How experience is accelerating the world

Change is the only constant.

Organisations are increasingly understanding and appreciating the value of being experience led. What does this mean for businesses? That the potential of UX thinking will continue to add more value to customers and the world, and that companies will become more equipped to deliver on them and its cultural values through the employee experience. This presents an unprecedented opportunity for the developing profession to extend its impact beyond the screen and actually affect broader issues for business and society.

So how do we create inherently better and more meaningful experiences that truly address change?

1. Have a singular radical purpose

For experience design to have meaningful impact in the world, it must serve a clear-cut vision and purpose. It has to be the vessel for an exchange of value – one that starts as a sharp and focused intent, before trickling down to every aspect of the organisation. In the constantly shifting landscape we live in, it can often feel like the world is in decay. This means the value an entity offers needs to be increasingly disruptive. Here we can learn from the world of start-ups, who famously pursue a singular purpose really well, for instance, a company like Zocdoc and their ambition to give power to the patient.

By holding up a clear and radical objective as our yardstick, we can then constantly ask ourselves- does our work contribute or take away from it? Is it building towards, and delivering on, a fundamentally better outcome?

2. Base it on universal truths stemming from human nature

As people, we are all malleable. The experiences we expect and need are constantly changing as the tech around us evolves. We quickly adjust to new baselines of ‘good’ design that meet our immediate needs. How quickly do we become irritated these days when the Wi-Fi goes down for ten minutes? This inflation of expectations will only increase as we continue to assimilate new advances in areas like robotics, AI and genomics in the future.

As our surface needs evolve in tandem with technology and culture, the deep fundamental human truths of who we are remain. By focusing on those core universal truths, we can shape future-facing experiences – ones that look beyond the current limitation but remain grounded in today. This then allows us flexibility in the ‘vessel’. For example, in our work with Grubhub, we built around the fundamental truth that people want food for health, well-being, enjoyment and social bonding. Not solely because they want a delivery service.

3. Think in systems, from the micro to the macro

For experience design to truly shape the direction of an organisation, it must operate on multiple levels. We have to consider the wider context an experience operates in, whilst understanding every granular interaction where a purpose manifests, from the overall vision to the swipe of a button.

The user is one input in that system, along with service, product, manufacturing, materials, energy, organisation, environment, social etc. It’s still necessary to go deep into the human needs, but we consider the relationship with the cultural movements they are a part of. For instance, we can shape the user’s experience to encourage a better lifestyle, giving a positive effect for the community at large. But, as in the work we’ve done with Virgin Active, the ambition to help people live better needs to work in every micro behaviour, nudge and interaction with the overall experience.

4. Focus on signature moments

For maximum impact, we should focus in those key moments of interaction between organisation, employee and customer where we can channel meaningful value. Such moments aren’t always required; most interaction points only need best practice UX design. But where the right opportunity to deliver a unique, purposeful branded experience exists, we should craft those touch points to cultivate an understanding of the overall entity and what it offers.

Doing this usually involves multidisciplinary teams thinking about the multiple senses. For a recent project, we’ve been creating mindful experiences for an urban development in China. This has involved working with industrial, sound and landscape designers, while developing a programme of events to embed those holistic signature moments.

We should always be thinking about the impact our work has in the world, and our part in shaping the narrative of technological progress. If we don’t, we miss out on using our deep understanding of people and design to its potential. We will be limited to churning out standardised patterns in a sea of homogenous experiences where tech becomes one big blurry click vying for our attention. This would be a loss as we have the opportunity to navigate and define the value of emerging technology and the futurist scenarios that are unfolding around us.  

Illustration by Erika Baltusyte

Kartik Poria is Senior UX Designer at Wolff Olins London. You can follow him @kartik_jp

How to make sense of 8 billion touchpoints

Recently, we welcomed Sieun Cha as Creative Director at Wolff Olins London. Prior to us, Sieun served as Creative Director at Method where she led multi-disciplinary teams delivering integrated brand, product and service experiences for clients including Lush, Sky, Skype, Deutsche Telekom, Google and Thomson Reuters. She collected numerous accolades for her work in multi-channel experiences in health, retail and beauty.

With over thirteen years of digital product and experience design background, Sieun is most excited about expanding the scope and scale of both for Wolff Olins’ clients and is specifically interested in how experience design can help build connected brand experiences. Krisana Jaritsat, our Head of Global Content sits down with Sieun for a quick Q&A to share her thoughts:

Krisana: Coming from your background, what is your perspective on how important the integration of digital is by brands?

Sieun: Firstly, the digital distinction now dissolves into our daily lives. Digital is becoming more embedded in our daily lives, and soon the term ‘digital channel’ might become so obsolete that we don’t recognise it anymore.

As such, brands have entered into a more complex space: there are more touch points and more communications with more boundaries becoming blurred and platforms becoming more multi-dimensional. Because of this paradigm shift, it’s important to start thinking with a digital/mobile first approach. Digital is not an added touchpoint any more, it’s becoming the primary platform where the customers actively engage with and define brand meanings for themselves through experience.

Krisana: What role does experience design play in this?

Sieun: Experience design is the framework to understand business requirements and distill and translate customer insights into tangible solutions. I’m most excited for Wolff Olins and our clients to explore how experience design approach can influence the brand and works to be more driven by customer insights, helps close the gaps between touch points and ultimately create coherent brand end-to-end experiences.

Krisana: Why is this important to how people interact with brands today?

