In the future, where will you work?

Will you be in a healthy environment that produces good vibes — gratitude, attitude, and mood?

Forward-thinking workplace trends lead us to believe that tomorrow’s most successful organizations must embrace flexibility, commit to employee development, and demonstrate an openness to creativity.

The Success of Future Organizations

Automation is top of mind for successful organizations, but not because it’s the “formidable foe” that’s hungry for your job. Although automation eliminates the need for certain positions, it creates new efficiencies and presents people with an opportunity to be more human, to partner with technology rather than fear its presence.

This brings us to our main point: the future of work requires planning from both organizations and people if they wish to exist harmoniously with technology.

Employees must future-proof their skills, e.g., cultivate soft skills, augment certifications and degrees with project experience, and become the go-to source of specific knowledge (subject matter experts, SMEs). However, organizations have essential work to do, too.

Leaders need to attract top talent and retain personnel to drive the business. If the current workforce statistics accurately reflect future employment challenges, companies must become more than an activity — more human, and reflect the behavior of a true social enterprise.

There’s a reason our name is Designing North and why our brand promise to clients is that: it’s not a location, it’s a mindset. Because ‘designing north’ is that little bit of extra that we can all bring. We refer to it as just north of 100%. Over the years, we’ve seen what happens when a group of people with that same mindset come together over a project — the joining of the right clients, sound designers, and a useful purpose.

A Place for Positivity

The positive project experiences revealed which client organizations formed the most effective partnership. Precisely, each team understood the relationship between gratitude, attitude, and mood. That is gratitude impacts attitude which, in turn, affects mood. This relationship is now our unwritten rule for project success: show gratitude to internal and external partners, always present a positive attitude, and maintain a good mood.

A study of over 12,000 professional employees from the U.S. and Canada revealed a compelling story about employee happiness in the workplace. For example, happy employees are 98% more likely to identify with company values and 85% more efficient with their work than those who aren’t. This data supports our belief that behind a good client is a healthy internal culture and inclusive mindset. Our experiences with exceptional clients and successful project outcomes correlate three characteristics that companies can use to improve the work environment; let’s explore how they are used in the workplace.

A Place Where People Show Gratitude

Gratitude travels up and down the chain of command, but it’s most beneficial when a team of employees uses it regularly. Coworkers should appreciate one another and express gratitude for hard work. This collaboration cultivates an abundance of positivity. Don’t believe us? Just give it a try for a day.

UC Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons agrees that gratitude is essential in the workplace, and is a basic requirement for positive human interaction. Give and receive thanks at work — it’s that easy. When you do, expect the following benefits associated with showing gratitude:

Improved organizational culture — Emmons believes that expressing thanks is a remedy for the toxic symptoms teams experience.

Stronger teams — Emmons explains that showing gratitude leads to reciprocity, which strengthens relationships.

Increased motivation — People want to work for an appreciative boss, and feel better about themselves when leaders give thanks.

Organizations consistently recognized as “great places to work” are typically those that frequently understand, validate, and value outstanding work, according to The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

‘In an SHRM/Globoforce survey, Using Recognition and Other Workplace Efforts to Engage Employees, 68 percent of HR professionals agreed that employee recognition has a positive impact on retention and 56 percent said such programs also help with recruitment.’

A Place That Supports a Positive Attitude

How you approach projects and interact with clients and employees matters. The relationship is part of your brand and serves as the foundation for building brand equity.

But what if we told you that our approach to success was just a different way of thinking, one that fosters extra effort, no matter the circumstance — would you give it a try? If so, start by “going positive” during the workday when faced with a challenge. Even problems arise, ask team members to take a step back, observe the situation, and inject a positive outlook or present an idea that enables everyone to see the bright side of the situation.

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.”

Willie Nelson

This advice is priceless for managers and organizational leaders. Choose to be positive and show gratitude for the work done by others on your team if you wish to experience positive results, is what’s being stated by the legendary singer.

The benefits of having a positive attitude surface time and time again. Client’s share their frustrations and failures during introductory meetings — this is common. Rather than fuel the fire of negativity (which strangely feels good because our brains are wired this way), we immediately introduce realistic opportunities for improvement and demonstrate how they influence success. By preventing the issue from escalating, we instantly transform the vibe to one that eases tension.  

Challenges arise in every project, which is why it’s easy to lean in with pessimism and doubt. However, this mindset only reduces the team’s ability to collaborate and present quality solutions.

A positive attitude, which is fueled by expressing gratitude, sustains energy within the team environment. And energy is the common denominator for high engagement and performance. Peter Economy, Leadership author, and consultant suggests 7 Ways to Create a Remarkably High-Energy Workforce.

We absorb energy from coworkers; positive attitudes create an abundance of positive energy for everyone to consume. Successful organizations should encourage positivity and maintain an internal culture that rewards positive interaction among internal and external staff and partners.

In the HBR article titled The More You Energize Your Coworkers, the Better Everyone Performs, the following example highlights the value an organization gains from employees with a positive attitude: “she energized me because she loved her job and was, in general, a very happy person. She always came in with a smile on her face which created a positive atmosphere.”

A Place Where Mood is Meaningful

Your happiness and wellness at work are impacted by your mood — the emotional response to your surroundings. The most successful organizations craft environments that maximize a person’s satisfaction; but in the future, it will be mandatory. That is, to build high-performing teams, leaders must find, train, and retain employees who steward good mood.

UW Health psychologist Shilagh Mirgain, Ph.D. explains how others influence your happiness. She says, “How an individual feels can ripple through his or her social groups and influence how the group feels in general. In some ways, our emotional states are like a virus – we can spread the positive and negative experience to those around us, even with strangers.”

Similar to how a person consistently shows gratitude and upholds a positive attitude, a good mood requires constant work — review these tips on how to stay positive from Mirgain, Ph.D.

We know from surveying clients that expressing gratitude influences a person’s attitude and mood. We also know that successful teams cultivate inclusivity, openness, and acceptance. But why do these observations shed so much light on who people will choose to work for in the future?

We strongly believe that people want to feel good at work, they want to create a sense of purpose to justify the daily routine. A positive mood provides meaning and frees the mind to explore deeper connections that might otherwise remain unclear. Feel good. Do good. (And that doesn’t just mean M&Ms in the kitchen, and pool tables in the break room anymore.)

The Takeaway

In the future, when work and the concept of living well are joined at the hip, the most successful companies will enthusiastically embrace a culture defined by gratitude, positive attitudes, and a good mood. Mainly because gratitude and appreciation contribute to the kind of workplace environments where employees want to come to work and don’t feel like cogs in a machine, oh, wait, does that sound like your current relationship with work? If so, it’s time to re-think who you work for and why. Go ahead, set your sights on the trifecta of positivity; you are destined to experience the benefits.

The future employee won’t accept anything less — will you?

Go remote! A two-word solution to all of your work-related problems right? OK… not so fast. But there is some truth to this mindset; surely you’ve heard this phrase before. Maybe you’ve said it to a friend or family member in need of a quick mental boost. Because the idea of working remotely is enough to overcome a case of the “Sundays” — you know, the dread you’ve felt from the thought of going into the office on Monday.

To be fair, plenty of people don’t mind facing the day after Sunday (shh, don’t speak its name), but that doesn’t mean they don’t value the option to work remotely. In fact, having options is the secret to creating loyal, happy, and productive team members; it’s good for everyone. It cultivates a sense of flexibility that permeates through the business.

The Iron Triangle of Employment

During his TedxRichland talk titled Remote Working Revolution, Justin Jones introduced three decisions that a person must make prior to accepting a traditional job, using the iron triangle of product development. This design principle states that you can prioritize any (and only) two of the following three results at the expense of the other: quality, time, cost.

