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After 10 years in interactive design and communications, I have decided to join two wonderful, talented partners—Matt Sartor and Darnell Clayton—in starting an interactive design consultancy, threebrick.

Do we need another consultancy or agency?  I thought about that question for more than a year. My answer is yes, and here are a few reasons why:

We Need a Consultancy with Expertise in User Experience, Creative Design, and Emerging Technology

Many agencies and consultancies claim expertise in these three foundational areas but do not actually have it.  It’s one thing to talk about them and another to do them successfully.  My partners and I have more than 30 years of experience combined.  We also LOVE what we do!  We constantly keep up with the latest trends, techniques, and innovations.  And we have a tendency to write or present about them, which forces us to stay extra sharp.

We Need a Consultancy That Keeps Its Promises

Too many times, by several different agencies and consultancies, a casual disregard for deadlines and commitments has shocked me.  If it continues, it will damage the credibility of the entire interactive industry.  My partners and I love this industry too much to let that happen.  I also have been dismayed at how often the people selling the work do not understand what it truly entails, so they can’t offer realistic promises.  Making a responsible promise and keeping it should not be optional.  We need a consultancy that does what it says.

We Need a Consultancy That Knows When to Talk, Who Should Talk, and When to Listen

People turn to agencies and consultancies for advice, so agencies and consultancies do need to talk.  But often the people with the expertise and useful ideas do not do the talking.  Also, my partners and I understand the art of listening—to the client, to the client’s stakeholders, to the customers, to the data.  We know that it’s impossible to truly understand a problem or a need, and consequently offer the best solution, without listening.  We call our approach “conversational design.”

We Need a Consultancy That Doesn’t Cause Fires

Sound obvious?  If an agency or consultancy has ever burned you, you know this isn’t as obvious as it should be.  My partners and I understand that clients have better things to do than put out fires due to poor planning or bad execution.  With our experience, we have taken what works and what doesn’t work to develop a “fireproof” process.

We Need a Consultancy Willing to Work with Start Ups Outside Silicon Valley

The Silicon Valley is still start-up land, but there are plenty of great interactive business ideas beyond it.  We’re willing to work with new businesses that have good ideas to help bring their dreams into reality.

We Need a Consultancy That Isn’t Fat on Overhead

In these lean economic times, we think clients will want the absolute most for their money.  We think they’re  less interested in box seats at the game and more interested in high-quality deliverables that win customers over and garner business results.

Answering a Few More Questions

• When will threebrick be available?
  We’re happy to talk now and will be ready to hit the ground running in early 2009.  We invite you to start a conversation by e-mailing us at info@threebrick.com.
• What are your emerging technology specialties?
  Our specialties beyond the web include mobile and speech (voice user interface) technology.
• What are some of your other specialties?
  So glad you asked!  For user experience, our specialties include the key disciplines, such as information architecture, interaction design, usability, and content strategy.  Within our creative design offering, our clean CSS / HTML prototyping and design is a specialty.  Across all of our areas—user experience, creative design, and emerging technology—our specialties include persuasion and self-service.
• Are you going to keep blogging?
  I’ve gone back and forth on this but have decided I will absolutely keep this blog going.
• When will the threebrick website be available?
  Our initial presence is up at www.threebrick.com. The next version, which will tell a more complete story, will be up after the holidays.

Some Acknowledgments

I want to thank some special people, in addition to Matt and Darnell, for helping make this a reality.  Kevin, Karen, Greg, Ron, Nick, Erik—I can’t thank you enough.  I also want to thank my husband, Chris, for his kind support and patience with my loooong work hours!