Jax

Explorations on Design, Business, & Technology.

[jaxhamilton]

Evaluation

Reaching the evaluation phase of the creative problem solving process has allowed us to take a look back at our journey thus far and reflect on what we’ve learned. Looking back, it first makes sense to revisit our measurable goals that were established during the definition and selection phases. Our goals were to create a way for consumers to use the power of their dollars to support organizations that aligned with their values, and to be able to do so in a simple,  convenient, and accessible way. While meeting this goal is somewhat hard to measure quantitatively until we launch our solution and see how many transactions take place on the website, from a qualitative perspective, we can see that by streamlining the shopping process we have met our goals. The way we’ve streamlined that process is by only allowing certified companies to sell on our marketplace and giving our customers the assurance that if they buy on our marketplace they are shopping ethically and staying true to who they are/want to be. Our solution is more narrowly defined than what we initially thought we might have come-up and was influenced by time constraints, perceived potential technical challenges (why we didn’t pursue our plug-in idea), and of course, working to compromise in a team setting.

In our earlier assignment this week we had to come up with a rubric by which we’ll measure other groups performance throughout the problem-solving process. The exercise ended up being really insightful and helpful in thinking about how we wanted to present our own performance throughout the process. It really showed us how valuable the creation of a rubric could be even when used to assess our own performance, and for our group specifically it would be interesting to tailor out the performance metrics as they relate to our product specifically. When launching our product, the metrics could be more focused around sales through the site, the amount of sellers interested in listing their products on our marketplace, and how much credibility our certification is able to gain in the industry. 

Other methods and techniques we’ve been able to leverage, but I think have opportunity to better leveraged in the future, would be jury of peers, “personal best” and more plans for improvement. A jury of peers was built in in this class setting and it was helpful through each phase of the process to hear from our peers on their thoughts surrounding the problem, our chosen solution, and how we have started to wireframe it and put it together. I do wish we had gotten more active and honest feedback throughout though and had been able to create a more candid environment for that peer feedback, or more time to dive into it. I want to work on implementing the personal best practice better as well, actually writing down what works well for me productivity wise, and the problems or challenges I’ve faced and how I’ve gone about overcoming them. This would be useful in the future to see my own evolution as a creative problem solver and product developer. This ties in hand-in-hand with have more moments built-in to debrief and reflect after each stage of the process to allow time for the critical thinking needed to identify opportunities for improvement. In the future, I’d plan to integrate both individual and group debriefs after each phase of the process and to make sure notes are being taken during both to keep a record. It would be even more efficient to have some sort of rubric as initially created during the definition stage to continue to refer back to during these moments of debrief and reflection.

[jaxhamilton]

Implementation Part 2

This week our team really took the approach of iterating on our feedback from class last week, splitting out tasks, and then coming back together to share what we’d accomplished. I really feel like this week we were able to get organized, be efficient with our team, and were able to delegate where in the past most of our work was done together. At this point in the process, I think so much of our team’s vision has become aligned and we were really able to agree on key areas of iteration which was a huge success. Failures, or rather hurdles, this week were really centered around coming up with a name and brand for our company which proved quite challenging. In terms of how we iterated, the only challenge was in thinking about how much we wanted to integrate an accreditation into our core business model, though we all agreed we wanted it to be some aspect of our business. 

The core pivot in our idea was developing some sort of industry standard and a meaningful accreditation by our business that gives our sellers not only a “green light” as an ethical business when selling on our online marketplace, but also an accreditation that carries weight beyond our store. Our marketplace will sell brands that pass our test, and our hope is that while we will start out certifying brands as a means of listing the sellers in the marketplace, that eventually as we create reputability, brands will seek out our accreditation and we can begin to charge for that service. This will be an additional revenue model along with the transaction fee that we will charge for every purchase made of our seller’s goods through our site. We are really excited about the idea of our brand name becoming synonymous with a credible shopping experience both on our site and elsewhere and being able to earn consumers’ trust. 

We generated assets for our idea through first a website infrastructure chart last week, and this week, turning that into more flushed out wireframes within Sketch. Sketch has some incredible downloadable resources that we leveraged to work smarter not harder on creating something presentable. We didn’t build out entire work flows, but focused on some of the key website views like the shopping experience page and what a breakdown of a company’s rating may look like, and then focusing on the navigation at the top and bottom of the page. We are planning to build out further examples of color schemes and brand identity so that we can give our audience a clear idea of the feel we want to create for our users centered around power, ethics, and revolution. As we continue to flush out these wireframes and perhaps enhance fidelity, we can use these Sketch visuals in our final presentation to give the audience the experience of interacting with the site and to gain their buy-in. 

