Design By Committee: Recent Episodes

Justin Davis and Matthew Grocki

Design By Committee is a live, call-in show answering your questions about UX, product design, content, research and anything else releated to tech, hosted by two industry veterans with two decades of experience designing, building and launching tech products.

Another in-depth look at building a SaaS product from the ground up, week by week.

This week, we chat about a new annotations feature we're working on, and kick around a few ways it could work. We also discuss comparing assets, taxonomy (What is a 'version'? What is an 'option'?), product roadmapping methods, and just how critical the product/market fit line is.

Finally, we dig into some thoughts on marketing, ideas about how we'll organize a proper launch, and what we might be able to do with local events to promote the product.

We're back, and we're changing things up.

Moving forward, Design By Committee will feature weekly updates and behind-the-scenes looks as we build out a new SaaS product called ReviewCycle, designed to help creatives get better and more productive feedback from the clients and colleagues on creative assets they're working on.

We've been working on this product for a few months now. Weekly, we have meetings to discuss what we're working on, set goals, discuss features, design, content and marketing ideas, and we're letting you in on the action. We're recording each one of these weekly meetings, and releasing them here. No editing, no censoring, the full raw account of what it's like to start a SaaS company from scratch.

This week, we intro what ReviewCycle is about, chat about some new features we're working on (annotations), and discuss ways we might be able to better classify feedback to provide more structure to conversations around creative assets.

Curious what we're working on? Check it out at reviewcycle.io.

In this week’s pod, we continue our accessibility series as we sit down with expert Derek Featherstone. Derek discusses the distinction between inclusive design and accessibility and why inclusive design is necessary to make any digital experience accessible. Derek teases out his latest venture that may or may not include writing a book. Matt and Justin also take a look at LinkedIn tactical marketing plan and you’ll be surprised by their feedback.

Find Derek on Twitter and on his website.

You can access a transcription of this podcast here.

We're joined this week by Eileen Webb, director of strategy at Webmeadow, a consultancy that helps companies develop content and technology strategies that fulfill their missions to make the world a better place.

Covered in this week's show:

Justin has a friend who runs an agency, and is sometimes called "hard to work with" because he tries to offer some critical feedback and hard questions during the sales process. Is there a place for consultative selling, or is it a waste of time?
The importance of plain language in helping people to find your content and understand it
Why audio-based content should always have transcripts attached
How to sell accessibility to the business by speaking their language
The importance of internal accessibility - ensuring that the backend of your site or app is just as accessible as the frontend
How to make projects more accessible by accommodating project members' needs and building some flex into your project timelines and approach

This episode is jammed with amazing insights from Eileen that you don't want to miss!

Want to be on the show? Have a question for us? Email us at ask@dbcshow.com, or give us a call at 813-485-4866!

Abby Bajuniemi joins us on this week's show to kick off a month all dedicated to accessibility! Abby has a Ph.D. in Hispanic linguistics, and sits down with us to talk about accessibility, using language more effectively, and the problem with chatbots.

Included in this show:

Why should designers, product managers, marketers and developers care about conversation and conversation theory?
The damage that can be done using automated voice assistants incorrectly
How we create meaning using language, and how it's much more than just the words being used
How the internet has created new ways for us to use language (both good and bad)
The wide definition of being "accessible"
Use of plain language, and how jargon and flowery language is damaging our communication
How the educational system contributes to poor communication
The difficulty of automated translations
Use of chatbots, and how to think carefully about implementing them in an accessible way
The importance of thinking critically about who your audience really is (they're not all just like you)
Using guerrilla usability testing to test language and messaging to ensure you're serving your audience correctly
Why chatbots should just own up to being robots, and stop pretending to be people
And much, much more!

Join us on the show by emailing us at ask@dbcshow.com. Whether you'd like to come on the air and give us your thoughts, ask us a question, or just provide your feedback via email, we'd love to hear from you!

You can also give us a call at 813-485-4866 to join us on the show each week.

Make sure to visit dbcshow.com, and subscribe to the show wherever you're listening!

This week, we take on a bevy of topics from user research to compliance with special guest Kyle Soucy of Usable Interface, including:

User testing content
Public speaking tips
The importance of telling stories with research
How to manage user research in an increasingly agile world
Why does design get so much more interest from stakeholders than content?
Common issues with client content production
ADA compliance and an increase in lawsuits around it, including some thoughts about how it might spur a new cottage industry of web inspectors
The first steps any organization interested in research should take

Join us on the show every week by emailing ask@dbcshow.com or calling 813-485-4866. Make sure to subscribe and share!

In this episode of Design by Committee, we chat with Ryan Wilson from Axe and Tiller! Topics include:

The new rules of golf, and how tech might be used to ease such a big transition
How we can use data to actually drive innovation, and move past simple reporting
Balancing being visionary and grounded, and using data to help
The dangers of video-based research, and the upside of using diary studies for research
The trouble with surveys, and ideas about how to better collect feedback
Retail experience design

We'd love to have you as part of our show! Call in at 813-485-4866 or email ask@dbcshow.com to join us and chat about your questions and comments!

