More is not always better

People like the idea of having options but when faced with too many they shut down. It’s almost always better to present people with fewer, higher quality, options than to overload them.

Remember the last time you tried to make a selection from an ten page Chinese restaurant menu? You probably chose something from memory. Back when Blockbuster was in business I had to decide what movie to rent before I arrived because, if I didn't, I'd just wander the aisles in a state of information overload.

Whether you’re sending a client mockups or designing an interface keep the options focused and few. Of course there are exceptions. A power Photoshop user want an array of tools at their fingertips, a pilot wants all their instruments in view. But if you’re designing for the mainstream and want to facilitate decision-making present fewer options that represent your recommendations.

Seeing is believing

Artists are in a unique position to develop consensus and prove, or disprove, ideas. Why? Because a picture is worth a 1,000 words. 

Put a group of people in a room to discuss a visual solution to something and I guarantee they will all leave the room with different pictures in the heads. Here's the example I use in my classes and workshops; ask 10 people in a room to imagine a blue ball. Seems simple enough. They should all visualize a similar image, right? Nope. Here's what happens when you ask them to describe the image. The type of ball, the size of ball, and the background image will all be different. Some balls on are the ground and some are floating in space. Sometimes people are in the scene.

The point is that even a simple visualization will produce very different results unless you describe all the details or, better yet, just show an image of ball you want them to visualize. Have that same group reacting to something visual and the conversation will be more focused, shorter and the picture in everyone's heads will be more similar.

If visuals haven’t been prepped in advance, use a whiteboard or a scrap of paper. It doesn’t need to be a work of art, it just needs to communicate an idea. When I'm in a meeting and the conversation is going in a circles with everyone is championing their own idea I'll sometimes suggest a meeting be rescheduled so I’ll have time to make some visuals that can refocus the discussion.

Use images to get gut checks on an idea in it’s early stage and use them to help set agendas for conversations.

Take a breath

Whether you’re facing oncoming opponent, a difficult meeting or a big project you’ll be stronger, more nimble and better able to improvise strategies if you're relaxed. Breathe, trust your training and preparation, and accept that there is no situation you can control 100%. 

Be prepared to take some hits but don’t hold onto those bruises emotionally. Acknowledge them and move on. You'll have time later to review where you went wrong.

Before your next meeting pause to take a few long, slow breaths. Slow yourself down and review what you know in your head. If you’re prepared and relaxed your ideas will come more quickly. We’ve all been in situations where we’re underprepared and out of breath. It sucks. 

If someone surprises you with an unexpected, stressful, conversation, take control - tell them to give you a few minutes or take a deep breath before diving in. Either way, it’s up to you to set the tone and pace of conversation.

Consult experts

I know you're probably amazing at whatever it is you do but I'm sure there are areas that are outside your depth of knowledge - areas where maybe you aren't so amazing. No problem, that's why you have experts as friends, colleagues, and mentors. If you have the budget, hire them. If you don't have a budget, offer an exchange, or buy them dinner and drinks. I've picked many brains over a beer.

Consulting experts will get you to solutions faster and shorten your conversations with clients. That's more upside for you if you're working on a project or flat rate. If you work hourly it means moving to your next project sooner. 

I'm consistently surprised how often people are willing to offer advice or insight around their area of expertise. Don't abuse this. Show appreciation, give them credit when possible and just be gracious. Show willingness to give back. The interviews on ools not Rules are an example of this. Some of the people are my friends and colleagues but some of them are people I've never met, or barely know, but whose work I admire. For a little bit of their time I try to spread the word about their talent. It's not much, maybe, but it's genuine.  

Where do you lack expertise? Now, which of your friends and colleagues have the skills you lack? Reach out to them. Don't worry about being a pain in the ass, you'll return the favor at some point and that's cheaper than going to school or learning the hard way.

You'll make bad decisions

A friend once told me that he didn’t consider it a successful night of drinking unless he blacked out. He claimed to enjoy the game of piecing together what happened in the days following the blackout. This is extreme and suggests deeper issues but most of us have enjoyed a scaled back version of this scenario where a drink or two has led us to decisions and scenarios that we wouldn’t normally consider: the ill-advised trip to Taco Bell, the Walk of Shame and the hangovers.

