My presentation at the Usability Professionals Conference in Portland on June 10th, 2009.

1. Developing Meaningful
Experiences
Nathan Shedroff
UPA 2009

2. Slides and templates posted:
nathan.com/thoughts

3. The big thing!

4. The big thing!
Meaning

5. Why experiences?

6. Price/Value
Commodity Product Service Experience
From: The Experience Economy, Pine and Gilmore

7. Price/Value
Experience
Commodity Product Service Event/Environment

8. Experiences are designable

9. Everything we create
is an experience

10. We recognize some
experiences easily

11. We recognize some
experiences easily

12. We recognize some
experiences easily

16. People don’t just
travel to see things

17. They travel to
experience

18. Design is the process
of making experiences

19. But what, exactly,
is an experience?

20. SIGNIFICANCE DURATION
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
INTENSITY INTERACTION

21. EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Product
Service
Brand
Name(s)
Channel/Environment
(Space)
Promotion
Price

22. Breadth

23. TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price

24. Every sensorial decision is a trigger:
color, texture, smell, taste, typeface,
sound, music, voice, pattern, icon,
symbol, interaction, layout, concept,
temperature, expression, etc...

27. TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY
Reflex
Habit
Engagement

28. Intensity

29. Intensity

30. Intensity

31. DURATION
Initiation
Immersion
Conclusion
Continuation
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY
Reflex
Habit
Engagement

32. DURATION
Initiation
Immersion
Conclusion
Continuation
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY INTERACTION
Reflex Passive
Habit Active
Engagement Interactive

33. SIGNIFICANCE DURATION
Meaning Initiation
Status/Identity Immersion
Emotion/Lifestyle Conclusion
Price Continuation
Function
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY INTERACTION
Reflex Passive
Habit Active
Engagement Interactive

34. SIGNIFICANCE DURATION
Meaning Initiation
Status/Identity Immersion
Emotion/Lifestyle Conclusion
Price Continuation
Function
TRIGGERS BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste MEANING Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY INTERACTION
Reflex Passive
Habit Active
Engagement Interactive

35. MEANING
VALUES
EMOTIONS
PRICE
FEATURES

36. Function (Performance):
Does this do what I need?

37. Price (Value):
Does this do what I need at a
price that’s worth it?

38. Emotions (Lifestyle):
Does this make me
feel good?

39. Status/Identity (Values):
Is this me?

40. Meaning (Reality):
Does this fit into my reality?

41. Core Meanings:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

42. Core Meanings:
Definitions:
makingmeaning.org

43. Meaning is at the core of Values:
Priorities and Expressions

44. Nike:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

45. Apple:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation

46. Apple:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

47. Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

48. Beauty, Community, Wonder...
Films Cars & Buses?
TV & Radio Phones & PDAs?
Music Furniture?
Theme parks Security Systems?
Travel (cruises, etc.) Food & Agriculture?
Clothing Education (schools)?
Souvenirs Financial Services?
Toys Healthcare?
Computers Governments?
Games

49. Successful experiences are
meaningful
(and not merely novel)

50. Design is the process
of evoking meaning

51. How does this relate to
business & strategy?

52. Strategic Design:
Corporate
Meaning
Priorities Your Focus
Team Customer
Meaning Meaning
Priorities Priorities

53. Strategic Design:
Corporate
Meaning
Priorities Your Focus
Team Customer
Meaning Meaning
Priorities Priorities
Competitors’
Meaning
Priorities

54. Strategic Design:
Corporate:
Accomplishment
Beauty
Wonder
Team: Customer:
Harmony Security
Beauty Beauty
Wonder Wonder
Focus: Beauty & Wonder

55. Strategic Design:
Corporate:
Accomplishment
Beauty
Wonder
Team: Customer:
Harmony Validation
Justice Creation
Wonder Duty
No Focus!

56. How do you put this into the
development process?

57. A meaning-filled development process:

58. A meaning-filled development process:

59. A meaning-filled development process:

60. A meaning-filled development process:

61. Research Techniques:
Interviews
Careful Surveys
Shadowing
Games, etc.
The Meaning of Things
by Csikszentmihalyi

62. DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY
BUSINESS

63. DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY
MEANING
EXPERIENCE
BUSINESS

64. Some questions:

65. Who’s doing this?

66. Who’s doing this?
You

67. What meanings do
your customers prioritize?

68. What experiences
do they seek?

69. Is meaning manipulation?

70. Should companies
evoke meaning?

71. Does everything we design
already evoke meaning?

72. Are you creating
anything meaningful?

73. What’s meaningful to you?

74. nathan.com/thoughts

75. makingmeaning.org
experiencedesignbooks.com
nathan@nathan.com