Digital-Physical Workflows: Designing a New Tool for Designers of Hybrid Products

As more physical products integrate digital experiences, the added complexity brings more disciplines to the table. Every hybrid digital-physical product — every wearable, every connected appliance, every smart medical device — is created by a team of researchers, industrial & interaction designers, mechanical & electrical engineers, and software developers, working together to realize a cohesive user experience.

When Matt Ambler, Director of Interaction Design at Bresslergroup, and Jes Koepfler, PhD, Bresslergroup's Director, UX Research and Strategy, noted the challenges of keeping everyone on a digital-physical project team traveling the same path from empathy to vision, they designed the Digital-Physical Workflow. This mapping tool takes upfront insights discovered by researchers and translates them into a roadmap that embraces every discipline’s distinct language and visualizes each role.

In this DesignPhilly talk, Matt and Jes will explain how they came to design this new tool in the context of an evolving product design landscape, and how it works to anchor the product vision and function as an essential communication tool from research through to implementation. Join is for this story of process, creativity and collaboration!