Sieun: Now people carry brands in their pocket. Research shows that Americans look at their mobile phone 8 billion times a day collectively. We need to understand how to engage with these moments in meaningful and positive ways. These moments are opportunities to deliver a brand promise and a deep understanding of customer needs in contexts is crucial.

Customers don’t see differences between touch points. So when they are moving from one to another, they expect the same seamless experience. No matter how many touch points there are, customers ultimately want simple and elegant solutions that answer their needs.

Krisana: So, how does experience design solve this problem then?

Sieun: Experience design is a holistic approach for businesses to meet customer needs. It starts with collaborating with businesses to identify and solve the right problems, and assumes a deep understanding of customer needs and behaviours in order to create experience solutions that produce value.

The design of brand experiences should not only consider a broad view of the touchpoints where customer interactions with the brand occur over time, but also go deep to create the moments of engagement through products and services.  Looking at the customer journey from mobile/digital perspective helps identify the possibilities that create micro-moments — intent-driven moments of decision making and preference shaping.

In turn, we will be able to deliver clear and connected stories across channels that bring the customer into a deeper level of engagement and most importantly, create a flexible and adaptive brand design system that leaves a space for the brand to grow.

Sieun Cha is Creative Director at Wolff Olins London. You can follow her @sbtwin

Putting the group in group cycle: A Q&A with Andy Caddy and Dael Williamson

Last week Virgin Active launched The Pack; a new group cycle product created and built in collaboration with Wolff Olins. Caroline Goodwin, Delivery Director at Wolff Olins and member of The Pack team, had a chat with Andy Caddy, Group CIO and Dael Williamson, Enterprise Architect about their experience of working on the project.

1. What are your roles at Virgin Active? Andy: I look after our Technology and Digital strategy across the company. I am the sponsor for The Pack meaning that it’s my job to get everyone bought in across nine countries and ensure that there aren’t any major obstacles for Dael and the rest of the team.

Dael: I head up our Enterprise Architecture team and play a leadership role in the technology strategy and vision for the business globally. In terms of The Pack, I am the tech lead on the software design and programme management in the UK and I also coordinated the work of other territories involved, including South Africa, Iberia, Italy and APAC.

2. What makes The Pack interesting? Andy: This is the first product that we have developed that has had a high technology component and a worldwide roll out capability. This has meant that we’ve needed to overcome a number of logistical challenges! Luckily, we are all united in trying to create a brilliantly innovative experience for our members and so everyone has been supportive in getting the product to launch.

Dael: We were innovators in group cycle 15 years ago and now, for the first time, we have created our own cycle product that is tech driven, and which we can bring to the mainstream. At an industry level, I think we’ve created something that is going to push data-driven, multi-sensory, group health experiences forward in a big way; it’s really exciting to be part of something so unique in such a busy space.

Through our test trials we’ve also found that the experience offered by The Pack has widened the appeal of going to a traditional group cycle class to many more people. We’ve already had great member feedback where people are saying things like, “I don’t normally like group cycle, but I would do this.” I think it’s the human connection with your team that means that The Pack appeals to so many more people. It’s no longer just a room full of solitary cyclists.

3. How does Virgin Active approach product innovation differently from others companies? Andy: We are fortunate to be in a global company that can draw on different trends and cultures. Our product teams have the expertise to create bespoke products and programming for our members where we think there are gaps in the market. For example, last year we completely reinvented functional training through the creation of The Grid – designed to get people moving better, faster and more effectively. This focus on creating our own innovations means that our members get a genuinely unique experience.

4. How did you get your vision for The Pack off the ground? Dael: We had a broad ambition for what we wanted to do around group cycle. Working with Wolff Olins was critical to help us consolidate our thinking and come up with a brand-led concept that fitted our product vision. Studio design was also a key focus for us and Wolf Olins helped us incorporate fantastic lighting into the experience, and also broaden our view on the longer term effects we could go on to build into the class.

From a personal perspective, I needed the glue that would hold this project together and Wolff Olins created the framework for the Experience Manager, which has worked really well. It meant my team could really focus on creating something technically feasible, while Wolff Olins translated the vision into a UX story and prototype that unified the teams and disciplines by showing them, very early on, what was possible.

5. What role did the prototype play in preparing you for the final build? Dael: The real impact was on pace; it proved very quickly that we could create software that drove the experience by connecting multiple inputs like programming, music, biking data and put them together in a really smart way to drive outputs like lights, sound and visual display. In fact, it became our business case for the project because people could see what we wanted to do really clearly and they were excited by it.

6. What was your greatest challenge while working on The Pack? Andy: I would say the biggest challenge has been the sheer scale of launching a global product into six different countries, across 30 studios, with 100+ instructors in a way that was consistent but still had room to have a local flavour. Like The Grid, we want The Pack to be a signature product for us so ensuring that it lands well is incredibly important to us.

7. How did you overcome this? Andy: Lots of hard work by Dael! Using different music suppliers for different regions has helped to ensure that local tastes are catered for. Ensuring each country had control over their own studio builds, but within a central brand means you will always know you are in a Pack studio but it will have the essence of the country you are in as well.

Dael: By keeping the different workstreams focused on specific components of the product – such as music, studio design and training – so that everyone was focused on their area of expertise and could really own the delivery of each component. This created a great cross-functional team. We learnt very quickly how differently disciplines approached their work and it’s really interesting and useful to understand and cater for these different dynamics.

8. What are you most proud of having achieved on The Pack? Andy: Bringing together so many different workstreams into a single coherent product that really works. In the first real member class that I participated in, there was a distinct buzz and lots of conversation between teams afterwards.

