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Think + Do » an exploration of mission-driven marketing and design

Meet the Team: John Visser

Published on April 14, 2021 by Dan Woychick

Since I assemble project teams depending on a client’s unique needs, I have the good fortune of working with a wide variety of talented people. This is the first in a series of interviews with collaborators I have enjoyed working with over the years.

John Visser is an experienced web developer known for being a reliable, approachable professional, and a tenacious problem solver. He has a keen interest in how people use web technologies, and has created digital solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, and nonprofit organizations.

John bridges the gap between thinking like a designer, a developer, and a client, which makes him a pleasure to work with. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

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You graduated college with a degree in Developmental Psychology. How did you end up building websites?

I’ve had a life-long interest in computers, starting back to when I was 10 and attended programming classes at the local Radio Shack in Seattle. I took a break as a teenager when I discovered music and girls, but then while at college I started hearing about this “World Wide Web” and something stirred inside me. This was 1994, so it was very much in its infancy, but I saw the potential. While finishing college I taught myself HTML, Perl, Photoshop, and other tools of the trade, making several websites just as a hobby.

Do you remember any of your earliest websites?

My “15 minutes of fame” came when I created the very first website about British author C. S. Lewis, which gained quite a following, won several of those early web awards, and drew the attention of HarperCollins Publishers— who gave me my very first paid project as a web developer in 1995.

Does any of your psychology education apply to the work you’re doing today?

Any time you work with people, you’re dealing with human behavior. Whether you’re building trust with a new client, discussing the details of a project, or resolving client concerns, the ability to recognize a personality type is helpful when preparing an approach.

How long have you been working independently?

I’ve been self-employed since 2000. My employer wanted me to move to Utah, which simply wasn’t an option, so they let me go. After discussing it with my family, it was decided that we’d take our child out of daycare and I’d be a stay-at-home dad. I took on projects to work on at night, slowly learning the ropes of being a business owner and building a reputation.

Side note: the 4 years I spent as a stay-at-home dad were some of the best years of my life.

As you know, working “independently” means working collaboratively. What makes for a good website-building team?

Communication. I’ve worked with all sorts of folks of varying skill levels and personalities, and without clear communication of objectives, scope, and timeline, a project can go pear-shaped very quickly. A sense of humor helps quite a bit as well.

From a client’s perspective, what is the most valuable thing you bring to the table?

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I guess you can say that I have a knack for breaking down concepts into digestible pieces, and am able to explain technical things in a way that others can understand. I don’t like leaving clients in the dark — I’m all about educating them and presenting solutions in a way that empowers them so they’re feeling confident during the decision-making process.

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What is the least understood or least appreciated part of your job?

It’s sometimes difficult for folks to understand exactly what I do, since so much of the work is quietly hiding behind a website’s design. And honestly, that’s okay. The design presents the message, and people aren’t really supposed to consider the rest of it — a website should just work. The pages should load quickly, the links should all go where intended, it should look good on all devices, and you shouldn’t get an error when filling out the contact form or making a purchase. It’s only when that isn’t the case that you’re left contemplating whose fault it is.

Do you only work in WordPress? What is it you like about that platform?

WordPress is the only content management system I work with, but I also can build websites without a CMS. I like WordPress because it’s search-engine friendly, adaptable, customizable, and takes a sizable bite out of the nitty gritty when needing robust features like e-commerce. It also makes it really easy for a client to update the content on their website without needing to know any code.

How has the pandemic changed you – or what you do for a living?

As work slowed down a bit for me, it provided an opportunity for me to focus a little more on putting together a WordPress maintenance package for my clients. It’s been well-received, too, since it takes a lot of the daily/weekly/monthly headaches away from them as I take care of all the routine backups, software updates, and optimizations.

What is something you miss that surprises you?

I miss the in-person interactions with clients and collaborators. I used to do a lot of one-on-one networking at local coffee shops. The first year I moved to Minnesota I met with over 120 people in order to get my name out. Not too shabby for an introvert.

I know you love music, play the ukulele, and sing. Do you find any similarities between what you enjoy about music and developing websites?

No, I find them almost polar opposites. Web development doesn’t really allow for a creative outlet, and music is all about expression. Music is free-flowing, which I find relaxing, as opposed to having to mind the strict syntax of code, which can really wind you up tight sometimes if you don’t have some kind of “yin to the yang,” so to speak.

How may people contact you?

Website | Twitter | [email protected] | 612 . 787 . 2065

Lessons in Brand Improvisation

Published on March 25, 2021 by Dan Woychick

At the conclusion of an assignment to revitalize a client’s brand, I will often deliver a set of guidelines. Brand guides serve as a reference – a map – to help internal staff maintain the consistency and integrity of all marketing and communications.

