Dear Ueno: How can we make content that seems boring more engaging?

Dear Ueno is an advice column for people who for some weird reason think we know what we’re doing. Read more about it.

From Keith Kerr:

“We often get clients that want websites that are government-related or seemingly pretty boring. How can we make content that seems boring more engaging? My agency has a process where we work with a client to decide on the content of the site, then go through a design phase where the customer agrees on a look and feel and then we build. I feel like we are missing something and was wondering if you could share your thoughts. I’m trying to help move my agency away from ‘brochureware’ and more towards engaging online experiences.”

David Navarro, Executive Creative Director at Ueno NYC, replies:

Hey Keith,

Wow… that question is deep! I actually was staring at the white screen thinking for a while how to give you good insights on this because what you describe is something that is as common in our field as breathing is for human beings.

But besides that, you’re talking about quite a few things here, not just trying to escape from “Brochureland.” (I know you called it “brochureware” but “land” sounds more epic.) This has to do with how we approach work, starting from that thought “seemingly pretty boring” that connects with the motivation towards projects and ending with the way we structure the actual project.

I’ve been there multiple times, I know how it feels. And it’s not that I have the secret formula to make engaging experiences but I do have some mantras I repeat constantly in my head to try to get the best out of what I do and what we try to do at Ueno. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, life is not perfect and every case has its particulars, but it’s always worth doing.

So let’s get started…

Mantra #01: Find the “Sweet Spot”

“Watch out! Boring project ahead!”

There are no boring projects, we make them boring with the way we approach to them.

Yeah, I know. This is the classic sentence you can hear from a marketing guru that is trying to sell you their book with 10 recipes for success in business and life. But sorry about that… it’s… true.

Of course big corporate monsters or government projects are by default projects where you have to deal with huge amount of content, pretty fixed structures and tons of politics, but that doesn’t mean you’re dealing with boredom. You can always find the sweet spot, even if to start, that sweet spot is something you make up to motivate yourself.

And that “sweet spot” is usually thinking you have the chance to redefine something, redefine a category, redefine relationships, redefine businesses, and so on. Think in big goals and ways to get there successfully. For each problem you don’t have a single solution but many. So always ask yourself this question: “What can I do differently here?” That will push yourself and your team to interesting places.

For instance, if your client is the local government and the project is a tax information platform, you can redefine the way taxpayers get their taxes done, mapping the platform towards helping them to find the answers they need in a fast, frictionless and simple way, not just building a platform where dropping all the content available for them to find. Improve their experience, not just design a great framework for content. —That’s buying a one-way ticket to “Brochureland,” my friend.—

Ok, I know what you’re thinking now. This is easy to say, difficult to execute. And it is indeed, you’ll probably deal with stakeholders that are afraid of change or trying something new. But that’s the attitude we always have to have when facing a project, finding the sweet spot where transformation happens… and then try to explain why that solution is the right one.

That’s the only way you can at least have a small chance of having an impact, because if you just fall into the idea of “that’s not worth it” or “we need to do what the client wants” you’ll have 100% chance of boredom, and honestly, and it’s something I say to clients every now and then, “I don’t work for you, I work for your client”. Put the problem to solve first, then the business needs and you’ll find the sweet spot to make things differently.

And every project has one, from big platforms, to small experiences, banners, emails, apps or whatever you can think of.

Sometimes you’ll fail, they usually are big complex monsters that are not easy to control, but there’s always something you can do.

Finding that thing that motivates you on a project, also motivates the project itself (it only can get better) and people who work on it, read this as the client and your team. There’s nothing worse than seeing faces of frustration because you’re just following what’s expected. Nothing good comes from accepting the situation and accepting predefined goals.

Mantra #02: Don’t fall into the Content Trap

“Let’s define the content. Content is everything!”

Content is important, but more important is to know what to do with it.

You define the process of your agency as a three-step process. First you define the content of the site; Second you work on the look and feel to end with a third step where you build it.

I assume you do more than defining the content on that phase but if you don’t it’s there where the problem lives. That first phase needs to go beyond content. Of course content is important, but more important is the way you shape that content strategically and the way you tell that story.

There’s a book I can recommend, a bit deep and comprehensive I have to say, but interesting: “The Content Trap: A Strategist’s Guide to Digital Change” written by Bharat Narendra Anand, which basically explains what’s important. It’s not actually the content but the connections, how to foster interactions.

So when you define the content think in ways to build connections with the final user. It’s not about delivering content it’s about facilitating connections, conversations.

Content is important, don’t get me wrong. But more important is, and specially to define in that first phase, how you tell the story to connect with your audience. That’s key to define an engaging experience and it should happen before the design phase.

I wanted to be a film director and that’s how I approach projects. I tend to think in the production of a digital experience as it was directing the next Steven Spielberg blockbuster. Content is the actors and you have to direct them in a scene (website, app, etc.) to tell the story right, nothing should be left out for interpretations, everything must have a “why”. It’s there when you can make it a 4-hour art and essay movie that will make stones bored or you can make it an entertaining piece by crafting an appealing story with good acting. So it’s not about having good ingredients, it’s how you mix them.

Call that a cheap trick if you want, but it works for me :)

Mantra #03: Have fun, for God’s sake!

“I hate this project, I hate this client… I hate my life…”

You’re a designer, your job is awesome. And you will be dead at some point in the future, perhaps soon… have fun!

Ok, we got to that point where you know what the sweet spot is, congrats, you found it. You’re going to change the world! And you have a good foundation of the story you want to tell and how to tell it to make people enjoy the masterpiece you’re about to create.

But I won’t tell you making an engaging experience with those ingredients is enough. Now starts the fun part that is bringing that to life, you know… design explorations, trying this, that, making the first iterations, tension, back and forth with your team, with the client, and so on. It’s there where you have to remind yourself what that sweet spot was and how to keep its nature alive, that’s the big motivation to get to a good place.

The key of having fun is to enjoy the ride but, above all, knowing why you were in that path from the beginning, to tell the story in the right way, no matter if it’s a banner, a huge corporate platform, a WebGL experience, a CMS dashboard, a VR experience, writing a book, painting countryside landscapes, cooking a meal, teaching your son how to play guitar, … anything is about having fun doing it. We’re blessed to be part of this industry so, don’t let boredom, frustration, relax get in your way.

And that’s a wrap

Well Keith,… there are not magic tricks, I wish! But these silly mantras work pretty much for me and the clear belief that projects are always unique and have a fair dose of chaos and unknown surprises, which makes the ride even more fun.

Will that make the experiences more engaging? I don’t really know, you cannot control everything, but I’m sure if you don’t challenge the norm and enjoy pushing the limits of yourself, your team, your process and your client… at least you can do one thing, be the king of Brochureland.

David Navarro is a Designer, Creative Director and Full-Time Supervillain. You can follow the path of his evil superpowers on Twitter. By the way, want to work with him? Check out available positions at Ueno.