida, and New York City.

This talk, recorded live at the New York City Podcast Meetup on July 12, 2016, features Christina coaching our members — most of whom are podcasters themselves — on how to speak better, have more confidence, and express their most authentic selves behind the mic, and in person.

Show Notes & Links

The New York City Podcast Meetup
Recorded at Vector Media
Americans love to approach people and talk about nothing
Prescott appeared on The C-Method on the topic of avoiding awkwardness
"If you want to grow and building your own confidence, you've gotta push yourself out of your comfort zone."

—Christina Canters

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"To build your confidence as a speaker, you must know your value."

—Christina Canters

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Christina plays the ukulele
Amy Cuddy TED talk on body language
"You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great."

—Zig Ziglar

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Presentation Skills for Design Students, Christina's first podcast
Mark Manson's Blog
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon on Amazon
Christina's notes from Podcast Movement 2016
Obvious to You. Amazing to Others by Derek Sivvers
Pat Flynn
Andrew Warner
The C-Method
Christina Canters on Twitter
Christina Canters on Facebook
Christina Canters on Instagram
Christina Canters on LinkedIn
Christina Canters on YouTube

Techniques

Ask three people "What do I do well?" and "Why is this important?"
Create a folder called "Crush It" in Evernote. Save screenshots of praise.
Watch your language; avoid "just" and "only"
Practice confident body language; hold the superhero pose for 2 minutes
Paint a picture of your ideal audience
Stop caring what other people think
Focus on the 33% who really appreciate you, the rest will follow

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The Tools I Use to Run Starship Design, a look at Software and Services for a Solo Design Practice Jul 11, 2016

Show notes

Show Notes & Links

Prepare to Share
Places to Learn Business Skills Online
The Previous Episode with Sally Hogshead
The full catalogue of The Busy Creator Podcast episodes
The Busy Creator Podcast 80 — The April Fool's Episode
Starship Design, Prescott's design business
Dual monitors
Apple Cinema Display and old Dell monitor
4:3 ratio vs. 16:9 ratio displays (Macs use 16:10, actually)
Hi-dpi screens
Wacom Intuos 3 wide format tablet
Logitech K750 Wireless USB Keyboard
The Busy Creator Podcast 6 w/Bill Wadman
Hackintosh
Prescott prefers Safari, also runs Chrome
"The Chrome"
Safari extensions (Ad-block, Pinterest, etc.)
Prescott [still] uses an iPod Classic
Prescott doesn't use Music
RIP CastRoller
ChimpFeedr, from MailChimp
Twitter for Mac
Alfred tweets from the system
Mac OS X built-in social sharing
Faffing, a definition
Slack (both for work and for personal)
Email is very personal
Prescott uses Postbox (but still doesn't like the interface of v4)
Mozilla Thunderbird
Nylas N1
Airmail (too smart for Prescott)
Prescott doesn't use Apple Mail
Adobe Creative Cloud
Prescott uses Adobe Bridge, not mini-Bridge (which is now discontinued)
Adobe TypeKit
Extensis Suitcase Fusion
CS3 "still works"
Adobe XD, up and coming
Sketch
Adobe Audition
Adobe Lightroom
Prescott doesn't use Apple Photos, and before that, iPhoto
Coda
Transmit, also from Panic Software
SourceTree, from Atlassian
BitBucket
GitHub
Byword
RIP Bean
Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel)
Apple iWork (Pages, Keynote, Numbers)
InDesign
Harvest
WaveApps
Chase Amazon Visa card
Cushion
Expensify
Quickbooks
Prescott has also used Billings, Freshbooks, FreeAgent, Harpoon
The Busy Creator Podcast 31 w/Bryan Orr, Project Management & Collaboration Tools
Freedcamp
The Busy Creator Podcast 63 w/Angel Grablev, CEO of Freedcamp
Asana
Basecamp
Trello
Kanban board (swim lanes, phases)Phases/swim lanes in Freedcamp's Kanban view[/caption]
Freedcamp iOS app
Teamwork.com (Projects)
17Hats
Workamajig
VLC
MPlayerX
RIP Movist 0.6.8
QuickTime Player 7 Pro
TinkerTool
Onyx
Yosemite Disk Utility
ClipMenu
Dropmark & Cloud.app
Blog Post about Quick-Sharing and Quick-Saving
1Password
Quitter
PushBullet
The Busy Creator Podcast 39 w/Steve Dotto
Steve Dotto reviews PushBullet
RescueTime
Reddit.com
Default Folder X
XtraFinder
TextExpander
Article on using TextExpander with Markdown
Growl
Carbonite
Amazon Cloud Storage
Alfred
LittleSnitch

