Souls & Machines: Designing the Future of Content

Less than a decade ago, big data and collaborative filtering were going to solve our desires for discovery and inspiration. Words like “editorial”, “content” or “curation” were unspoken. Computers were unbiased; computers could scale millions.

Since then, humans vs. computers has become a tired debate, and what’s emerged for the future is that these are both valuable tools in a large, varied toolkit.

Today, content companies are moving into digital products, tech companies are learning how to make content, and new models that combine both are popping up. The same product design questions of democracy and scale apply, but the future of content and technology is much more nuanced. Learn how to approach designing for content through case studies, experiments, and of course – stories. Lots of stories :)

Transcript

1. Hannah Donovan, 4 June 2015 SOULS & 
 MACHINES Designing the Future of Content
2. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
3. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
4. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
5. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
6. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
7. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
8. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
9. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
10. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
11. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
12. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
13. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture.
14. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture. 5 SISTERS TIGER MONSTERS INC CELLIST HIP HOP POWER CLASHING
15. HI! I’M @HAN I design products. I love making things that foster self expression and create culture. 5 SISTERS TIGER MONSTERS INC CELLIST HIP HOP POWER CLASHING Photo by Kerstin Joensson
16. My background is in designing digital platforms for music.
17. Recommendations based on the wisdom of the crowds.
19. THE BEST MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS COME FROM FRIENDS
20. But, there’s a limit to this. It’s usually about 3 – 5 friends. And if they move away, or get busy, you’re out of luck.
21. But, there’s a limit to this. It’s usually about 3 – 5 friends. And if they move away, or get busy, you’re out of luck. 2012
22. But, there’s a limit to this. It’s usually about 3 – 5 friends. And if they move away, or get busy, you’re out of luck. 2012 2013
23. But, there’s a limit to this. It’s usually about 3 – 5 friends. And if they move away, or get busy, you’re out of luck. 2012 2013 2014
27. HUMANS CONNECT US IN WAYS COMPUTERS CAN’T. COMPUTERS CONNECT US IN WAYS HUMANS CAN’T.
28. I hope we’re all pretty familiar with what computers can do. So let’s talk about designing for content. (Audio, video, pictures, words).
29. Product designers are the connective tissue between this ‘art’ and its ‘vessel’
30. PERSPECTIVE
31. Humans are human because they have a perspective: they care about things. One might call it our ability to give a damn. And it is this quality that allows us to determine what matters and where we stand. A computer can’t do that. The Moment of Clarity Christian Madsbjerg & Mikkel B. Rasmussen
32. COMPUTERS CAN’T GIVE A DAMN.
36. So, if…humans connect us in ways computers can’t, and computers connect us in ways humans can’t. The future of desining for content is understanding both.
37. Products that value, contextualize, surface and serve up content that’s adaptive and platform agnostic. And do it all with perspective.
38. 1 ALL CONTENT IS CONTENT
43. You need to think like a publisher
 – Kristina Halvorson
44. 2 IT’S EVERYONE’S PROBLEM
45. Yeah, they’re not great quality, but that’s what the API returns for this image size… I’m not sure what copy goes there yet, so that’s some lorem ipsum for now… You’re not going to like this, but that naming convention is actually hard-coded in the back end…
46. Han
47. Tech companies are hiring content and editorial staff. Content companies are reinventing themselves to become competent in tech.
48. Tech companies are hiring content and editorial staff. Content companies are reinventing themselves to become competent in tech. CRAFT BALANCED TEAMS
49. GIVE IT A HOME, SEND IT OFF 3
53. CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING 4
54. 3.5min and some headphones/speakers
55. May 2014 Tuesday, 1am May 2015 Tuesday, 1am
58. MAKE IT ADAPTIVE 5
62. On it’s own, [content] is pretty dumb, until some smart design system grabs it and displays it in the right context
 
 – Mark Boulton
70. MUSIC IS MESSY
71. Original
72. Original 1. Corrected levels
73. Original 1. Corrected levels 2. Film grain added
74. Original 1. Corrected levels 2. Film grain added
75. Original 1. Corrected levels 2. Film grain added
76. Original 1. Corrected levels 2. Film grain added
77. HUMANS COMPUTERS
78. CONTENT DIGITAL PRODUCTS
79. A designer is a planner with an aesthetic sense.
 
 – Bruno Munari
80. Photo by Timo Arnall Some people (they are wrong) say design is about solving problems. Obviously designers do solve problems, but then so do dentists. Design is about cultural invention. 
 
 – Jack Schulze
81. At a minimum, the job of a designer is to solve problems beautifully. At their best, designers create culture too.
82. Culture represents a synthesis, a putting together of things, putting them together so completely that the combination has an individuality of its own. It may be only an amalgam; it is better if it be a chemical combination. Culture does not exist in the form of powder, a mere mass of incoherent particles.
 – Owen D Young
85. WITH EVERYTHING WE MAKE, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT REACTION.
86. Content Strategy for Mobile Karen McGrane Content Strategy for the Web Kristina Halvorson Design As Art Bruno Munari Internet Trends 2015 Mary Meeker kpcb.com/internet-trends Six Questions from Kicker Jack Schulze j.mp/6QsJackSchulze The Elements of Content Strategy Erin Kissane The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems by Christian Madsbjerg & Mikkel B. Rasmussen REFERENCES & READING