Category: My Quora answers

I write a lot on Quora, answering questions. Here’s are all my answers from there.

Joseph Dickerson

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Good question. I would say it’s because when you are trying to sell a car you are selling a fixed thing, and the focus of the conversation tends to be promoting that thing. Don’s style is in selling a dream, a vision of what people want to have or be. He deals in emotions, not facts. Selling a car in a one-and-one situation is about promoting specifications. Selling a car to a mass audience is about selling that emotion.

Also, Don is self-centered, and probably didn’t spend the time talking to the customer to reframe his sales pitch to align to their needs. See question on Quora

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What are some design problems a young designer can work on to build he design “chops”? Here’s a couple of ideas:

Learning how to read and write. Adult literacy around the world is at an all-time high, but there are still thousands of adults who can’t read or write. Can an self-guided app help solve this problem?

Budgeting. People need to budget their finances, but when you look at the amount of credit card debt in the country you see that many of us live beyond their means. A simple practical/instructional app can help people learn how to budget.

Decluttering. People have a lot of stuff, and in many cases way too much stuff. Can an app help them inventory and then prioritize their possessions, to help them simplify their life?

See question on Quora

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A great experience comes when what is designed aligns with the needs and desires of the users. This means that the offering “fits” the user, if not like a glove then… like a nice warm bathrobe. A great experience accommodates all the factors – shape, touch, mental models, emotional drivers, and the user’s expected behaviors and outcomes. Controls should work as anticipated, and respond quickly.

Sounds easy, right? Well, how of you get there? How do you ensure that the great experience takes place? The primary thing to do is know your user. Research, dig deep into what they need and expect and then use that understanding to inform your design. Iterate, taking the candidate solutions back to users to test them, and then refine based on the feedback received.

The process will vary, but the key are the two things noted above: Iteration and user research. You have to do both in order to ensure a great experience.

See question on Quora