Comments on: Applying agile principles to communication design

By: UX & Agile Articles » agilemusings.com

UX & Agile Articles » agilemusings.com — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:48:40 +0000

[...] Applying agile principles to communication design [...]

By: Can a Marketing Agency Be Agile? (Inside Forty)

Can a Marketing Agency Be Agile? (Inside Forty) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:00:44 +0000

[...] Applying Agile Principles to Communication Design [...]

By: E-Commerce Blog By Solid Cactus

E-Commerce Blog By Solid Cactus — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:25:46 +0000

[...] Applying agile principles to communication design [...]

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:55:52 +0000

Actually, that's the opposite of what I propose. I feel it's the designer's responsibility to work through numerous options and edit them to the best one.

In my mind, showing 4-6 options will only frustrate your clients. It's too much to assess; as a result, they'll end up â€œmushingâ€ elements from all into one. This is almost certainly a complete disaster in the making.

Work through a thorough strategic process to determine what they need to accomplish and how to do so. From there, focus on creating an effective overall system. Once you've done that, the logo/wordmark won't be a big sticking point.

Your role as a designer isn't to make art or worry about whose ego (yours or your clients) is being massaged. It's to give your clients a solution that solves their problems. Concentrate on that and your customers will understand that they're dealing with a professional who's cognizant of the big picture and looking out for their best interests.

You both share the same goal.

By: Mimi

Mimi — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:49:04 +0000

Hi Eric,

In regards to your Dec. 16th post, I have a question for you. You mention showing more than 4-6 logo design comps to the client so they can hone in on the right direction. I agree this is the best way to get the overall design strategy set, but find sometimes this inflates the client's ego. They then feel entitled to art direct the execution, which may or may not be in the best interest of the project.

My first thought is to give them what they ask for, as well as other better executions. Only problem is though, they are sometimes so in love with their idea they don't even look at the other designs. Any advice for how to politely keep execution in the designer's hands, so the client isn't running, and possibly ruining, the whole show?

By: Sizzle Creative Agency

Sizzle Creative Agency — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:21:55 +0000

Great post, some really important messages in there. Keep up the goo work

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:54:52 +0000

For our core creative work, we simply estimate as we did in the past, and it seems to balance out in the end. (The hours just shuffle around a little.)

On bigger development projects it's certainly tricky to estimate. That being said, we generally find this to be the case regardless of methodology given the nature of such projects.

Sometimes we do alright and on others... Well, let's just say that we aren't going on any big holidays anytime soon. ;-)

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:10:28 +0000

Excellent post, Eric. It's nice to hear you are trying the agile methods as well. I find it encourages visualization early, as well as a highly collaborative environment, which we all know leads to innovation. I also find the concept of Perpetual Beta allows me to move past the preciousness of my work and try new things quickly. The challenge comes when you try to estimate a job, and knowing how long it will take to finish. Are you finding this aspect challenging too?

By: Impactomh

Impactomh — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:30:32 +0000

Great Post!

By: Chris Browne

Chris Browne — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:51:13 +0000

Great post. Have you used/evaluated a tool to help you manage your projects? Check out Rally, we have a free version you can use to manage your projects.

I've been very interested in taking an Agile approach to design and usability for a long time and it looks like things are starting to move in that direction.