At some point you're going to make a mistake and you're first instinct may be to run and hide. Say, to Canada.  Its worth taking some time to reflect, to track down the reason the mistake was made, but don't that become the thing that keeps you from dealing with the mistake itself. If you care, if you're committed to contributing to something larger than yourself, you won't run. You'll take a stand, claim your mistake (big or small) and commit to fixing it.

We all have our stories and we all have had to deal with the consequences. That’s the lesson: Drunk or sober, you will make bad decisions in life and you need to deal with them. You’ll need to claim your mistakes, personal and professional, and continue moving forward. It’s counter-intuitive but embracing the bad calls will earn you respect and it's the only way to learn from your mistakes.

You need a wingman

As an artist you may know exactly what you want to say but you may not see your work clearly from inside the creative bubble. Whether you’re developing personal or commercial work one thing will be constant: your objectivity will probably suck.

That’s why you need a wingman. Someone to keep you honest, on-target and motivated. A friend, an art director, an editor, or colleague who knows what you’re trying to accomplish. What you see isn’t necessarily what anyone else sees and sometimes it helps to have someone to ask, “Are you drunk?”

Yes, even the best artists, writers, directors and dancers have agents, directors, and editors to help focus the message. To make something great even better. If you don't have a wingman, find one. Be critical of yourself but also invite focused criticism.

Horstman's Law: You're not that smart, they're not that dumb

Unless you're some kind of sociopath or super-spy the people around you will know if you're holding back. And if they're worth being part of your life they're worth the truth. If you choose to hold back you can expect they will follow your lead.

“You can’t fool people. Ever. The fact is, people know when you mislead them. Yes, they might go along with you, but they know that it doesn’t feel right. That you don’t feel right. After all, didn’t you used to be “them?”

“Tell the whole truth. Don’t leave anything out. When in doubt, tell everyone. Use candor as advantage, rather than seeing it as weakness.”

Find more great ideas and information at Manager Tools.

Anticipate Needs

There are few things worse than then doing a review with your client or PO and getting clobbered with questions you didn’t anticipate. Ideally you would have interviewed them about their goals before you started any actual work but inevitably something slips by.

Think like your client. Internalize their goals as your own. If you work with the same people regularly write down the feedback you anticipate and compare it to the feedback you receive. Do this enough and you’ll see patterns emerge. Most of us have a limited set of scripted needs and we express them over and over. You boss/client/PO is no different.

Regularly step away from your work and anticipate your client's needs. Write them down. Developing this empathy will focus your work, reduce revisions, save time in reviews and your boss or client will trust you more.

Horstman’s Law: How You Feel Is Your Fault

It's so easy to blame circumstances, and other people, for our frustrations but that's just offloading responsibility. Don't let other people turn you into something, or someone, you don't want to be. If other people determine the conditions of your happiness you're giving them too much power. Your feelings are your responsibility.

“If you find yourself saying, “that guy/situation/boss makes me mad,” you’re wrong. They did something, and then you decided how to respond. Think about the word responsibility. (Response-ability) You’re able to choose your response.”

“Choose the right response. Choose not to get angry. Choose to understand why they behave the way they do. Your response will be more powerful.”

Find more great ideas and information at Manager Tools.

Horstman’s Law: Control is an Illusion

This is so true. As a manager there's a strong temptation to over-validate our presence by controlling the conditions and people around us. However you can't control everything. Ultimately you, and your team, will be happier and more productive if you learn to step back. 

“There is not a single person whom you think you “control” who would agree with you. If you really think you’re so good as to control another, then who in your organization thinks that way about you? Stop trying to control. You’re wasting your time. Build relationships that allow you to influence.”

“Build relationships based on trust. Say, “I trust you.” Let your team choose their path at times, even when you disagree.”

Find more great ideas and information at Manager Tools.

Horstman’s Law: It’s All About People

“This is actually a hard-nosed, scientific and financial reality. Any hour you spend on people is a better investment than an hour spent on systems, processes, or policies. Great people can overcome average systems; average people won’t live up to great systems.”