This week, we've got Margot Bloomstein with us, talking about content, trust and branding. In this absolutely packed show, we cover the following and more:

Matt's and Margot's thoughts on the process of collecting and reviewing content for a web project, including how to create a more efficient content pipeline
Thoughts on the tools used in the content production process today. Is there room for more? Or, go back to basics?
The importance of sketching and multimedia in the content process
How using different formats of content can help you tell your story better
Some observations about how the web might be influencing the real world. What would happen is we brought ideas like search into a retail environment?
The role of content in building trust, and how authenticity and vulnerability play into it
How a net new brand can build trust without social proof, reviews or testimonials
A preview of Margot's new book about using vulnerability and content to build trust and rebuild your brand

Plus! We do a Homepage Throwdown on Patagonia's website (patagonia.com). What do we think about the full bleed slideshow they have? Listen to find out.

Make sure to connect with Margot Bloomstein on Twitter at @mbloomstein. Visit her company, Appropriate, Inc at appropriateinc.com.

Don't miss our FREE guide on how to develop better content habits in your organization and skyrocket your own content strategy. Download the guide at maderalabs.com/contenthabits.

Want to join us on the show? Have a question or topic you'd like to talk about? Email us at ask@dbcshow.com, or call in at 813-485-4866!

Content, authenticity, meetings, social media, training....this episode has it all. We chat with Meghan Casey, founder of Do Better Content and author of The Content Strategy Toolkit, to get her thoughts on the state of content today. Some of the highlights:

How do you deal with the lopsided nature of remote meetings, when you're the only remote participant?
What are the problems with meetings in general, and can we design better ones?
Has social media changed how we write? (And, is it for good or bad?)
What's the role of authenticity in content, and why is it important?
Is the quality of content, on a whole, increasing or decreasing?

Also, we tackle two websites on this episode's Homepage Throwdown - Meghan's site, dobettercontent.com and humansonthemove.com.

Don't forget to download our guide to better content, Let It Grow: 5 Better Content Habits for 2019, at maderalabs.com/contenthabits.

Join the show by calling us at 813-485-4866 or email us at ask@dbcshow.com.

Thanks for listening!

Content Strategy Toolkit, The: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right (Voices That Matter)

Continuing our month of content about...content! This episode is PACKED with great information about content, content strategy and writing. If you're writing anything on the web, don't miss it.

Included this week:

Our reactions to an article from Techsmith about using visuals to communicate more effectively
A conversation with Ahava Liebtag about content strategy and writing. Ahava is the president of Aha Media Group, and is one of the foremost experts in content strategy. We cover everything from how to write more effectively, how to overcome hidden barriers to writing in a more accessible way, how to get stakeholder buy-in for content strategy and much more.
A call from Hilary Marsh (@hillarymarsh) where we chat more about stakeholder buy-in, and how to get management to make content strategy a priority.

Don't miss this incredible episode!

We kick off this episode by asking this question: should recruiters be allowed at tech meetups?

Also, a deep dive with Corey Vilhauer, UX architect and content strategist at Blend Interactive. We chat with Corey about what kinds of projects he's working on, and dive deep into how content and CMS's interact. Also, Corey chimes in on accessibility, and what role content has to play in the making your website and apps more accessible. We also dive into content modeling: what it is, why it's so helpful, and how you can use it to get a better grip on all the pieces of content on your site or app.

FInally, we introduce a brand new segment, the Homepage Throwdown, where we put up a listener site and dig into what we think is going well, and where we think things could improve. This week, we take a look at sylchristensen.com and tear it apart.

To join us on the show and chat about your work, or to submit your site to the Homepage Throwdown, email us at ask@dbcshow.com!

Cristina has been doing some usability testing, and wants to get better at it. Her company has decided to talk to users more regularly, and we offer some tips on making the most of those sessions.

Jennifer has a fantastic question about design ethics. As a designer, how do you ensure that your designs aren't used for unethical or nefarious purposes? There's no easy answer here, but we try to give a few thoughts on some ways to think through this incredibly tricky situation.

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll chat about them!

Cristina has been doing some usability testing, and wants to get better at it. Her company has decided to talk to users more regularly, and we offer some tips on making the most of those sessions.

Jennifer has a fantastic question about design ethics. As a designer, how do you ensure that your designs aren't used for unethical or nefarious purposes? There's no easy answer here, but we try to give a few thoughts on some ways to think through this incredibly tricky situation.

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll chat about them!

In this week's episode, we dive deep with one caller, tackling a parcularly difficult situation: how do you explain what you do, if you're not allowed to actually say it?

