I realized today that I think something is getting lost in all the discussion about “User Experience”. What is lacking is the understanding of having a great concept when trying to engage users. I come out of a traditional creative background where the concept was King.

I still believe that you must have a concept before you create the design. Concept is about meaning. If it’s not meaningful, no one will care about it. So much activity now centers on “design” but design without meaning is vapid. Understanding what your audience wants and addressing their needs with meaningful, interesting, humorous, unique, and different ideas is key. Anything else is just a waste of time and resources.