Justin’s example, “the iron triangle of employment,” is a spin-off of a product development principle that reflects the three factors influenced by traditional jobs: where you live, where you work, and what work you do. Very rarely does a person find alignment among all three factors.

To his point, remote work empowers a person to choose their location, employer, and type of work, eliminating the need to choose between the three. When you can choose all of the factors, life is good. (Although at DN we always insert a 4th option to this equation too, that people and employers must also know their ‘why’ — but that’s another topic.)

Richard Branson and David Coplin — Remote Work

Since the creation of Designing North Studios in 2012, the team has delivered many solutions to happy clients all over the country, all without a central brick and mortar office.

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Have you incorporated PANTONE Living Coral into your workspace? If you haven’t, you’re not ready for 2019. It’s that simple. Why, might you ask? Well, Living Coral is more than just PANTONE’S color of the year;it’s the product of in-depth research collected by color (and psychology) professionals who searched the world (both physically and metaphorically) for relevant feedback and inspiration, even exploring distant cultures for use cases. 

What is PANTONE Living Coral?

As a result, Living Coral is said to provide “vibrancy, warmth, nourishment, buoyancy, and comfort,” all of which contribute to a sociable and lively environment — similar to the look and feel of a coral reef system, inspiration for this pinkish-orangish hue. 

(Ohhh… it all makes sense now.) 

Much like Blue Planet 2 –BBC’s unprecedented documentary on the world’s oceans — PANTONE Living Coral is to be experienced, and the team at Designing North is excited to inject this energy into our own studio. This year especially, we could all use the positivity and warmth this color provides. Good vibes only.

Yes, even you can benefit from “an infusion of modern life,” whether you work from home, a coffee shop, agency, or traditional office. Because keeping up with the times is best done by integrating a social-media-friendly color into the work environment.

Fortunately for you, this color will adjust your mood in the best way possible. Bring on the smile! And feeling of ‘I’m in a good place’ — yup, that’s how you should feel about your workspace.

We’ve laid out the reasons why PANTONE Living Coral exists and is so well liked, but that doesn’t help you incorporate the color into your workspace. For this task we turn to the studio team and Executive Creative Director Lisa Peacock.

We live by the mindset ‘there’s no detail too small,’ and nowhere is this more apparent than in our design studio. Naturally, this served as the team’s source of truth for bringing Living Coral indoors; we think it will inspire you to do the same. Here are some ideas you might not have considered previously, for incorporating PANTONE Living Coral into the workspace:

Living Coral in the Workspace

First, decide how Living Coral can accent your current workspace and provide just the right balance of color. Will it be on the desk? The wall? Or both?

Whichever you choose, why not start with a simple Living Coral notebook— printed with the appearance of a paint chip, of course. Or, there’s this weekly planneroption as well. Both place a splash of Living Coral on your desk at all times and fit within your current workflow.

Now for the wall… Have you seen this Paint Chip Calendarfrom Paper Source? It pleasantly displays hues of Living Coral as well as other complimentary pantones, and makes the workspace pop. You can also create your own calendar using Canva (it’s free!). Choose a calendar template and add Living Coral anywhere on the page, or overlay a tint on your favorite images. We promise it’s quick and easy and allows for personalization. 

It’s no secret that plants belong on every desk, in every office — including yours. Much like Pantone Living Coral, plants inject life and add a contextual element — why not mix the two. Incorporate this vibrant color into the workspace by adding this coral plant pot to your space. (Just our two cents: it looks best with a green succulent or small cactus.) We can’t help but think of the iconic pink stucco and aloe verde you find in the American Southwest. Pure harmony. 

If planting isn’t your thing, substitute the pot for a vase. This Bright Ceramicist Vase from west elmin coral is a great option. Or this glass option from World Market. These also looks great with a touch of soft green; eucalyptus or fern stems are all you need. Another option would be to purchase flowers in Living Coral, suitable for the desk or any corner of the office. There are so many florals to choose from, including roses, peonies and snapdragons. In fact, Blooms by the Boxhas an entire page of flowers (for Living Coral) to order from. It’s almost too easy!

Incorporating Living Coral into the workspace doesn’t have to be a long-term project; it can be a day-to-day decision. You have enough commitments in life, right?

A good temporary fix is Health-Ade’s new “Bubbly Rose” kombucha. It’s one the the best flavors yet (I know…  that’s subjective) and has impressive packaging to match — oh yes, it’s coral.

Simply arrange the bottle with the planner, notebook and plant — Done. You have yourself a well-curated desktop arrangement. Go ahead, do it for the gram! These “Mocktail” bottles are another creative option for infusing Living Coral into the deskspace. And they represent the light-hearted, is-it-Five O’Clock mindset. And for those who prefer a CBD variety, these sweetgrass sparkling water dropsfrom Dram are a must.

You know where else Living Coral looks great? On white walls. This accounts for the majority of workspaces across the globe. The combination balances the warmth of coral with the cool of white, providing balance for the eyes and mind. But wait.

But wait.

This isn’t just creative banter; it’s us encouraging you to put some art on the walls of your workspace. A quick search online for Living Coral art turned up results, but few compelled a purchase. So we turned to Etsy and found this pleasant piece of geometric Living Coral art. We see the sun surrounded by rolling red rocks (maybe Arizona or Utah), what about you?

Color psychology is real. Very real. It’s a communication tool and so much more: moods and feelings can be conjured up based on a certain color, where it’s seen and how it fits — or doesn’t — with the surrounding environment.

In fact, Pantone’s researchers travel the world just to see color in its natural environment. Some, such as Living Coral, are so special that it’s shared with the public for consumption. And it’s safe to say this year’s choice is welcomed by many. Most importantly, Living Coral is a perfect addition to the workspace. With just the right dosage, it will brighten your day — from the walls to the desk.

If you have ideas on how to incorporate Living Coral in the workspace, we’d love to hear them.

Tag us on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn; we’ll share with our design friends.

Ten Well-Designed Ads

While trying to comprehend the impact of plastic and other forms of pollution on the marine environment, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. These artists prove it — they are designing an emotional response to ocean plastic. The stark beauty of their creations is having an impact on people worldwide, captivating onlookers to show interest in a subject that might otherwise be swept under the rug — or left on the streets…

This impact from compelling visuals also explains the popularity of modern ocean explorers such as Paul Nicklen and Brian Skerry. Using their creative talents, these two photographers (along with many others who deserve recognition) capture and share images that simply can’t be put into words — their color, composition and subjects tell a story, one that demands full attention.

For Paul, his iconic visuals of the Arctic convey a message of hope and beauty during a time of despair for the climate. For Brian, on the other hand, his artistry and creative genius exposes the underwater world, brining an otherwise hidden realm to the surface for all to see. Sharing what he sees as a diver, he is able to move hearts and minds to act in favor of positive change — just one reason Rolex named him their ‘explorer of the year.’ When asked about the significance of his work by Smithsonian, Brian explained:

“I decided to show people the animals that we were losing, and give them an appreciation for things like bluefin tuna—to see them not just as seafood, but as wildlife. My goal is to make pictures that stay with people for a lifetime.”

Similarly, Paul Nicklen described his creative purpose in the following quote published from National Geographic:

“I call myself an interpreter and a translator. I translate what the scientists are telling me. If we lose ice, we stand to lose an entire ecosystem. I hope we can realize through my photography how interconnected many species are to ice.”