[jaxhamilton]

Implementation

Our group began this stage thinking about how our solution, a marketplace, would be implemented. We approached this stage with the “moment of truth” method, committing to the idea of a shopping marketplace that would allow our consumers to shop in alignment with their values and to trust that we as a business we’re curating a shopping experience that only showcased sellers that met our ethical criteria in three key value areas. We committed as a group to see this through to fruition, and even thought about an extended product roadmap, with an eventual expansion of shopping verticals and associated consumer values by which to rate sellers. We then started along the “time and task” technique, though admittedly we focused more on the tasks at hand and focused the “time” component more on how we would dedicate our time during our collective meetings, then letting the time outside of group meetings be task-driven and have the individuals determine how much time they would devote to those tasks. These tasks included further research into how we could be rating companies as well as how competitors and similar companies were structuring their products, time spent determining our financial structure, and looking and how consumers prefer shopping today. 

These methods and techniques both took the larger action methods of first translating and digesting, and then writing it out. We had to translate our complex situations (wanting to create an ethical Amazon) into smaller, digestible entities that we could tackle, which was honing in on one specific vertical to attack, and three core values to assess our sellers by. As we moved through this we wrote out ideas to communicate them and keep record of those thought processes. 

In thinking about how we would pitch our ideas to various stakeholders we thought first about who those key stakeholders would be. We landed on investors, industry partners, consumers and eventually our board. For our investors we wanted to focus on how we would make money as a company, and thought a lot about how we can employ drop shipping which allows a low barrier to entry and potentially quick upside. We would also speak to them about the gaining momentum of this movement around consumers wanting to spend their money with companies that align with their personal values. For our industry partners, we would want to focus our pitch around the opportunity for them to become “certified” by our ethical standards and to be placed along like-minded sellers that would put them in front of their target market and allow for brand discovery. Because these consumers are value-driven, these would also likely be more loyal consumers, and would be more likely to be spreading the word to their friends because of that inherent passion for the mission. How we sell to consumers aligns with how we would market our product, and in both cases we would focus on having the best brands and creating trust by showing our consumers how we evaluate and certify our sellers, so that not only are they impressed by the products we carry, they are proud to share that they are purchasing from such ethical brands. 

As a team we landed on making our marketplace a website designed for desktop since our anecdotal research showed that when it comes to fashion, most consumers are purchasing via desktop. As we started to think about what we wanted out website to include, we thought it was best to create a visual website infrastructure chart, that showed the content of the site mapped out. Based on this initial chart we plan to then create wireframes to show these different webpages in a more flushed out, but still fairly low fidelity way, which will allow us to show which information each page will contain. From there we will continue to increase fidelity until we are able to program the website and create a first actionable prototype. Alongside this prototyping phase it will be important for us to come up with the research supporting our first round of sellers on the site and exactly how we go about rating these sellers. Our accreditation process will definitely be subject to scrutiny, so we need to have that locked in and have that be something that will stand up in the face of challenges. 

[jaxhamilton]

Ideation

When approaching the ideation phase of the creative problem solving process our team focused on individual brainstorming and then coming together for a group brainstorm. We put on the table as a rule set before all of our brainstorming that crazy ideas were welcome and even encouraged. Before brainstorming the first step was to hone in on our “how might we” problem, and to write out a clear and concise question to lead our process that stayed on the top of our brainstorming board. 

Our leading question was; How might we give consumers the power to influence companies to align with their own values?

We also made sure to walk through the attributes of our problem before splitting off to brainstorm. This allowed us to employ strategies of attribute weaving and forced connections because our problem attributes were top of mind.

For the individual phase of brainstorming, I played around mostly with lateral thinking, thinking about products in other industries and how they could apply to our problem. One of the first that came to mind was Honey, a plug-in that was recently bought by Paypal that focuses on helping consumer find coupons when they’re checking out on a site.  For the individual brainstorming phase we set a timer to make sure that we had a sense of urgency and could keep ourselves on a certain pace. 

