Interactions - January/February 2009

once told me: “You are your own worst critic. Nobody is harder on you than you.” He was right. Many times throughout my life, I have come face to face with my own worst enemy. I see her every time I look in the mirror.

I quickly realized that silencing that inner critic would be quite possibly the biggest and most daunting part of this project. If I kept my ideas to myself, I would be alone to contend with that critical voice. I decided to share these ideas in a public forum instead of leaving them to the brutality of my internal judge and jury.

My inner critic was quickly tempered by the encouragement of the people who followed me on this journey. People who read my blog emailed me and cheered me on with their words of encouragement. My inner critic lost power when people told me I had inspired them. With support and encouragement, I found my voice and the courage to use it.

More important, my ideas served as a bridge for connecting me with people who share my interests and passions. In sharing my ideas and point of view, I connected with a tribe of people interested in nurturing, supporting, and celebrating ideas about mobile user experience. This project allowed me to become part of that conversation and part of that tribe.

Plus, the ideas just got better. Sharing my ideas with the world gave them a life of their own. They were free to connect with other ideas and were incorporated into a host of other conversations. Even when people disagreed with a concept or an opinion, it started a con-

versation. Ideas get better with debate and when others are able to build upon them. 90 in 90 became less about authorship and “my ideas” and more about contributing to a community of thought. 90 in 90 allowed me to connect to something bigger than myself.

90 in 90 started out as an exercise in creative recovery. When I started, I didn’t know where it would end. I just had faith that in the practice of doing something every day, something good would happen. And it did. I went on a creative journey and created a body of work that reflects aspects of the mobile user experience that I believe are important and emergent. I also learned loads about myself as a person and as a designer.

When people ask me what others can learn from this project, I come back to the reasons why people take journeys of any kind. Journeys allow us to explore; they allow us to discover. They can be arduous at times, and full of surprises and fun at other times. Most important, journeys provide us with an understanding of ourselves and our relationship to the world. The journeys themselves are often the least difficult part; more often it’s finding the courage to start.

I started by taking it one day at a time.

Renewed Engagement
with the World

In the process of coming up with an idea about mobile experience every day for 90 days, I started thinking about where inspiration comes from. It would seem it came from anywhere and everywhere. Admittedly and obviously, a lot of the ideas were born from firsthand experiences in mobile contexts— waiting for the bus, walking down the street, sitting in an airport. But inspiration also comes from unexpected places. I was inspired by architecture, kelp forests at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, my niece. I never knew when inspiration would strike, and I quickly learned that I needed to be completely open to the world—to the people and places around me—and then inspiration would follow.

This process has allowed me to forge a different relationship to the people, places, and things that touch my daily life. I feel more engaged with the world because I see it and rely on it as a source of inspiration. This

process has also opened me up to new people and new conversations. I’ve become actively engaged with my neighborhood, the city, and with nature. I’ve become a more observant, empathetic, and patient person. It has made me a better designer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rachel Hinman is a mobile experience design director for Adaptive Path, a user experience and design firm based in San Francisco,

California. She is the creative force behind the “90 Mobiles in 90 Days project” and a recognized thought leader in the mobile user experience field. She speaks frequently on the topic of mobile research, design, and strategy and publishes her point of view on mobile user experience on the Adaptive Path website and Business Week.