Some things can’t be unseen in life, and it’s the mission of creators such as Paul and Brian to share the beauty of our ocean with as many people as possible, leaving a lasting impression that’s never forgotten. However, reality shows a more complicated present — and future — for the ocean.

Unfortunately, the effects of ocean plastic, pollution, and overfishing are devastating to the marine environment. For every beautiful image captured there’s another ten that depict a grim future for life at sea. And yes, that means fish, whales, turtles, dolphins, seals and more; you name it, they are all at risk.

Taking a page from the playbook of explorers such as Brian and Paul, many conservation groups and environmental non-profits are calling on designers to create compelling visuals that, well, are simply too memorable to ignore and forget. So although their tactics may be slightly different, the end goal is the same: use creativity and design to create change that benefits the environment and wildlife.

Since we are a design studio that enjoys celebrating the good work done by fellow creatives, we’ve curated the top ads and images designed to communicate the issue of ocean plastic and marine pollution. As you look through the visuals, record your feelings about ocean plastic and marine pollution. We’d like to see what creative ideas you can envision and how you might communicate the issue, so please share!

From corporate programs to government regulation and non-profit action, many people (and groups) are showing intense interest in reducing plastic waste, or better, stopping it at the source. This mindset absolutely makes all the difference for marine life.

With creative contributions from artists and designers who share a plastic-free vision, we believe progress can be made by influencing people to form emotional bonds with the places most affected by plastic waste: the ocean. Of course, we would like to see what creative visuals are most compelling to you. Whether they are from the web, social media or seen on the streets, post your favorite ocean plastic ads and images. And be sure to tag @designingnorth on instagram or twitter.

Working remotely; you either love it, hate it, or have no idea what to think since it’s not an option at the moment. If you fall into the latter, be patient — your time is coming. At least that’s what the data tells us.

Did you know that 43% of today’s workforce spends at least some time working remotely, according to Buffer’s latest report on remote work? If you are eager to partake in this autonomous lifestyle, rest assured it will be commonplace in the near future.

A virtual studio with a design and development team spread across the globe, we’ve learned the ins and outs of what it takes to succeed as a remote workers. In fact, we see this shift to virtual teams as a part of elevating the human experience, a component of living well Monday through Sunday, not just on Friday and Saturday. But to be honest, the majority of this experience rests on the company culture itself. Remote isn’t a destination, it’s a mindset.

Remote teams function best within a company culture that embraces communication, collaboration, and of course, distance learning. Additionally, no matter which group you identify with (love it, hate it, maybe in the future), there’s one incredibly important detail to consider when working remotely, one that we see overlooked time and time again.

That is, you are a product of your environment. Which why we encourage you to take a cold, hard look at your workspace (current or future) and design it to be your ideal working environment. Even better, craft it to be a space that delights your senses and invites feelings of joy throughout the day. Because it’s the small details that have a big impact on day-to-day happiness as a remote worker.

Whether you are a designer, writer, social media strategist, marketing consultant, etc., becoming a productive remote worker is dependent on feeling good in the moment, and accomplishing this begins with controlling your environment. As a remote team that has successfully navigated challenges associated with telecommuting and freelancing (feeling of isolation, lack of communication, disengagement, etc.), we believe one universal factor of remote work deserves extra attention.

It’s called joy. To find it, optimize your physical environment and stimulate mental cognition. With personal examples to share, let’s walk through how you can increase your happiness as a remote worker by paying special attention to your environment and feelings of joy.

Take Control of Your Space

While discussing the concept of “finding your flow,” Managing Director Lisa Peacock touched on the importance of having control within the working environment. Specifically, she shared,

“I need to first get control of my environment, this means that everything around me is visually pleasing — which brings about a calming effect (that includes noise and movement as well) to create an internal organization of thought. Feeling the calm allows me to jump into the storm of flow where my immersion in whatever I’m doing goes unnoticed until I’m done with my work.”

As it relates to psychology, flow is a state of mind where our actions and cognitive thoughts progress with seamless transition, providing incredible satisfaction and enjoyment in what we are doing. And according to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, ‘flow is a finely tuned sense of rhythm, involvement, and anticipation.’ The importance of flow and its contribution to success as a remote employee can’t be overstated. And it directly correlates the designed environment to having control over personal choices.

To gain control, identify your ideal setting —  where do you work best? What do you need around you to feel at ease? (For us, the ideal setting means pets close by, or a window setting that allows for ‘California Dreamin’: plenty of natural light, a view of the outdoors, and visually pleasing elements that balance the physical space with color and shape.)

To accomplish this equilibrium, start by designing a space that reflects youand empowers yourchoices. As your vision unfolds, think like a UI designer — fixate on the look and feel of your workspace. If possible, start with a blank slate; remove clutter or clear out a room completely. Next, choose wall colors (if you don’t know where to begin, start with white — you can introduce color with objects and art). From there, choose objects, mixing color with texture and even smell. Try being creative with a wall gallery and add small plants throughout the room and on the desk. Finally, add your technology tools and ensure you have space to move and remain organized. These small details culminate into a “healthy” environment, one where the nutrients take the form of color, shape, smell and sensation.

In her book Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness, Ingrid Fetell Lee talks about creating a space “where you can never be real sad or angry.” She further explains, “…designers were making me realize the kind of abundance that really matters, not material accumulation but sensorial richness.” Applying this mindset to your remote environment, the ideal aesthetic can be created by layering color, texture, and pattern, and you don’t need much stuff to achieve this.

Pioneering the ‘100% distributed culture,’ the Dribbble communityoften shares their experiences working as remote freelancers across the globe. In a recent blog post, a multidisciplinary designer described his connection with the “chosen” environment versus one that’s forced:

  “Comparing my office space with the spaces I use working at home, I noticed that I’m way more productive when I can choose my workspace. Hopefully, in the future, more and more companies in Germany will realize that remote workspaces are a good thing.”

Get Organized, Stay Organized

Remember, creating success in the remote environment means paying special attention to the small details, embracing those moments of elation and flow that lead to joy. Fortunately, there are well known “tricks” for you to keep in your back pocket. One in particular entails organizing your space, even increasing its functionality whenever possible. Whether it’s daily, weekly or monthly, get in the habit of rearranging items in your office, adjusting seating arrangements, location of the computer or your orientation towards the window. Add organizers to the desk; swap plants and restore the “white space” surrounding your tools. For example, here’s a look at a single workspace rearranged to accommodate additional accessories, while creating more functional space and, you guessed it, organization.

As Buffer’s 2018 work report concluded, the vast majority of people working remotely do so from their home office (78%), not coworking spaces and cafes. So although social media portrays a remote workforce dominated by the “WeWork empire,” people are actually finding the most success at home. And personal organization is a contributing factor.

Of course, staying organized pertains to more than the desk and project folders. You — the remote employee — are just as much a part of the workspace as your computer and must clear your mind to be productive. However possible, do this daily — make it routine. Advice given by author and subject matter expert Brianna Wiest, ‘begin and end the day by taking notes; put your thoughts (and feelings) on paper and review your emotions’ — and how they impacted the day. This builds awareness and trains you to “go positive” during your most productive hours, creating an environment conducive to good work and good vibes.

Getting (and staying) organized calls for a commitment to oneself, accepting the ups and downs and knowing when to work — or when to take a break. So, along with the to-do list, outline your day as often as possible and pay special attention to your needs (i.e., breaks, outside communication, focus, inspiration, and finding flow). Ideally, getting organized will facilitate a sustainable workflow that aids in long-term happiness and satisfaction with work. Additionally, staying organized and in control of feelings and emotions is the key to crossing current goals off the list while preparing for what lies ahead.

