A presentation at UXBristol 2019 in in Bristol, UK by Ben Brignell
WORKSHOP: Practical Design Principles Ben Brignell Design Consultant @benbrignell benbrignell.com
principles.design
187 1397 examples 161 creators principles
What are Design Principles?
Design Principles are a set of words or phrases written to help guide a team to reach an objective
Intrinsic play value Ingenuity Strong construction Good value for the money Action
Design Principles… …help us navigate towards a vision
Design Principles… …assist with decision making
Design Principles… …defend your rationale
Design Principles… …shift thinking toward goals not tasks
Design Principles… …break down complex concepts or ideas
Design Principles… …create a sense of “Why?”
Design Principles… …inform decisions, culture & process
Design Principles… …encourage collaboration
Design Principles… …promote innovation
Design Principles… …mean less meetings
Design Principles… …mean less management
3 Principles for Writing Design Principles
Concise Brief Simple Clear and to the point
Memorable Make them visible, put your principles on the wall Principles should be referred to in daily conversations Aim for 3-5 principles
Definitive What makes your product unique? How do you define what you want to do? How do you define who you are?
Concise Memorable Definitive
Why not use rules?
Rule: The website has to load in under 10 seconds Principle: Quick
Rule: The task needs to be completed in under 3 steps Principle: Focused
Rule: Everything needs to be accessible from the dashboard Principle: Pertinent
Concise Memorable Definitive
Workshop
Visit ben.bz/ideas
Create a product or idea
4 minutes Visit ben.bz/ideas Choose a type of product Think of a name for your product Pick somebody to introduce your product to the wider group
Write a mission statement 3 minutes • “We want to be the number one…” • “We are solving the problem of…” • “Our aim is to encourage healthy eating for…”
Discuss themes 5 minutes As a group discuss some of the design themes that surround your product and its users. • Who is your product for? • What challenges will your users face? • What problems are you trying to solve?
List principles 5 minutes On your own list as many words, phrases and short sentences that could • Try framing your themes as positive statements • List words • List short phrases • Write one thing per post-it
Group your principles 3 minutes Gather the principles together. Find common patterns. Arrange post its into groups. • Discuss as a team • Place similar principles in groups • Identify common patterns
Decide 3 minutes • Decide which principles best fit your mission and themes • Ideally you should aim for 3-5 principles • Concise. Memorable. Definitive. • Get ready to present your product and principles to the room
Present Time permitting One by one tell us: • Your product name • What your product does • What your mission statement is Then: • Read out your design principles and briefly explain why you chose them
Thank you! @benbrignell principles.design
Design principles are a vital tool for designers to assist teams in decision-making and successfully meeting a common goal. We’ll take a look at some real-world examples from brands, individuals and organisations. Focused hands-on activities will help groups of participants create their own.
A brief overview of the concept of design principles covering the key points: What are design principles? What types are there? Why are they valuable? Who are they for? How do we use them?
Participants will then work in teams on a sample project to create, review and share some design principles.
for free. You
can too.