Surround yourself with talented people and get to know what makes them tick. Conversation about work is great but that will only give you a shallow understanding of who they are and, if you're working with someone, do you really want to settle for partial understanding? You can invest in technology and great ideas but without reliable, talented and communicative people to execute ideas you'll be stuck cleaning up other people's messes and that's just not a good use of your time. 

“Spend time with your folks every week. Learn their strengths and weaknesses. Learn their projects. Learn their children’s names.”

Find more great ideas and information at Manager Tools.

Fear the Pie in the Sky

Creativity is fueled by constraints. The challenge is finding the right amount of information to get you started but not so much that you have no room to explore. 

Here's the example I use with my students:

1. imagine sitting down with a client who's commissioned you do do a painting but they don't know what they want. First of all, send up some red flags. You either need to start asking questions or prepare for heavy revisions and budget accordingly. They are not okay with you doing anything - they just didn’t know what they wanted until they had something to react to.
2. Next imagine that same client specifying they want a painting of a duck. Ah, your life just became easier. You have subject matter, a host of questions you can ask them (Why a duck? Male or female? Just one?) and a clear path for collecting reference material.
3. Finally, what if the client asks for a blue duck. Awesome. You have all the same questions from above plus - why blue? What does blue represent? 

Learn how to interview clients, and yourself, to establish the right amount of enabling constraints. Too many and you'll find yourself boxed in by all the conditions. Example: the client wants a beautiful painting, in the style of Cy Twombly, of a blue duck walking east to west across the street she grew up on, while a group of children are playing kick-the-can next to a large fir tree that represents age and the bittersweet loss of memory as it relates to past relationships, specifically this one person from college who the client thought was the 'one' but the person ended up joining a monastery after knocking up the client's best friend. 

You'll either want to walk away from that project or have a long conversation with the client about their priorities. It'll save you time down the road.

Embrace the bad ideas

Seeing is believing. Sometimes the path to resolution, and evolution, of an idea means embracing the bad ideas. Yours and the clients. Sharing the good and bad, and soliciting responses, will tune your understanding of what is important to someone. Its great to hear what works but sometimes, painful as it is, it's helpful to react to something that doesn't work so well.

At some point a client will ask you to do something that you think is a bad idea and, despite your genius, the best thing to do is to show them what they ask for. Scenario #1: their idea works (or leads you to an idea that does work) and you discover that you’re not the genius you thought you were. Scenario #2: the client sees first-hand that their idea doesn’t work and they trust you more. In either case you’ll learn a little more about the project by embracing the request and trying it out.

When I'm working in photoshop, mocking up UI or doing concept work, I save some of the ideas that I anticipate the client would want to see. This is key: I can't archive every idea so I put myself in their shoes and imagine their requests. This is usually pretty easy because they've been vocal about their ideas or I've grilled them for a creative brief before I started working. I can't count the number of times a client has asked to see something that I tried and dismissed it but failed to show them. Now I save myself time and just do what they ask to see (its been budgeted for, anyway) so we can all move along happily.

This doesn’t need to be a source of stress. If you’re working with a new client and you don't know if they're an I-know-what-I-like-when-I-see-it kind of person make sure you budget for iteration. It'll improve the quality of your work and make your clients happier because they'll feel like they've been heard.

Find a mentor

I learned this one from Tony Robbins: find a mentor, or a model, and put yourself in their shoes. Whatever it is that you do there's going to be someone you can learn from. Find that person and connect with them.

In the movies the mentor always seems to find their pupil but that doesn't mean you have to wait around for Obi Wan to show up. For the past couple years I've made it a practice of reaching out to people whom I admire and letting them know I appreciate the things they're doing. I try to be specific and, here's a key bit, I don't ask for anything in return. I've emailed, Facebooked, engaged people in conversation after seeing them speak at events. Recently I've started having my students do this at the beginning of each semester and everyone is amazed that they get a response. It's funny, really, that in this world of hyper-connectedness that we don't think to reach out to our role-models.

Make a list of 10 people whose work you admire and write them a sincere, specific message (email, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) describing how their work has inspired you and don't expect them to all get back to you. Some will and some won't but you're training yourself to communicate appreciation and that practice will eventually reward you.

You don’t need to become a stalker but figure out what it is about them that allows them to do what they do. Is it a state of mind? A natural gift? Do they have some practice that you can adopt to improve your game?

