You're doing it wrong: Data-driven design is the future and it's time to throw away your design comps

The age of the Photoshop mockup is dead. Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the modern website industry. Digital design has changed considerably over this time but this year we find ourselves at the inflection point of the most important change in digital design in it’s entire two decade history: The ascendency of data-driven design.

What is data-driven design? It’s the blending of roles among designer and developer and analyst into a new process of rapid iteration fueled by proper instrumentation to keep all parties honest. Data-driven design aligns the most important interests of the client (the digital engagement metrics that need improving) with the design process to ensure that every change, large or small, furthers the goals of the business. That drives results and results are all that matter.

Data-driven design is all made possible with designing in the medium. Using static Photoshop mockups to design a modern, responsive web site is like making a movie to design a power plant. Designing in the medium is simple: if you are designing a website use HTML to mock it up. Coupled with designing in the medium, data-driven design is a faster, leaner, and more impactful design experience that is unmatched by any other method.

In this session we will discuss:

• How to do data driven design
• Key universal metrics to measure
• Critical UX patterns to use
• Tips for proper instrumentation in Google Analytics and other platforms
• Tools for designing in the medium
• Everything you need to know to do modern digital design better, faster, and stronger

Presenting along with Dan Arbello is Mark Lavoritano, our Director of Strategy. You can read more about data-driven design in his provocative Medium post.