My talk at the Big D Design conference in Dallas (May 2010).

1. Meaning is the most
important thing you
can focus upon
Nathan Shedroff
2010

2. The future:
Profitable, Sustainable,
& Meaningful

3. What is meaning?

4. Meaning is the deepest
connection you can make with a
customer/user/audience

5. Meaning is more powerful than
Price and Performance

6. Meaning is more powerful than
Price and Performance

7. Meaning lasts longer
than emotions

8. Meaning transcends values

9. Meaning transcends values

12. The most successful
experiences are meaningful

15. Here’s how it works...

16. Price/Value
Commodity Product Service Experience
From: The Experience Economy, Pine and Gilmore

17. Price/Value
Experience
Commodity Product Service Event/Environment

18. Experiences are designable

19. Everything we create
is an experience

20. All design is the process
of making experiences

21. We recognize some
experiences easily

22. We recognize some
experiences easily

23. We recognize some
experiences easily

26. But what, exactly,
is an experience?

27. SIGNIFICANCE DURATION
Meaning Initiation
Status/Identity Immersion
Emotion/Lifestyle Conclusion
Price Continuation
Function
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY INTERACTION
Reflex Passive
Habit Active
Engagement Interactive

28. MEANING
VALUES/IDENTITY
EMOTIONS
PRICE
FEATURES

29. EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Product
Service
Brand
Name(s)
Channel/Environment
(Space)
Promotion
Price

30. Breadth

31. TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price

32. Every sensorial decision is a trigger:
color, texture, smell, taste, typeface,
sound, music, voice, pattern, icon,
symbol, interaction, layout, concept,
temperature, expression, etc...

35. TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY
Reflex
Habit
Engagement

36. Intensity

37. DURATION
Initiation
Immersion
Conclusion
Continuation
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY
Reflex
Habit
Engagement

38. DURATION
Initiation
Immersion
Conclusion
Continuation
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY INTERACTION
Reflex Passive
Habit Active
Engagement Interactive

39. SIGNIFICANCE DURATION
Meaning Initiation
Status/Identity Immersion
Emotion/Lifestyle Conclusion
Price Continuation
Function
TRIGGERS EXPERIENCE BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY INTERACTION
Reflex Passive
Habit Active
Engagement Interactive

40. SIGNIFICANCE DURATION
Meaning Initiation
Status/Identity Immersion
Emotion/Lifestyle Conclusion
Price Continuation
Function
TRIGGERS BREADTH
Sight Product
Sound Service
Smell Brand
Taste MEANING Name(s)
Touch Channel/Environment
Concepts (Space)
Symbols Promotion
Price
INTENSITY INTERACTION
Reflex Passive
Habit Active
Engagement Interactive

41. MEANING
VALUES
EMOTIONS
PRICE
FEATURES

42. Function (Performance):
Does this do what I need?

43. Price (Value):
Does this do what I need at a
price that’s worth it?

44. Emotions (Lifestyle):
Does this make me
feel good?

45. Status/Identity (Values):
Is this me?

46. Meaning (Reality):
Does this fit into my reality?

47. Core Meanings:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

48. Core Meanings:
Definitions:
makingmeaning.org

49. Meaning is at the core of Values:
Priorities and Expressions

50. Nike:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

51. Apple (iPod):
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation

52. Target:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

53. Walmart:
Accomplishment Harmony
Beauty Justice
Creation Oneness
Community Redemption
Duty Security
Enlightenment Truth
Freedom Validation
Wonder

54. Successful experiences are
meaningful
(and not merely novel)

55. Design is the process
of evoking meaning

56. How does this relate to
business & strategy?

57. What meanings do
your customers prioritize?

58. What meanings does
your organization prioritize?

59. What meanings do
you prioritize?

60. What meanings do
your competitors trigger?

61. Organization’s
Meaning
Priorities
Focus
Team/Your Customer
Meaning Meaning
Priorities Priorities
Competitors’ Meanings

62. How do you put this into the
development process?

63. A meaning-filled development process:

64. A meaning-filled development process:

65. A meaning-filled development process:

66. A meaning-filled development process:

67. Research Techniques:
Interviews
Careful Surveys
Shadowing
Games, etc.
The Meaning of Things
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

68. Who’s doing this?

69. Who’s doing this?
You

70. Should companies evoke meaning?

71. Should companies evoke meaning?
Why not?

72. Is meaning manipulation?

73. Is meaning manipulation?
Maybe, maybe not

74. Are you creating
anything meaningful?

75. What’s meaningful to you?

76. nathan.com/thoughts

77. Last thing
(and most importantly)...