How stepping out of the digital comfort zone will help you create a unique design.
Case study
In this short article I would like to share the process I went through and key insights I gathered in my latest identity design project, the Annual UX@HPE conference.
This is our 4th event, and the event attracts audience from across the world. We had this year 4000 people who joined live from around the world as well as a full auditorium in our Yehud site.
The event features six short Ted format talks given by leading UX experts from across the High Tech industry sharing their experience and insights.
The objective was to create something that delivers an “out of the box” experience, yet keep it simple and showcase an innovative interpretation for the new HPE logo. (Since HPE gone through a major rebrand last year — http://adage.com/article/btob/hp-enterprises-launches-company-brand-campaign/301162/)
Step 1
Planning
Find a good concept
The concept of crafting a 3d architectural structure emerged from my own experience as a UX designer. While working on a product, users’/customers needs are shaping it continuously and a good UX designer will always search for better and smarter solutions to simplify the product. Just like a Lego game, the UX designers build, collect feedback, break apart, and rebuild again in order to get a lean product.
Step 2
Building
Let go of the Wacom!
I experimented with 3D tools to get the effect I wanted, but found out it takes more than a couple of days to learn how to use it. So, this is how the materials hunt began.. until I found myself inside Ikea store staring at a kids building blocks toy that have the exact proportions as the HPE’s logo.
“one theme of playing with blocks seems to work against whatever constraints apply to designers when they work within their field. Which makes sense. When you play, you want to play, not work. And that’s as true in design as it is anywhere else..”
A new book, Let’s Play, tasks 100 Swiss designers to play with toy blocks, then photographs the results, looking for trends.
Read more https://www.fastcodesign.com/3066060/the-weird-ways-designers-play-with-building-blocks
Build a mini studio
All I needed was — an empty conference room, good camera + tripod, lots of natural light and coffee. During the process of building I experimented with various layouts and camera angles to find the best composition, just like a UX process of refinement a product until you find the right recipe. The final composition resembles a complex metropolis structure that on top view reveals the shape of the UX studio logo.
Step 3
Breaking down the design — Implementations
Once I had the design in place it was time to start creating all the design components based on it. Always look for cool interpretation of the visual language, and make sure that everything ties together perfectly.
• Event website.
• Elevator / Building posters.
• Banners for social media.
• Rollup.
• Giveaways (see below for more details).
• You tube channel visuals.
Step 4
Engage the audience
As part of giving our guests the best experience, I chose to hand out 2D puzzles giveaway that was tailor made to reflect the Concept of the event. It’s a small souvenir that encourages creative thinking. It created a great impact on the audience experience.
Using unique giveaways to engage users is a method that Mailchimp’s team specializes in. They crafted a small toy of the brand mascot (Freddie), and handed it out to selected users. The result is countless delighful moments and fan users, read more: https://blog.mailchimp.com/behind-our-surprise-toy-giveaway/
Step 5
main takeaways and lessons learned
- In order to create a unique design, start by defining a unique concept that reflect the values of the brand.
- Look for a creative design language that will differentiate your brand, yet keep it simple as possible.
- Don’t be afraid to experimente with all kind of materials.
- Make sure to get a fine camera and take photos with natural light.
- A small Give away can do a great impact, it will surprise and delight users, and help to position the company.
See you next year,
UX studio at HPE: http://hpe.everythingux.net/
Mor