Dael: Being a tech guy, I’m blown away by the product we’ve created. There are many complicated elements, but they are so well done, that the ultimate experience is simple and really enjoyable.

9. How do you think creativity enhances technology, and vice versa? Dael: I think that there are two parts to this, the first being that creativity challenges the boundaries of technology and forces tech teams to take it up a notch. The second is that technology is what brings the creativity to life and moves ideas beyond images into something interactive and experiential.  

Andy: Without the creative input we had from Wolff Olins, we would have had a room full of bikes throwing out data. It would have been technically impressive, but as an experience it would be limited. What we have ended up with is an immersive group experience that brings all that technology to life.

10. Finally, how do you think technology will change the world of fitness over the next 5-10 years? Andy: As the products mature, technology focus (devices and products) will give way to an insight focus. Today we don’t get excited by the smartphone anymore, it’s the apps that enable our lives; in the next five years the focus on wearables and watches will give way to data and insight. I think this is potentially the largest change that we will go through – smart apps and bots giving you actionable information about your health and fitness.

Dael: Although a lot of focus has been on wearables in the press, I think it’s actually the ingredients behind that tech - the data and biometric insights - that will transform the fitness industry. I think the current trend for what we call ‘blue-line fever’, where everyone is measuring and tracking their activity in devices and apps will spread, and enable smarter equipment in health clubs like our own.

For more information about collaboration, check out the Virgin Active: The Pack case study or Design Director Dan Greene’s piece on ‘How to create a connected experience.’

Caroline Goodwin is Delivery Director at Wolff Olins London. You can follow her @Goodweenie

How to create a connected experience

Recently our friends and collaborators at Virgin Active launched The Pack, a new digitally connected group cycling experience. It’s a product that reimagines every aspect of group cycling: from the studio layout, to the screen design, to the in-class activities themselves. But in order to design the radical new experience they needed, what were the key principles behind our approach and how have we adapted our ways of working to support them?

1. Be empathic Great experience design is always empathetic. It focuses on people-first, not technology-first and responds to human needs, emotions and desires.

The central idea ‘together we ride' is a genuinely motivating idea – born through a process of first-hand experience, lively research sessions with instructors, in-class tests and a lot of creative problem solving. The outcome is a surprising and exciting product designed to shift people's mindset from a laboured exercise routine to a fun, multi-sensory experience.

2. Build off the insight Our research and observations showed us that it's being part of a collective that inspires individuals to work harder and push further, so we made fun competition integral to the creative idea and execution.

By starting with the in-class challenges – the games – and figuring out how to make them fun and interactive for the group, we could unlock the potential of The Pack. Whether your team is competing in Sumo, Big Burnout, Speed Freaks or Hold The Line, the aim is to move the group cycling experience from a 1-2-1 interaction to a collective effort. The result is a much more engaging class, with greater social interaction and ultimately improved performance.

3. Make the design helpful Each challenge is brought to life by an intentionally simple design system made up of three arrow icons. Each icon represents one of the three teams on screen. The teams themselves are divided by light channels within the space in corresponding colours, intended to create a more sensory and immersive environment. The same three arrows are used across all communication touch-points and form the basis of the logo. It’s a singular system with multiple purposes: dynamic, bold and above all else – helpful.

In the context of a group cycle experience, less is very much more. The user already has a lot to deal with: listening to instructions, keeping up to the beat of the music, reacting to the on-screen prompts and of course trying not to fall-off, information overload can occur very quickly. Helpful, in this context, means informing and guiding riders to just the right level of detail.

4. Work openly and without ego In order to create such a dynamic solution we pulled in many different skill sets: a crew of UX designers, full-stack developers, visual designers, animators, industrial and light designers – all working quickly and collaboratively. The different perspectives and processes of each expert ultimately shaped the final product, pushing the creative outcome.

Experience design also demands a much more joined up approach with the client. Their expertise in product development (most are still actively working as instructors) means we could tweak and evolve the product experience to work across multiple formats while not watering down the ambition of the idea.

5. Keep iterating One of the greatest benefits to working on this type of job is that the impact of the design is instant and tangible, making it easier to observe where the design is perhaps falling short of users needs.

From simple things, like moving the clock from the center to the left-hand side in order to avoid the folds in the screen, to completely re-thinking challenges in order to make them easier to understand. It's also essential that user testing and feedback forms a much bigger part of the design process. By challenging and adapting the product in response to the user from the outset means that the product constantly improves.

Ultimately, the ingredients for creating a joined up experience act as a great foundation for any creative process – from building a website, through to a global brand. By being empathetic, insightful, helpful, open and iterative you create a process where creativity thrives, pushing everyone involved to design the most radical creative outcome.

Dan Greene is a Design Director at Wolff Olins London. You can follow him @danny_greene

If I’d known then what I know now

Recently, our London office played host to 60 students from across the UK for Show & Tell, our annual Wolff Olins’ student event. Through a series of talks and the chance to quiz our Creative Directors, students gained an in depth insight in to life at Wolff Olins, as well as the opportunity to share their work during one-on-one portfolio sessions. Here, designer Alison Haigh shares an excerpt from the talk she delivered to the students on the day.

“There’s a lot to think about, but nothing to worry about”

The above quote comes from an episode of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’. An unlikely source of inspiration, but as a natural worrier, I’ve always found it to be a useful quote.

If you are a designer about to graduate, there is a lot for you to think about, but there’s also an awful lot that you shouldn’t be worrying about at all.

Based on my own experiences as a young designer, here are 10 things I wish I’d known before I graduated. I’m sharing them with you today, with the hope they’ll make your next steps into the world of work as stress free as possible.

