It is a phrase I use on a daily basis, because I find it so important to everything.

You have to make people care: to fill out a form, visit a website, give their details to you, make that event, try that new activity.

I see it as a scale of: not caring, which leads into a caring cutover point which leads into people caring.

If people don’t care about this thing you are doing, then they won’t interact.

If they do, they will.

To me, it is as simple as that.

But making them care can be hard.

You have to really understand them to know what will make them care.

Today, I saw a new website launched to the Electorial Commission trying to get people to register to vote.

http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3258/electoral_commission_spends_55_000_on_ice_cream_scoops_and_cats

I struggle to see how this makes people care about registering to vote.

If people don’t care, they won’t do.

Make them care.

(If you can’t wait until preorder, check out the website: http://www.predatorythinking.com/.)

I’ve been a big fan since his first book, Creative Mischief. This has been my most read, and lent-out book. I have started recommending it to everyone because although Dave is an Ad Man, the messages and stories are relatable to anyone.

As well as these books, I can recommend reading his blogs: http://www.cstthegate.com/davetrott/ and http://davetrott.campaignlive.co.uk/.

Finally some great videos on The Art of Persuasion from Dave: http://prandall.com/2012/11/03/dave-trott-on-the-art-of-persuasion/

That should keep you going until the book arrives!

Looking back at my twitter history (mainly links to GIFs and frivolous comments) and delicious (nothing of substance) I turned to my Readability list (just articles).

I’ve done posts in the past (http://prandall.com/2010/01/23/condensed-type-1/ and http://prandall.com/2012/04/25/linkspiration/) that collate what I have consumed over the week, and I think it is much better way of documenting what is going on, because otherwise I just forget!

I watched a talk by Gavin Strange (@jamfactory) http://vimeo.com/61248847 where he had a page full of things that interested/inpired him recently. Braun watches, old sticker packets and wicked-awesome camera rigs. I’d like to play with creating one of these a week/month as a visual representation for the things that I have consumed.

On a mission, focused, determined. Popularized by the TV series the A-Team. When Hannibal Smith came up with a plan to defeat the bad guys, they always referred to him as “on the jazz.”

As a big A-Team fan this is a phrase I like using.

It is also a powerful state-of-mind to be in.

It takes a real understanding of the problem to provide the right solution. This means designers need to be involved at the very early stages of a project. Thinking that a designer can come along at the end and ‘design’ it basically means that they are looking for someone to simply style their solution.

Design is not simply styling.

If this happens, and if you willfully let it happen then you are harming the profession you work in. To get away from this situation, you need to educate those you work with.

Designers should be involved at the very beginning. This avoids a ‘chinese whispers’ effect of others interpreting the requests a certain way and relaying them. It is best to be with the client or stakeholder to understand their requests firsthand. Afterwards, write a brief and have all parties agree to it. This will be the brief that the design solution is marked against.

This is the start of getting away from simply styling other peoples’ solutions.

In the office environment where I now work our job is to deliver projects. This means that other people decide what projects we work on. The beauty of a hack day is seeing how the team will (hopefully) be very enthusiastic at the prospect of building something they choose to.

These are a couple reasons why I think office hack days should exist:

• The balance of control would also be firmly in the hands of the developers.
• Watch the team conceive, organise, plan and present everything without PM or BA involvement.
• It’ll show the full potential of the team members.
• Cheaper than an away-day or team-building event.
• They may come up with some awesome ideas.

There are probably 101 other reasons why hack days are good things so if you have any, post them in the comments.

The notifications bing, ring and flash. All techniques to draw your attention away from your actual ‘work’.

This isn’t a one-way thing either. We are all guilty of these.

An answer to help improve the environment: Don’t have these systems notify you. Turn them off, and only turn them on when it suits you. Is your second screen used for email and IM? Use it for something else.

Seclude yourself if possible. Close a door, find a quiet space, put some headphones on. It’ll reduce office distractions even more. Plus, you’ll ‘look’ busier and people may be less likely to come over and distract you. I’ve used this technique in the past with great effect.

You see that sign, you don’t disturb that person. Feel the wrath if you do, like a spectator stopping a marathon runner!

Meetings are harder to avoid, and probably the subject for another time. The only advatage to these are that they are scheduled so you can plan your productive time around them.

• Skateboard deck
• Racing car livery
• Movie poster
• CD cover
• Football kit
• Book cover (OK, so I have done something from the list. Here it is)

So what is stopping me. Well, nothing. Since having this list I haven’t actually tried my hand at any of these.

I think this need to design physical products comes from my tendency to appreciate physical items more than digital ones. Yes, interacting with websites or apps is great (and I love the fact that thousands of people are able to see your work), but seeing a printed business card or poster to me has always given me more joy than the launch of a website.

So I am going to work on producing some concepts just for fun, but maybe with a real product in mind. 2013 is a year for acting on the things I’ve been putting off, so blogging about this now seems like the perfect catalyst, because what is a bucket list for if you don’t act on it.

Do you have a design bucket list? If you do I’d love to hear about them. Leave a comment below or tweet me @paulrandall.

I didn’t quite make a top 10, so instead I am just going to list the albums that I listened to most during 2012.

Albums of 2012

• Frank Ocean – Channel ORANGE
• Jessie Ware – Devotion
• Swedish House Mafia – Until Now
• Labrinth – Electronic Earth

Notable mentions (and some not released this year but played a lot)

• Annie Mac Presents 2012
• Bonobo – Black Sands Remixed
• SBTRKT – SBTRKT (Released in 2011 but I only recently discovered this)
• Joker – The Vision (Again, released in 2011 but only recently discovered)
• Calvin Harris – 18 Months

Scrobble history

My last.fm profile has everything that i’ve listened to over the last few years. Cheesy or not (even when playing the office Christmas songs all day!) It’s a great way of looking back at things you’ve loved and how your tastes change.