Why This Book
matters
We are living in the Age of Experience. Today, organizations fight to differentiate themselves by constantly trying to “WOW” their audiences. But in the race to amaze, most companies get stuck in a trap: escalating complex experiences that people don’t want, systems that don’t work, and designs that ultimately frustrate.
So much time is spent chasing grand gestures that we miss the simple, high-impact opportunities right in front of us.
The UN-WOW is your blueprint for creating the right experience for the right moment. All of life is about having experiences, but not all experiences are alike. “The Un-WOW” is your guide to designing experiences of all kinds, understanding the fundamentals of experience , and embracing the simplicity of everyday experiences.
Join other designers in their exploration of the simple, the embracing the mundane, the appreciation of the basic. and rediscover the “fun” of the fundamentals.
TOPICS COVERED
What factors shape experience and how you can leverage those to create better ones
The components of the Experience Engine, and the ways you can modify the engine for higher performance
The Four Types of Experience, and which experience is best for what moments
How to focus on your “Why” versus the “WOW”
The ways that small acts can lead to big impacts, and why “going small” is better than “failing big”
The value of Experience De-Escalation
How technology can lead to WOW Misfire, and ways to integrate technology into your Un-WOW strategy
The best ways to connect methods and measurement to the types of experiences you are creating
support the un-wow
Publishing a book takes a village.
Your support makes it possible.
I’m publishing The UN-WOW with the support of Manuscripts Press, an innovative publisher that provides me with a full publishing team to bring this book to life.
Over the coming months I will work closely with:
A revisions editor, copy editor, and proofreader to refine and elevate every story in the book
A marketing strategist to help me connect with new audiences and make the book’s message reach those who need it most.
A cover artist and layout editor who will ensure the final product is visually stunning and professionally produced.
TRAINING PROGRAMS
As an educator and corporate trainer for over 30 years, I have been in front of all kinds of audiences. That range of experience allows me to customize content for any group. Translating academic concepts into organizational action, I am able to bridge what happens on university campuses into immediate action.
By supporting “THE UN-WOW” campaign, you can bring the my experience and manuscript to you and your organizations.
Programs include topics like:
The Four Types of Experience: Not all experiences are like, nor should they be. Expand your journey maps and design efforts by exploring the different types of experiences and how they can expand your design efforts. Rather than thinking of your audience’s journeys as a single experience, look at how they are made up of different experiences coming together.
Experience Research and Data Strategies: Your outcome measurements need to go beyond NPS and survey-based dashboard. Develop a multi-methodological data collection and analysis strategy to further your understanding of the experiences you are creating, and looking to create.
Effort-to-Impact Matrix (Small Acts, Big Impacts): Organizations will engage around complex failure over settling on simple solutions. Rather than working hard, your organization and experience design efforts need to work smaller. Learn how to focus on small acts that deliver big impacts to deliver better experiences to your audiences.
Improvisational Excellence & Competency Capture): The best keep secret in the workplace is how good work gets done. Employees can find ways to make things work better through small fixes and improvisational activities. Companies can improve themselves from within by capturing what workers are doing well, creating everyday excellence in the performance of their regular work. The next step is to turn those discoveries into trainings to help share those learnings throughout the enterprise.
Post-Implementation Technology Analysis: Companies often employ the “launch and hope” strategy when it comes to new technologies. As a result, they get caught out by unintended (and sometimes easily forecasted) negative impacts. Learn how to conduct P.I.T.As and build that into your design cycle, tailoring technology to work. Technology alone is not a strategy; it is a tool to help you accomplish your strategy. But first you have to use it properly, focusing on the ‘right tool for the right job.’
Gary C. David, PhD
PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AND
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
Since my early days as an aspiring sociologist, I have been interested in the little moments that bring people together. I always seek to integrate the social sciences with business to better design for people and their environments.
Our goal as experience designers is to help improve situations, processes, and outcomes wherever they are. The biggest opportunities we have are often in the most basic moments.
As a Clinical Sociologist, I help clients better understand the challenges they are facing, the opportunities that exist, and how to create solutions that are sustainable. As a professional speaker and content creation, I firmly believe in the power and importance of public scholarship, bridging the divide between academia, industry, and society.
As the producer and host of Experience by Design podcast, I understand the importance of experience designs of all kinds, and how little things can make all the difference.