It Began in 1993
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Before I designed anything, I learned how to tell machines what to do.
// FIRST PATHWAY FORMING
My brain never picked a side.
LEFT / MAKE DRAWINGSTYPOGRAPHYSHAPECOLOR STUDIES
RIGHT / SOLVE CIRCUIT BOARDSELECTRONICSCODESCHEMATICS
ART
LOGIC
CREATIVE THINKING
“Hey Michael…” “did you…” “…the meeting…” “…tomorrow?”
Communication never came easily.
Then the internet handed me a keyboard.
EMAIL CHAT WEBSITES WRITTEN WORDS
It gave me a voice.
If you want to understand the work…
…you have to understand the wiring.
COME INSIDE
You’re inside my head now.
TIME IS LINEAR. THINKING ISN'T.
A website problem is never just a website problem.
TAP A FRAGMENT. WATCH IT CONNECT
WHAT CHANGED?WHY?WHAT DEPENDS ON THIS?WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?WHAT ARE WE MISSING?
PATTERN RECOGNITION
The site isn’t converting.
WHY?
Nobody clicks the one button that matters.
WHY?
The message doesn’t land.
WHY?
Nobody ever decided who the page was for.
SYMPTOMS ARE EASY. THE REAL PROBLEM HIDES.
CURIOSITY
If I do something twice, I start wondering whether a machine should do it instead.
LEAD → WEBSITE → CRM → MANUAL ESTIMATE → PAYMENT → FULFILLMENT → FOLLOW-UP
LOOP DETECTED · 41 MIN / DAY · AUTOMATING
APIS· INTEGRATIONS· AUTOMATIONS· CUSTOM SOFTWARE
Good technology removes work. It doesn’t add it.
SYSTEMS
Logic alone is boring.
TYPOGRAPHY PRINT LAYOUT APPAREL LOGOS MOTION INTERFACE ILLUSTRATION
Creativity gives systems a personality.
STRATEGY + IMAGINATION + CRAFT = AWESOME
CREATIVITY
One variable never behaves.
PEOPLE
HESITATE MISREAD GET DISTRACTED TRUST DOUBT CHANGE THEIR MINDS
That’s exactly what makes experience design interesting.
TECHNOLOGY + PSYCHOLOGY = EXPERIENCE
EMPATHY
I stopped wanting one piece of the puzzle. I wanted to know how the pieces work together.
WEBSITES SEO BRANDING DEVELOPMENT AUTOMATION PRINT APPAREL STRATEGY
2010
GRAPHICTEN
So I built a place where all of it fits.
I’ve never fit inside one box.
ARTIST/PROGRAMMER
BIG PICTURE/FINE DETAIL
TECHNOLOGY/HUMANITY
DESIGN/ENGINEERING
IDEAS/EXECUTION
CREATIVE/ANALYTICAL
The interesting work happens between disciplines.
One question I keep coming back to.
SAME PROJECT · CLICK THROUGH FIVE ROUNDS OF CHANGES · WATCH THE CONVERSION RATE CLIMB
ITERATION 00 / BASELINE
Get a quote for your project today
SHIPPED AS DESIGNED
CONVERSION RATE 1.4%
NOBODY ASKED WHY IT WAS WORDED THIS WAY
Perfection isn’t the goal. Progress is.
ITERATION
What if we built it differently?
What if this step disappeared?
What if these systems talked to each other?
What if the obvious answer isn’t the best one?
What if we built it ourselves?
WHAT IF?
MOST OF MY FAVORITE PROJECTS START THERE
IMAGINATION
EVERY ROOM YOU WALKED THROUGH WAS ONE NETWORK
CURIOSITY LOGIC CREATIVITY EMPATHY SYSTEMS PATTERNS ITERATION IMAGINATION
Not eight skills. One way of thinking.
Michael
Shihinski
Shihinski
DESIGNER DEVELOPER STRATEGIST ENTREPRENEUR BUILDER
I like knowing how things work but I love figuring out how they could work better.
Three decades learning how things work.
Now I build things that work better.
LET’S CREATE SOMETHING AWESOME