This relationship can take any number of shapes: an actual teacher, a friendship, an email correspondence, an internship, etc. The point is to interact with people who inspire you, people who push you to excel. If you're the best person in the room it’s really easy to plateau but if you hang with people who have the thing(s) you want you’re much more likely to figure out how to get what they have.

Cool ain't the cool it used to be

At some point someone is going to ask you to make something cool. When that happens ask them what ‘cool’ means then watch them mumble and say things like, “You know...cool. Like (fill in the name of a product/band/book/designer/illustrator/etc).”

It’s a ridiculously broad, and bland, term that actually defies meaning unless you know the audience and in whose voice you should be judging cool. It means different things to different people. It's so bland that it substitutes for 'okay' in conversation. What is cool to a gun nut might be very different from what is cool to an 8-year old girl. But you can get more nuanced: What is cool to a gun nut might be different from what is cool to someone into cars. Until you know the audience you won’t understand the term.

And it’s not just ‘cool’. Words like cool, weird, sexy, dark, vintage, etc all need deeper explanation. When a client, partner, collaborator says something needs to be cool (or any other vague descriptor) pause the conversation and drill deeper to find out what they really mean. What does cool mean to them? Cool for what audience? What emotions are embedded in their concept of cool? Can they point to similarly cool projects? Can they use other adjectives that have more specific meaning (daring, provocative, ugly, sleek, dirty, etc)?

The Communication Hydra

Communication is messy. Even when you think you've been clear as crystal there's room for miscommunication. Ask ten people in a room to imagine a blue ball and they'll all visualize different shades of blue: pale blue, royal blue, light blue, dark blue, etc. There are as many kinds of blue as there are people and each of those blues represent something different to the person doing the visualizing. There’s a communication model that says anytime two people are speaking there are actually six people involved:

1. Who you are
2. Who you think you are
3. Who they think you are
4. Who they are
5. Who they think they are
6. Who you think they are

While it’s not practical to keep all these influences in mind during a conversation it is a useful tool to develop empathy, contextualize feedback and anticipate the needs of creative partners, friends, family, etc. As you get to know someone these six personalities reconcile but in most relationships it is the blend of identities that represent who we are and how we see the people around us.

Feedback: Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process

Giving and receiving feedback is one of those things that's easy to recognize when it’s done well but few of us have a structure to make the process easier.

Much of the writing about feedback is directing towards managers but, as a designer, you can't control how your manager delivers critique. Some people are good at it but most, frankly, suck when it comes to providing clear, goal-based, feedback that gives their artist the freedom to solve problems and recognize when those problems are solved. Crazy since it's something we do every day.

As an artist the thing you can control is how you receive feedback and what clarifying questions you ask to better understand your clients goals. Liz Lerman’s is the first of a few feedback models that I’m going to feature. Try it out.

Each participant has a role (the Artist, the Respondees and the Facilitator) and the process has four steps:

1. Statement of meaning by the group. Each Respondee shares what is meaningful, evocative or interesting about the work being critiqued.
2. Questions by the artist for the group. The Artist asks specific questions of the Respondees.
3. Questions by the group for the artist. Respondees ask the Artist neutral questions about the work.
4. Opinions. Respondees offer opinions about the work.

It isn't practical to run through this whole script every time feedback is required but do it a few times and positive patterns for communication will emerge. The process can be truncated for shorter conversations once the group has a shared sense values and the ability to recognize helpful vs. unhelpful feedback.

Become a concept firehose

New ideas don't just appear. They are the result of conscious, or subconscious, connections being made by the creator. Someone took two or more disparate ideas and combined them to get an unexpected result. Concept artists use this strategy all the time. Need a cute dragon? Combine a dragon with something soft and fuzzy, maybe a peach or a puppy, and start illustrating. 

There are tons of ways to begin this creative matchmaking process and I've made my a document to help you get started. Your idea will probably take on a life of its once the ideas start flowing but you're just looking for something to get the creative juices flowing. It's all about placing constraints upon your ideation and observing how each decision leads to powerful combinations.