1. Make two of everything Print pieces can be fragile and at degree shows, your work is at the mercy of the heavy-handed and light-fingered. Save yourself some heartache by making two copies of your favourite pieces. Processes such as screen-printing and letterpress become massively more expensive after graduation, so do this at uni while you can.

2. Be discoverable While you are out looking for opportunities, make sure that opportunities can find you too. Buy your URL, create a website and update it regularly. Before you ask: yes, your work is good enough to put on a site. Showcase your best projects and make your contact details clear. Don’t agonise over it for weeks and no, you don’t have to build it from scratch. Just get it out there.

3. Learn from each other You are not rivals! You are all unique, so there is no need to screw each other over. And you’ll all achieve more the more you help each other out. The design world is hyper-connected so don’t burn bridges before you’ve even started.

4. Meet your heroes Mostly to realise that they are human too. Graphic design is not the work of gods. Your favourite designers have most likely been in the same position as you are now. Meet them, learn from them and try your best to work with them.

5. Just apply! Don’t talk yourself out of applying for your dream job. The worst case scenario is that you don’t get it, which is exactly the same outcome as if you hadn’t applied. Have faith in your abilities and apply for jobs you can do as well as internships you could learn from.

6. Write everything down Once you’re in the door, starting a new job can be overwhelming. Make sure you write down all the information that’s thrown at you during those first few days and weeks. You might not get the chance to hear it again, and you may forget it the first time around.

7. Adapt to working in public Most studios are open plan, which means everyone can see what you are doing. Don’t panic! If anyone comments on your work, it's to help you and make the work as good as it can be. Their advice will save you huge amounts of time.

8. Say “yes" to presenting You have to be able to speak about your ideas. Practice makes perfect, so always say yes to any opportunity to speak in public. This is especially important for female designers – we need to see more of us showcasing ourselves in an industry still dominated by men.

9. Start At university, you had the luxury of time. But at work, your deadlines will be tight so you have to stop overthinking and start doing. You can build the idea as you go and your work will evolve as you work with others.

10. Keep on learning Stay curious and keep challenging yourself. Embrace being a beginner over and over again and question everything along the way.

With all that in mind it’s time to get out there. Try your best not to be afraid and don’t waste your talent on worrying too much. Go get your work seen and your voice heard. Good luck!

Alison Haigh is a designer at Wolff Olins London. Follow her at @alisonhaigh

Better health with bigger heart

Healthcare is an ecosystem of enterprises that all want to get closer to the patient. Own the relationship? Even better. But relationships thrive on empathy and warmth – so how do you make it easier to connect with patients and connect them to what is useful, in a way that is human as well as functional?  

The US healthcare system has long been criticized as being neither healthy nor caring. The biggest challenge for the patient is to navigate their way though that system when nothing is joined up: no central records, no single responsibility for outcomes, difficulty finding references for good doctors – the list goes on. So appointments get missed, problems go undiagnosed  - and health suffers.

What excited us about Zocdoc was its potential to change all this by combining technology with truly human centered design.  To change consumer behaviours not just by easing their path and helping them make informed choices, but by proactively prompting them to check in and check up.  Access to references for doctors to dermatologists, at-a- glance insurance options – and the ability to confirm booked appointments with in-built reminders. True power to the patient, from a service that sits right at the heart of the ecosystem, with warmth and friendliness.

Zocdoc could not do any of this without properly collaborating not just with patients but with the whole healthcare ecosystem. And collaboration was the key in bringing this latest Zocdoc experience system to life.  

We describe ourselves as creative partners to ambitious leaders, and this was a true creative and collaborative partnership with a big ambition to promote better health for everyone.  Design with Heart to create the friendly face of health.

This meant our team worked hand-in-glove and around the clock with Zocdoc’s VP of Marketing, Richard Fine and Director of Product Management, Zahra Ladak to ensure that our visual identity system worked at the heart of the digital product, to create a whole experience designed for the consumer.  Our creative iterations were played with, tested in real time on booking pages and digital ads, then looped back to us to iterate, adjust and push.  And consumers were in that creative loop too, helping to decide what direction we went in.

The result? We think, a friendly, smart, caring and simple experience aimed at driving new, positive behaviours and confidence among an ever-growing patient community.

And that way, everyone gets better. What’s not to love?

Melanie McShane is Head of Strategy at Wolff Olins New York. Follow her @melaniemcshane

3 Minutes On: BBCThree

In our new series, “3 Minutes On,” we give the mic to one of our own for three minutes to respond to what the Internet is talking about on any given day. Running the gamut of topics, expect some pointed and passionate opinions you may or may not agree with. And if you don’t, drop us a line.

"It's a waste of money. It looks like X or Y. I can't even read it. A five year old could have done it…"

Just a few of the responses levelled at the new BBCThree identity from the press, design media and social streams.

It's predictable, lazy and more than a bit derivative - the reaction that is, not the work.

Derision is the same response that seems to echo round cyberspace every time there's a vaguely new piece of design or identity put out in the world.

It's fair enough to critique but it would be good to hear something more constructive, or a really fresh perspective. But as Taylor rightly says, haters gonna hate. Its always easier to knock something down than be brave enough to stand behind something new.

There’s a certain irony in seeing these near identical claims of recycling other people's ideas or accusations of bandwagon jumping stacked neatly one on top another on a Twitter stream.

Sure the new design looks a bit weird (but weird goes hand in hand with anything that's new or out of the ordinary). It feels a bit bold and blunt (but it's going have to work on an app button or a mobile). It could be misread (but it doesn't really look like any other channel). But at least it's switching things a bit.

