VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/94589063 As designers, we constantly manage the chaos of mastering a craft, being diverse, all the while trying to differentiate ourselves and adapting our processes and deliverables in an industry that changes at lightening speeds. As if the web wasn’t difficult enough, the advent of mobile product design and service design has created an entirely new industry and career paths, completely disrupting everything we knew about engagements, processes, deliverables, and expectations of design teams and agencies. Face it, the industry is constantly changing and so should we. Let's learn to embrace change and use it to intentionally position ourselves for constant reinvention and how to fashion the skills and environments necessary for creating meaningful products in the modern age and beyond. Presented at MobileCamp Chicago 2014

1. ADAPTING TO
CHANGE
ANTHONY ARMENDARIZ
@MANTWAN

2. To improve is to change.
To be perfect is to change OFTEN.
WINSTON CHURCHILL
“

3. HELLO MY NAME IS
ANTHONY
A.K.A @MANTWAN

4. EXPERIENCE DIRECTOR
(I help internal teams and client partners think outside of the box to
create innovative and delightful user experiences.)

5. 1996
ARTIST
MULTIMEDIA
DESIGNER
FRONT-END
DEVELOPER
WEB
DESIGNER
INTERACTIVE
ADVERTISING
VISUAL DESIGN
LEAD
CREATIVE
DIRECTOR
VP OF
UX &
DESIGN
PRODUCT
DESIGNER
3 TIMES
FREELANCE
DESIGNER
2 TIMES
AGENCY
OWNER
2014
EXPERIENCE
DIRECTOR

6. OVER 18 YEARS, I’VE BEEN 14 TYPES OF DESIGNER
THAT’S ONE EVERY
1.2 YEARS

7. 60
40
SELF EMPLOYMENT VS. EMPLOYMENT

8. 75
25
DESIGNER VS. MANAGER

9. REINVENTED MYSELF CONSTANTLY

10. TO CHANGE OUR PERSONAL LIVES WE
STARTED AN AGENCY TOGETHER

11. I HIRED MYSELF OUT OF A JOB
(And I’m learning to adapt to that change.)

12. “There was a time when Apple couldn’t be taken
seriously and then there was a time when they
UNKNOWN
made the rest of the world demand only the highest
quality design products and experiences. This is
when we finally had a seat at the table.

13. DAMN, IT FEELS GOOD TO
BE A GANGSTA

14. EVERYONE WANTS WHAT WE CREATE.
(AND THEIR ADDICTED)

17. THERE’S A TALENT WAR GOING ON.

21. MOM’S BASEMENT

23. THE TOOLS WE CREATED
CREATED MORE OF US.

25. As a designer, you’re constantly trying to
improve. In this industry, if you are standing
JOE WILLIAMS
@STUDIOROHAN
“
still, you’re falling behind.

26. A STORY OF CHANGE
OUR ROOTS

27. THE MACINTOSH
1984

28. “Anyone with a computer regardless if they had
any experience or not could produce design.
MY DAD - ISRAEL ARMENDARIZ
I felt the quality was inferior and that it lacked the
artistic touch. In my case I decided I would find
find a new career rather than compete with rapid work.

29. ANTIQUE SITES
1995-2000

30. FLASH
1999

31. WEB 1.0 (K10K.NET)
1999

32. “TAKING YOUR TALENT TO THE WEB” by JEFFREY ZELDMAN
2001

33. FLASHWEB BASED PRODUCTS
2001

34. A MATURE WEB
2005-NOW

35. WEB 2.0
2006

36. WE CREATED AN INDUSTRY FULL
OF DESIGN SPECIALTIES THAT DIDN’T
EXIST BEFORE.

37. AT THE SAME TIME…THIS IS WHAT
MOBILE LOOKED LIKE

38. AND DESIGNING FOR IT WAS HORRIBLE.

39. AND THEN CAME THE IPHONE.

40. LIKE GOOGLE GLASSES, IT WAS A BIT
SILLY AT FIRST BUT IT CHANGED
OUR PERCEPTION.

41. BUT NOW MOBILE WEB MATTERED

42. APP
LEAFLETS

44. THEY WERE DESIGNED BY DEVELOPERS.
SOUND FAMILIAR?

45. DIGITAL DESIGN AGENCIES ARE
COMPLETELY DISRUPTED
THE PARADIGM SHIFT

46. WE GENERALLY SPECIALIZED AND THOUGHT
THAT WE WOULD BE OKAY
THE PROBLEM
WEB
DESIGNERS
MOBILE
DESIGNERS
&

47. At times of change, the LEARNERS are the
ones who will inherit the world, while the
KNOWERS will be beautifully prepared for a
world which no longer exists.
“
ERIC HOFFER

