Partner Spotlight: Straight Line Theory
Who Influences Who, Anyway?
In 2002, when Andrew Benson and John Dusek left steady careers at full-service agencies to start Straight Line Theory, “user experience” was not at the center of the conversation around digital product design or technology. A possible hangover from the “dot com” boom of the late 90s, much of the work agencies were focused on was trying to influence consumer behavior through technology. To Andrew and John, this approach seemed, well, backwards.
These two experts in research and usability shared a bold vision for a company dedicated to user experience design; one that was also based upon the radical idea that, actually, consumer behavior should influence how the technology is designed: not the other way around. Andrew and John were in many ways thinking ahead of the curve, but they also credit their collaborations with forward-thinking business leaders around that time who embraced this vision for a user centered universe, too. The concept of “user-centered design” took off in a dead sprint over the next two decades, running side by side with technology, becoming almost interdependent. That’s where we find ourselves in 2020, and guess what? Straight Line Theory is still doing what they do best, even better than ever: User Experience (UX) design.
“Consumer behavior should influence how the technology is designed; not the other way around.” – John Dusek
Love Thy Work, Know Thy User
You might think, given their success and impressive list of clients, John and Andrew would be tempted to scale-up or expand their services in order to cover more ground with clients—by doing what full-service agencies do: hiring front-end developers, graphic designers and writers. Why not build the whole website for clients, for instance? Why not do it all as so many companies try to do?
Because that is neither the passion nor the purpose. The founders stuck to their core vision and values. They wanted a small company with a tight-knit crew of collaborators doing what they loved at the highest level. (pictured: Andrew Benson, left and John Dusek, right)
According to Gino Giovannelli—our “In the Key of D” podcast co-host and longtime Straight Line Theory partner—this singularity of purpose is one of the things that makes the company so reliable. “I love this notion [of Andrew and John’s] that it’s easy to make a website difficult to use; much harder to make one that’s easy to use.”
I love this notion [of Andrew and John’s] that it’s easy to make a website difficult to use; much harder to make one that’s easy to use. – Gino Giovannelli
Gino, through his business Miles Interactive, has hired Straight Line Theory whenever he is tasked with developing digital products for a client. “I always go to [Andrew and John] because they’re patient and thorough; they don’t jump to conclusions and rush to 'go into surgery,' as I tend to do sometimes...They make sure all inputs are in before making recommendations out.”
It’s their advocacy for user invovlement throughout the design process that makes Straight Line Theory so radically consistent, because no successful outcome can be achieved without “walking a mile” in the user’s shoes.
As technology and user experience design accelerate and evolve, Straight Line Theory remains focused on on understanding users' current needs and problems to reveal new and better ways of doing things. That’s the best way to keep up with trends. Good UX design applies more Zen principles than you might think. John and Andrew don’t spend a lot of time predicting the future; they’re focused on understanding what the end user needs now, identifying their pain points or obstacles, and then mapping out solutions.
In the Key of D Episode - Featuring John Dusek and Andrew Benson
You won’t want to miss Andrew Benson and John Dusek on our podcast “In the Key of D: Using Digital to Transform Your Business.” Mark your calendars for July 27, 2020 and follow Creatis on social media for more updates. Andrew and John join hosts Kathy Hollenhorst and Gino Giovannelli for an exciting, insightful conversation on Straight Line Theory, UX design theory and practice—and how they’re serving clients in the time of COVID-19.
Visit Straight Line Theory here.
On LinkedIn:
John Dusek
Andrew Benson