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B-SIDE: Marie Poulin & Prescott Perez-Fox Discuss "Deep Work" by Cal Newport Jun 27, 2016

Show notes

In this Bonus episode, Marie & Prescott sit down to discuss the book "Deep Work" by Cal Newport. Together with the live audience consisting mainly of Marie's students from Digital Strategy School, the two dive into the book's topics and themes, including social media distraction, time-blocking, retreats, accountability partners, single-tasking, meditation, and more. The conversation also strays to general purpose productivity chatter, along with answering some Q&A from the audience. Get in touch with Marie via digitalstrategyschool.com and Prescott via busycreator.com

What Sally Hogshead Learned Working in America's Top Ad Agencies, and How That Shaped Her Work as an Author Jun 20, 2016

Show notes

Sally Hogshead (@SallyHogshead) is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur. Following a career in advertising, she evolved her career and reoriented toward building significance for other professionals and creatives.

In this conversation, Sally discusses the phases of her career (so far), shares some of what she learned on the ground with advertising heroes, and remarks on the challenges of writing long-form books as a person who naturally bends toward the quick win.

Check out Sally's latest book Fascinate and catch up with her on BrandFascination.com, for a start.

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Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 86 (OGG, 38:43, 21.6 MB)

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Show Notes & Links

Sally and Prescott have worked together on a varied of projects since 2011
Prescott discovered Radical Careering during his first job, which wasn't a very good job.
When Sally found advertising, it was "love at first sight"
Portfolio Center and their Copywriting course
Sally's first career phase was not being awarded or recognised as a student, but discovering that's hardly the entire game
"The most interesting creative ideas aren't going to be acknowledged at first, because they're not populist."

—Sally Hogshead

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Fallon McElligott Rice, now just Fallon
Her Second phase was working with smart people on rapid-fire projects
"You want to be the dumbest person on the team."

—Sally Hogshead

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Her Third phase was disillusionment when inheriting a management role
"It takes a completely different mindset to be with people than from being with my ideas."

—Sally Hogshead

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The Fourth phase was expansion to create ideas beyond an ad into the wider world [as an author, speaker, etc.].
Sally was the Creative & Managing Director for Crispin Porter + Bogusky for their Los Angeles office
CP+B's LA Office opened its doors on Sept. 10, 2001
"It's easy to be creative when the world has a big budget and optimism and a love for what hasn't been discovered."

—Sally Hogshead

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"In order to be a creative leader, you have to be able to lead people through the darkest times."

—Sally Hogshead

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"It's impossible to have creative ideas in an oppressive environment."

—Sally Hogshead

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48 Laws of Power by Robert Green & Joost Elffers on Amazon and on Audible

Kerning pairs (such as FA) [caption id="attachment_3445" align="alignnone" width="478"]Kerning Pairs[/caption]
There used to be a natural (ten day) cycle with print advertising. There was time to work on stuff.
"I'm still a geek with words."

—Sally Hogshead

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Paste-ups
Bill Westbrook
Jean Robere
"One for the reel, one for the meal."

—advertising adage

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"Don't be a worrier, be a warrior."

—Tony Robbins (and Prescott, ironically)

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Clients would cut their marketing budget during the recession. Remember this? or this?
Tibor Kalman (1949-1999)
Design, like Jazz, is a generational artform
John Coltrane played with Miles Davis who played with Charlie Parker
Armin Vit worked with Michael Bierut who worked with Massimo Vignelli
A lot of NYC agencies did annual reports, but didn't show it in the portfolio
Medieval Stonemasons
"Signifance doesn't live in one piece. It lives in a movement or a body of work."

—Sally Hogshead

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The Martin Agency
The One Show, advertising awards show
Varnish, in print
TBWA/Chiat/Day
Wieden+Kennedy
Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Bob Barrie, Art Director
binomial nomenclature
Print finishes by thickness: Varnish → UV → Aqueous
Print finishes by lustre: Dull → Satin → Hi-Gloss
Nightclub Flyers
Fascinate achieved New York Times Bestseller status
Sally admits to not being great with long content (100,000 word books)
How The World Sees You by Sally Hogshead on Amazon and on Audible

"Revisions suck my soul. Creation enlivens me."

—Sally Hogshead

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"writing-tired", when Prescott feels uninspired to write blog posts, etc.
"I can't write anything great for the first hour. I have to get into a trance."

