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Dan Iaboni

Dan Iaboni

Ph.D - Chief Experience Officer

Mixology Meets UX: A Martini Recipe With An Akendi Twist

The art of mixology and UX design have a lot in common. Both balance art and science to create a pleasing experience. A mixologist combines flavours to create new and exciting experiences. But unconfined experimentation will likely lead to a drink that’s too strong, too weak, or downright disgusting. Science allows us to expect what will work and what won’t. This knowledge helps us spend our time and effort in an effective way.

Another similarity is equipment. Sure, you could use a stir stick to combine the ingredients and a beer mug to serve the drink in, but that wouldn’t lead to the best possible result. You need to make sure you have all the right tools for the job.

The same concept applies to an organization. You might go through all the steps, but if you don’t have the right people or capabilities in your UX team, your final product will miss the mark.

In spirit of Canada Day long weekend, we created our very own martini recipe with an Akendi twist. UX appears in all sorts of contexts in life – including mixology. Here we’ll walk you through how to make a delicious Akentini in three simple steps.

You will need the following equipment:

  • A martini glass
  • A cocktail shaker
  • Ice

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz. of Peach Schnapps (Strategy)
  • 1 oz. Crème de Menthe (Research)
  • 1 oz. of Crème de Cacao (Testing)
  • A dash of Blue Curaçao (Design)

Preparation:

  1. Fill up the cocktail shaker with ice and add all the ingredients
  2. Give it a good shake and pour into the martini glass
  3. Embellish with a twist of lemon
  4. Sit back and enjoy your Akentini!

A UX process needs all the components – not necessarily in the ratio listed above – to be just right. If you remove one or two of the ingredients from an Akentini, your creation is no longer an Akentini. Your cocktail might be drinkable, but why risk the final result when you have a recipe for success?

On that note, cheers!

Dan Iaboni

Dan Iaboni

Ph.D - Chief Experience Officer

Dan firmly believes that technology must be created with the user in mind. Never shy to critique a bad design, Dan uses the Akendi blog to shine a spotlight on usability mistakes…and their solutions. Leveraging his background in engineering, computer science, psychology, and anthropology, Dan offers a unique perspective on the latest UX trends and techniques.


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About Akendi

Akendi is a human experience design firm, leveraging equal parts experience research and creative design excellence. We provide strategic insights and analysis about customer and user behaviour and combine this knowledge with inspired design. The results enable organizations to improve effectiveness, engage users and provide remarkable customer experiences to their audiences.