As adults, we sometimes lose touch with something that is hugely important to our personal and professional growth: discovery and exploration, otherwise known as play. We know that children learn through play. In our early developmental years, we come to understand the idea of gravity by dropping our mac and cheese on the kitchen floor. When my son screams or says something designed to be provocative, then studies my facial expression and its reaction, he is mastering the concept of cause and effect. As the active toddler throws a toy across the room, she begins to understand and harness her strength. But of course she doesn’t approach it that way. Her approach is this: “Weeeeeeeee”.

The more I think about it, I rather like that approach to solving a design problem. I’ll call it the “Weeeeeeee” Approach. I like it because it’s fun. And don’t we usually create better things when we are having fun? Frankly, when I consider how I want to spend the days of my professional life, I want them to be fun. Why not?

I had a client tell me recently that I always come to meetings with questions. As I sat there nervously wondering if that was a good thing, he continued. “That’s why I love working with you.” I think as consultants, we are most valuable when we come to the table with a sense of discovery. Producing the templated approach or idea becomes tantalizingly easy with experience. Accumulated knowledge is a great thing, but the right solution is almost always the result of a dynamic exercise of push and pull, give and take, try and fail, try and succeed.

Over the years I have experimented with how I spend my time prior to a client meeting. I have been surprised with what works and what doesn’t. And I struggle to find consistency across the range of good approaches. Lessons learned? Always be familiar with the problem. Sometimes, be familiar with your proposed solution. Sometimes, think through some basic directions. Sometimes, don’t give it any thought and come to the table fresh. We often chain ourselves to an idea that may or may not be the best, the most appropriate, the most on-target, the most fun. We also risk becoming less receptive to other ideas if we feel too invested in our own.

My passion for design fun doesn’t start and stop with its interactive application. One of the many other things I love to have fun with and experiment with is landscape design. There are so many dimensions to it; sight, sound and smell among others. I am endlessly fascinated with the way in which building in a winding path transforms a space so quickly and adds function. I get a kick out of the way lighting can redefine what is otherwise boring and simultaneously help solve a security problem. I have learned that the most interesting things created in the yard, are the ones born from error, the ones that would never have happened if you failed to simply put the shovel in the ground and see what happens.

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Glassy buttons, big headlines, lime green. We all know and love that Web 2.0 style. Now, there’s a guide to show you how to achieve it, using conventions and techniques that are effective and well-understood by users: http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/web-2.0-design-style-guide.cfm.

I was catching up on 37Signals blog entries tonight and saw one about a book called Testify! How Remarkable Organizations are Creating Customer Evangelists. I scrolled through the list of companies in the table of contents (free PDF version) to see if there were any I recognized. Second to last on the list was TechSmith, makers of SnagIt, Camtasia, and UserVue among others.

I am a huge TechSmith fan. I use SnagIt almost every day. I also own Camtasia and UserVue. I use those less frequently but not because they aren’t good, because they are. The nature of my job means that I’m capturing onscreen images for designs and bug reports constantly, making videos of interactions less frequently, and conducting full-blown usability tests with video of customer use as needed.

I’ll tell you why I love TechSmith, aside from their great products. One thing cited in Testify! is that TechSmith allows 30 day product trials so customers know what they’re getting. This is true, and very helpful, though not a novel concept. Last year, I decided to try UserVue to see if it was a good fit for a project involving 10 one-on-one remote user interviews. I did some pilot tests with it and all seemed well. The only glitch I discovered was after my trial ran out. UserVue works by coordinating a conference call for you between yourself and your user. You input both numbers and then the software calls you. The issue was, I don’t have a landline. I use cell phones and Skype exclusively. I called TechSmith to see if the product would work with Skype. They didn’t know, so they extended my trial, asked me to try it, and then report back on what I found. Now THAT is customer service!

Yes, UserVue works with Skype. And it’s a good thing, because UserVue is the most powerful tool I’ve found to show clients what is wrong with their sites and interfaces first-hand. It’s so much more compelling for clients to see a user struggle and hear them complain through captured audio and video, than to hear about it from me.

So, thanks TechSmith! I’ll join the evangelist circle, gladly.