Design needs to consider craft and care but sometimes it's also about context and cojones.

The truth is we can't know yet if the design is really any good. We need to see it in action, swipe it, press it, prod it and flip it.

Maybe we should give it some space, let it breathe in its natural environment. See if we skip past it tomorrow. See if it sits well with our favourite programmes. See if it really annoys us when it's sat in the corner for a whole hour programme. Discover if we get bored to death of of it after two weeks.

The chatter seems to be almost entirely around the logo - but a broadcast logo is always one bit of a bigger whole of bugs, indents and lower thirds. Paul and Mary wouldn't judge a cake on The Great British Bake Off just by looking at a bag of flour, so perhaps it's better to look at the bigger picture.

Test the new formula, give all the ingredients time to rise and then we'll know if we should give it three stars or ten.

-Chris Moody 

Illustration by Oliver Thein.

To hear more from Chris on why people need to get brave, check out his recent Web Summit 2015 talk in Dublin here and follow him @MoodyThinking

Is Google’s New Logo a Moonshot?

For a company trading in the expansion of the known universe, giving a logo a short back and side will inevitably fall flat. Pixel perfection it may be but snarky designers will still sneer; others may wonder 'Where’s the moonshot?'

To all you naysayers and doubters I say 'Don't be so hasty.’

Let's imagine for a minute the new Google identity is a moonshot. Not graphically but as part of a bigger master plan- perhaps one to ultimately own your future.

Make no mistake, in the coming years, Alphabet will own or at least have a meaningful stake in every part of your life. What does that kind of ubiquity and presence feel like for a business that has never shied away from the limelight?

If I were Google I'd want all my brands to play together. To stick together, all Lego brick-like.

If I were in a bunker, mustering up a way for Search to project onto Glass in my Self-Driving Car while I'm Moon streaming my Play-playlist to my Skull pumping mind-phones - I'd be thinking about identity in an equally new, interconnected and fully fragmentable way.

What if those four dots were the start of an identity that could switch brands, quantum-leap products and roller coaster through experiences and functionality?  ID that really knows it's ABC's.

What if the un-weirding of the wordmark means they're de-emphasising Google? To make it feel part of a pack? Because the way we'll interact with the alphabet soup of the future will be through voice- without screens and visual signposting. Brand communism in the interest of the M for Motherland.

Branding the collective isn't easy. Google has had an interesting journey with icons, products and brands - but who's nailed it? GE made everything make sense and feel safe. Branson's Virgin empire rocked uncorporate throughout the 80s and 90's but now resembles Bez's burned-out cerebellum. The UK's Channel 4 continues to nail that just-enough cohesion but have the luxury of a controlled space for their brands to sit together.

Maybe Google's moonshot is they're not thinking about identity based on the old rules; they’re thinking identities and how those identities interlink with one another. Google is approaching a new age beyond the pixel perfect horizon where experience and expression already have Gen-A tribal children- strange beings that will dictate how we move between the physical, digital, and audio experiences of the future.

Exactly what constitutes an identity and where its’ boundaries lie has fundamentally changed and exponentially multiplied.  In the context of one of the world’s most radical business, we can surely expect our meager minds to be blown.

So yes, maybe a moonshot.

But if not, it’s still a very tidy, tidy- up.

Neil Cummings is Creative Director at Wolff Olins London. Follow him @NeilCummingsEsq

Q&A: The Heart Index

Recently, Wolff Olins was asked to participate in a great project called The Heart Index, a not-for-profit design compendium, raising money and awareness for Heart Research UK. The book showcases a collection of hearts, illustrated by some of the most influential practitioners from around the world. We caught up with the organizers Craig Atkinson and Grace Bond, who are about to run the London Marathon to further their impact, to hear more about their initiative.

First of all, that’s a wonderful cause you guys are working for, and you’re clearly passionate about it – enough to run a marathon next week! How did you become interested in the subject?

We both watched the London Marathon last year and were amazed by the atmosphere surrounding the day. Once we thought about running it ourselves we were too stubborn to give up on the idea. We secured our places back in 2014 and immediately saw it as a great opportunity to put our design skills to good use and raise money for a good cause. I like to think my work as a designer helps people, but this was one of the rare opportunities where the design and the charity are so connected.

How did the idea for the book first come up?

We went through an endless number of ideas before we settled on The Heart Index. It was one of those decisions where you are your own worse client. Once we started visualizing a heart, we ended up asking ourselves, "what does a perfect heart look like?". Our visual audit found that different people draw hearts differently, but all can be recognized instantly. The heart symbol is graphically very simple, but is arguably one of the most powerful symbols in human communication. We wanted to see how some of the worlds top designers interpreted such a symbol.

On that note, the list of contributors is very impressive. How was it to approach some of the biggest names in our industry? And how did everybody respond?

We were completely overwhelmed by the positive response from the design community. We had over 75 submissions and even more that wanted to take part but couldn't fit it into their work schedule. Sending cold emails is something I've always tried to avoid but most people didn't seem to mind if it was for a good cause.

As soon as the book came out, it was immediately featured in some pretty well known design websites (see it here and here), and it seem like it’s been selling quite well. What did you guys think of the impact of the project so far? Were you expecting such a positive outcome?

It was a lovely surprise to see it doing the rounds on our favourite blogs – reaching such an influential audience was key to the sales of the book. We've always aimed to sell out before the marathon - not an easy task for an edition of 250. We're well on our way to selling out so it's been a great success, especially for Heart Research UK. Fingers crossed if the book sells out we will have raised a considerable amount for the charity.