Stay Active and Over-Communicate

Office chat… it’s often taken for granted by office-bound employees. But finding joy as a remote employee is partially dependent on talking with team members, often. Cats are great and all but they simply can’t provide healthy dialogue throughout the day. (Yes, we’ve seen the Facebook videos and were just as impressed as you. Still, you need more than moew-speak.)

A point well-articulated by the Ladders blog, successful remote workers establish an active morning, afternoon and evening routine, rich in team communication. This includes regular phone and video calls, even for the sake of clarity on a task. Additionally, get comfortable ending project calls with brief conversations about last night’s game or that ridiculously emotional episode of “This is Us.” Don’t worry, you aren’t losing focus for doing so; you are connecting with coworkers the same way an office employee would. We’ve already become avatars thanks to our new iphones. For the sake of joy, let’s preserve human-to-human conversations while working in the remote environment. ‘You’re going to be smiling and laughing less at work as a result of being alone, and spending less time around your coworkers. Do something to make yourself laugh.’

“You communicate too much,” said no remote team member ever. Strict meeting policy or not, consistent communication is a gift among those without a central office. It’s value is realized beyond the boundaries of team performance or project success. On a deeper level, communicating daily replicates the quality interaction employees require to remain engaged and productive. In fact, by establishing a schedule of one-on-one calls, team video chats, and project-performance round-table meetings, remote workers can derive more joy and feel better about their position.

Increased productivity and focus are a byproduct of consistent communication. Words shared by the studio’s Executive Director, “It’s about sharing good content when found, being inclusive, highlighting people’s accomplishments, encouraging them to share with each other, be funny, be accessible, let go where you can, and assist where you see struggle.” It may require more work, but communicating effectively leads to feeling more joy in the remote setting.

American author Chuck Palahniuk said it best, “Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home… it’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” When you filter out the many surface-level reasons people choose remote work (all valid), this decision almost always boils down to a search for happiness and joy. Fortunately, accepting the responsibilities associated with remote work grants you control over the physical working environment, and therefore the joy it provides. A design studio with creatives located across the country, Designing North Studios believes a positive space influences good work. So, if it’s joy you are looking for (along with cool team members and engaging projects) we think you should check us out.

Discovery

First Orion was building products with passion. They were on a mission to tackle the large-scale epidemic of scam and robocalls to consumer mobile phones. But you wouldn’t know it from their website or their messaging.

During the discovery process, as we learned more about First Orion, we realized that all of their differentiators were not coming through in their online presence.

First, they are filled with real data scientists creating the algorithms that allow their specialists to analyze the data around the scam and epidemic of robocalls. Which, let’s face it, is real superhero stuff. And like any good superhero, being authentic about their mission, especially for a company like First Orion, is truly about ‘sharing what’s “under the cape.” And what’s under there is not just the data and the knowledge, it’s a palpable drive coming from their team to protect people. We felt it during discovery; the people at First Orion displayed a sense of passion for protecting us. Just as we communicated a passion to craft a solution for their current problem: an outdated digital presence, lacking a story, lacking a customer journey with these superheroes.

There wasn’t a person at FO that didn’t express a true desire to do the right thing. It was refreshing to see such autonomy around ethical decision making. They could see all the data, all the bad actors trying every second to get through to our phones, unrelenting, and it was so inspiring to unearth this amazing commitment to be part of the change, part of this kind of ‘protection team.’

The Design Challenge

Content is the biggest challenge for every project. But we have techniques to organize process. We introduced something new to our process this time called ‘priority guides’ that allowed the client team to not get distracted with visuals and really focus on the content and message. The design team was then able to mock-up wires with real content vs. your standard latin placeholder. It’s a hard technique, because most people can be very visual — but it forces everyone to read.

In terms of the First Orion voice, it flowed well for us after our interviews in discovery. There is quiet confidence, a humble pride, and a heartfelt knowledge that comes across from everyone. It was important for people to know that First Orion knows their stuff, they are careful with data, but that it’s all wrapped in a good sense of polite Arkansas humor. It makes you what you are: approachable. And this is what the new content communicates.

The ‘Aha! Moment’ — Yes, we had it

The Aha moment was the combination of our initial ‘superhero’ idea for website launch 1.0 combined with the transparency visualization. That everything coming through the phone would be in full color (or transparent) if your mobile carrier chose FO as their protection partner. Hence all the main areas of the website showing full color via the phone, black and white/blue-tint everywhere else. Illustrated well with the home video where a phone is being waved over a crowd of people seeing only color via the phone screen — and every other customer being protected with the FO logo on their phone.

Soon after we felt the superhero emerge for us as a creative team. We drew a cape on one of the data scientists, because we had written that heroics were emerging from their product line. From there, we were inspired to move away from showing real devices with real product shots, and we just sketched. The telecom space is crowded; everyone looked the same. We wanted to introduce simplicity but ensure that FO stood out from the crowd… We were moved by the First Orion mission statement and subsequent tagline (Transparency in Communication) to illustrate transparency and what that really meant. This led to our idea of the phone becoming a trusted source again, where in full color, you could see who is calling and why.

A unique truth to this project: it was the client that inspired us most. They are superheroes, but not in a goofy way. Their “powers for good” are understated and authentic — like a sketch or doodle you make on a piece of paper. Because when you’re sketching or doodling, truth emerges. And we think the truth is pretty hip. So ‘hip’ just came naturally — feedback we received directly from First Orion upon launch: “The new website feels decidedly more hip than a traditional corporate website.”

Favorite Design Element

We love the subtlety of the cape. You find it in a few places; it covers (no pun intended) a few themes. It symbolizes that First Orion, carriers, businesses, consumers: we are all superheroes in this fight against mobile scam, robo, and spoof calls. Coming together is what makes us stronger. But it also illustrates that unlike many data companies who may have something to hide. First Orion wants you to see what’s under the cape. This aligns with their mission of Transparency In Communication — so the cape does its job in many aspects.

“We’re a hip, progressive, start-up company with a flair for creativity, said Traci Campbell, Corporate Marketing Manager for First Orion. “We’re packed full of professional and smart people, but we don’t need our voice to be overtly corporate.” The friendly style, tone and language begins to create a cohesive “First Orion persona” across all our digital marketing efforts, including social.” The cape is the perfect symbol for this message. But this benevolent character is non-fictional, and their powers help create super consumers.

The Final Product

It speaks to each audience uniquely now. What First Orion is to a mobile carrier is different for a mobile consumer. We crafted numerous journeys to the right message, the right product, the right information on how to be a part of this ‘superhero league’ in support of First Orion’s quest for complete transparency.

We met them and considered them true heroes in this battle. And believed they were truly fighting for us. So we positioned them as the heroes we knew them to be, succinctly explained why to each of their very important audiences, and hit the launch button so they could share their story everywhere.

Of course, the client always gets the last word: “FirstOrion.com has undergone a complete makeover, thanks to our own Corporate Product Marketing Team and the brilliant folks at Designing North Studios. They have worked countless hours to give a new look and feel to the website, designed in mind to speak to each of our unique audiences. The combined team put together a concept that paints our employees as the superheroes of call transparency, tirelessly crusading for justice against spam, scam, and robocalls and battling for people to trust their phones again.”

Sharing her feedback on the redesign, Traci Campbell said, “The new site gives First Orion a fresh persona in the marketing world. It also got into the nitty-gritty of what First Orion provides to carriers, businesses, and consumers. This new space will allow us to provide more information to each of our customers in a way that speaks directly to them and lets us showcase our products in a new and exciting way.”