In addition to documenting the various logo configurations, colors, and typography, there is usually a section that highlights what not to do. It simultaneously illustrates and warns against the most common pitfalls of the do-it-yourselfer, while also serving as a plea from the designer: “Please don’t f*** up all our hard work!”

Setting and maintaining standards is a good idea. They serve as a valuable foundation and establish a level of expectation: “Our marketing should always be this good.”

But, as my mom used to say: “Always is a long time.”

Setting the floor

If brand implementation receives ongoing support and attention – with an organization’s leaders making it a clear priority – then brand guidelines can help extend and elevate this work. The quality and consistency should improve immediately, and remain a cut above with careful cultivation.

Similarly, the growth and popularity of easy-to-use website templates points to the desire to make a good impression online. Why reinvent the wheel when I can just choose from a limited menu of options and build something that works?

In essence, both brand guidelines and off-the-shelf websites ensure a level of professional competence. They set the floor.

The best-laid plans

Be prepared, the Cub Scout motto implores. There is wisdom in planning for success.

I was thinking about the value of planning last week as I listened to Cautionary Tales, a podcast that tells true stories about mistakes and what we should learn from them. One episode focuses on the art of public speaking, contrasting the preparation and performance of Martin Luther King Jr. and Gerald Ratner, a successful British businessman.

King was known for his meticulous preparation and practice, refining his sermons for hours before preaching from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church. And yet, at the March on Washington, Dr. King abandoned his prepared remarks and improvised the words that became famous – his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.

Ratner, who turned a small retailer into a multimillion-dollar business, sunk his entire empire with his off-the-cuff remarks as a guest speaker in front of an audience of colleagues and journalists.

So the fateful question is: When should you stick to the script, and when should you improvise?

Reading the room

Martin Luther King was well-prepared on that day in 1963, but as he began to speak he could feel that the words were not meeting the moment. He felt his audience needed something more, and he deviated from his script.

Gerald Ratner, who came from a working class background, was considered something of an outsider by those in his audience. He was well-prepared as well, but tried to ingratiate himself to his high-powered audience by making jokes at his low-brow customers’ expense.

The first lesson of improvising is understanding the audience – from its engagement, response, and other contextual clues. Can you read the room, the thinking, and the mood of those for whom – and with whom – you are playing?

Miles Davis once explained his approach to jazz improv as creating the “freedom and space to hear things.” That phrase is instructive. It’s about listening to what the other instruments are doing, and how the audience is responding in the moment – as in a conversation.

Raising the ceiling

Maybe a high-floor, low-ceiling brand execution is the best you can hope to sustain. You could do much worse (and many do). Guidelines provide the solid foundation for a brand, and you really need to understand the rules before you can break them.

In order to soar beyond the ordinary, take some advice from Miles Davis:

“Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.”

Sheet music is like the guidelines for a song. It allows others to understand what notes are used in what order and at what tempo. But it’s a starting point.

The best brands allow for interpretation – variations on a theme. No one wants to hear a one-note song. Guidelines establish parameters, but also provide brand managers the tools and room to play, which extends the life and success of the brand.

“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”

Like getting a new haircut or rearranging the furniture in your home, a brand launch provides a jolt of energy. Even if you love it immediately, it will become more refined and more comfortable as you live with it. Building brand equity – and the skills to manage a brand – takes time. Consider both a work in progress.

“Do not fear mistakes. There are none.”

Nobody is perfect and, thankfully, few mistakes are fatal. If you give yourself permission to make lots of small bets, to try new things, you and your brand will continue to grow.

Experience and practice helps create the space to hear and see opportunities – to engage your audience, to pivot as needed, to evolve and try new things. If you want a brand that really swings, keep improvising.

Time is On Your Side

Published on March 5, 2021 by Dan Woychick

In the 1950s, Brooks Stevens, an American industrial designer, first urged advertisers and designers to embrace the idea of planned obsolescence by “instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary.”

And while critics may complain about product quality, the perpetually discontented consumer has enthusiastically supported the practice, racking up debt and producing waste at an alarming rate. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is alive and well.

Fast forward 60+ years, and it should come as no surprise that the desire for newer, faster, and better extends beyond the products we buy to our every waking moment.

One of the most finite resources in the world is human attention. Time is always slipping away – you will never get back the 40 seconds it took to read this far – and the competition for our attention has never been more fierce.

Built to last?

Gerry McGovern, an advocate for designing simpler digital experiences, started a discussion on Twitter by observing:

In all the web design meetings I’ve been in over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say: “How do we design this to last.” It’s just assumed there will be a redesign every 2-3 years. Why? Why is that assumed?

