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Pure.
Honest.
Passionate.
Our capabilities
Pure.
Honest.
Passionate.
How we help
The best products start with user research & experience design
It all starts with customer research &
experience design

  • Discovery: Research

    Discovery may be the most important and most overlooked phase of a project. It's during this phase we uncover the specific needs the product or project has to meet. But, "I already know the needs my product will meet." This mindset is primarily responsible for projects that skip past discovery and move directly into definition. The definition phase establishes the foundational evidence to be used to inform the decisions that will be made in the definition phase. Without the discovery phase, the definition phase will be based on questionable evidence. Talk to your users early to avoid re-work later.
    Learn more

  • Definition: Experience Design

    Our unique approach uses the definition phase for experience design, separating graphic design into a separate phase. Experience design can be different depending on the nature of the product, the maturity of the product, and the team. Generally, we include categorization/taxonomy, user flows, low-fidelity prototypes (or wireframes), interaction design, and functional annotations; we can also include information design, personas/user profiles, journey maps, and detailed functional requirements.
    Learn more

  • Design, Develop & Deploy

    2020 is the first year Hostile Sheep is officially offering complete support for the graphic design, software development, and product deployment phases of our projects. We're still a specialty shop focused on research and experience design, we just feel like we're extremely well positioned to guide a downstream team of specialists. Our clients asked for end-to-end services; one point of contact, one scope, one invoice. Thus, we compiled a trusted network of graphic design shops, software development shops, and product deployment shops to partner with us and meet our high standards and methods.
    Learn more

We brought Hostile Sheep in to help us move a stalled project forward. Another shop failed to deliver what we needed and it became clear that it wasn't going to happen. Jordan and his team came in, asked the right questions, and put the project back on the rails in two weeks.
Richard
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Hostile Sheep is our goto user research partner. Every study we've commissioned with Hostile Sheep has returned actionable results we were able to implement immediately - as well as recommendations we're planning on implementing in future releases.
Justin
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I am confident that what Hostile Sheep provided us with is what we needed to evolve the site into a stronger digital communications tool.
I always learn something new which is something that I love!
Kirsten
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The 5 core values of Hostile Sheep
Do less more often.
We encourage our clients to employ continuous improvement principles. We don't believe in a perfect product; just products that are good enough for now. "Set it and forget it" is not a term that should apply to products. Products require testing and experimentation.
How does this impact me?
Help users.
Today, users are more fickle than ever. They have so many products vying for their attention. As a result, we have to build products that help users more than any other product on the market. Thus, we need to uncover the features matter the most to users so we can plan to include them in our products.
How does this impact me?
Services over sites.
Websites and applications should offer useful services that helps users get things done. There are too many sites that merely provide information, without helping users in any way. We generally think of websites and apps as the online expression of a service offering that helps users complete real jobs.
How does this impact me?
Designers are made.
Design shouldn't be thought of as a professional service; it's a skilled trade. Just like chefs, blacksmiths, and electricians, designers learn best using the "master-apprentice" model. This model requires master designers and apprentices to work hand-in-hand.
How does this impact me?
Value isn't an hourly rate.
The products we produce (advice, guidelines, documentation, etc.) provide a certain amount of value to our clients. This value doesn't really change based on the amount of time it takes us to produce the product. So, we don't think we should charge more just because it takes us longer.
How does this impact me?
The 5 core values of Hostile Sheep
Do less more often.
We encourage our clients to employ continuous improvement principles. We don't believe in a perfect product; just products that are good enough for now. "Set it and forget it" is not a term that should apply to products. Products require testing and experimentation.
How does this impact me?
Help users.
Today, users are more fickle than ever. They have so many products vying for their attention. As a result, we have to build products that help users more than any other product on the market. Thus, we need to uncover the features matter the most to users so we can plan to include them in our products.
How does this impact me?
Services over sites.
Websites and applications should offer useful services that helps users get things done. There are too many sites that merely provide information, without helping users in any way. We generally think of websites and apps as the online expression of a service offering that helps users complete real jobs.
How does this impact me?
Designers are made.
Design shouldn't be thought of as a professional service; it's a skilled trade. Just like chefs, blacksmiths, and electricians, designers learn best using the "master-apprentice" model. This model requires master designers and apprentices to work hand-in-hand.
How does this impact me?
Value isn't an hourly rate.
The products we produce (advice, guidelines, documentation, etc.) provide a certain amount of value to our clients. This value doesn't really change based on the amount of time it takes us to produce the product. So, we don't think we should charge more just because it takes us longer.
How does this impact me?
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© Hostile Sheep 2012-2023