Following the individual brainstorm we came together and shared our ideas and started to organize and group them out so that we could identify clear patterns and consistencies in our thinking. This led us to land on three ideas that were emerging as front-runners. What we came up with as solutions were: 

Marketplace

Partnering with certain companies that we deem “good” 

Filter their shopping experience by their values 

Website/app

Plug-In

Similar to “Honey” giving you information about the sites that you’re on when you’re on them 

Information about the company (privacy info)

Provide alternative companies to shop from  (maybe link to do directly)

Incentives for switching to the “better” purchasing decision

App (Database/ Accreditation) 

Wikipedia-style input of info about companies 

Companies are rated

accreditation /score based on “value areas” 

Can also see what people are saying about a company currently (experiences)

Could have social links

Could see recent company behavior or policy changes 

User given rating or score based on their spending 

Filter companies by your chosen values 

Search companies by thing you want to purchase/industry

Ultimately we realized during our debrief session that there were a lot of things we liked about our different solutions and felt there was a way to combine several key aspects into our chosen final solution. We really feel like we’d be able to successfully combine an app with a plug-in, and a marketplace may be a later evolution of a product. 

[jaxhamilton]

Definition

For my personal journey in defining our chosen problem, I reflected on some of the methods and techniques we learned in our lectures.

I started about thinking through some of the key issues in the space of consumer purchasing power.

As consumers our purchases don’t always align with our values 

There is a lot of information out there but it isn’t usable or easy to find, and often exists in the form of long PDF’s, charts, databases, etc. 

Companies get away with things consumers might not agree with in the name of profit and don’t make the most ethical decisions 

Individuals want to make an impact but their monetary or influential power are small and they don’t know how to make impact without those things (they feel they have limited power)

Consumers want to be able to drive change 

I then started to think about our priorities within this problem, and some of the key measurable objectives that would help us know we achieved what we set out to do. 

We want to make something usable (simple, fun, functional)

We want to make something where people can clearly and easily find the information they are looking for

We can measure how often people use our solution to make purchasing decisions 

Are people able to find the causes they care about/the information they need to make a buying decision and to sort based on their personal values

From here I started to compare this problem to other similar issues that consumers or consciously minded individuals face. 

People investing in companies that align with their values (investment apps that do this)

Deciding what to eat and what is best to put into your body 

Deciding how to act and treat other people in a way that aligns with your values 

Going to the gym because you care about your health 

Wanting the best for the people in your life, wanting to leave a better earth and planet for your children 

Similar to all the ways you try to be the best version of yourself on a daily basis 

When we really boil it down and try to get to the core of the core, there is too much information to sift through and a person wants to make a decision quickly and with some sort of convenience when you’re making purchases. The moment to act and make a decision is fairly small, and the amount of time it takes to make an informed purchase decision is too long. 

The audience we’re really trying to solve for are consumers, and especially conscious minded consumers. These consumers are activists, whether lifetime activists or newly “awakened” activists. There are many people in the millennial and Gen Z age groups who are deeply passionate about making a difference.

The final problem definition I came to was: 

Consumers want to live out their values and to drive change at a corporate level, but today have to sift through masses of information that are not easily accessible and not often reachable or top of mind in the moment of purchasing. How might we create a simple-to-use and empowering product for conscious consumers and change makers, which allows them to make purchasing decisions that support the companies that stand up to their chosen, highest-priority values.

What was incredible was that when I came together with my team, we had all used different techniques but really all came to the same core definition of the problem. We used the keywording/highlighting technique to filter through our four definitions and put together a final definition. 

Our final problem definition as a team became: 

Companies hold a considerable amount of power in a consumer-based capitalist society. Left unchecked, these powers could have negative social, political and environmental impacts globally. Socially conscious consumers have the power to use their voices and their wallets to halt unsustainable business practices and force global transformation. The purchasing power of millions of people sharing the same values can apply pressure to companies, demanding that they become socially responsible. Consumers want to live out their values and to drive change at a corporate level, but today one has to conduct actual research and analysis to do so. Because of the effort and education required, most people don’t do this. How might we create a simple-to-use and empowering product for conscious consumers which allows them to make informed purchasing decisions that support the companies that align with their values. Consumers would hold the power on which companies strive or disappear, resulting in a democracy for the people.

[jaxhamilton]

Acceptance & Analysis

In given the challenge to work with a team and dive into our shared passions to create a new product, we quickly came to realize a shared interest in social impact. We knew that no matter what we decided to create, we wanted it to make the world a better place. With recent events like the spread of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement for racial equality, consumers are really opening their eyes to the companies they are supporting and the ways those companies are taking a stand, treating their employees, etc. Our group wants to enable consumers the power to make purchasing decisions based on their values, and to drive businesses to continue doing better and doing right by their customers and by the world. 