I can confirm that there is very little I have been asked to design that doesn’t have a relatively short expected lifespan, whether it be in print or online.

But the need to constantly feed social media channels has created a relatively new commodity – digital content – that frantically attempts to captivate short attention spans. McGovern again:

If there’s one thing digital has done, it is to explode the creation and production of digital stuff. It requires herculean efforts to focus on quality in a digital environment because digital tools are so relentlessly focused on quantity. Digital feeds and accelerates a culture of waste.

Rewiring – or overwhelming – our brains

Most people would acknowledge that the constant barrage of messages and stimulation has shortened attention spans, decreased patience, and undermined our ability to focus.

Some scientists believe human brains will adapt. But true multitasking – at least with the brains we’ve got – is a myth. When you pay attention to one thing, you ignore something else. If you think you are multitasking, you are actually just switching rapidly between tasks. The human brain cannot perform two tasks that require high-level brain function at the same time.

OK – so marketing may not require high-level brain function – but the point is that there are those who see consumers’ very limited attention as something both valuable and disposable. You didn’t respond to this image? How about this one? Or this one?

Keep it coming until something sticks.

Quantity over quality

In a digital environment that is almost entirely focused on quantity, many experts will insist that “if you want to do it right” you must join the arms race to capture your audience’s attention. More! More! More!

If you have the staff resources to play that game, by all means, be my guest. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. For most mission-driven organizations, with staff stretched thin, this game is going to feel more like a hamster running on a wheel – a lot of exercise without getting anywhere.

Howard Rheingold, an influential writer and thinker on social media, points out that more mindful use of digital media means thinking about what we are doing, “Attention is a limited resource, so pay attention to where you pay attention.”

And that applies both to consumption – and creation – of digital design.

The long game

Taking a more mindful, zen-like approach to your marketing and design is not a call to surrender, but to re-evaluate the day-to-day tactics you are engaged in now. Is that itch to “do something” a response to your audience and what they need or want from you? Or is that your own short attention span calling?

There is no quick fix. Setting aside the flashy launch, branding is all about building equity over time. It requires the discipline to exceed expectations – again and again. That’s how you shape perceptions, build trust, and increase engagement.

Let the calm confidence of doing less, but more meaningful, work wash over you, grasshopper. You will capture more attention, and create more value, by altering your time frame – and produce less disposable design in the process.

Demolition Day

Published on February 4, 2021 by Dan Woychick

About ten years ago, we remodeled the kitchen in our home. The upgrade created a better floor plan, more storage, more natural light, and another space to eat or do homework. In order to keep costs under control, we agreed to take on some of the work ourselves.

The first order of business was to demolish the old kitchen. Cue the sledgehammers! It was kind of fun for a day or two, but I wouldn’t want to do demo work all the time. We were most definitely the “unskilled labor” in that equation.

Every act of creation is first an act of destruction. – Pablo Picasso

Sometimes we need to let go of the past to move forward. Sometimes maintaining the status quo is an untenable position. And sometimes we are dragged kicking and screaming against our will to a new reality.

Because demolition is a necessary but blunt instrument, transitions can be painful as they push us beyond our comfort zones. Uncertainty replaces the familiar. One thing I’ve come to appreciate more over the last few years is that we are always in a state of transition. It’s just that sometimes we are more acutely aware of the sands shifting around us.

Ready. Fire. Aim.

There is a certain swashbuckling ethos that defines the titans of Silicon Valley, neatly summarized in Mark Zuckerberg’s directive to his Facebook developers: “Move fast and break things.”

This guiding principle – the need to experiment and make mistakes as the fastest way to learn and move forward – is widely accepted as a creative necessity.

But it can also blind companies (and individuals) to the unintended consequences of their destruction if no one is asking: “Is what we are creating good for customers? Is it good for society? Or is it only good for us?”

Who owns your personal data?

Over the past few weeks, Facebook has been very publicly at odds with Apple over its new privacy tool, which lets you choose which apps can see and share your data.

Facebook contends that Apple’s new policy will change the internet for the worse, reducing the availability of “high-quality free content.” If adopted widely, it also dramatically alters Facebook’s ability to make money off its users’ data.

As most savvy consumers should know by now – if the product is free, then you are the product. And most people seem to be fine with that … most of the time.

In a recent speech marking International Data Privacy Day, Apple CEO Tim Cook said:

“Technology does not need vast troves of personal data stitched together across dozens of websites and apps in order to succeed. Advertising existed and thrived for decades without it, and we’re here today because the path of least resistance is rarely the path of wisdom.”

“If a business is built on misleading users on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, then it does not deserve our praise. It deserves reform.”

While large companies debate business models, the rest of us are left with a broken system.

