Designkitchen’s Director of User Experience has been invited to the fifth annual WPP Stream conference in Greece this September. Dubbed an “unconference,” Stream reunites hundreds of the brightest and most innovative minds in the creative, media and technology industries. Attendees debate and develop ideas related to culture and the internet. DK is proud to send Cristin to contribute to the most cutting-edge thinking about the future of technology!  

Cristin Siegel, Designkitchen’s Director of User Experience and Research, offered her expert opinion in an article recently published on the Direct Marketing News web site. Comparing the online marketing strategies of 24 Hour Fitness and Town Sports, two nationwide fitness franchises, Cristin clarified some of the reasons behind 24 Hour Fitness’ growing popularity among its current and potential members.

You can read the article here: http://bitly.com/eoHnrv

by Samantha Rosa, User Experience

In our society today, everything is time-boxed. We speed date. We power walk. We get fit in just 5 minutes a day. We have hard-stops on meetings. We track our work in 15-minute chunks for our timesheets. We are a culture obsessed with what we can accomplish in the shortest amount of time.

We are also a culture obsessed with information: the more the better. Herein lies the problem. We have increasingly less time to consume increasingly more information. So, I’ve been thinking. What if you could tell sites you visit often, how much time you had to spend on that site, and get a tailored experience based on your usage?

Imagine going to YouTube, telling the site you have 20 minutes left of your precious lunch hour and you want to catch up on the latest videos. YouTube can then serve up a playlist of videos that will fill up your 20 minutes according to your previous viewing habits. 

How about going to CNN.com with only 5 minutes left before your morning meeting and seeing 3 stories that you can read in exactly that amount of time?

Now, I know this mode of consuming content does not work for task completion like fulfilling a prescription, paying a bill, or online shopping. But for surfing on your guilty pleasure sites, this could be pretty revolutionary. Users have the illusion of free time, but they are still being productive within that amount of time.

I know there are challenges to a model of consuming information like the one I’m suggesting. How will the user enter this mode? What happens if they want to view other content not served up in this mode? Will they even understand this mode? All very valid questions that will no doubt raise more questions. But, given the time-frenzy surrounding us all, I think it’s an idea worth exploring. Now, if I can only convince a client to let us try it out on their next site redesign. Any takers?

Director of User Experience and Research, Cristin Siegel, has published another eCommerce inspired article with Target Marketing Magazine. This month’s piece focuses on bolstering one’s digital strategy with a robust experience model.

Target Marketing Magazine is dedicated to bringing marketing professionals hands-on, how-to information on direct marketing strategies and solutions that deliver profitable results.

You can dive into her latest writeup right here.

This Thursday, come join us at IDEO Chicago for a drink, a chat and a little friendly competition with fellow designers and design appreciators.

Sponsored by IxDA Chicago, IDEO and Designkitchen.

Event Details:
July 22, 2010 7-9pm
IDEO Chicago
626 W Jackson Blvd, Floor 7
Chicago, IL
978.930.3729

Click here to RSVP.