David Conrad, founding partner at Design Commission in Seattle, has spent more than 15 years in the design and technology space. He organizes CreativeMornings in Seattle and teaches mobile UX design at the University of Washington.
What do you do?
I'm the studio director and lead designer at Design Commission.
Tell us your design philosophy in three words.
Truth and Magic
What are your tools of trade?
The workflow is very consistent for me:
Pencil and Paper (UX Planning/Sketching) → iPad Pro + Apple Pencil + Good Notes app (UX Planning/Sketching) → Axure (UX Planning) → Sketch (UI Design) → Marvel/Principle (Prototyping) → Zeplin.io (Redline Documentation) → Brand.ai (Design System Library)
Name of the book or magazine closest to you now.
"Thoughtless Acts?" by Jane Fulton Suri + IDEO
What is your proudest professional moment?
When our design studio turned 10 years old a few years back.
What's your one UX pet peeve?
Punitive UX – when products make it hard to do things that are simple in nature (I'm looking at your content-sharing UI, Facebook!)
What qualities does someone need to succeed in crafting experiences?
It's critical to A) Think holistically. B) Empathize with the technology and business stakeholders, as well as the users. C) Have an eye for details.
What is the next paradigm shift for this industry?
We will continue to look for ways to remove interface (and, thus, friction) from our digital interactions. We'll expect technology to be smarter and require less input from users. It may seem like a nuance, but it's a fundamentally different way of thinking about our craft.
David on twitter: twitter.com/davidconrad
Visit: Design Commission