Brand perceptions are built on reactions to experiences with a brand. As such, changing the experience is a powerful way of changing
brand perceptions and behaviors. Although the phrase “experience design” has
traditionally been applied to digital experiences, the practice can be applied
much more broadly. Somewhat still in its infancy, designing experiences can be
a daunting undertaking as it can encompass so much. Many don’t know where
to start and lack the framework to even think about how an experience can be
better. A few basic "rules" of improv can help as a starting place for
beginning experience designers.
Practicing improv is a great way to learn how to think on
your feet, be flexible, work collaboratively with others--all practices
critical to experience design. Some traditional "rules" of improv are useful in
the context of designing compelling consumer experiences:
- Don’t
Deny In improv, this means
don’t disregard premise, no matter how outrageous. If someone says “The sky is a
crazy color of green today,” as a partner your goal is to build on that not
shut it down by saying “No it’s not…it’s blue.” In experience design, you
can’t start by denying what could be: “We can’t change the check-in process
because...,” for instance. For a great new customer experience to come to
life, it will have to break some of the conventions of the current
experience. Make sure you’re open, especially at the beginning of a
process, to accept what may be an outrageous premise or idea.
- Listen,
Watch and Concentrate Improv
requires everyone to be paying attention to what’s said, what’s unsaid,
how someone is standing or moving, what their expression is. Anything can be fodder for where to take the scene. It’s the same in
experience design. Sitting back, watching, listening and
concentrating on how people are presently experiencing the brand (while
leaving yourself open to the outrageous) can identify moments where the
experience could be improved. Thoughtful watching (combined with asking
“Why?”) is perhaps the most powerful tool in experience design.
- Be
Specific In an improv scene,
details are the building blocks for the continuing story. Saying “That’s a
pretty dog” is less useful than saying “That’s a pretty Pit Bull. But why
is he dressed like a pirate?” It’s easy to imagine how to react to the
second statement because of its specificity. It’s the same with experience
design. Greater specificity as to what exactly needs to be changed (based
on your thoughtful watching) is the difference between “Make the check-out
experience faster” and “Make the check-out experience faster by SMSing
guests' bills to their mobile phones.”
- Change,
change, change A powerful improv
scene is all about change. Where the scene starts and where it ends is
usually where the humor, tension, and interest come from. In experience
design, there is always something to be improved. Saying “New and
Improved!” without being new and improved is worse than doing
nothing at all.
- Get
It On Its Feet Improv is not
sitting around thinking up clever ideas...it's about being on your feet actively discovering clever ideas. Experience design must move from the planning stage to the
prototyping stage quickly. Rather than sitting in a conference room
imaging how people will react to a redesigned customer experience, get out
into the world and prototype it! Cobble it together with shoestrings and
masking tape, ask real customers to participate and interact, then watch
and learn.
Like improv, experience design is
an action sport, best done by a committed and crazy band of folks who are
purposefully creating the new. And like improv, experience design can be
delightful for the creators and the audience when it’s done well. So get on
your feet and get started on improving your brand’s experience.
[Image: Flickr user 2N Improv]
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