About Designing North Studios:

Designing North Studios is an interactive design studio focused on digital solutions for web, mobile, and branding initiatives. Our mindset: attention to small UX extras makes for big UX impact. A bit different than your average agency, we were started by UX designers and can engage in a project as a team (Hire-A-Team) — or you can rent one of ‘ours’ (Rent-A-Star) for yours. If you have a project you’d like to discuss or are in need of a *designing north star* for your existing team, give us a buzz or shoot us an email.

When you freelance for a living (that is, a paycheck isn’t guaranteed every two weeks), leaving your client with a positive lasting impression is critical to your success. And when you are responsible for sourcing new work, reputation is everything, worth its weight in gold. So how you approach projects and interact with clients matters. It’s part of your brand, and serves as the foundation of your brand equity. But what if we told you our approach to success was really just a different way of thinking, one that fosters extra effort no matter the circumstance — Would you want to see it in action?

We call it the Designing North mindset, and it goes a little something like this:

Some people add a little extra to everything they do. They perform north of expectation with a focus on — and appreciation for the small details. By celebrating the small, they illustrate the belief that being a hover above ordinary has a larger, cumulative effect on good work.

As a design studio we celebrate them: she is; he is; they are — Designing North. The only question we have is, “Are you?”

A bit different than your average agency, we were started by UX designers and can engage in a project as a team (Hire-A-Team) — or you can rent one of ‘ours’ (Rent-A-Star) for your project. Of course, this position carries significant responsibility to uncover the right people for each and every project. This is where ‘the mindset’ reveals its merit, time and time again.

The nature of our work demands a continuous quest for those with this mindset, and in doing so we uncover the people adding a little extra to the world around them. Using their thinking and action as an example, let’s see what ‘the mindset’ looks like in its purest form so you can think about how you might position yourself a hover above the rest in your line of work and in life.

Linked Foundation

Dorothy Largay

She is* a techno-philanthropist on a mission to change the lives of women living in poverty in Latin America. But don’t let the diminutive figure of former director of worldwide leadership development at Apple, Inc. fool you. Because of Dorothy’s Linked Foundation and its dynamic partners, thousands of women and their families now have access to basic health needs through their rural pharmacy models.

After receiving a ‘windfall,’ both she and her husband, former Google Vice President of Engineering Wayne Rosing, decided to focus their talents and treasure on the things that interested them most. For Dorothy, that meant launching sustainable and scalable health initiatives in Latin America, and for Wayne, it meant developing a global network of telescopes to advance astronomy. Dorothy treated the foundation like a start-up. It was 24/7 in the beginning, but is now chugging smoothly along, thanks to hard work, a great team, learning from mistakes, and sharing successes.

“My husband and I have a very nice life, but we wanted to keep it simple – uncomplicated. We didn’t want to spend our time managing our ‘things’. That has zero interest to me – too much complexity. We were excited about the potential to make real change in our own lifetimes.”

Check out more on Linked Foundation’s initiatives here.

Cafe Momentum

Chad Houser

“Come for the mission, stay for the food…”

That is the tagline for Café Momentum, a new american restaurant in downtown Dallas, TX. What sets this restaurant apart is its founder Chad Houser, and his purpose: “I take kids out of jail and teach them to play with knives and fire – and make the community better.”

Café Momentum’s staff is composed mainly by boys and young men who previously served time at a detention facility for nonviolent juvenile offenders. During a 12-month, post-release internship they earn $10 per hour while gaining experience in all aspects of the restaurant business.

The restaurant also includes a classroom where the interns receive instruction on skills such as financial literacy, anger management, art, and social media.

“It’s not just about giving these young men a job,” Houser says. “It’s about creating a holistic environment where they can be immersed in all the tools and resources they need to be successful in life, which extends far beyond working at a job.” “I’ve been told every reason why it won’t work, everything from ‘these kids will never show up, these kids can’t cook this food, restaurants constantly fail’… over and over and over and over again,” said Houser in his original promotional video. “Someone has to believe in these kids. Might as well be me!”

Since its opening two years ago, Cafe Momentum has garnished a 4.9 star rating and even earned a grant from a youth opportunity fund to help provide opportunities for more young adults.

MeWater Foundation

Eddie Donnellan and Tim Gras

Eddie and Tim’s friendship began as two teenagers surfing the San Francisco coastline together. Not only was the Bay Area their home but it also provided an escape from the challenges they faced in life. Many surfers are drawn to this sport for its thrill while others enjoy the competition. For Eddie and Tim it was different, less personal and more about harnessing the healing power of the ocean to eventually share with others.

Into their professional careers the duo worked together at the Edgewood Center For Children and Families, in the mental health field. It was here where they witnessed how the simple things in life had a transformative effect on troubled children who were labeled as “lost hope youth.”  Things that we take for granted, like access to the ocean and mother nature were eye-opening experiences for their patients – even life changing. Both Eddie and Tim never lost hope, no matter the circumstances of the child.

With a strong belief in their work, Eddie and Tim decided to channel their passion for helping others to create the MeWater Foundation – a program to inspire, educate and empower youth as well as their families. In their eyes, they owe it all to nature. Whether it be the ocean or the mountains, they spend their days exposing children to the outdoors, away from the hardships of inner city life. The mentorship they get from MeWater uncovers an emotional intelligence that these youth would otherwise never find. They begin to develop social skills they never knew existed — A life changing moment.

Kim Skarritt

Kim Skarritt, once a professional canine problem solver, is the proud owner and facilitator of Silver Muzzle Cottage. Here, in Northern Michigan, Kim and a small team of supporters run this 501(c)3 as a hospice care center for older dogs that have nowhere else to go. Other than the shelter, of course. But we all know that a shelter is no place for a dog, especially an old one living out its last days.

“We feel they deserve more, that they shouldn’t die alone in a cage. They deserve love and dignity in their final days, months and years. We’re dedicated to the rescue, adoption and lifelong care of these senior dogs.” – Silver Muzzle Cottage

Kim’s mission began while running Bowsers By The Bay, the only 100% cage-free boarding and social rehab facility on Northern Michigan. As her training facility grew, Kim started connecting with local shelters, where she learned just how many old dogs were abandoned or overlooked. Even left on the roadside in some instances.    

Although Kim understood the difficulties of caring for older dogs, she still couldn’t live with the thought of loving animals, loyal to the human beings kicked to the curb.

As Kim explains it, Many people will say “I just don’t think I could do it – I couldn’t take on a senior, knowing I would lose them so soon.”

But Kim and her team approaches these situations with a slightly more positive mindset, one that is capable of solving this all-too-common problem.

That was the only motivation she needed to do something about this problem; Silver Muzzle Cottage was born. Fast forward two years and Kim is still making a significant impact in her community. Don’t take our word for it. Check out the Silver Muzzle Cottage Facebook Page to see the cute faces that have come through her doors. Who doesn’t love a heartwarming story of human kindness towards animals, to brighten the day.

Coral Restoration Foundation

Ken Nedimyer

Ken Nedimyer has dedicated more than 40 years of his life to diving in the waters off the Florida coastline. Year after year, he watched as the area’s coral reefs begin to die, one after another. When the reefs died, the fish disappeared, abandoning the only environment they called home. Across the entire globe, coral reefs occupy less than one quarter of 1% of the marine environment, yet they are home to 25% of all fish species. Understanding the science, and therefore the problem at hand, Ken decided to dedicate his life to regenerating coral through farming.

In a recent interview with Great Big Story, Ken Nedimyer explained his simple reasoning for becoming a coral farmer, “ I’m tired of watching it die, I need to do something about it.”

