You had my interest immediately when I realized that you were both a designer and screenwriter (I got my BFA in film/video at RISD, but now work in web development). I completely get the idea of making the “story” the unifying element that brings together each individual discipline represented in the development process.

We’ve been exploring the concept of personas, who, as characters in the overall “story,” represent the goals of a site as well as the challenges of succeeding at those goals. By creating specific personas for each project, we can anticipate some of the barriers to communication, as well as identify new ways to articulate messages through copy and design that are most appropriate to the end user.

I’m with @Giles- there is much to enjoy in your article. I’m going to have our Project Management team read this as part of our professional enrichment program.

- Chris

@ray: how interesting to think that this might be used to guide user generated content. You have to let me know whether it works.

@chris Yes personas are good for making design decisions as well. But I find them insufficient when thinking about the “whole” experience. For example, it’s difficult to write copy against a set of personas. Ideally, the “story” suits the actors (your personas) who are engaged with the site. In fact, we always consider our personas when coming up with a theme. They’re a necessary element to draw from. If you ever have any questions about process you can always reach me on twitter at @cchastain.

I’m hoping to write a follow-up to the article that goes into greater detail about the process of “finding” and using themes.

Your theme scheme screams! Cogent and helpful advice for an area of design that often gets short shrift. Kudos!

I’ve been using Goal-Directed methods for many years, which have helped me design in accord with a user’s fundamental needs as they apply to the site/product/service/etc.; typically this means coming up with several personae that represent the potential population of users. But I’ve often found some small something lacking in this approach: basically, a cohering slogan for the *entire* enterprise, and a way to arrive at it.

Your experience themes nail this. I particularly loved the example: “Don’t Miss Out. Discover something new. Get it first.”
~Thanks

Anyhoo, I thought this article was fantastic and most timely. Yesterday, I had this great “a-ha!” moment with my client (a very large bank) when a theme suddenly emerged out of some rather frustrating discussions around a poorly defined product. I kept asking stakeholders, “So, what is this product actual for and why does it need to exist?” No clear answer came until a BA working on requirements documentation said to me, “This is to make your boss’s boss’s boss happy.”

Everything fell into place. What had been an ad hoc collection of features suddenly became a clear statement of the product’s implicit value to its users. I don’t know yet if I’ll end up explicitly stating this in a strategy brief, but it’s mighty tempting.