Unusual partnerships for extraordinary visitor engagement Brad MacDonald Adjunct Professor Parsons School of Design, NYC MFA Design and Technology

Adjunct Professor at Parsons School of Design Art directed 130+ video games Gig regularly as a musician Wrote the story for an internationally touring dance show Designed cars for NASCAR Animated on Beavis and Butthead Illustrated comic books Toured with the metal band Disturbed Wrote and illustrated political cartoons My background

Some partnerships... LEGO National Geographic MTV Lonely Planet Mattel Cornell U.S. Department of Defense

I look for connections (procedural and conceptual) across domains

Why partner?

Because you can build (almost) anything if you... Partner with the right people

Because you can build (almost) anything if you... Partner with the right people Have an agreed-upon development process

Because you can build (almost) anything if you... Partner with the right people Have an agreed-upon development process Ask effective questions

Because you can build (almost) anything if you... Partner with the right people Have an agreed-upon development process Ask effective questions Share design values

Because you can build (almost) anything if you... Partner with the right people Have an agreed-upon development process Ask effective questions Share design values Know how to resolve conflict

Because you can build (almost) anything if you... Partner with the right people Have an agreed-upon development process Ask effective questions Share design values Know how to resolve conflict Focus on real needs

Because you can build (almost) anything if you... Partner with the right people Have an agreed-upon development process Ask effective questions Share design values Know how to resolve conflict Focus on real needs Appeal to user/visitor emotions

Different kinds of partnerships Institutional Design Content Media Etc.

Advantages of partnership Creativity is fueled by information and connecting ideas. The deeper your pool of ideas, the more connections you can make.

Advantages of partnership Creativity is fueled by information and connecting ideas. The deeper your pool of ideas, the more connections you can make. Similarly, creativity thrives on unexpected connections.

Advantages of partnership Creativity is fueled by information and connecting ideas. The deeper your pool of ideas, the more connections you can make. Similarly, creativity thrives on unexpected connections. Partners have skills we don’t possess.

Advantages of partnership Creativity is fueled by information and connecting ideas. The deeper your pool of ideas, the more connections you can make. Similarly, creativity thrives on unexpected connections. Partners have skills we don’t possess. We are limited. We can't help but carry our biases with us and the only way to move beyond our personal views is to accept outside perspective.

Advantages of partnership Creativity is fueled by information and connecting ideas. The deeper your pool of ideas, the more connections you can make. Similarly, creativity thrives on unexpected connections. Partners have skills we don’t possess. We are limited. We can't help but carry our biases with us and the only way to move beyond our personal views is to accept outside perspective. Partners have the money/tools/teams/etc.

Pitfalls of partnership Ambiguity of roles Softly defined goals No measure for success Unclear approval process Creative differences Ill-defined development process You can’t always choose your partners You can’t always walk away

Choose the right partners Strategies for managing partnerships

Choose the right partners Develop a set of shared design values Strategies for managing partnerships

Choose the right partners Develop a set of shared design values Defining a process/language that facilitates iteration (AGILE, Minimum Viable product, etc) Strategies for managing partnerships

Choose the right partners Develop a set of shared design values Defining a process/language that facilitates iteration (AGILE, Minimum Viable product, etc) Clear process for prioritization Strategies for managing partnerships

Choose the right partners Develop a set of shared design values Defining a process/language that facilitates iteration (AGILE, Minimum Viable product, etc) Clear process for prioritization Keep the conversation about value Strategies for managing partnerships

Choose the right partners Develop a set of shared design values Defining a process/language that facilitates iteration (AGILE, Minimum Viable product, etc) Clear process for prioritization Keep the conversation about value Tools for resolving creative differences Strategies for managing partnerships

Choose the right partners Develop a set of shared design values Defining a process/language that facilitates iteration (AGILE, Minimum Viable product, etc) Clear process for prioritization Keep the conversation about value Tools for resolving creative differences Tools for removing the ego and evaluating success Strategies for managing partnerships

Choose the right partners Develop a set of shared design values Defining a process/language that facilitates iteration (AGILE, Minimum Viable product, etc) Clear process for prioritization Keep the conversation about value Tools for resolving creative differences Tools for removing the ego and evaluating success Focus every conversation on decisions Strategies for managing partnerships

Thank you

Agile Methodology 1.Active user involvement is imperative 2.The team must be empowered to make decisions 3.Requirements evolve but the timescale is fixed 4.Capture requirements at a high level; lightweight & visual 5.Develop small, incremental releases and iterate 6.Focus on frequent delivery of products 7.Complete each feature before moving on to the next 8.Apply the 80/20 rule 9.Testing is integrated throughout the project lifecycle – test early and often 10.A collaborative & cooperative approach between all stakeholders is essential