Story Telling
Design is story telling, but a story needs veracity. So as we enter the design and implementation steps, we try to figure out the nugget of truth, the "core" of the story that needs to be told. This is the absolute key ingredient in any design program; with this truth comes the ability to distill the ingredients down to their essential few, giving us the confidence to toss out the extraneous. We develop these stories using scenarios and diagramming paths, and we question the incentive and motivations of the potential users relentlessly. We want our stories to ring true, and for that to happen, they can’t fall down.

Architecture
We build things. So those things require an architecture—sometimes made of material and sometimes made of information—that intelligently puts together the elements and framework that comprise a project’s infrastructure. Information architecture defines priorities and creates relationships and groupings between logical objects. Physical architecture answers to the requirements of good design principals and often requires the resources of outside designers and fabricators. We place high value on defining and refining the functional requirements at every turn, because sometimes they’re a moving target. Requirements are continually reviewed, rewritten if necessary, and reviewed again.

Implemention
It’s a bit of a fiction to put Implementation at the end, since rapid prototyping demands that we "implement" design concepts, in some form, very early in the process. Nevertheless, the word implementation as used here refers to the actual build-out of the project, whether its physical or digital. During this phase, we obsess over graphic interpretations, ergonomics, iconography, metaphor, color, material, and anything that can be manipulated with a designer’s toolbox. We try to throw away as much as possible, and leave the ultimate manifestation of the idea as close to the core truth as possible. We try not to decorate, and we invariably make some compromises. We’re grown-ups. In the end we hope to make happy, intrigued and confident clients by delivering more than they asked for, and involving them every step of the way.

Empathy
We begin with a Big Picture understanding of time, budgets, general processes of the client and how our work might fit in. We review and attempt to internalize their brand strategies, marketing strategies, business plans and any other pertinent documentation and initiatives. We endeavor to understand our client’s competitors and any related technologies specific to the engagement. We deliver a project brief and scope definition document.

Collection
Where appropriate, we conduct interviews with management, customers, partners, and experts. We make a stong attempt to meet with the client’s in-house resources, especially those on the front lines of who will be using or selling the product or service we will deliver. We inventory the potential users and look for ways to expand their ranks. We perform both a formal as well as anecdotal observation of the marketplace and put together a competitive analysis—often resulting in a detailed review of web sites, physical products, programs and collateral materials.

Definition
Next we determine, from the collection above, sets of primary, secondary, direct and indirect users. We figure out who’s internal and external; who are potential partners and affiliates. We define the goals to reach, and maybe some goals that appear just beyond our reach. We believe in stretching. We put together a definition of the problem to solve, and the vision to achieve. We review and finalize the design brief. Sometimes we start all over again. And we review these artifacts with the client often throughout the process—not just at the end. Our clients stay in the loop, and this helps keep projects on track.

Heat, Fire, Truth
We have a meeting or two, start tossing around ideas, and kick some tires. The ideas that make it past this first lightning round move quickly to a kind of cerebral proof-of-concept. But the proof of concept is all about provocation: Do these initial good ideas provoke better next ideas? Do they provoke a kind of response that breaks new ground?

We are always looking for the heat. Heat equals risk, and we are interested in projects that allow for a reasonable amount of it. Do some of these initial ideas provoke our client into thinking differently about their design brief? Do they take our client somewhere where they might be a little bit uncomfortable, yet excited and intrigued?

We believe that good design process (indeed good design, period) answers questions that users did not think to ask. And that goes for clients too. Sometimes we’re guided by instinct, and the solutions seem to come from thin air. Other times the answers result from rigorous research, review and thought.