The Design Studio Method

Brian Sullivan is the Director of UX Testing and Research for Tonic3. In his practice, Brian is called upon to facilitate Design Studio Workshops, Brainstorming Sessions, Design Walkthroughs, UX Inspections, and Usability Testing. Brian is the founder of the Big Design Conference, where experts talk on design, usability, and strategy. Brian founded the Big Design Workshops series in 2009, where he teaches UX topics, such as Collaborative Sketching with Design Studios, UX Inspections, and a Usability Boot Camp. Brian is the President of the Dallas User Experience Professionals organization, which meets monthly in Dallas. Brian is a thought leader, who frequently speaks at industry events like SxSW Interactive, UXPA International, IA Summit, Boston UXPA, and Big Design Conference.

Chapter 1: All about Design Studios








What is a Design Studio?



When Do You Do a Design Studio?



A Word of Caution



Other UX Sketching Methods










Sketchboarding



6-UP



RIPS










Summary and Tips



Chapter 2: Generating and Evaluating Ideas








Use Whole-Brain Thinking







Generate Ideas with Left-Brain



Evaluate Ideas with Right-Brain






Four Rules for Generating Ideas







Strive for Quantity



Defer Judgment (Positive and Negative)



Seek New Combinations



Use Your Imagination






Four Rules for Evaluating Ideas







Use Positive Judgment First



Consider Novelty



Stay Focused



Redirect, If Needed




Summary





Chapter 3: Steps in a Design Studio








Is a Design Studio Needed for Your Project?



Choose Participants



Assign Roles







Facilitator



Sketcher



Scribe






Determine What to Sketch



Sketch Initial Concepts



Evaluate Sketches



Vote on Best Sketches



Re-sketch or Mash-up



Debrief Meeting



Summary



Chapter 4: Making Sketches Presentable








Draw One Concept Per Page



Do Not Use a Computer



Use Markers and Paper



Do Not Color Your Sketches



Do Not Provide Too Much Detail



Use Annotations and Arrows



Provide a Brief Description



Summary and Tips



Chapter 5: Controlling the Conversation








Using Edward DeBono’s Thinking Hats







White Hat for Fact Finding



Blue Hat for Organizing



Green Hat for Generating Ideas



Yellow Hat for Positive Evaluations



Black Hat for Critical Inspections



Red Hat for Voting














Summary and Tips



Chapter 6: Storing Your Work








Keeping a Digital Record



Access for Others to Review (Confidential or Open)



Sharing with the Rest of the Team



Serves as Vision Board for Future Projects



Summary and Tips



Chapter 7: Sharing Your Results








Build a Wireframe after the Design Studio



Sharing with the Other Sketchers





To gain consensus



To get alignment




Sharing with the Project Team





To show off your project vision



To get alignment




Sharing with Executives





To get executive buy-in



To obtain funding and resources




Summary and Tips



Chapter 8: Working with Remote People








Keeping a Digital Record



Access for Others to Review (Confidential or Open)



Sharing with the Rest of the Team



Serves as Vision Board for Future Projects



Summary and Tips



Chapter 9: Next Steps








Immediate Things to Do





Sharing Your Final Sketches



Preparing Your Wireframes




Testing Your Results





Low-Fidelity Testing



RITE Testing



Prototype Testing




Summary and Tips