Most of our projects require us to create a new product driven by data. When we say ‘driven by data’, we don’t mean harnessing current usage data to inform a better version. We mean data drives the product, like engine oil in a car. By helping our clients find new meaning in their data, we, in turn, can create a genuinely new service.
If we make a new product, it needs to be distinct in the marketplace. It needs a unique reason for customers to purchase and use it. Therefore, our work needs to go beyond graphic design and ease-of-use.
A good example of this is our work with UEFA.
Our project with UEFA involved data from popular aggregators, OPTA and Deltatre. However, for the Euro 2016 campaign we worked with them to understand what was unique about their coverage; in their case, it was their focus on players. So we looked not to create new data but rather filter and look for new patterns in the existing data. By understanding that we wanted to find intelligent plays, we avoided generic data like ‘goals’ and ‘assists’ and focused on exotic data like ‘percentage of long-range passes completed’ which actually captures the essence and value of the team’s players.
Sometimes, our role is to amplify the uniqueness of the data, rather than invent it.
For the Redburn IDEAS platform, we didn’t develop the financial models to drive this complex quantitative evaluation system. We worked with them to understand what the most important aspects of the model are; the key dimensions and metrics their clients worked with on a daily basis and informed our designs accordingly.
These modelling discussions typically happen during concept development. In this first stage, we understand the business, user and data need giving us some direction to shine a light through their cloud of data.
By understanding the unique forces around the business needs, their brand distinction and how they compete, we know how to re-prioritise the data in order to find insights.
It is these unique stories and patterns in the data that are then borne out in the interface, which is why our work is so compelling. The data powering it tells a new story unique to the client.