Useability Testing Works

I was part of a useability study last night at Frogdesign studios. It reminded me of the importance of putting down the corporate Kool-Aid, setting aside ego, and asking, "How does this work outside of our four walls?" If last nights study was any indication, the folks over at Frogdesign do a fine job of orchestrating this process for their clients. Hotbed conducted useability testing and a website re-design last Summer with our good friends over at The Milk Farm that yielded our new website (we hope you like it). We wanted to make our films the star of the show, rather than us, our client list, or how super awesome we'd like to think we are. Let the work speak for itself, we hailed. The results have been staggaring! The number of videos viewed on our website has increased by 281% in just six months. That's the power of stepping back. Another powerful tool of discovery is the use of film itself. We work directly with agencies to film focus groups, useability testing, and product release evaluations. While interviews and testing are powerful tools, nothing conveys emotion like film. Hotbed has filmed and edited two research projects for Witness that have been invaluable in conveying real thoughts and emotions directly to company leaders in a clear, concise fashion. Take a look at our films for Freebord and Zwack to see how the medium can be incorporated into your research project.