What are your plans for the future? Any more projects like this lined up?

We've both really enjoyed the project so I certainly don't think this will be end. The Heart Anthology has a nice ring to it…

Pedro Messias is a Designer at Wolff Olins New York. Follow him @_pedromessias

Creativity + Kanye

Listening to the recent Zane Lowe Kanye West interview, it struck me how Mr West's thinking on creativity can be applied to the changing landscape of our own industry. Riffing off a few soundbites from the man himself, here’s some things creatives, and creative businesses, could learn from Yeezus…

'Think, and be involved in the product' Focus on making the product, the service, the thing better, beyond the visual.

We live in increasingly messy creative times, lines are blurring between agency specialities and as a result, problems and solutions no longer fit neatly into buckets. This presents a great opportunity for all creative businesses to get to the heart of a problem early and explore the important issues, like how can we make the actual product and the experience of that product better?

‘Nothing should be exclusive' Think mass, not design for other designers.

All too often the strength of new work is judged on an exclusive collection of voices on a super niche blog or magazine. Who cares? The work must impact positively on the everyday to be great. Does it make someones life easier? Has it improved something? Will your Mum and Dad notice?

'Fusion is the future. Period.' Collaboration is key for creative work to be great.

Like a team of super producers huddled round a mixing board creating sonic odysseys, it’s important to get people with different perspectives around the table to solve business challenges using creativity. Not only designers, programme managers and strategists but technologists, animators, typographers, sound designers, the list goes on. More minds make better solutions.

‘The world can be saved by design’ Don’t underestimate the potential of the work.

As design and creativity become a regular topic of conversation around the boardroom table, design is a big deal. We live in a time where it is no longer seen as the ‘arty fluff', but as a credible business tool with the potential to drive cultural and societal change. As Yeezy may say… dat shit kray.

Who do you think you are kidding art director?

Picture the scene - May 2015. The Prime Minister is at a news conference in the Downing Street rose garden and to the far right stands a new coalition partner. A tiny hairy bluebottle darts from the shrubbery, lands on the philtrum of the deputy PM prompting an instinctive stroke of the lip with the index finger. At the same time the PM swipes away another pest by launching a hand high into the air. Both break into jovial laughter. At that precise moment a hundred cameras flash, the titanium bulbs casting the yew trees in the distance into dark relief. A front page image, guaranteed.

Whether its Farage’s moustachioed microphone or Obama’s multiple halos, some of the most memorable political images have been created more by accident than design. It's a real shame because well-considered, smartly executed political design can have much greater resonance and impact. Sadly, it appears that the world of design is just as bored with politics as the electorate.

Last Friday the Conservative party (big C) 'launched' a conservative (small c) poster campaign for the Great British Vote Off in May. For those who haven't seen it - it looks like the title sequence of Dad’s Army re-imagined by way of Google Street View. It is literally, metaphorically and unashamedly a middle of the road piece of communication.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party will respond today with a weak rehash of a previous Conservative campaign, bad kerning and all. But does it matter? Well, yes. Of course it does. These images were built to speak to you. They are meant to convince you to select who you want to run the country for the next few years. They are saying you are boring and unimaginative. Britain deserves more talent.

Politics should be a crucible of creative energy. Its creative output should be vital, relevant and even provocative. Obama kicked off his campaign with Shepard Fairey art directing, our Premier chose funkypigeon.com

So how can we make it better?

First up. Stop making posters. It's telling the 'launches' are for billboards - the most traditional of communication mediums. One way, shouty, the lowest common denominator.  It's no surprise that 60% of youth voters don't want to put pen to paper in the Spring. Campaigns need to engage in more interesting ways - build a mobile game, get the newly honoured Jamal Edwards to front an online panel debate. Anything other than another dull 48 sheet.

Second - have a bit a more wit. The most political poster of 2014 was for The Interview (the Third World War baiting vehicle from the people who brought you Pineapple Express). Sure they triggered a global diplomatic incident but at least they had the good manners to nail the poster artwork - a pitch perfect agitprop pastiche.

Finally, make something that has conviction. If you are going to call the UK's media to a press conference, make sure what you are going to show is memorable and meme-able. A triumph of content and communication design that truly deserves a fanfare.

Political parties should be taking design, creativity and image making seriously. It should be a valuable tool to bring to life what they believe in, rather than regurgitate what they believe the people want to hear. As Emily Thornberry found out in November and the next Prime Minister may well find out in May, take care with the art and copy what you put into the world. Because if you don't, the world is more than happy to design it, redesign it, tweak it and twerk it on your behalf. Nobody is waiting for another poster…

Beta than ever...

We help our clients bring exciting things into the world all the time, but it's not often that we get to do it for ourselves. Alongside a new strategic direction and consolidated offer (more on that soon), we've also completely overhauled our website and approach to content globally. Today we are thrilled to launch the beta of the new Wolff Olins website. There's a lot of love for the personality of our current website, but times have changed so we've re-designed, re-engineered and updated our entire web platform. What makes us most proud, is that we've done nearly all of it in-house with our burgeoning technology community. We've rebuilt the front-end to use responsive design principles, which means the site looks great on phones, tablets, laptops (and fridges). And we have a new, elegant content management system co-created with our friends at New Bamboo. All of which is powered by a new web platform and API layer that allows us to scale and use our data in more powerful ways. The design has also been refreshed. Today you'll find a cleaner, clearer, more engaging way for you to learn about us and see what we do. We’ve got more dynamic content, a greater commitment to visual and verbal storytelling and more ways for you to get involved, either through our events or our blog.

