Numerous times over the years, after attending one creative presentation or another by some well-known and respected design agency, I have found myself thinking “I liked what I saw and I agree with the reasoning behind the user interface (UI) concept… but there is so much missing”. This feeling has followed me over the years, repeating itself. Whilst design concepts can be creative when presented, having the responsibility to deliver them was not a very nice position to be in. I learned to understand that 80% of the work to make these design dreams come true was still missing.
I have thought about the “perfect” design agency many times over the years: what it would do differently, how it would make its products more ready, how it would actually push the boundaries – and execute that 80% that is still needed after any beautiful, well-crafted UI concept. The introduction of user experience (UX) didn’t actually help: 90% of any creative presentation by a design agency was, and still is, about UI. So eventually, random thoughts of learning from the best agencies in the world and combining those lessons into a more holistic view on user experience, providing greater value for companies doing services, devices or web sites, became a list of seven areas (The Magic 7) that define UX as I feel it should be. Not because it feels right for myself, but because it is right for the companies desperately seeking competitive advantage in a fierce business such as the mobile one.
Ixonos has entered the UX area from a new angle based on The Magic 7 UX thinking and we strongly believe that the real magic, even in UI, happens outside the screen. We also want to enter the UX area in a way where top talented people find themselves enjoying working for us and can develop into real specialists and change-makers in the UX domain. I am fascinated by our team already: individuals who can see the potential of our UX approach, combined with exceptional development forces, is a match that – simply put – is second to none.
Because Ixonos UX is present in everything we do, not even those of us working in the User Experience Design unit “own” it. We are champions in UI design, information architecture, visual design, design strategy, user research and demo creation, to name a few, but we still need those passionate developers, smart SW architects and creative back-end developers who can work with us to deliver that remaining 80% of the creative concept.
Ixonos will invest decisively into the UX area as an offering and an integral part of other Ixonos offerings as well as establish a truly global design agency born to make a difference. Our plan is not to become the biggest design agency out there – we simply want to be most innovative, creative and dependable UX agency there is. The roots of our company may be more on the development side than those of e.g. marketing or ad agencies, but we have turned this background into a strength. We are in the best possible position to deliver a very broad UX offering and get those projects done – in a true turnkey way.
We are very happy that so many companies have already found that our approach is on the mark and improves the success of their business. This motivates us even more and gives us confidence that our goals for UX are the right ones.
Simply because the best concepts are the realized concepts.
Welcome to follow our blog frequently. I hope you will find lots of exciting entries here from now on; our global design team will regularly publish articles on interesting topics. Stay tuned!
For more information, please contact:
Sami Paihonen, VP of User Experience Design, +358 50 502 1111, sami.paihonen@ixonos.com