Rethinking Retail: 4 Opportunities to Upgrade the Associate Experience

At HBC Tech, one of the company’s current initiatives is to bridge the divide between the physical and digital experience. Saks Fifth Avenue has a considerable network of retail locations throughout the US, and our goal is to use technology to entice more people into these stores. More specifically, one initiative focuses on connecting newContinue reading “Rethinking Retail: 4 Opportunities to Upgrade the Associate Experience”

Notes on Creativity and Originality in Digital Product Design

Designers are extremely creative people, but the design of websites and digital products is becoming less and less so. And it’s not just because of responsive web design. I’ve been thinking about why this is happening, and in my research for a new platform I’m building, I asked many designers their opinions on the topic.Continue reading “Notes on Creativity and Originality in Digital Product Design”

So much more than a “like”

USING DATA RESPONSIBLY   Customization has become de rigueur in the web technology world, and so the trend towards prolific data collection and algorithm-controlled experiences continues unabated. Not to be confused with “big data” in marketing, the data I’m referring to lives in the ecosystem of the product you’re creating to hopefully deliver a betterContinue reading “So much more than a “like””

Learning from users and creating kick ass products

I recently realized that I don’t really make websites anymore (captain obvious!). I’ve been immersed in product design and startups for the last year of my life, and have been designing web products that have more requirements than designing a pure content site. There’s lots of banter about “website vs app”, but one of theContinue reading “Learning from users and creating kick ass products”

Neomodernism in product design

There is a fascinating correlation between the underlying principles of the lean startup movement and the underlying principles of modernism, regarding both process and theory. Living in the heart of Shoreditch I have come across many startups and agencies using lean and agile methodologies, and worked for a few. The uncontested bible that these fast-paced companiesContinue reading “Neomodernism in product design”