1.
Design is how
it works
David Wright / NPR
@dwjr

2.
Thank you to my smart friends:
Callie Neylan Michael Yoch
Jeremy Pennycook Ian Adelman
Paulo Lopez Tyson Evans
Max Pfennighaus Bill Couch
Patrick Cooper Matt Mansfield
Benjamin Dauer Justin Ferrell
Wes Lindamood Matt Thompson
Stephanie Slobodian Ron Coddington
Vince Farquharson Michael Maness
Joel Sucherman Laura Ramos
Kinsey Wilson Irakli Nadareishvili
Miranda Mulligan Marc Lavallee

3.
About me
• Newseum
• Knight Ridder/Tribune
• USA TODAY
• NPR

4.
Platform ≠ storytelling
I don’t work in the newsroom.

5.
Holy crap!
We are working in the future.
DreamWorks / 20th Century Fox

6.
We’re really good at telling
stories, but ...
News design seems stuck because
we can’t keep up with our audience’s
expectations.

7.
Same

8.
152 choices
in the top navigation.

9.
We’re running the risk of
getting our asses kicked
Quite possibly with our own content.

10.
Unsolicited NYTimes redesign by Andy Rutledge

11.
Your competitive set?

12.
WTHR app

13.
Flipboard

14.
Gawker
Gawker’s conversation curation

15.
Gmail = ubiquitous
Gawker’s conversation curation

16.
How might we make
better things?
These problems go beyond visual design
• Strategy
• Money
• Technology

17.
Design thinking can help
• Context
• Research
• Empathy (user-centered)
• Synthesis ➔ Insights

18.
Why?
• Answer the right questions
• Better answers, faster
• Proactive, not reactive

19.
Five ways to improve
your experiences
1. Experience is everywhere
2. Get your house in order
3. Solve the right problems
4. Evaluate and iterate
5. Understand your materials

20.
1. Experience is
everywhere

21.
My father-in-law

22.
Experience is everywhere

23.
Adult Admission to Magic Kingdom Park
Adjusted for Inflation to 2010 dollars
$80
$60
$ 79
US Dollars
$40
$ 21
$20
$0
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Sources: allears.net / US Gov
Experience is everywhere

24.
Experience is everywhere

25.
Experience is everywhere

26.
Good experiences
create value.

27.
2. Get your house in order

28.
creative commons photo by flickr user kenmccown
Get your house in order

29.
Traditional baggage
Distribution vs. Content
paid to manage risk paid to tell stories

30.
Instead:
Technologists
Product
Shepherds
User
Experience

31.
Good experience thrives
in organizations where
design is respected.
Subtitle

32.
3. Evaluate and iterate

33.
If you’re not agile, you’re
doing it wrong
• Small
• Multidisciplinary
• Empowered
• Accountable
Evaluate and iterate

34.
Evaluate and iterate

35.
Evaluate and iterate

36.
Tappable
prototype

37.
4. Solve the right problems

38.
Journalists are pre-wired
for success
• Ask questions
• Challenge the status-quo
• Readers are fickle
Solve the right problems

39.
You’re probably focused
on the wrong ideas
• “Weaponize metrics”
• Twitter + Surveys
• Facebook
Solve the right problems

40.
5. Understand how
things work

41.
We say “build”
for a reason.
Understand how things work

42.
Handing a PSD to a
developer does not make
you a web designer.
Understand how things work

43.
Understand how things work

44.
Understand how things work
Interaction Design

45.
Don’t get your ass kicked:
1. Experience is everywhere
2. Get your house in order
3. Solve the right problems
4. Evaluate and iterate
5. Understand your materials

46.
Start small:
• Little experiments
• Skunk works can be cheap
• Google is free
• Show, don’t tell

47.
Thanks!
@dwjr