An opportunity to fix things

As the global pandemic unfolds in America, it has revealed a number of dysfunctional systems in stark relief. From emergency preparedness, to health care access, fragmented and biased media, to racial inequality – we are a long way from a more equitable and perfect union.

We can no longer pretend that the “move fast and break things” model comes without a cost.

While it’s easier to tear things down than to build them up, this moment represents an opportunity to regroup and start building a better future.

Imagining a post-pandemic world

So what does all this have to do with design and marketing for mission-driven organizations? I can see at least three potential ways that this could (or should) affect your point of view and plans going forward:

What will digital marketing look like in a few years? If a majority of people choose to control their personal data, then the ability to target and reach customers online becomes much more difficult – and more expensive. How might you earn your customers’ trust – and permission to engage them – in a way that’s mutually beneficial?
The practice of human-centered design should continue to grow. Human-centered design is a creative approach to solving complex problems. It involves investigation, conversations, prototypes, and an iterative process to develop empathy with the people you are designing for – to create better long-term solutions.
Related to the previous point, but deserving its own focus, we need to include and work with more people who don’t look like us, people who come from different backgrounds and life experiences. Whether it’s been intentional or not, subtle or overt, too many people have been excluded from creating a more just and equitable world.

It’s unlikely that the pace of change will slow. Things are going to get broken. You can’t make a cake without breaking a few eggs, as they say. But what can change is our willingness and diligence to consider the consequences – to acknowledge and mitigate the destruction as we create new systems that serve all of us.

Conversations with Quarantined Creatives

Published on July 14, 2020 by Dan Woychick

Like the rest of the world, people in creative professions are experiencing stress right now. We are needing to figure out new ways of doing many things, but it can often feel like we have to do this all alone. While we cannot control the world around us, we can control how we respond.

This was the impetus for Conversations with Quarantined Creatives – a series of eight interviews with creative leaders around the country completed over the span of four weeks, from mid-April through early May. I wanted to learn how designers, photographers, and writers were adapting creatively to an entirely new set of constraints.

Then, as states slowly started loosening stay-at-home orders, the country experienced additional trauma with widespread protests, rioting, and anguished cries for systemic change in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by four Minneapolis police officers.

Looking back on these conversations, it almost seems like they happened a lifetime ago. Such has been the incredible pace of change and disruption this year. But there were several recurring themes throughout the series that I think resonate in good times or bad.

Launch the product

I awoke at 2:30 a.m. one morning in early April, a good three hours before my alarm, with the nearly fully formed concept for the series playing in my head. The fact that I had never recorded a conversation over Zoom mattered little. One week later I conducted my first interview. Given the fluid nature of life in quarantine, I felt an urgency to do this immediately. Other takeaways:

As Seth Johnson said in the very first episode: “If you want to learn something, you’ve got to make something.” If you think of your work as an endless series of prototypes, not a polished or finished product, your knowledge will continue to grow.
Constraints encourage creativity. Whether it was bouncing the light of a desk lamp off the wall for better video quality, rigging up a “green screen” with poster board and duct tape, or editing raw video for a tighter conversation, figuring out how best to play the cards you’re dealt is a valuable skill.
Don’t wait. Or as the author C.S. Lewis put it, “The only people who achieve much are those who want something so badly that they seek it while conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions may never come.”

The need for community

There are very few meaningful ventures that can be considered solo expeditions. The interdisciplinary nature of design, and the way it is being integrated into companies of all sizes, highlights the fact that creative work doesn’t exist in a vacuum.

We can’t do this on our own. Community support flattens the learning curve, whether that’s building a personal network or playing well with others on a multi-faceted team. Humility, curiosity, and the willingness to ask questions are key skills.
There is one collective story. The resilience of marginalized communities, while admirable, shouldn’t be the goal. For a community to work well, and truly be equitable, we need to hear from and include everyone.
Increased connection. Counter-intuitively, for some people, stay-at-home orders actually eliminated or reduced barriers to participation and collaboration – whether for virtual events, group discussions, or video podcasts.

Doing less

Being forced – or choosing – to slow down provides opportunity to reflect, recharge, and examine whether the way we spend our time honors what we value most.

Everything takes longer. Whether going to the grocery store, writing a paragraph, or planning a photo shoot, distractions and workarounds turn mastered tasks into adventures.
The need for self care. The pandemic has strained our physical and mental health with an onslaught of information, uncertainty, and precautions. It’s exhausting! Be kind to yourself and others.
Stress can illuminate your purpose. As Terry Marks noted, hard times tend to help prioritize the things, people, and work that matter most to you.