We've also updated some of our key content, with more in-depth case studies and information about Wolff Olins people around the world, so that you can get to know all about us and how we work. The site is an ever-growing, ever-changing destination for all things WO. Since it's a work in progress we'd love your feedback. Whether it's a bug you've spotted or thoughts about how we present information, email [email protected] and let us know.

Semana Rio Design - Day 2

Ok. Put your phone down, close your laptop, re-sheath your slightly too big and frankly unnecessary ‘phablet’. Step away from this blog post, there's nothing here for you...

Still reading?

Can't blame you really, I’m the same. Cronenbergenly attached to my mobile. A 100% FOMO MOFO. Or at least I was until I heard this:

"Moody... why are you on your phone? Check that out!"

It was Mr Cummings pointing to our venue. A stage in a racecourse next to a cliff with Catholicism's number 1 doing jazz hands to a thumping bass. Rio sure knows how to grab your attention.

The Semana Design Rio event is simply unlike anything else. Design do’s can feel a bit empty, this was different, a gentle reminder about what design is really all about…

Sharing.

Sharing vision, sharing knowledge, sharing stories, sharing beliefs, beers, business cards and personal passions (yes Leo, I'm already looking for a pair of Puma Pelé’s and a Playmobile Christ on Ebay).

What stood out was that it wasn't just a 'design crowd' in the stands it was regular folk - old people, people with kids, kids with skateboards, the intrigued, the perplexed and the excited all there because they just thought it might be fun. The content of the event mirrored the audience too, diverse, smart, sexy and odd looking all at once.

The standout talk on the second day was from Unfold. A duo from Antwerp who didn't really like being put in a box (and if they had been they would have reinvented the concept of 'box-ness' immediately). Claire and Dries shared their story of how they crowd-sourced investment by selling bonds to family and friends. They dazzled everyone with their experiments in 3D printing with clay and provoked with a project which questioned the authorship of artwork.

The questioning didn't stop there. Giacomo and Jeffrey (sound like, but aren’t, magicians) from Business Innovation Design shared their view on how to build a business around a core of design thinking. Smart, focused and with conviction they, like all of the speakers, where trying to find new ways for design to take a much more active role in our lives.

After our discussion around creative partnerships Daniel, the event curator and our most excellent host, told us about a popular Brazilian beach game Frescobol, unlike other sports it's a cooperative not competitive game, the aim being to help your opponent to keep the ball in the air. It was a fitting analogy that captured the mood of the whole event – for design to thrive it must be shared.

There’s a technicolor vibrancy to Brazil that is often lacking from gatherings of designers. A ‘do it’ spirit that permeates the work and is hugely intoxicating. You leave happy to lay aside the yellow pencil aside for a bit, grab a fistful of felt tips and have some fun.

So to our Carioca brethren we say thanks, we’ll try make sure we keep hitting the ball back.

Image via: Unfold

Semana Design Rio - Day 1

Hot, sweaty, and a little jet lagged, Mr Moody and I looked up at the rows of wooden benches covering the grand stand that we would be presenting to later that night. Behind us the sand track was being prepared for the evening's racing partially obscured by a web of orange nylon ropes hanging from the ageing colonial architecture. To our left, a mini design enclave of temporary boutiques and exhibition stands and away to our right, watching from up high, Jesus stood, arms outstretched welcoming us to Rio.

This year's Semana Design is Rio's fourth and held at the city's famous Jockey Club, a 150 year old race course, in the centre of town. Not yet on the scale of London's Design Week, the event represents a crucial nucleus for a city so packed with creativity, craft and ingenuity. The fact that this only began four years ago and that the city itself has no formal design museum shows that this event is the start of a consolidation and wider recognition of Brazil and Rio's design point of view.

Over the course of five days upwards of 20,000 people attended talks, workshops and debates with 50 designers and artists from all over the world. Live content fringed by an exhibition of the best of Rio's design scene including a posthumous display of furniture designer Sergio Rodriguez's beautiful chairs.

We closed the first day with a talk about creative partnerships; the importance of working with a shared ambition, the need to create an environment where partnering thrives, the potential for work when you don't mind if the credit gets shared and the importance of allowing individuals to show you what they want a brand to be.

This thinking is something that sits at the heart of Wolff Olins’ ethos but it was exciting to see it understood, reflected and even replicated in the talks and conversations we heard that evening.

One of the most surprising things was the range of people that queued up to talk to us after our talk. We quickly filled our pockets with the business cards of creative technologists, programmers, sustainable materials researchers, font designers, product designers, art collectives, architects and a man looking to raise funds to fight the drought in the country's North East. Each one of them asking questions or wanting to discuss how they could partner to take their work forward.

It was a spirit that lived on in the streets around the Jockey Club. We were shown down a side street and into a courtyard where the surrounding houses, sheds and garages had been turned into artisan design boutiques, furniture shops and craft stores. Most of the designers had been represented in the exhibition and it was easy to see how this almost collegiate environment helped them share inspiration, ideas, practices and customers.

The talk before ours was by Ricardo Leite, founder and owner of Crama who spoke about his studio's work for Rio's 450th anniversary. Rio is a city awash with municipal and national branding, a sector that often needs a strong hand to give birth to contemporary design ideas. Leite wanted to push something different and create a design that didn't impose another mark on the city but instead invited the city to participate in its creation. It's a simple thought, one that perhaps we've seen before but that perfectly captures the spirit, creativity and ridiculously infectious energy of Rio. I also think the mark itself is particularly strong with its delightfully awkward arrangement of the 450.