Because of FDA restrictions, Adam can't use specific language on his site, making it very difficult to tell a story that resonates with users and clearly explains the product benefits to his audience. The clock is ticking as they try to navigate this difficult situation, and we try to offer a few ideas about how to make the best of this tricky situation.

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll chat about them!

In this week's episode, we dive deep with one caller, tackling a parcularly difficult situation: how do you explain what you do, if you're not allowed to actually say it?

Because of FDA restrictions, Adam can't use specific language on his site, making it very difficult to tell a story that resonates with users and clearly explains the product benefits to his audience. The clock is ticking as they try to navigate this difficult situation, and we try to offer a few ideas about how to make the best of this tricky situation.

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll chat about them!

How do you design an app for the military that's used in battle, in life-or-death situations? Do you make it a mobile app? Something else? We dig into what it means to design for radical situations like this and come up with some interesting ideas for how to solve it.

Plus, questions about how to engage junior user researchers and enable them to find their voice in the research project, when they haven't had much experience.

Also, how can you talk about projects publicly without your clients assuming you're complaining? Is it hush-hush all the time, or are there ways to speak out without being misinterpreted?

All this and more in this week's episode!

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll chat about them!

How do you design an app for the military that's used in battle, in life-or-death situations? Do you make it a mobile app? Something else? We dig into what it means to design for radical situations like this and come up with some interesting ideas for how to solve it.

Plus, questions about how to engage junior user researchers and enable them to find their voice in the research project, when they haven't had much experience.

Also, how can you talk about projects publicly without your clients assuming you're complaining? Is it hush-hush all the time, or are there ways to speak out without being misinterpreted?

All this and more in this week's episode!

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll chat about them!

This week we talk about mental illness and how difficult it is for non profits to drive awareness and receive vital funding. What's the best way to engage people and rally them to support the cause? Learn more about Free In Dreams at www.freeindreams.org.

Also, a strange discrepancy in some ecommerce analytics. Most of the traffic is coming from mobile, but all the conversions are on desktop. What gives?

Finally, reactions to a blog post about what makes for great UX writing. Link to that blog post from NomNom: https://blog.nomnom.it/the-3-elements-of-great-ux-writing-7639e7ad22f4

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll answer them!

This week we talk about mental illness and how difficult it is for non profits to drive awareness and receive vital funding. What's the best way to engage people and rally them to support the cause? Learn more about Free In Dreams at www.freeindreams.org.

Also, a strange discrepancy in some ecommerce analytics. Most of the traffic is coming from mobile, but all the conversions are on desktop. What gives?

Finally, reactions to a blog post about what makes for great UX writing. Link to that blog post from NomNom: https://blog.nomnom.it/the-3-elements-of-great-ux-writing-7639e7ad22f4

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll answer them!

A whole episode of your email questions, including:

What UX mentorship looks like
How do I make sure an agency I hired is doing their best work?
What UX books should I read if I want to get into the field?
How do you make sure user research findings make it into the product, even when the research was done a long time ago?
Tips for solving a stalemate between stakeholders when it comes to dialing in messaging

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll answer them!

A whole episode of your email questions, including:

What UX mentorship looks like
How do I make sure an agency I hired is doing their best work?
What UX books should I read if I want to get into the field?
How do you make sure user research findings make it into the product, even when the research was done a long time ago?
Tips for solving a stalemate between stakeholders when it comes to dialing in messaging

Email your questions to ask@dbcshow.com and we'll answer them!

Where does UX fit in the process, and what if you need to make product adjustments mid-stream? Plus, how to get a wayward project back on track, when stakeholders suddenly feel like things might not be progressing how they expect. Also, tips on recruiting for usability testing.

Where does UX fit in the process, and what if you need to make product adjustments mid-stream? Plus, how to get a wayward project back on track, when stakeholders suddenly feel like things might not be progressing how they expect. Also, tips on recruiting for usability testing.

On this week's episode, we introduce the show, and take a couple caller questions. If you were going to launch a new social network, what would it be? Can you beat Facebook? Also, onboarding tips for SaaS, to help move engagement up and get users successful quickly. Plus, some tips and thoughts on social media strategies for local businesses.

On this week's episode, we introduce the show, and take a couple caller questions. If you were going to launch a new social network, what would it be? Can you beat Facebook? Also, onboarding tips for SaaS, to help move engagement up and get users successful quickly. Plus, some tips and thoughts on social media strategies for local businesses.

Introducing the Design By Committee podcast! This show is all about you, taking your questions about user experience design, product design, strategy, research, content and anything else around tech. Hosted by two 20-year veterans of the tech industry, this is your chance to get 15 minutes of free consulting from two leading experts in UX and strategy.

Introducing the Design By Committee podcast! This show is all about you, taking your questions about user experience design, product design, strategy, research, content and anything else around tech. Hosted by two 20-year veterans of the tech industry, this is your chance to get 15 minutes of free consulting from two leading experts in UX and strategy.