It all began with the idea of propagating staghorn coral in an offshore nursery. It’s often difficult to cross the threshold of idea versus action, but Ken passion for reefs was too great to be hindered by skeptics. He “dove” in head first, starting with his underwater garden. And just like a traditional roadside farm, Ken learned to follow specific seasons: one optimal for planting and the other, harvesting.    

Pretty quickly, Ken gathered help from his family and friends to begin scaling his efforts. And this became the basis for the Coral Restoration Foundation. Astonishingly, Ken and his team are planting twenty to twenty-five thousand reef fragments a year. Something that many critics said could never be done. Ken is living proof that a little passion and hardwork can go a very long way. But he isn’t one to boast his success. Rather, he has a more humble way of looking at it: “another day, another coral.”

Chris Malloy

Like his brothers Keith and Dan, Chris Malloy started on the scene as a traveling surfer with a knack for big waves — his success eventually landed him a spot in the 2006 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. As if that wasn’t enough adrenaline for a lifetime, Chris also completed multiple expeditions across the globe.

Perhaps Chris Malloy is even more synonymous with adventure films. After all, he did produce nearly two dozen, many of which were well-regarded among the filmmaking ranks. After achieving fame in the action-sports industry and experiencing many parts of the world, Chris decided to focus his future on values such as simplicity, tradition, creativity, sustainability and conservation. He now resides on a ranch in Lompoc, CA with his kids and wife, Carla. In their transition to a more sustainable life, Chris and Carla have become ambassadors for a “food movement” — teaching others how to consciously choose sustainable food sources while questioning the origin of market bought goods. They even travel the state teaching others about their findings and physically showing people how their local communities can be the best solution for healthy, freshly grown food.

After traveling for months on end to better understand the latest problems in the agriculture business, Chris Malloy partnered with Patagonia Provisions for his latest documentary, Unbroken Ground. The short film highlights four main food-production problems in the United States (and more importantly, the brilliant minds working against the status quo to design a solution) that all pose a very serious threat to the safety of our environment (and the world’s environment), health of our communities, and ability to feed the ever-growing population. These thought leaders are confident that their work is designing more sustainable methods for food production; they are the ones dedicated to current problems that often remain outside of our influence: regenerative agriculture, restorative grazing, new crop development and selective-harvest fishing.

These are the people behind the movement:

Wes Jackson of The Land Institute

Dr. Stephen Jones of Washington State University Bread Lab

Dan and Jill O’Brien of Cheyenne River Ranch

Ian Kirouac, Keith Carpenter, and Riley Starks of Lummi Island Wild

Haven’t Seen Unbroken Ground? Watch it Here (25 minutes long):

https://www.patagoniaprovisions.com/pages/unbroken-ground

We recently had the pleasure of Joining Chris and his family for a viewing of Unbroken Ground, followed with a Q&A on the journey he took during the film. The event, hosted by The Ecology Center of San juan Capistrano, California, brought the local community together for a sampling of food harvested onsite and a think-tank on how ‘we,’ as a community, can adapt our habits (eating and purchasing) to support regenerative-food production while restoring the environment.  

But even more important, is the reality that farmers, fishermen, landowners, store owners, and consumers can all share the benefits associated with ‘smart’ eating choices that benefit ‘our’ planet. We salute Chris, his mindset and his effort to bring like-minded people together for the cause.

The Takeaway

You don’t need to go big to have an impact. And you certainly don’t need to be extraordinary to find success in the long run. Instead, approach your work and relationships with a mindset that *hovers just above*, one that motivates you to always give *a little extra effort* and *delivers just a bit more* than what’s expected. Small goes a long way. This is the sweet spot we can all find with the designing north mindset, a simple way of thinking beyond mediocrity and meeting expectations that rewards those who adopt it entirely. In essence, when looking to impress clients, don’t be what occurs most; be a permanent reference point for what is desired. You won’t be forgotten.

*designing north* : it’s not a location, it’s a mindset.

The take-away feeling an end user records from an experience in a digital environment reigns supreme. With almost any product or service accessible via wifi and a connected device, user behavior is most accurately analyzed with patterns of interaction between people and technology devices. In fact, many people spend a significant portion of their day “glued” to mobile screens (for the average consumer, that’s 5 hours per day), scanning social accounts, browsing trends, visualizing their ideal self and inevitably measuring digital self-worth.

Equally important, people search for answers to difficult life-questions using digital experiences as validation. And they are convinced by their findings, certain their devices (and someone else’s experience) confirm reality. Whether this is good or bad, it supports the idea that people can arrive at sensible conclusions upon interacting with well-designed digital touchpoints — websites, web apps, and mobile apps.

With this understanding of the digital world, we believe the described experiences increasingly influence the way a person thinks about the following four questions:

Who do you want to be in life?

What do you want to do?

What makes you happy?

What is your passion?

Referring to younger generations (ahem… millennials and gen z), people commonly learn about their “authentic” desires through research conducted on a smartphone, often dreaming vicariously over project photos or videos shared by someone with a “purposeful” occupation/existence. Ultimately, these experiences influence the discovery phase for both students and young working adults:

What do you want to study?

What school do you want to attend?

What career path do you want to pursue?

What company do you want to work for?

John Richardson, an adjunct professor at the University of Ottawa and head of English at Ashbury College reiterates that “Technology is less intentional and more intuitive for 32% of the population, and their social skills are morphing into a hybrid of technology and face-to-face contact” — therefore, solutions must be designed to reflect these nuances.

Most importantly, if digital thresholds have become the gateway for self-discovery, we (as journey crafters) want to further examine this same process in order to support young people in making better (well-informed) choices about their education and career. We repeatedly talk about the rising costs of attending universities and how difficult it is to correlate a degree with success — or passion with career prosperity — in the real world. And it’s time we further examine the many options already being touted as the future of learning, the ones that have been available for years and may simply be in need of experienced and strategic UX designers to better craft their purpose and impact for developing generations.

Believe in the User and Their Experience

It’s time we embrace the inherent superficial value of digital and social media as a life-advice tool — our pixel reality — that empowers people to believe in themselves, explore new opportunities, and provide constant reinforcement through it’s craftily designed feedback loop: claps, likes, shares, comments, or “You have to see this!”

While watching the ‘Astrology’ episode of the Netflix series, Explained, scientists and current astrologists presented data supporting the idea that something doesn’t need to be real in order to have real effects — sorta like social media. It’s called the placebo effect, and it states: “The belief in something can be enough for it to work.”

In fact, further research proves that many people admittedly know they are taking “the fake pill” (or accepting an absence of the real thing) yet still record a positive effect.

Feel better faster with the reassuring words from the doc; a bit of wishful thinking, don’t you think? Not quite. A new study conducted by Stanford University revealed the true power of believing in a positive outcome: healing. The study, published by Alia Crum, assistant professor of psychology at Stanford University’s School of Humanities and Sciences, hints at the use of the placebo effect beyond pills. Healthcare providers, in this case, significantly reduced healing times of allergic reaction patients using encouraging words about recovery times.

As you can see, if the effect (and affect) is in our minds, and belief is enough to inspire realness, companies should be more willing to support UX designers and more importantly, the UX process. UX practitioners craft journeys that empower people to be moved: students to personalize their education, workers to develop their professional path. All according to what people want, feel, and most importantly, believe.

Academics, careers and finances; these are key factors every student should consider before making one of the most important decisions of their lives: what college to attend and what career to pursue. But how does a developing adult gather the key information required to make sound choices on such weighted subjects? e believe personalized digital experiences can have a profound impact on a person’s choices, leading to greater feelings of success and ultimately happiness.