The last 15 minutes of the Leite's talk was a continuous burst of all the creative applications created by his team alongside the people of Rio. A much truer and - if I'm honest - more convincing demonstration of a co-created identity than we've seen before. I look forward to seeing how the spirit of the design moves beyond the visual and is carried through into the event planning and community celebrations taking place there next year.

That's a lot to have taken in from one day but that's the thing with Rio, and Brazilian design in general. Its designers and design thinking deserves more visibility on the international scene because as we found in such a short space of time, there's a community pushing many of the ideals and ideas that we believe are starting to reshape our industry. And let's face it, who can say "no" to having a bit more Brazil in their lives?

Image credit: Crama Design

Visual Identity ---> Visual Ecosystem

We're currently in the middle of an intense process of experimentation, creative strategy, illustration, photography, claymation, motion graphics, prototyping and crazy tech. It's what is technically called the 'visual identity phase' of work but I've got a feeling that name isn't quite right anymore…

I love visual identity. In my first year of uni I got a buzz designing a system of parts and I dreamt of getting my graphics on the tail of a plane like the design heroes of a different time. Back then, my starting point was always the logo. I spent serious time crafting a single compelling marque and an exciting super graphic and then applying it to stationery, signage, brochures and later websites and animations. This process works. But as the number and type of interactions we need to design for increases, the visual identity is reduced to a tiny logo on the edge of a website, with no visual relationship to the other elements.

I've flipped the process now. For me, it's better to start with the touch points where the identity needs to live and look at how the entire identity can behave and respond in those environments. I try and think of all of the elements at once – grids, type, icons, backgrounds, imagery and how all of those parts can live together in a visual ecosystem.

Elements respond with interaction.

Elements relate to each other.

Elements adapt to their environment.

A living system that evolves over time. It lives and breathes and responds to people. It can be touched and dragged and sung to. I'm no longer crafting shapes but designing behaviours.

The benefit of designing in this way, is that when people interact with the brand there is an organic connection between the brand and the experience. The elements are recognisable, interactions feel alive and the experience is seamless. And when it comes to designing the logo, it basically forms itself as an obvious conclusion to an ecosystem of elements.

The name visual identity doesn't feel quite right any more… do we need a new name?

Campbell Butler is a Design Director at Wolff Olins London.  

We're always on the lookout for design interns in London

We’re looking for brilliant, passionate and creative people to join our design team in London for a three-month internship.

During the internship you’ll get to work with our teams and explore, experiment and collaborate on a wide range of design work.

Ideally, you'll be a 3rd year student or a recent graduate. You must have great graphic design skills and experience in Adobe Creative Suite. It would be really useful if you have strong digital and interaction skills: coding, digital prototyping, interface design or UX, as well as an interest in motion graphics and animation. You must be energetic, eager to learn and curious about the world around you, as well great at collaborating and up for any challenge.  But most of all you must be a brilliant creative thinker who's full of ideas.

Send your cv, portfolio and a short email telling us why you’re right for Wolff Olins to [email protected] - don’t forget to put ‘Design Internship 2014’ in the title too. 

Looking forward to hearing from you. 

Hello from the new guy!

By Daljit Singh 

When I started out in the clunky, early days of the interactive world, CD-Rom was a leading format, Shockwave was the plug-in you needed to make things move online, and 'broadband' could have been a name of Sheffield colliery brass band. That was 1994 and I was only going to do the Internet Thing for a while until a proper job in graphic design came along.

My digital agency, Digit was founded in 1995 with just a handful of peer agencies around. Alongside creating some of the very early websites for brands such as Habitat and MTV we dedicated time to our own investigations into what could be done with interactivity – something that led to a raft of new thinking and tons of experimentation that manifested in our work. The work established principles for what became Feed, a series of experimental projects exploring simple, human, interaction. Feed informed our approach as a philosophy that kept what we do intuitive and free from tech overload. The point of technology is not to confuse or obfuscate but to make things simpler and more pleasurable to use.

After departing Digit in 2010 I subsequently set up Terence Conran’s first digital proposition. I am now independent and fortunate enough to be working on a rich range of global projects that enable me to work with some seriously bright individuals and companies. 

I love the creative process across visual communication and business strategy, and how it unlocks bottlenecks within businesses. There is unprecedented growth and change in communication and connection. This innovation is not going to stop anytime soon and we feel the impact and power of technology, enabling everyone to ‘have a go’. Today’s designer is no longer ‘T’ shaped but more like an ‘8’, maneuvering around the problem/solution/idea and changing tack swiftly when required.

Multiple skills are now required to work in this space, with listening right at the dizzy top of the list. It's a tough one to master but once conquered can take us to great places: a department of listening should be in place in all organisations.

In order to make good ideas happen we should seek influence beyond our core interests in new sectors and new regions. Businesses are an open door for us to explore and create true innovation.

I am the Curator of a forthcoming exhibition at London’s V&A, The Department of Luxury. The show will present dynamic and provocative thinking about the topic, and challenge audience’s perceptions of how Luxury can be understood, experienced and imagined in the 21st Century.

And in a perfectly complementary role, here I am as the current Visiting Creative Director at Wolff Olins (it’s the fourth day in) – invited in to challenge and bring a different perspective for the next 3 months. Opportunities like this are rare, and the Visiting Creative Director programme is an inspired, brave and positively disruptive initiative to be admired.

  Daljit Singh is a part of our visiting creative director programme, an initiative intended to help us stretch and enhance our creative thinking.