Take Risks! — DIBI Conference 2017
Two full days about taking risks, growth and learning from your mistakes. Inspiring speakers from around the world came to Edinburgh to share their experiences and to have some beers. Six of us ‘took the risk’ to visit the DIBI Conference. In this post we share our six main insights.
Design It, Build It
DIBI is one of the leading tech conferences for designers and developers in Great Britain. This time in Edinburgh with ‘Take Risks’ as the theme. We enjoyed talks from Tobias Ahlin (Minecraft), Vibha Bamba (Airbnb), Bram Stein (Adobe Typekit), and Christopher Murphy, just to name a few. Here the most inspiring takeaways:
1. Focus on the why — Tobias Ahlin
Tobias Ahlin pointed out that designers nowadays are obsessed with processes and methods, while we should focus on why and when we are using them. We have to agree. There is a trend that methods like Design Sprints are used as a universal remedy. While the method itself can work wonders, it is often misused to kick-start a project for which the outcome is already defined. Using tools without knowing why and what for, mostly defeats the purpose and risks faulty interpretations of the outcome. This can lead to products or features that fail to establish themselves on the market.
- Always focus on the ‘why’ first, don’t start a project without knowing what the problem is
- Select the tools to get the why, not to kick-start a project
2. Procrastination is not a waste of time — Christopher Murphy
After Christopher Murphy’s presentation we could finally breathe freely again. He states that the struggle to get started on a project is part of the process. Even while you’re not putting anything on paper, the idea is still growing in your head. The idea NEEDS that space in your head to grow.
- Be aware that everybody struggles to get started, don’t pressure yourself too much and give yourself the time to let an idea evolve
- During the ‘Fuck-off-phase’: widen your knowledge and work on your passion projects
- Don’t constantly focus on solving the problem, your head needs space
3. Find out who you want to be — Mike Kus
Mike Kus shared his experience of creating a strong identity and vision for a company. He stated that it is important to focus on one or max. two key values and to visualise these. That’s not easy. As a company you probably have several values and multiple things you do. But communicating them all can be challenging and will most likely end up in a mess.
- Focus on the overlapping values, think of more general terms
- Create a visual language with these terms
- Use metaphors to create a strong identity
If you want to align your vision with several people, Christopher Murphy also had a great tip to visualise where you see your company in the future. Write a news article:
- Pick a blog or a magazine in which you would like your work or your company being published
- Think about why they would publish something about you
- Write an article in that magazine’s tone of voice
- Present it to each other or the team
4. Set the right expectations — Vibha Bamba
Vibha Bamba’s talk about how to express negative feedback online was inspirational. She underlined the research methods at Airbnb with a case study and insights. Nowadays, feedback systems are a common implementation on websites or in apps, but digital user feedback can be contradictory and people are afraid of leaving a negative digital footprint.
As designers we need to help users to express their feelings. Airbnb solved the feedback form for guests with interactive and actionable steps. Depending on the star rating of a user, specific options are presented to select from.
- Star ratings work well but only give a vague indication
- Provide defined feedback options as a result of negative star ratings
- Use a neutral tone of voice to get fact-based feedback
- Try to keep input fields optional to avoid misinterpretation of answers
5. Readability matters — Bram Stein
Bram Stein’s demonstration made our designer hearts beat faster. This web developer cares a lot about typography. He created the ‘Typography Inspector’ plugin which analyses typography and helps designers to check the body text in designs on readability. We really hope to see these tools implemented in applications like Sketch soon!
Try out the ‘Typography Inspector’ or download the plugin for Chrome directly. If this interests you, then also take a look at the dependencies between font size and the user’s distance to the screen with the Size Calculator.
- A line of text is best readable with 45 to 75 characters
- The type height should increase with the line height
- The darker the typeface, the more line height is needed
6. Don’t doubt your ideas — Joshua Davis
Joshua Davis visualised that it is important to experiment and take risks in your design projects. When you create and share the work you want to do, it will inspire people and potential clients with a similar interest.
- Dare to share your own voice
- Don’t get stuck doing something you don’t like
- The type of work you do is the type of work you get hired for
Closing remarks
We took the trip with a group of Interaction and Visual Designers. Our Visual Designers missed a bit focus on their expertise. However, if you’re interested in research, process, interaction design and growth: DIBI is worth the visit!
Also good to know: before and after the first conference day, socialising and networking drinks are organised in local venues. And if you are in Edinburgh, we advise you to take at least one extra day to experience the Scottish culture. We visited Dean Village, Arthur’s seat, found some nice pubs and whiskey bars and dared to try haggis, the famous Scottish dish. It was actually quite good! You won’t regret it.
Sophie Crull and Myrthe Geldof
Interaction Designers at Hike One