‘Money’s Build Your Own Rankings’ tool is a great example: it enables prospective students — and parents — to quickly adjust their needs (the input) and receive a research-supported list of schools and programs best suited for their life (the output). Not only does this provide simplicity, it reduces the frustration felt by those who truly don’t have the time and resources to independently identify their best options.

Good Design and Passion for the Problem

Considering the obstacles students and institutions currently face (affordability, location, academic preparedness, program choices, etc.), Designing North Studios recognizes that addressing these challenges with good design solutions is also really good business.

As the previous Director of Web Communications & Branding at Stanford Law School, Lisa Peacock (Designing North Studios’ Executive Creative Director) has been thinking about this for years, and was asked to  develop a tool for law students while at Stanford: SLS Navigator. This web app enables students to not only find courses offered at the law school based on their area of law interest, but across the entire university as well. It also suggests journals to reference, blogs to read, influencers to follow, and in some instances connects them with alumni who work day-to-day in those areas. The real stand-out feature, is that it also helps the students to ‘cover their bases’ – if they can’t decide between criminal law and corporate law, the app shows them courses they can take that work for both (just in case). That saves students from not heading down one wrong path, or delaying graduation because they didn’t take the right courses. What a concept, right? When asked about the project, Lisa had this to share:

“I think that every school should have something like this. I started with the following premise: what do I want to be when I grow up? Then you can take courses, read things, follow people, etc. that might cover various paths — so when you finally decide on a specific path, you’ve at least made some initial broad decisions that still count towards graduation and your focus.”

Simple, user friendly, and results oriented, SLS Navigator is still relevant ten years after its inception, and remains a testament to the positivity felt from good, inclusive design. Additionally, as it pertains to the student experience, let’s acknowledge that the process involved in choosing an education and career path must always account for the evolving needs of a digital-savvy (not dependent) generation.

The amount of data at our fingertips today is unprecedented, and what better way to use this information then design solutions to reduce uncertainty for students burdened with life choices: what school to attend, what career to pursue, where to live, and how much to spend. In a way, this approach embraces the art of paying it forward — helping the people who society will eventually rely on to create positive change in the future.

At this very moment, designers, scientists, and educators are looking for new ways to collaborate, with the vision that all students will eventually feel empowered to personalize their campus — or virtual — experience. As a design studio, it’s our goal to simplify the digital matrix of tools, processes, and lingo which serve as a means to this vision, while crafting thoughtful experiences for everyone involved. It’s what we love to do.

As a boy growing up in the 60’s, the vision of leather-clad bikers whose only nod to safety was an apparent paper machè helmet, pushing their bikes to seemingly interstellar limits filled me with intrigue and abject terror. I never found the grease and dirt of the ‘Rockers’ to be that appealing. In fact, I was more attracted to the clean-cut ‘Mods,’ but motorcycles in all of their stripped bare glory were the things of wonder. I marveled at the riders’ willingness to take a perfectly fine Triumph Trophy and pull bits off of it in a quest to drop weight. I was in awe of their nonchalant chopping, welding, and improvising to achieve that ‘ton-up’ machine.

However, I was too young, too broke, and too scared that I’d indelibly change the motorcycle to get beyond a dream.

The term “Ton-Up Boy” may have been lost to the ages. It defined a rank assigned to young men who straddled stripped down, borderline Burlesque British bikes and hurtled themselves towards (and often beyond) the magic 100 mph through the streets of London. Blurred streaks of black leather, dripping grease and belching smoke in a race from the Ace Cafe to the to Hanger Lane roundabout and back–to a plate of egg and chips.

The Project

Skip forward many years of owning and riding motorcycles, acquiring mechanical and technical knowledge that could at least get me started from the side of the road (pending inevitable failure), and my thoughts returned to the ‘Ton-Up’ dream. Obviously achieving the magical “ton” nowadays is less of an accomplishment than putting your underwear on correctly, but locating a motorcycle that resembled the “ton up” machines of my youth provided a happy challenge. And building one was, to me at least, the final act after years spent gluing plastic model kits together.  

I spent some months scouring the internet for information on building a Cafe Racer. There’s a lot of info, I mean shit loads, and determining the best advice whether it was written by Jethro the hammer wielding yokel or Slick Jimmy’s Custom Foot Peg Emporium was a significant task. Companies like Ryca Motors sell awesome kits for you to quickly create your dream Cafe Racer but I wasn’t ready for anything remotely as professional just yet. I eventually pulled enough information together to create a vision of my project bike and how I might achieve it.

Fortune came my way via my good friend Rey Sotelo of Hollister Power Sports. I purchased an Indian Chief Vintage from Rey a few years back and never regretted the decision. Rey knew I was in the market for a donor bike and offered me a deal on older Triumph Legend TT, which had been received on a trade-in. A sit-up-and-beg cruiser wasn’t the most obvious donor choice for my cafe racer project but it was cheap so it meant that I didn’t care if my hammering, slashing and slobbering screwed the bike into oblivion. At a minimum I would gain some experience and most importantly, confidence.

So without a blueprint, clear project plan, or 50% of the tools I needed, I set about transforming a 1999 Triumph Cruiser into a rat-stripped Cafe Racer for my own sheer indulgence and pleasure.

The Build

Not only did the internet (kudos to Jethro) provide great project information, but without it I would never have been able to find the parts and equipment I needed for the build (what the hell did we do before Tim Berners Lee?). I am still blown away that I can lounge on the sofa and surf a catalog of parts from 2WheelPros.com or find assembly diagrams at Pandoras, hit a button and a friendly delivery service drops the bits at my door. Without companies like Texavina who not only hand made my new saddle but most importantly had the originally seat pan models to ensure a ‘true’ fit, I would have been screwed.

Skip forward again a few months and while I don’t think the bike will ever truly be finished, I do have a working manifestation of the vision I set out to achieve. It’s never going to be a concours d’elegance entry (even for my pre-industrial revolution eye it’s a bit rough around the edges), but it’s a rideable accomplishment that I would sooner massage my nether regions with a cheese grater than wind it up to the magic ton, but it runs and looks good enough and I did it on my own. Now what?

The Purpose: Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. And The Movember Foundation is the largest funder of prostate cancer programs in the world. Additionally, prostate cancer only affects men, as women do not have a prostate gland. Risk factors in developing the disease include:

Age: The older a man, the more likely he is to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. If you’re 50 or over, chat with your doctor about PSA testing.

Family History : A man with a father or brother who developed prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease. If you’re 45 or over and prostate cancer is in your family, you should strike up the conversation about PSA testing with your doctor.

Ethnicity: Prostate cancer has an increased occurrence in men of African and Afro-Caribbean descent.

For more information on prostate cancer including symptoms, testing, treatment options, and support resources, head over to the ‘men’s health’ section on Movember.com.

The Purpose: Suicide Prevention

3 out of 4 suicides are men. And 510,000 men die from suicide globally each year — That’s one every minute. This has to change.

The causes of suicide are complex. There’s no single reason why men take their own lives, but we do know that by improving overall mental health we can reduce the risk of suicide. We need to address untreated mental health conditions among men.

Too many men are toughing it out and struggling alone. There’s no shame in checking in your own mental wellbeing, and those close to around you. Our friends over at Movember have produced some handy guides that might help take the sting out of broaching the subject.

The Goal: Ride my Bike and Make a Difference

Early in 2018 I read about the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. A group of “…distinguished gentlefolk in over 650 cities worldwide will don their cravats, tustle their ties, press their tweed, and sit astride their classic and vintage styled motorcycles to raise funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and men’s mental health.” To date, the Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride has raised $4.85 million to support these causes while looking good at the same time.

