Our Approach
When creating software, we often run into competing intentions. Those intentions fall into three areas: human, business and technical. We leverage competing intentions to achieve balance.
Balance
We sit at the intersection of design, business consultancy and software engineering, and we try to strike a balance between these areas.
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The Beauty of Balance
Designing and building software is more art than science. The trick is looking for joy in the trade-offs and finding beauty in the balance.
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Guided by Intentions
To solve problems in the most effective way, we rely on intentions. They help guide how we work and interact with our customers and each other.
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Strong Opinions, Loosely Held
While the debate over software development methodologies continues to rage, we prefer to focus on "the why" rather than "the how".
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Embrace the Convergence
The worlds of design, consultancy and software engineering are colliding, with big implications for the creative services industry.
Human
We develop a deep level of care and understanding for users so we can build the right tools in the right way. We do what's right for users, even when it's harder for us.
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What Makes a Great User Experience?
To help answer this question, we’ve developed a framework that builds on existing heuristics while reflecting the expectations of modern users.
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The Search for Simplicity
Simplifying a user experience isn't just about aesthetics, it’s about being considerate of people’s time, mental capacity and emotions.
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When Technology Becomes Invisible
We believe in a world where people interact with devices less, not more. We believe that technology should melt into the background: that's when the real magic starts.
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Developing Care and Understanding
Field research is one of the most important parts of the process when designing technology solutions for the workplace. Here we unpack some of our preferred methods.
Business
Market forces can create uncertainty, and requirements and stakeholders can change. Fortunately, we're flexible, iterative and deeply collaborative.
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Taking Care of Business
Every software project is subject to constraints. And since almost all organisations have commercial goals, many of those constraints are business-related.
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A Little Goes a Long Way
When kicking off a major software project, it pays to start small.
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A Culture of Learning
In today's rapidly evolving workplace, organisations with a culture of learning are enjoying significant benefits.
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The Power of Partnership
At Smudge, we want to build lasting relationships with customers based on trust. That's how we create products that are genuinely transformational for users.
Technology
Success for us is when technology makes itself invisible. Technology for its own sake doesn't motivate us. We're more interested in the outcomes technology can create for users.
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Navigating the Technology Trade-offs
When it comes to enterprise mobility, discussions around technology requirements are notoriously difficult. Here we shine a light on some of the trade-offs, constraints and pitfalls.
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Start With the User
When digital transformation starts with the user rather than the technology, magical things can happen.
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The Right Horse for the Right Course
When creating software, deciding which platform, environment or framework to use is a case of “horses for courses”. The trick is finding the right horse for the right course.