Start again in the month of May
British designer, Paul Boag is one of my favorite designers.He is an expert in digital strategy and user experience design with over 25years of experience. He recently discussed a problem that every designer and creative has to face, obstacles. Whether they arise in our personal or professional lives, obstacles are factors that hinder movement forward.
Dealing with and handling change is one of the biggest obstacles we face. Change is never easy, especially in our industry, where practically all our work is customer-facing. For every good reason there is to make a change, there is usually a good reason not to. Changes, even the smallest ones can have huge ramifications on the products we work on, so it’s imperative that we know what to do when we are faced with them.
So, what do we need to do when faced with what seems to bean overwhelming obstacle? In his latest post, Paul Boag offers this solution“If you cannot overcome an obstacle, it is time to work around it.”
In his post Paul talks about a recent project where he was working on improving the experience of a sign-up form for a software company.The obstacle he faced was that the sign-up form for a Free Trial was long and complicated, and could not be changed, regardless of his suggestions. So instead of letting his frustration get the best of him, Paul as he said “GotCreative” and looked for a work around as he puts it.
… if I cannot get them to sign up for a trial, perhaps I could get them to sign up for a newsletter that nurtures them by offering ongoing value until we can pique their interest enough to sign up for the free trial.
This ultimately may not be the best solution, but it was as he puts it.
“… an achievable one. It doesn’t involve making fundamental changes to the software they sell or reorganizing how the sales team operates.”
The best workarounds are not always the best solutions to the problem at hand, but if they help us get closer to the final solution without compromising an entire project then that is a win!
Obstacles whether good or bad are something all of us will face in our careers, and it’s how we overcome and learn from them that will hopefully take us from being good to great.
* This newsletter is titled after the Arcade Fire song " Month of May" from their 2010 album The Suburbs.