User-Centered Design for Evolving Products
Wednesay, August 15, 10:30-11:15 AM
by Ryan Freitas
What happens when your web product tries too hard to be liked? The gradual accretion of flawed interfaces and non-essential features can push applications, services and sites farther and farther away from the audiences they would most like to attract. The core vision behind these products can become occluded, with dire results for business goals and the user experience you work so hard to maintain.
Borrowing examples from across the industry in addition to recent Adaptive Path work, we'll discuss how innovators are approaching new models for evolving their existing products. We'll also explore the sets of tools that make redefinition and simplification possible, all with an eye towards fulfilling users' needs.
In this session, you will:
- Focus on ways in which new models can help innovators evolve existing products.
- Examine and learn from a collection of current case studies and examples.
- Gain some perspective and tools designed to help you fulfill users' needs.
About Ryan Freitas
Ryan is a senior interaction designer for Adaptive Path, where he has worked with clients including Oracle, Flickr, Six Apart, BitTorrent, Socialtext and Sphere. With over ten years in the field, Ryan is an experienced and opinionated advocate for user-centered design, as well as an occasional writer, speaker and design award judge.
After graduating with a specialization in Human Computer Interaction at UC San Diego's School of Cognitive Science, Ryan began his career designing and coding application interfaces for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. After transitioning to a role as a senior information architect at Sapient, he refined concepts and designed web applications and platforms for clients such as Janus and Nissan. In 2000 he moved to Tokyo, where he trained Sapient's local creative team in interaction design practices.
After returning to San Francisco in 2001, Ryan freelanced as an interaction design consultant and worked with Williams' Sonoma and the Home Depot on their retail website and kiosk designs. He joined Adaptive Path in the spring of 2005, where he now leads product strategy and design engagements. Recently, Ryan has assumed responsibility for Adaptive Path's New Ventures program, working with startups to bring engaging and innovative offerings to market.
As a writer and conference speaker, Ryan has focused on collaboration tools, online media platforms, and community building.