It’s 7 p.m. on a Friday night. A normally hyperactive eight-year old is sacked out on the couch, stained Popsicle stick still in hand. The fever started an hour ago, but her pediatrician is out of town. Dad’s online trying to find a doctor that’s available to see her first thing tomorrow morning, but he can’t even find a phone number on most of the web sites he visits.
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An anxious high school student has been stalking the neighborhood mailman everyday since he turned in his college application. Today, the thick envelope came in the mail. Accepted! Now what? His mom sorts through the confusing stack of paperwork to figure out what comes next, specifically how are they going to afford this?
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He rushed home from work as soon as he got his wife’s call. A pipe had burst and now their newly remodeled kitchen looked more like a swimming pool. He attempted to get in touch with his insurance agent en route, but instead heard an endless series of automated requests to “Press 1”.
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Recently, here at Red Privet, we started to notice a trend in many of our client engagements. The majority of the experiences we get tapped to design fall into what we lovingly refer to as the “necessary evils” category. Are they important tasks? Yes. Are they necessary tasks? Yes. Are they delightful tasks? Well, not really.
While many agencies focus on helping brands look their best, our focus extends beyond the visual elements to also help brands deliver the best experience to their customers. And depending on the product or service, the best experience may be the quickest, most convenient or possibly most empathetic path to completing a task or process.
We’ve started calling what we do “Design for Real Life”. At Red Privet, we research, design, and execute digital solutions that help real people navigate real life with confidence. We do that by focusing on three core competencies:
We Research the Moments That Matter
Not every opportunity for engagement is the same. We use qualitative, quantitative, and contextual research methods to unearth strategic insights about what matters most to customers. These Moments That Matter are interactions that hold the most potential for a meaningful connection with a customer. By clearly identifying the Moments That Matter, businesses can prioritize their strategic investments in experience design.
We Design Meaningful Experiences
Imagine two circles. One represents the customer’s objectives, the other represents the brand’s objectives. Opportunities to create meaningful experiences exist anytime these two circles intersect. Meaningful Experiences occur when the needs of both the customer and the business are met in a sustainable way. We design solutions with the intention to maximize value for all stakeholders.
We Execute with Market Momentum
Gone are the days of the big-budget, high-stakes digital launch. Lean development methods allow us to deploy in-market solutions rapidly and collaborate directly with clients and their customers to make incremental improvements to prototype designs. By executing with Market Momentum, we receive continuous, measurable feedback that allows us to deliver immediate business impact while mitigating risk.
Real life can be messy, unpredictable, irrational–even downright boring. And while navigating real life can be complicated, it doesn’t have to be difficult. Companies that research the Moments That Matter, design Meaningful Experiences and execute with Market Momentum, can turn the seemingly menial and mundane into critical interactions where customer needs are met and brand loyalty is earned.
Because while real life isn’t always delightful, it can always be better designed.