The value of creative adaptation

Creative professionals – by the nature of the work we do – are more accustomed than many to defining and adapting to problems while generating new solutions. Fortunately, most creative people have been able to continue working safely from home – at least in some capacity.

But the pandemic has exposed how many systems in this country are broken, or at least not working as well as they could or should – systems that should be redesigned. As life becomes more unpredictable, those who adopt a culture of learning will fare better than those who rely on existing knowledge to survive.

Creativity – and conversations – are needed now more than ever.

The series

Seth Johnson – We Can’t Do It on Our Own

Ashleigh Axios – Don’t Be Afraid to be Different

Terry Marks – All Will be Well

Marq Mervin – Advocacy for Everybody

Nora McInerny – Still Kickin

Melanie G. S. Walby – Be Open to Change

Sergey & Sandi Grigoryan – Death to Ordinary

Julia Parris – Give Yourself Space to Evolve

Overcoming Fear

Published on July 28, 2018 by Dan Woychick

Terrorists. Security breaches. A global pandemic. Our media, entertainment, and political figures fixate on imminent perils to captivate audiences. Fear may be a great motivator, but unfortunately it tends to make us feel powerless rather than proficient.

Despite a focus on our (or their) shortcomings, we live in a time of unmatched abundance and technological wizardry that dwarfs the wildest imagination. We have decoded the human genome, developed developed new sources of clean energy, and made advances in human rights. We carry hand-held computers that can map every location we visit, play every song we’ve ever heard, and show cat videos on an endless loop. We land a spacecraft on Mars and people yawn.

We should feel empowered by our triumphs against long odds and all manner of dangerous obstacles. One would think we’d be more optimistic about outcomes based on our successful track record. Why aren’t we brimming with confidence?

The missing ingredient
Some people just have that “it” factor. In the boardroom, on the big screen, or on our bookshelves, we gravitate to confidence. It may show itself in different ways. Confident people can be funny, smart, or kind, but they are all driven by a passionate belief in what they are doing. They seem fearless – willing to go, say, and do what others are too timid to try.

When developing an organization’s brand, we often talk in terms of brand personality. I guarantee that not one successful brand is aiming for mousy, ambivalent, or feeble.

A lack of confidence is one of the biggest shortcomings in marketing and communications for mission-driven organizations. Most work is cautious – competent not compelling – because few are willing to passionately say or demonstrate how amazing their organization really is.

The fear of making a mistake – the fear of standing out – is a real problem in an undifferentiated marketplace. Throw in myriad personal quirks and office politics and it’s evident there are obstacles to confidently crafting stories that connect with the hearts and minds of your audience.

Leading the engagement
Confidence can’t be faked. False bravado or arrogance make timidity look like a desirable character trait in comparison. But it can be earned through practice that reveals your passions and expertise.

Here are a few of the ingredients necessary to taking charge of an assignment, or better yet, being asked to lead the way.

Know your shit.
Confidence comes from experience – a depth of knowledge gained through studying and applying what you believe to be important and true. This choice is better than that one. It comes from taking calculated risks and recognizing that the world didn’t come to an end.

Be a generous guide.
When you seek services – a restaurant, a hotel, an auto mechanic, an accountant – you want to feel like you’re in good hands. Understanding the context of an assignment – using situational and emotional intelligence – enables leaders to develop empathy for others. This, in turn, builds trust.

Survey your options.
What is the worst-case scenario? The most confident people are able to reduce the risks of the unknown by believing – even if it’s not readily apparent – that they will find an acceptable fallback position if the first plan fails.

Narrow your target.
Confident leaders excel at sifting through ten pages of information and distilling it into one, taking five bullet points and cutting it to three. That ability to focus applies to your target audience as well. Defining and prioritizing your audiences and project goals is key to making better and more decisive choices.

Ask for what you want!
Whether you’re communicating with colleagues or your target audience, it’s surprising how often the “call to action” is overlooked or buried under the weight of competing priorities (see above). Nobody succeeds alone. If you believe in the value of the offer, you’re doing the audience a favor by clearly letting them know what to do next.

Attitude adjustment
Confidence is essential for changing the conversations around what we see, hear, feel and know to be true. Good designers and writers see a project’s potential, and tell powerful stories that inspire action. Mediocre marketing and design has none of that.

The most valuable thing a designer provides is not the creative product – a website, a logo, a publication. The most valuable thing a designer provides clients and colleagues is the confidence to move forward.

Mind the Gap

Published on June 15, 2018 by Dan Woychick

Politely but firmly, as any traveler boarding trains in London’s Underground can attest, an insistent female voice reminds passengers to pay attention to their surroundings. Unfortunately, there is no similarly effective system for urging those who work in non-profit organizations to “mind the gap” between the current and desired state of things.