—Sally Hogshead

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Antiproton
The 9 Habits of Highly Creative People, a free guide from The Busy Creator
"The hardest part about writing isn't writing, it's finishing the dishes."

—writers' adage

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Prescott and Sally got connected on social media
Starship Design on Facebook
Sally Hogshead on Twitter
Sally Hogshead on Facebook
Sally Hogshead on Instagram
Sally Hogshead on YouTube
SallyHogshead.com
HowToFascinate.com/blog
BrandFascination.com

Tools

Techniques

Don't let the Creative Director and Managing Director be the same person; there needs to be a healthy tension between the two.
Remark not only on awards won and praise given, but hard times which shape your character
Examine any project via its priorities "Quality of Work", "Quality of Life", or "Quality of Compensation."
Pursue the areas of work that feel like a "wellspring" of creativity; avoid "creative agony"
Create an Idea Wall, and hang up your projects as you think of them
Block time (at least 3 hours) to sink into writing
Listen to music that reflects the sort of writing you're aiming for
Designate externally- and internally-focused work (email vs. writing content)

Habits

Write down the words you use when mentoring, and which you need to hear
Appreciate craft, even if it takes slightly longer
Periodically examine your work and your agency to align with influence: Creative, Financial, or Cultural
Shape expectations around you; follow the type of work that suits you best
Take advantage of "swiftness"; don't analyse or think about ideas and instead just act (especially on side projects and writing ideas).
Go to bed early; write in the morning.

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How Victor Yocco Uses Everyday Psychology in User Research, Testing, and Design Jun 06, 2016

Show notes

Victor Yocco, PhD (@VictorYocco) is a writer and researcher, working in the field of digital design. His background in psychology gives him unique insight into how people interact with websites and applications, which in turn helps his design team build intuitive, functional projects.

In this conversation, we discuss methods of user testing, stumbling blocks that design studies make regarding psychology, and a bit of his studio workflow and habits.

Use code pcyobusy to receive 39% off the cover price for Victor's book, Design For The Mind

Show Notes & Links

Victor Yocco doesn't like titles, but describes himself as a researcher for user experience and digital design
"Academic literature is often very inaccessibly written."

—Victor Yocco

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Fine Arts vs. Applied Arts
Paola Antonelli on The Colbert Report, 2013
MoMA

"Incorporated psychology into design doesn't have to be this huge thing."

—Victor Yocco

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Design For The Mind by Victor Yocco on Manning Books

Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug on Amazon

Big-Ass Buttons
"It's so easy a caveman can do it" campaign from Geico [av_video src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8aj1AlYvxI' format='16-9' width='16' height='9']
heuristics, or mental shortcuts, take the place of finding information yourself.
Whiteboard sessions, focus groups, interviews — other research tactics
Jeff Sauro, Measuring U
Quantifying Usability

"You'll find 85% of potential usability issues just off 5 users."

—Jeff Sauro

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Lay People, which Prescott affectionately calls "Muggles"
The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman on Amazon and on Audible

"There is a point of 'Good Enough' in digital design."

—Victor Yocco

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Analysis Paralysis
Minimum Viable Product
An earlier episode with Kirsten Modestow
Photoshop
Sketch
Full Stack Anxiety [av_video src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N470hsHKXNc' format='16-9' width='16' height='9']
Spider Web Diagram
Distribute Strength, Dexterity, etc. [caption id="attachment_3409" align="alignnone" width="601"]Role-Playing Games require you distribute your skills[/caption]

"Designers are usually people who enjoy solving problems."

—Victor Yocco

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Sally Hogshead
Social Identity Theory
Contextual Inquiry, observing the user in his native habitat aka "shadowing"
Undercover Boss, the one where the girl puts barcode on her arm for easy scanning
Debuke, IA
How to un-jam a tractor-trailer from a highway overpass? Let some air out of the tires.
90% of MS Word users only utilise 10% of the features
VictorYocco.com
Use code pcyobusy to receive 39% off the cover price for Victor's book, Design For The Mind
Victor Yocco on Twitter
Victor Yocco on Facebook
Victor Yocco on LinkedIn

Tools

SPSS, statistics software
MS Office
Post-Its
Box
Slack

Techniques

Layer Cake approach (low level, medium level, high level)
Respect the users' time by making simple interfaces, functions
Don't just show your designs to other designers — they think differently, which might not see what the lay person sees
Include additional team members, representing design, writing, project mgmt., etc.
Record user testing sessions to easily refer other team members to particular moments
Conduct a UX Assessment or heuristics Review before beginning a project