Now I’ll admit that I’ve been a Mumford & Sons fan since first seeing them appear with Bob Dylan and the Avett Brothers at the 2011 Grammy’s, so the perhaps tenuous tie-in between the well-heeled motorcyclists of DGR, the Mumford-esque feel of the event and Marcus Mumford’s own passion for bikes prompted me to actually do something with my new creation (the Cafe Racer). I have almost convinced myself that I built the bike for such an event. It looks like it was made for it. This shabby, half-arsed project might just complete its life by actually doing some good. This wasn’t something I set out to do. Shit, my only intention was to build a rad bike. But in realizing a worthy end to the project it both closes the build and opens a door to give hope for someone, somewhere, to live longer. And I feel damn good about that. I know it’s not the intention, but it feels a little like I’ll be supporting this great cause and simultaneously fulfilling my Cafe-Racer dream while dressed up as Don Draper.

Pretentious? perhaps.

But if you want to show your support for a well intentioned Mumford-biker-wanna-be then please donate here: https://www.gentlemansride.com/rider/NigelPeacock

Story by: Nigel Peacock

A collaborative relationship using agile methodology among digital designers and developers can ultimately be the biggest factor separating a good final product from one that is great. Of course, this perspective assumes both teams are authentically agile, and embrace the Agile mindset using Agile strategies — yes, Agile is equal parts culture and lifestyle. All or nothing. Traditionally, using the same word four times in one sentence would be considered excessive; however, in the digital environment, designers and developers must be agile and do Agile, embracing the word as both an adjective and noun.

Adaptability, pace, and continuous improvement are often the words spoken when describing the advantages of using agile methodologies for development teams. And on a similar note, a UX practitioner might be heard describing their process as incremental and iterative with a focus on thoughtful features requiring sprints. In both instances, there’s an understanding that the customer must be heard and the end-user must be happy.

So, although differences between these two departments exist, each having slightly different needs (such as constant communication among developers versus time for research required by designers), a partnership with shared goals is most conducive to fostering the agile environment. Most important, we believe UX designers and developers can occupy the same sandbox in harmony, creating a much more productive environment than if they were separated. Reviewing the thoughts and advice presented by industry experts, we have identified the most important factors to consider when integrating design and development teams in an agile environment. This is how both teams can subscribe to Agile:

Co-design and Co-create

Participatory design, as it is referred to within the design community, describes the act of stakeholders designing with one another rather than in separate silos. An important detail for truly agile teams, this shared or co-design activity serves to meet the needs of end-users and most importantly, guarantees that solutions are usable and rewarding.

However, a nuance of co-design as it relates to cultivating an agile environment, practitioners should bring developers into the design process and developers return the favor for designers. Similar to making smart financial investments, designers can approach co-design (participatory design) with a give-a-little-get-a-lot mentality. By sharing important details, explaining their significance, and proving their value, designers can set the tone for inclusivity on most projects.

Co-creation on the other hand, the act of bringing people together for a mutually inclusive outcome, is critical to the modern agile team of designers and developers. In essence, this concept emphasizes that design and development should happen simultaneously, with both teams sharing responsibilities and working in unison for a more valuable outcome. A transformative experience for agile teams, co-creation motivates project members to be involved in each others work. And that’s the secret sauce. The more developers believe that designers are listening to capabilities of the technology, the more engaged they will be when receiving requirements — the fruit of user research and customer journeys.

As the agile development cycle illustrates, design and development shouldn’t happen in succession. These two teams of practitioners should place equal importance on planning, research, design and development, ultimately allowing them to successfully co-design and co-create — the embodiment of interaction over process.

Flexibility for All

A collaborative relationship between digital designers and developers, one that embraces agility, is dependent on everyone embracing the art of showing flexibility. Unlike waterfall methodology, agile values interaction over process, forgoing strict rules to allow for continuous iteration and change. Of course, some processes still exists in the form of research. Both designers and developers should “have the ability to respond gracefully to change,” says the Norman Nielsen Group.

The truth is, if just one person rejects this mindset the team and therefore company is not truly agile. This is often a common misconception made by both internal and external stakeholders; it’s either all in or not in at all. Therefore, for modern technology organizations or digital design firms where the design and development teams live under one roof or in close proximity, project success is largely determined on everyone’s ability to expect, anticipate, and invite change.

Through the lens of a UX professional designing in a healthy agile environment,

“Flexibility is dictated by how comfortable developers are with UX designers working ahead of sprints, especially on user-research and thoughtful design ideas,”

says Lisa Peacock, Executive Creative Director of Designing North Studios. “Being in-sync doesn’t necessarily mean working at the same pace; teams can still be on the same page when designers gather optimal information and data to effectively report back to DevOps.”

Similarly, flexibility also represents designers’ efforts to respect managed task lists and development timelines, as well as having mindfulness towards how many iterations are too many. Additionally, agile teams outperform the rest when they “win” at the game of trust. Of course, designers must understand that trust is earned not granted.

UX professionals are at the mercy of the user but wouldn’t have it any other way. The user-above-all-else mindset is one that values research, real-world testing, and solutions-crafting to make experiences pleasant and memorable, especially for digital products. Although this mindset is largely driven by creativity, important processes exist to uncover key requirements for the project, and designers should validate these requirements with developers using transparency. Supporting sentiments from the Nielsen Norman Group express that “UX professionals must rigorously validate design ideas, improve them, and communicate that rigor to the rest of the team in an honest and approachable way to gain developers’ trust.”     

The User is the ‘North Star’

Agile teams that seamlessly integrate both UX practitioners and developers wholeheartedly believe in the power of the user. In other words, their work evolves with the end-user at the center, from beginning to end. This inherently adds immense value to the groundwork a UX designer is accountable for: user-research and user-testing.

Many industry professionals fail to recognize that UX design is more scientific theory with well over 20 years of practice behind its title. In fact, the UX community should be looked at as a body of knowledge in its own right that is approached with well tested theory and dedicated practice. From a client’s perspective, it’s not easy to differentiate between all designers while identifying exactly what expertise they need for their project. And often, this is true for developers as well. This explains why a large number of predominantly visual designers (or UI designers) have filled the gap in supply and demand with a quick transition into the UX field. Unlike teams that “get UX,” teams that don’t do agile well will likely fall into this trap and ultimately serve up a biased solution to a real and complex user problem.

A team of UX designers and developers thriving in an agile environment views user behavior as a framework, mindset, and strategy. They measure their work in unison with data to ensure that final products are best for users rather than a reflection of what one person assumed to be the best solution. And like all good things in life, the balanced application of UX knowledge is viewed as a principle rather than input on thriving teams. Any potential gaps between design and development are quickly filled by finding common ground — understanding of the user’s needs. Specifically, the acceptance that thoughtful and considerate design details are paramount to a great final product, and the time it takes to craft these details respects the speed required to remain agile. As a good mother says often, “everything in moderation.” This couldn’t be more true when weighing time constraints versus the need for thoughtful details.

The simple truth is that digital products are most useful when UX and development teams effectively operate with each other, embracing the agile mindset. A key factor to all digital solutions: specialists are needed when building complicated things. More specific to our discussion on thriving agile teams, specialists should understand and embrace each other’s work and most importantly, want to work together for the greater good of the end-user. With the right people in place and the right leadership to guide these people, the critical factors of speed, efficiency, and detail can in fact exist harmoniously. So, as it stands today, agile environments most conducive to long-term success are defined by co-creation, flexibility, and a user-centric approach. If your team is currently in the process of applying agile or wants to understand what techniques should be used, these core factors offer a great starting point for integrating the complex roles among practitioners.