Every night we ask our two boys to set the table as my wife or I prepare dinner. After the older boy asks “What are we having?” and the younger one distracts himself with the dog, almost invariably the conversation goes something like this: Is the table set? Yes. Everyone has forks? Yep. Did you set out cups? Uh-huh. Looking from the kitchen into the dining room, it appears both boys have cups but neither parent is so fortunate. Were you planning on giving your mom or me a cup? Oh! I didn’t know you wanted one.

Whether it’s due to existing organizational systems and culture, our education, or our job description, too often we find ourselves overmatched by the problems we’re asked to address. Hampered by a fixed-view, linear mindset, there is a gap between the problems we face and the skills we bring to bear in solving them – almost a planned obliviousness.

A dynamic environment
Few things exist in isolation. Sick people need doctors. Cars need fuel. And a flower needs sun, soil, water, bees, and an environment free of feet to stomp on it or tires to run it over. In all endeavors multiple factors affect one another, yet our response in the face of complexity has been to evolve into a collection of specialists where one hand doesn’t know what the other is doing. As the Epicurean Dealmaker observed:

As the body of scientific and technical knowledge swells exponentially, scientists and engineers by definition simply must become narrowly focused specialists. You cannot be effective as a scientist or engineer nowadays if your knowledge spans too broad a field.

He continues:

But who will aggregate and balance the competing viewpoints, suggestions, and research programs of all these specialists in highly complex microdomains? Who else but someone who has been rigorously educated in the general discipline of how to think, of how to evaluate competing claims and conflicting evidence under conditions of extreme uncertainty?

Who else but a designer?

Inconceivable
Before accusing me of being delusional, let me explain. Most people think of design as an act of creation. Among other things, designers make products, buildings, posters, and websites. But design is as much – if not more – about how we think than what we make.

If you had customers facing physical danger in the course of receiving your product or service, it’s safe to say that fixing this problem would be a priority. Less alarming, but similarly, if your website was difficult to navigate or your process for thanking volunteers was too slow, these might also be identified as problems worth solving.

These are all design problems. And, since design is part of everything we do, all of us have a stake in thinking like designers.

Recognizing patterns
Psychologists have long identified pattern recognition as essential to human intelligence. It’s the only way our powerful, but limited, brains can process massive amounts of stimuli. Imagine reading, playing chess, solving equations, or understanding human behavior – all rely on keen recognition of patterns.

The problem with relying only on specialists, is that the patterns they’ve learned can make it harder for them to consider and integrate new thinking. They know too much.

Design thinking is a structured approach to generating and developing ideas to meet a specific challenge. Fostering the conditions in which insider knowledge meets outsider perspective encourages the kinds of questions and breakthroughs that remain largely absent with a more insular approach.

Solving problems
What’s needed now, more than ever, is for recognition that “business as usual” is a pattern that doesn’t exist – the status quo is forever changing. We need specialists with their deep, but narrow, expertise to collaborate with less linear, more iterative thinkers – the designers in our midst. In other words, in an age of increasing specialization, we need to be paying attention to both the forest and the trees.

When that happens, we’ll make a regular habit of improving our organizations, not just our logos and websites, and eliminating the gaps between what exists and what is possible. As the web application developer and founder of 37Signals, Jason Fried, has said: The design is done when the problem goes away.

Seeking Expertise

Published on May 30, 2018 by Dan Woychick

During a recent conversation, a friend asked me “How do you get all your clients?” It got me thinking about the flip side of that equation: How do non-profit organizations search for and hire consultants or firms? More importantly, what can be done to ensure that they hire the right consultant?

While each organization has unique circumstances, based on our experience, taking the following approach offers the best chance for a successful collaboration.

Have a well-defined problem.
This has greater impact on the work than anything else. If the problem to be solved is unclear, the work will be too. Allowing time and budget for an experienced consultant to help refine the project brief leads to even greater clarity – and great work.

Be candid with prospective firms.
If an RFP must be issued, by all means include a budget. Providing complete responses to questions before proposals are submitted shows respect for others’ expertise and time, and indicates an interest in establishing a mutually beneficial relationship.

Hire the best expert you can afford.
Relevant experience and expertise matters. A consultant or firm is hired to solve a problem or seize an opportunity that the organization does not have the capability to address internally. What’s that worth? It depends how much a successful outcome will mean to the organization.

Define success.
Use objective, specific language to help both the consultant and internal team understand by what measure this project will be considered successful. All measures should be defined to allow acknowledgment of progress along the way to the ultimate goal.

Follow the leader.
Every project needs a champion with the authority to make decisions and the public, explicit backing of the organization’s leader. If you’ve watched much football, inevitably you’ve seen a close play at the goal line in which two officials run toward the ball carrier looking at each other without signaling a call. Your consultant needs to know who has the final say, and that person needs to be decisive.