By becoming involved in this project, I will be working towards a goal that fulfills me and makes me proud of myself and the person I project out. It brings me closer to my ultimate goal of being someone that leaves a lasting, positive impact on the world around me. The project also has the ability to touch on sub-topics of passion areas like promoting sustainable fashion and cleaning up our food system to ensure better nutrition for people everywhere. By working on this project I could network with people in industries I have an interest in working in one day, and could have an incredible portfolio piece or past project to show in future interviews and conversations. Ultimately, I am so excited to gain knowledge around the topic to be a better consumer and more conscious human. 

As we started to research the topic of consumer buying behavior  I deployed a handful of techniques around analysis, starting with sensitivity and common sense. We thoroughly talked out our thoughts, and also started an idea dump, getting them written down to clear the way for new research and ideas. We then moved to the “look it up” phase, scouring Google for research around how consumers make decisions, and companies being held accountable, especially in the food and fashion industries. I found myself to be a pack-rat information collector, definitely preferring to bring in all the info up front and start to dilute it down later. Most of the compelling information I found was in industry publications (Vogue for fashion etc.), from third party auditing organizations (The Apparel Coalition), and from consulting reports like one from Accenture. 

I have been fascinated to find how much the tides have turned, really even in the last 10 or so years, towards consumers wanting the companies they purchase from to make their political opinions and general values known. The increase in transparency is now being demanded by consumers, and companies can’t get by just saying they’ll do better and not taking said actions. Fashion and the food industry both have massive negative environmental impact, and some of the conglomerates in these spaces are producing environmental effects competitive with small countries. It was so surprising to see how much information is out there about companies’ political donations, how they treat their employees, etc. that isn’t widely known and could really affect how our peers make buying decision with that information at their disposal. There is so much hunger to live out our values, for continued social progress, equality and more, and through my research I realized how huge the market opportunity for a blue-sky product here really is. I am *publicly* on Tumblr committed to solving this problem! 

[jaxhamilton]

What Creativity Means to Me

I’m not going to lie, sitting here and staring at a blank “page” trying to answer this question and not knowing where to start does not make me feel very creative. 

I have always believed creativity to be reserved for artists- whether visual, musical, sculptural, etc. A person exuding self-confidence and an air all their own with a unique perspective on the world and a way of expressing it that other people could enjoy in a gallery or museum, or in a concert hall. Maybe in reading their book of poetry or latest fiction novel. What I’ve come to realize though is that creativity is defined much more broadly and applies to solving problems, creating products and experiences, and can manifest in all different types of skillsets. I do think the sense of self-confidence, and not being the loudest in the room but believing in the value of your ideas, is something that ties closely with creativity. This confidence is required to challenge the status quo, or to think differently and actually speak up about it. 

Creativity comes from boredom and space to allow your mind to wander. From being present enough in yourself and your actions as you take them to give thought to the world that you’re moving through. I worry that creativity is not only something people make less time for as they get older, but something we as a population, myself included, make less time for because of constant distractions that exist. These come in the form of social media, of a 24-hour news cycle and the attention economy that’s been created accordingly, and of all the people who move through the world staring down at the phone in their hand, or distracted by the podcast or conversation going on through their AirPods. Without a sense of presence and enough time to think through the everyday tasks we complete in our everyday surroundings, we don’t give ourselves the space to question- to wonder how things could work better, or how certain systems may be failing us. I truly believe it is in the lack of distraction and slower our pace, that we can find moments of creative inspiration whether they manifest in “Eureka” moments or spark an internal dialogue that goes on for weeks and then maybe sparks a live conversation with friends that leads to a new idea. 

Creativity has always seemed a bit elusive to me, always sexy and a sought after trait that I wanted to be defined by, but wasn’t quite sure I was. I’d never thought much about the nature vs. nurture of creativity, but as I hear experts refer to it as a muscle you can flex, something you can start to adjust your environment to influence, it gets me excited. I can be the “creative” I want to be by practicing core characteristics of my personality that I’d never thought were related, like empathy, and by working on my fear of failure or public perception to challenge myself to speak out my ideas and not care if they suck. I can always seek more information and knowledge, especially in following my passion areas, and if I’m learning with intention and presence, I will be better equipped to imagine new (or new variations of old) things. 

I don’t need to be the best painter or a renowned song writer to be creative. We all have the muscle, we’re just moving forward with boldness, finding our medium.