After I had left my last job and before I had really decided to start PointClear, I made up a list of “Lessons Learned in the Last 5 Years”.  Basically a brain dump of stuff I had learned about the IT consulting business and business in general.  I have that list posted at my desk where I can see it every day.  The goal being not to repeat the same dumb mistakes of the past, but to make only NEW mistakes…  (If you want to see the list just email me…)  One of the items is as follows:

• There is always a temptation to think that the grass is greener somewhere else.  This is why services companies want to move into products, government contractors want to “go commercial”, project-based consulting companies want to create a staffing arm, etc.  It rarely works and you lose focus…

Well, this year has been a good one at PointClear.  We have had some great successes and have built a really impressive team of folks – the best I have ever worked with.  But we have sort of bent the rule above.  I’ll explain how and why we are only “bending” the rule, not breaking it outright J

I’ve just finished customizing a new web site with SquareSpace. And I must say, the interface is very nicely done. It has an intuitive administration area and a smart view of the actual site to help you make edits both places. I was able to set up the site, change template, tweak colors with CSS, create a restricted area, and a contact form within about an hour.

Last year I worked with a friend on a fairly complex site for a club with members and various permission levels. We used Joomla, and while the price was right, the learning curve was steep. SquareSpace is costing me $12 per month but it’s worth it. Time is money and I’d rather pay a little bit to be up and running quickly.

I love the way SquareSpace lets you add different kinds of pages. For the level of account I have, I can add regular pages, blog pages, amazon wish lists, contact forms, photo galleries, discussion pages, search, blog archive, links, and more. I’ve also used WordPress for sites similar to the one i’m working on, but Wordpress is not nearly this robust. Again, WordPress is free, and this is not. But, I think the functionality of SquareSpace is worth the price.

Check it out free for 30 days: http://www.squarespace.com

This morning, someone at my house turned off the coffee maker before I got back in from my workout. Tired, sweaty, hungry, and in need of a boost…I was quite dismayed at this state of affairs.

Time is of the essence the day before Thanksgiving, so I figured I’d just grab one at the store while picking up the turkey. But, I forgot, and once in the car, became panicked at the thought of missing my window and getting the dreaded caffeine-junkie headache, so I hit Starbucks on the way to the office.

In my fog, I ordered a Venti cappuccino. I was amazed at the gigantic coffee the barista gave me. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed and started pointing. Wait, I only wanted 2 shots. Tall, Grande, Venti - it’s all Greek, er Italian, to me. Can’t they just call them Small, Medium, and Large?!

Adaptive Path’s Kate Rutter is participating in Blogging About Bathrooms ‘07. And while I’m not on the A-list of bloggers invited to participate, I thought I’d add my 2 cents.

We moved last year from a 1906 bungalow to a 1962 ranch. There are many things I love about the ranch (affordable heat bills, usable basement, presence of insulation, and lack of clawfoot tub). But our bathroom is just pretty much atrocious. It remains in all its 1962 glory, with tacky wallpaper, formerly red cabinets (it peeks through the white paint), and built in toothbrush holders. (The guest bathroom has 3 built-in toothbrush holders, each with 6 holes. How many toothbrushes did the designer think people have?!)

We are planning to completely gut and renovate the bathroom in 2008. This has generated a flurry of magazine clippings and much discussion about how we should do it. Since the Great Kitchen Renovation was 2x our budget, we’re trying to do it a little more conservatively this time.

On the list:

• Bust through the back wall and take advantage of the closet on the other side (enclose the closet from the hall). Space is at a premium and I’ll take every square foot I can get.
• Remove the built-in linen cabinet. The doors are always swinging open and I bang my elbows on them constantly.
• New sink with faucet that actually has water pressure and turns off. We’re planning to do a concrete countertop with built-in trough sink and two sets of faucets, so that two people can actually brush their teeth at once.
• Large floor tiles in a stone such as limestone or travertine to introduce the “spa” experience.
• Coordinating tiles in the shower to continue the theme.
• Rain showerhead.
• Body spray jets in the shower (if within budget).

We have been told that kitchens and bathrooms are the top areas for home improvement, to recoup dollars spent. After doing the kitchen I can understand why. We went from an experience where the inside joke was “have I mentioned in the last 30 minutes how much I hate this kitchen?” to a place that is open, inviting, and a pleasure to be in (we spend 90% of our non-work waking hours there).