When good intentions aren’t enough to address an organization’s toughest problems, it may be time to bring in someone to help. By following the steps above, the chance for a successful outcome will rise dramatically.

Touch Me

Published on April 24, 2018 by Dan Woychick

Underwater scene, showing different tropical fish swimming When you live in Minnesota, where we endured a record-breaking mid-April blizzard, social media feeds are regularly filled with friends’ vacation photos from exotic getaways. It’s not so much the severity of our winters, but the length, that inspire dreams of beaches and drinks with little umbrellas. But it’s not as good as actually being there. Not even close.

I recently returned from a spring break trip on the Mexican Riviera. We stayed in Puerto Morelos, a sleepy fishing village 25 minutes south of Cancun. While there, we spent one afternoon snorkeling along the reef about 400 meters from shore. The variety of fish and coral was spectacular – every shape, every size, every color – an extraordinary day.

You had to be there
If I owned an underwater camera, I could show you photos of our family swimming in what looked like a saltwater aquarium. But the images wouldn’t capture the sound of the waves lapping against our ears, the feel of the water being displaced by our fins, the dappled sunlight illuminating the crevices where tropical fish were hiding, or the taste of the saltwater on our lips.

Back on shore, the soft ocean breezes, the sound of Bob Marley singing, the sweet smell of sunscreen, and the taste of fish tacos washed down with ice cold cervezas only added to the multi-sensory experience.

In a world made faster, smaller, and more connected through technology, researchers assert that millennials value experiences over stuff. Traveling, attending a concert, or eating at a new restaurant with friends brings greater satisfaction than owning a fancier car or working long hours to earn a promotion.

No matter the generation, I would argue that the same holds true for a great majority of people.

The digital divide
Technology opens new avenues for communicating and doing business, enabling a previously unimaginable level of direct and personal marketing. But even when artificial intelligence and super-smart algorithms make technology more human, it is still one step away from the real thing.

Facebook is more like a pen pal than a true friendship. Playing video games across a network brings people together, but the effects of that interaction are not as deep or profound as when friends gather to play in the same room. The distance is digital.

Technology can simulate or facilitate many things, but it cannot adequately replicate real human connections.

If we accept that experiences are more memorable, and certainly more valuable, than things, how does that alter our approach to designing for mission-driven organizations? We can’t fly all of our customers to Mexico!

Here are three ways to create better experiences and connections with your audience.

Human-centered design
It’s tempting to tell potential customers all about our wonderful products and services. Enough about you, let’s talk about me! But the best way to make meaningful connections is to truly understand the behavior, motivations, and desires of the people we are trying to serve – and then communicate accordingly.

Last fall, we worked with Prepare + Prosper to understand why more people who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) don’t file for this effective anti-poverty program. The average refund is more than $2,000, yet as few as one in five eligible taxpayers claim it.

What we found through personal interviews and surveys was that leading with even basic information about the EITC left people feeling confused and skeptical. Getting one’s taxes done for free was less important than having confidence in the tax preparer’s skill and training. And a large tax refund has an emotional resonance that is every bit as important as the practical benefits.

All of this research led to defining the importance of that “money moment” for qualified taxpayers – the feeling of accomplishment upon getting your finances in order – and influenced everything from the design of the website and printed materials to how clients were greeted when they arrived at a neighborhood tax prep center.

Lights, camera, action
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a video worth? Thanks to video, in the past couple weeks I have learned how to play a new song on guitar, replaced a part on our dishwasher, and binge-watched a TV show while waiting for our airplane.

Whether we’re entertaining or informing ourselves, video stimulates more senses than written communications. That’s why four times as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. Because video more closely simulates real-life experiences, it is more likely to both capture attention and be memorable.

Short, compelling videos are a good way to bridge the time and space between your organization and the people you are trying to reach.

Just my type
People are making buying decisions based on what a company stands for, now more than ever. Mission-driven organizations have always tried to connect on a values level. But now, major corporations and hybrids, such as public benefit corporations, encourage people to purchase with a purpose.

Cause marketing attaches a better story to any purchase or investment. If you can’t be there to personally clean up the river or feed the hungry, you can belong to the tribe that supports it and, by proxy, experience the feel-good benefits.

When both the organization and the consumer show that they’re here for the greater good, they form a stronger connection.

The need for touch
We are the sum total of our experiences. What we touch shapes what we feel. If money is made for memories, and not just acquiring more stuff, then we need to consider how our work on behalf of mission-driven organizations can fulfill that need.

As technology is incorporated into every facet of our lives, and all human interactions are converted into numbers, we would do well to remember that what we feel almost always outweighs what we think.