Habits

Build in heuristics (mental shortcuts) into your work
Look to Usability testing to reveal users' instinct or assumptions
Provide challenges for designers and creative staff; they naturally want to wrestle with problems and their solutions
Search for methods to stay with a project until the end (even if you get bored with it)
Set aside time in the evening to write

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Taking Risks and Leaving New York to Build a Family Publishing Business, with Bryony Gomez-Palacio of UnderConsideration — The Busy Creator Podcast 84 May 23, 2016

Show notes

Bryony Gomez-Palacio (@BryonyGP) is a co-founder of UnderConsideration, an all-purpose publishing and design business based in Austin, TX. Along with husband Armin Vit, Bryony publishes several blogs including Brand New, Quipsologies, and FPO, in addition to publishing several books, and hosting the annual Brand New Conference.

Armin was a guest on episode 3 of The Busy Creator Podcast back in Februrary 2014, making this chat an unofficial sequel. In the intervening years, Bryony and Armin have refined their workflow, taken new risks such as planning a version of the BNConf in Amsterdam, and still manage to balance family life with new creative endeavors.

In this conversation, Bryony discusses the origins of UnderConsideration and how she and Armin transitioned out of their New York design roles, moved to Austin, and managed to create a viable business in spite of a few close calls financially.

Show Notes & Links

Bryony is one half of UnderConsideration
Armin Vit, the other half, was an early guest on The Busy Creator Podcast
Bryony describes herself as a "content generator" for graphic designers
Bryony & Armit work from home, in the converted master bedroom
Armin wakes up early to write his blog posts; Bryony wakes up early to get things done and kids ready for school
The first Brand Nieuwe Conference in Amsterdam is taking place in June 2016
VAT
It's still a hassle to sell internationally, even selling books to Canada
Bryony had to pay customs fees for a baby's onesie
The BNConf is UnderConsideration's main source of income, but only occurs once per year
HOW Live, FUSE, AIGA ... other design conferences
Eventbrite
Bryony and Armin were living in Brooklyn, working at Addison and Pentagram, respectively
For about two years, they worked in their basement, taking care of the baby
"Mommy brain" makes it tough for new mothers to focus or to rapid-switch between modes
"We were living in a city that had a lot to offer, but living within a 10-block radius."

—Bryony Gomez-Palacio

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Bryony was home-schooled on a farm without electricity for two years
"It took me two years to be able to say 'I live in Austin, TEXAS'."

—Bryony Gomez-Palacio

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Byrony & Armin visited Austin and within 3 days had made an offer on a house
Professional couples in Brooklyn can have a household income of $150,000 ... and still be struggling
The cost-of-living between New York and Austin You would need around $7,320.33 in New York, NY to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with $4,400.00 in Austin, TX (assuming you rent in both cities)
Hand-stitching covers for the BNConf
Bryony can shoe a horse [av_video src='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdiqQTKGoUI&t=20s' format='16-9' width='16' height='9']
Another couple, John & Kate, on The Busy Creator Podcast episode 50
"We need to be very, very efficient. We don't have time to procrastinate and explore."

—Bryony Gomez-Palacio

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Dyslexia, and its link to coding
"We spend a lot of time at design school in order to make pretty spreadsheets."

—Bryony Gomez-Palacio

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"One thing we always fear is stability & stagnation."

—Bryony Gomez-Palacio

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AIforGA
The highly-controversial UnderConsideration website
Bryony Gomez-Palacio on Twitter
Bryony Gomez-Palacio on Facebook
Bryony Gomez-Palacio on Instagram
UnderConsideration on Twitter
BrandNew by UCllc on Facebook
UnderConsideration on Instagram

Tools

Standing desks with stools
Google Sheets
iCal/Calendar
Endicia
AccountEdge

Techniques

Integrate your workouts with other errands (e.g. biking the kids to school)
Find someone "on the ground" if you're doing business in a foreign country
Plan, perhaps using a spreadsheet that spans 20 years
Split your household income between one full-time and one freelance salary
Plan your move based on where winter can reach you
Divide business duties based on who can handle interruptions (admin/finance vs. creative)
Keep it real when providing design feedback, especially to your partner!
Collaborate on a spreadsheet or document, concurrently even
Stagger which marathons/half-marathons you run as a couple; two partners training can be overwhelming
Use running time to work through problems

Habits

Keep a structured daily schedule (down to the minute)
Explore where you can multi-task to be more efficient
Work at opposing standing desks for easy collaboration
Don't get attached to designs or ideas; move away quickly if something is not working
Integreate your home and work calendars; keep it sacred
Don't work on weekends

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