Here's how it works: Write down the thing thing your designing (character, logo, UI, etc) then list the requirements of your project. What do you know about it already? Once these are listed move left to right through the document, listing as many items as you can for each column. Don't hold back ideas, go for volume. Once you have a long list make a selection in each column and draft a project description based on your selections. 

Does this seem too dry to work? Aren't spreadsheets anathema to the creative process? Nonsense. This exercise is just putting onscreen, or on paper, whats already going through someone's head when they're doing concept development.  

Remember, this is an idea generation tool. Try to make unexpected combinations! It doesn't try to answer all the questions about a project, its function is to make connections that produce unexpected results. It's a conversation starter and once you've output a project description you might try the exercise a second or third time to see how much the concept can change just by tweaking a couple variables.

I've created some examples in the document to demonstrate how the process works. The highlighted cells are decisions I made and all of these are combined into a statement describing the project. In the columns Adjectives, Additional Descriptors and Setting columns you'll discover interest results can be produced by selecting multiple options but don't go overboard. You'll see that selected more than three options actually starts to hinder the concept. Few creative constraints often produce the clearer ideas.

Convert details into goals

Have you ever been frustrated by feedback that’s too specific? We've all had colleagues, clients or managers who get too attached to a specific idea and lose sight of the goal. The button needs to be blue, the educational game for 6-8 year olds needs to have boss battles like the ones in God of War, the logo needs an representative illustration of a winged wolf (because it represents both independence and a commitment to the pack) flying around the sun (because, like Icarus, our best ideas can be the death of us) and it should reproduce well at a range of sizes while appealing equally across genders.

Generally information is the thing that feeds creativity but too much of it (or the fixation on details) can produces obstacles. 

You can’t rely on others to provide enabling information

Don’t blame others for not communicating well. Help the people around you be helpful. Become an alchemist. It’s up to you to get information that you can use and to shift conversation from details to goals. You can try training everyone to give better feedback but I suggest investing in your own interviewing skills so you can extract useful information from anyone, anywhere and at any time. It's a portable skill that will work in all of your relationships.

When the feedback receiving isn't helpful try digging for more information. I like to use the 5 Whys. It's a good strategy for asking judgement-free questions that reveal the goal without challenging the other person's authority. Sometimes I'll even preface the questions with something like. "I want to better understand your goals. Mind if I ask some questions?" What client would say no to that?

Negotiate space for creativity

Once you've converted detailed feedback into something more goal-oriented you're ready to ask your manager/client/stakeholder whether they're open to other solutions that address their goals. At this point you've helped them articulate their values/needs and the act of telling you what's important will help them realize there might be other solutions. 

At this point in the process I'll ask for some space, "Now that I know your goals, do you mind if I explore other options?"

Will this always result in more creative freedom? Maybe not 100% of the time but it's more likely you'll get what you need than stewing in silence at your desk and wrestling with that winged wolf logo. Oh, by the way, the client just called and they want the logo to have a script font.

Get six-pack abs through effective feature tracking

That's right, a good feature tracking tool will help you get the abs you've always wanted. How? With all the time you'll save you can easily squeeze in five minutes to work your core. I'm only half kidding. Imagine, if running a tighter, more organized, project wins you back 10-30 minutes per day what would you do with that time?

Continuing my efforts to make free and easy to use project management tools available to you I've just uploaded a simple feature tracking sheet to the resources page. According to my Google search a feature is "a distinctive attribute or aspect of something." For our purposes features are the individual components of a larger project. For example: if you're building a theater show you might start breaking down features by category: story, script, costumes, lighting, set, etc. Each of those represent some component of the larger whole.

There are tons of great tools out there for tracking features within a project (Agile, Kanban, Trello, Pivotal Tracker, etc) but I wanted something simple with little friction between my ideas and decisions so I made this tracking sheet. It's good for quick planning alongside other tools like those listed above. For smaller projects this worksheet might be all you need but for larger projects with multiple collaborators you could use this to sketch your project then migrate your features to something like Trello.

The Priority column is a drop down menu with three values: 1 (this feature needs to happen), 2 (it would be great if this feature happened) and 3 (life will go on if this feature doesn't happen). Feel free to modify this document to suit your needs: add new columns, copy and paste to extend the existing columns, etc.

Feel free to contact me with any questions!

www.tools-not-rules.com