Make It Personal

Published on February 2, 2018 by Dan Woychick

The side project.

Whether it is pursued to scratch an itch, get out of a rut, or seek fame and fortune, not all work neatly fits into the parameters of a traditional job – if there is such a thing anymore.

Google famously encourages employees, in addition to regular projects, to spend 20% of their time working on self-generated ideas. Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin believe that “this empowers them to be more creative and innovative. Many of our significant advances have happened in this manner.”

Book cover of book about Minnesota inventions

Minnesota Invents – one of the unfunded, entrepreneurial projects by Jeff Johnson’s Replace design studio.

But as my friend, Jeff Johnson, a serial entrepreneur, prolific designer, and all-around force of nature, likes to say, “There is no such thing as a personal project. They are all just projects.” He spends about 30% of his time on speculative, unfunded, entrepreneurial projects of all kinds.

One never knows where a personal interest may lead.

Pursue obsessions
Gary Hustwit, a photographer and independent filmmaker, is best known for his documentaries: Helvetica, Objectified, and Urbanized. Through his work, Hustwit shows that even the most esoteric interests can be fascinating.

At a conference, Hustwit’s presentation focused on how his various obsessions inspired work over the years. What usually spurs a project for him is a simple calculation: “I think ‘this should exist’ and if it doesn’t exist, I make it.”

That’s sort of how I ended up creating LoveMplsParks.

Make an impact
Among other activities, I have biked, paddled, coached kids, walked dogs, attended concerts, skated, skied, and proposed marriage in our city’s parks. The parks and lakes make Minneapolis one of the greenest and most livable urban areas in the country.

But while I served on my neighborhood advisory board, I became aware of the financial plight of the Minneapolis park system. It suffers from a nearly $30 million backlog of deferred maintenance, and it relies on the whims of other governmental bodies for its funding.

I decided to create a new, dedicated revenue stream selling parks-branded merchandise printed and shipped on demand. Profits are split 50/50 between People for Parks, our non-profit partner, and the designers who created the apparel and posters. Since its launch, the venture has generated $80,000, with almost $20,000 donated to preserve Minneapolis parks.

One thing leads to another
Eric Kreidler has been in love with cinema, animation, and visual effects ever since he saw Star Wars as a child. From super-8 cameras in junior high, to experiments in stop-motion animation, and a detour to graphic design after college, Eric’s roundabout journey led him back to motion graphics in 2010.

Prior to his focus on animation, most of his side projects were music-based. When his good friends in The Bazillions released a fantastic album of children’s music, an opportunity was staring him in the face. Seven years and 14 critically-acclaimed animated videos later, a serendipitous encounter gave Eric and his partner, Gretchen, the chance to explore new techniques and rebrand eg design as a motion graphics shop.

Two worlds collide
I always keep a sketchbook nearby both to explore illustration ideas, and because moving pixels around with a mouse is often less satisfying than getting one’s hands dirty. Last year, an owl led to an egret and then to an idea for a series of animal illustrations inspired by Charley Harper – the fantastic beasts of Minneapolis parks.

After the Posters for Parks show in the fall, Eric asked, “Would you ever be interested in doing a little collaborative animation for the parks?” Over coffee and cookies, we discussed a number of ideas, scribbled on napkins, and settled on a series of 15-20 second videos for upcoming park events.

Hockey the way nature intended
Since both of us are huge hockey fans, our first effort was for the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships. Hundreds of teams from across the U.S. and Canada gather on a frozen lake for four days of action at the end of January.

I wanted the spot to move like a game with the focus in tight – all angles, and overlaps, and changes of direction. The distinctive look and sounds of an outdoor rink were the inspiration for the sketches that capture key frames within the sequence – illustrating how we would get from start to finish.

After another conversation and some refinement, I turned the black-and-white sketches into vector-based, color files. From there, Eric brought them beautifully to life with Adobe AfterEffects, and used Adobe Premiere to do the edit and sound design. Here is the finished spot:

U.S. Pond Hockey Championships from eg design on Vimeo.

Make it happen
Your mind is your most valuable asset. Jeff Johnson believes any project that engages the mind and feeds the soul expands that asset – no matter any potential commercial application. He advises to always be working on something that frightens you a little: “Make friends with that scared shitless feeling.”

Eric Kreidler knows the value of doing the kind of work you want to do – whether anyone is hiring you to do it or not – as he and Gretchen used personal projects to shift into a whole new practice they are more passionate about.

As designers, we have the extraordinary ability to conjure something out of nothing. But no matter your profession, the best, most meaningful, and magical work happens when you risk bringing yourself to the table.

Go make great ideas happen!