What I have learned
designing experiences for kids, industry and media
Understand the big picture.
Research - know your audience.
Learn from your target audience - ALWAYS.
Test again and again.
Strategy is the glue.
Leave space for iteration.
Quality and depth are the key to engagement.
Always design for intuitive, sticky, graceful and delightful.
Be irreverent - always push a little, sometimes a lot.
Be prepared to learn, and be wrong, and learn again. And again.
Sometimes be right. Stick to your guns.
Manage your opinions.
Don’t be the jerk, things always get tricky (and that is half the fun), figuring out the puzzle.
The loudest voice is not always right, it’s often just loud.
Communicate with the information gatekeepers - always.
Empathy and a willingness to try, optimism and experimentation.
Value the work of others.
Value your work.
Embrace process.
Share your process. All of it.
Make a point to celebrate, small wins and big wins, because afterwards looking back it’s amazing.
Every team is different, settle down and listen.
A collaborative mindset, no one does it alone, or has all the answers.