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There are several methods to generating big ideas. In this video, we’ll be creating small vignettes to get our ideas onto paper.
New Terms:
- Big Idea – a holistic and open-ended solution to a user’s pain based in a user’s motivation or needs.
- Feature – a prescriptive, non-holistic response to a user’s pain based in technology.
- Vignette – a brief but descriptive depiction of events.
- “Getting Caught in the Weeds” – an idiom that refers to being distracted by details and losing sight of the intended purpose.
- Self-compassion – allowing for kindness and mindful forgiveness of oneself during times of failure.
Handouts
Further Reading:
- The 10 Qualities of a Big Idea
- Defining “self-compassion” with Dr. Kristin Neff
- Decorating 101: The ABCs of Arranging Vignettes - Techniques for creating visually pleasing vignettes. While these tips are demonstrated within a physical space, the concepts can easily be replicated digitally.
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Big ideas, these are the real
differentiators of a user's experience.
0:00
Big ideas are holistic and
open ended solution to user pain.
0:05
They often use metaphor or
analogies to describe the experience.
0:10
For instance, have you ever described
something as the Uber of something?
0:14
Or maybe you've said it's sort of like if
Google and fill in the blank teamed up.
0:19
Big ideas are not the same as features.
0:25
Features are instead prescriptive
technology-based solutions
0:29
to immediate interface problems.
0:33
Let's try this, instead of the Uber
of something example for a big idea.
0:36
A feature version of this would be,
0:41
imagine cars moving all
over a map on your screen.
0:44
With their distance formatted
as time displayed above them.
0:48
Features aren't bad, but they tend to
only address smaller interface-based
0:52
subsets of the larger experience issues.
0:57
There's a phrase,
getting caught in the weeds.
1:02
It's used to explain this moving
into details too quickly and
1:05
missing out on the larger purpose.
1:08
It refers to being on a journey, losing
your focus, and moving off the well-worn
1:11
and trusted path that you should be on,
and then getting lost as a result.
1:16
When you've been caught in the weeds,
1:21
it's important to mention,
you are not your user.
1:24
Meaning there may be something that
you want to add to the experience.
1:28
But this is all about stable
Sarah's needs, not yours.
1:32
When in doubt, go back to your empathy
map and keep your ego in check.
1:36
Now that we've defined big ideas
versus features, take 20 minutes.
1:42
To draw a big idea vignette that
references something in the real
1:48
world that could solve your users' pain.
1:53
A vignette is a brief but
descriptive depiction of events.
1:56
A quick note, when ideating,
be self compassionate.
2:02
Self compassion is allowing for
kindness and
2:07
mindful forgiveness of oneself
during times of failure.
2:11
If you're taking risks,
which you should be,
2:15
you need to stay judgment free of your
drawing ability and your initial concepts.
2:18
Creativity will be most easily
fostered in a judgment free zone,
2:24
the time for constraints will come later.
2:30
And just as a reminder,
stable Sarah needs greater consistency,
2:33
transparency, and assurance.
2:37
And after our ideation session,
2:39
our big idea will address all three
areas of pain to varying degrees.
2:41
We will personify the idea as
though it were a human guide for
2:47
the process, and
call it the seasoned concierge.
2:52
In the next video,
2:57
we will get to know our new friend on the
checkout process by creating a storyboard.
2:58
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