Adaptive Path Philosophy

For us, design isn't an afterthought - our process tells us what we should build and why. At the intersection of user and business needs, we find opportunities to innovate.

User Focus

We believe that user-centered strategies deliver market-changing innovations and measurable value. With every design project, we start by learning about the people who will use that design: What are they doing, what do they care about, what will give this "thing" (product, site, service) relevance and meaning?

We investigate from the perspective of an individual person - how will this person use this thing - rather than using demographic groups or other arbitrary classification systems. By looking at a problem from an individual's point of view, we begin to understand how the things we're making will work for real people as they go about their lives.

Business Focus

We make an equally deep analysis of business needs - and here, we use a broad definition of "business" that includes enterprises, institutions, foundations, and startups. We look at revenue models and market forces, as well as the personal needs of the people who run the business. Two questions form the foundation of our analysis: What business problems (or opportunities) can we affect through design, and what's the inherent value of solving those problems?

As we explore these questions, we inevitably wade into more philosophical waters: Why is this product worth the investment? Why is it important to the business? Given infinite possibilities, why have they chosen this way to spend their money, effort, and time? How does this effort connect them to their ecosystem of peers, intellectual and marketplace neighbors, prospects, and investors?

Tell Two Friends... And So On

Intellectual isolation and trade secrets don't advance the field of user experience, so we promote our ideas at public workshops around the world, and send them out as free essays in our newsletters. On our personal weblogs, our corporate website, and in both public and private speaking engagements, we discuss our practices and ideas. Our customers are our peers, and every conversation is an opportunity to learn and grow. At the end of the day, we're all smarter and happier if we share what we know.