48. POUR ONE OUT FOR THE
HOMIES

49. GOODBYE
WEB MASTER

50. HASTA LA VISTA
PRINT DESIGNER

51. CIAO
FLASH DUDE

52. ADIOS
INFORMATION
ARCHITECT

54. SAYONARA
WEB DESIGNER

55. PEACE OUT
MOBILE DESIGNER

57. HELLO
PRODUCT DESIGNER

58. INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN
BRANDING
SOCIAL MEDIA
👥
ANALOG
DESIGN
📖
MARKETING &
ADVERTISING
📢
💻
DIGITAL
PRODUCTS
📱

59. DIGITAL
ECOSYSTEMS

62. IT DOESN’T WORK.
THE WATERFALL PROCESS

64. • Proposal
• Contract
• Kick-Off Meeting
• Project Brief
• Project Schedule
• Strategy
• Project Brief
DISCOVERY
• User Personas
• FVA
• Requirements
• Wireframes
• Prototype
DEFINE
• Moodboards
• Conceptual Design
• Visual Design
• Style Guide
DESIGN
• Front-End Code
• Engineering
• Testing & QA
• Release
• Support
DEVELOP
WATER FALL PROCESS EXAMPLE
DURATION
6 Mos. with a Creative Director, Information Architect/Interaction Designer, Visual Designer, Developer

65. SURE, “AGILE” IS A BUZZ WORD.
BUT IT WORKS.
AGILE/LEAN PROCSS

66. MVP or Subset of Features
(every 2 Weeks)
AVERAGE DURATION:
6 Mos.
!
TEAM:
Product Owner/Client
Product Designer
Developer
Requirements
Design
Develop & Release
User Test
THE AGILE PROCESS EXAMPLE

67. PRODUCT DESIGN SKILLZ
VISUAL DESIGN HEAVY
10%
20%
70%
INTERACTION HEAVY
10%
70%
20%
PM HEAVY
75%
20%
5%
AN EVEN SPLIT
33%
33%
33%

68. Hire a Product Designer who knows iOS,
Android, Windows, and great at UX but is also
HE WHO WILL NOT BE NAMED
“
a talented illustrator.

69. “
WILSON MINER “WHEN WE BUILD”
If the environment is always changing,
then we need to be always learning.

70. future predictionsLET’S TAKE A GLIMPSE INTO
THE FUTURE

71. THEY’RE EVERYWHERE.
(OBVIOUSLY)

76. MOVIE
IRON MAN

77. MOVIE
HER

80. “If the project you worked on hit the market
and no body wanted it, nobody used it,
DAVID COLE
would you blame yourself? If the answer is no
then I think you do not have enough authority.
If you’re blaming others for the outcomes in
your work, it’s time to demand more.

81. THE HALF-PIPE EFFECT
PAST MOBILEWEB
PRODUCT
DESIGN FUTURE

82. THEN NOW

83. EMBRACING
CHANGE

84. LEARN TO SELF MANAGE AND
SUPPORT YOUR TEAM
1

85. REACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH SOUND,
ANIMATION & MOTION GRAPHICS.
(AND 3D IF YOU’RE BRAVE ENOUGH)
2

86. 3
IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT WHAT THE USER
WANTS AND NEEDS. NOT YOU.

87. 4
DEVELOP T-SHAPED SKILLS

88. BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE
DEPTHOFEXPERTISE

89. 5
GOOD OR BAD, A UX IS A RESULT OF
WHAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM CREATES.
IT’S NOT A ROLE.

90. EMBRACE AGILE
6

91. 5
LEARN MOBILE ALREADY
7

92. KNOWING IOS ISN’T EVEN
HALF OF THE BATTLE
8

93. IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT HOW IT LOOKS AND
FEELS. DESIGN IS HOW IT WORKS.
9
STEVE JOBS

94. THE PROBLEM ISN’T SOLVED UNTIL IT CAN
BE DEMONSTRATED.
10

95. “PHOTOSHOP IS NOT THE CANVAS.
THE TECHNOLOGY IS.”
11
MATTHEW ARMENDARIZ

96. SHOULD DESIGNERS CODE?

97. UNDERSTANDING TECHNOLOGY
(OUR CANVAS) WILL HELP US
CREATE BETTER WORKS OF ART

98. LEARN TO SELL YOUR WORK
AND ESTIMATE ON THE SPOT.
12

99. LEAD, FOLLOW, AND
GET OUT OF THE WAY
13

100. OR MAYBE YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS AND
I AM THE ONE WHO NEEDS TO CHANGE.
14

101. “
RICHARD TIRENDI
If you’re the smartest person in the room,
you might be in the wrong room.

102. THANK YOU & LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH
WWW.FUNSIZE.CO
!
"
#
ANTHONY@FUNSIZE.CO
@MANTWAN
@FUNSIZE