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Hostile Sheep does 2 things really well:
  • Research: Our research studies are designed to uncover user needs. We are well versed in multiple methods, including jobs-to-be-done interviews, usability testing, surveys, data analysis, card sorting, and ethnography.
    Learn more
  • Design: We specialize in experience design; including interaction design, rapid prototyping, interface design, detailed specifications, and product roadmapping. We believe in continuous improvement and encourage our clients to create custom design systems to govern their digital products.
    Learn more
Hostile Sheep does 2 things really well:
  • Research: Our research studies are designed to uncover user needs. We are well versed in multiple methods, including jobs-to-be-done interviews, usability testing, surveys, data analysis, card sorting, and ethnography.
    Learn more
  • Design: We specialize in experience design; including interaction design, rapid prototyping, interface design, detailed specifications, and product roadmapping. We believe in continuous improvement and encourage our clients to create custom design systems to govern their digital products.
    Learn more
Do less more often
Organizational value 1 of 5
Many organizations treat their websites and applications as marketing and communications channels. This means they update their sites and apps as their marketing changes. This usually means large-scale updates on a semi-annual or annual basis.
At Hostile Sheep we believe websites and applications are digital products requiring continuous improvement. This means a product manager is constantly measuring usage, experimenting and optimizing the product. There should always be a product backlog that includes new features and optimizations.
This means our recommendations should be road mapped and not implemented all at once. There should be a roll-out plan that introduces new features gradually. We don't want to disrupt the experience of existing users. This is less of a concern with new builds, however, even new builds should be road mapped. New builds should focus on launching a MVP and measuring usage/behaviour. "Nice to have" features should be introduced gradually.
Help users
Organizational value 2 of 5
It's easy to get caught up with "achieving business objectives" - after all, if the business isn't achieving it's objectives, the business (and all owned products) are likely to fail. However, business objectives don't always match-up with user needs.
The disparity between business objectives and user needs often leads to undesirable features or content making its way into digital products.
This means we prioritize user needs over business requirements. Ideally, our clients are part of a user-centric organization - and business objectives map to user needs. However, if there is disparity between user needs and business objectives; we will recommend testing and only adopting controversial features/content if users display a desire for them.
Services over sites
Organizational value 3 of 5
"I need a cool website" has been the mindset of many organizations over the years. They don't know what their website or app should do, but they believe they need one; often to keep up with their competition. These sites tend to be brochure-ware; essentially acting as a fancy Yellow Pages listing where customers can learn about (and contact) a company.
At Hostile Sheep we believe websites and applications should help users make progress toward accomplishing a job. This means we need to understand what kinds of jobs users struggle with. BMW could have a beautiful brochure site or they could do some research to find out their customers like to have short road trips. This could lead BMW to building a road trip planner that provides value to their customers and potential customers.
This means we're more likely to take on projects that provide services to their users. While there are more aspects that go into the decision to take on a project, we generally like the challenge of translating a service offering into a digital experience.
Designers are made
Organizational value 4 of 5
Ad agencies were one of the most notorious culprits for the shift from "Design as a craft" to "Design as a service". They implemented a professional service organizational structure that started with junior designers and moved all the way up to C-suite executive designers. The interesting part is that they moved away from senior designers working hand-in-hand with juniors. Instead, seniors merely oversaw juniors; providing feedback and critiques, insteading of actually doing the work together.
At Hostile Sheep, we implement a "Master-apprentice" model. Our master designer & researcher actually works on every project with the support of a team of apprentices. This means everything we produce is at a master-level and we avoid internal re-work/ expensive internal meetings. This also means our team is always growing in terms of professional capabilities. We're able to attract the highest-level talent because we offer true apprenticeship - which is rarely available for digital product design.
Value isn't an hourly rate
Organizational value 5 of 5
An hourly rate made sense for lawyers and accountants but stopped making sense when organizations started billing design services out by the hour. This meant that clients were paying for hours designers were thinking and planning their designs; often with nothing tangible to show for it. These hours were of no value to clients; at least, not until the designs were completed.
At Hostile Sheep we believe our services only have value when we've completed a product and have delivered it to our client. We also believe hourly rates can be used to over-charge clients for lower quality work. If we drag our heels, it'll take us longer to produce products our clients can use; why should our clients pay more just because we've been dragging our heels?
This means we don't have an hourly rate & all of our projects are time-boxed. We are a team of five people. We know how much it costs to pay each of our employees, we know our overhead; so, we can add a margin to that number and define a reasonable weekly rate for our time-boxes. It's still not perfect, but it's proven to be a lot better than "time & materials".
Do less more often
Organizational value 1 of 5
Many organizations treat their websites and applications as marketing and communications channels. This means they update their sites and apps as their marketing changes. This usually means large-scale updates on a semi-annual or annual basis.
At Hostile Sheep we believe websites and applications are digital products requiring continuous improvement. This means a product manager is constantly measuring usage, experimenting and optimizing the product. There should always be a product backlog that includes new features and optimizations.
This means our recommendations should be road mapped and not implemented all at once. There should be a roll-out plan that introduces new features gradually. We don't want to disrupt the experience of existing users. This is less of a concern with new builds, however, even new builds should be road mapped. New builds should focus on launching a MVP and measuring usage/behaviour. "Nice to have" features should be introduced gradually.
Help users
Organizational value 2 of 5
It's easy to get caught up with "achieving business objectives" - after all, if the business isn't achieving it's objectives, the business (and all owned products) are likely to fail. However, business objectives don't always match-up with user needs.
The disparity between business objectives and user needs often leads to undesirable features or content making its way into digital products.
This means we prioritize user needs over business requirements. Ideally, our clients are part of a user-centric organization - and business objectives map to user needs. However, if there is disparity between user needs and business objectives; we will recommend testing and only adopting controversial features/content if users display a desire for them.
Services over sites
Organizational value 3 of 5
"I need a cool website" has been the mindset of many organizations over the years. They don't know what their website or app should do, but they believe they need one; often to keep up with their competition. These sites tend to be brochure-ware; essentially acting as a fancy Yellow Pages listing where customers can learn about (and contact) a company.
At Hostile Sheep we believe websites and applications should help users make progress toward accomplishing a job. This means we need to understand what kinds of jobs users struggle with. BMW could have a beautiful brochure site or they could do some research to find out their customers like to have short road trips. This could lead BMW to building a road trip planner that provides value to their customers and potential customers.
This means we're more likely to take on projects that provide services to their users. While there are more aspects that go into the decision to take on a project, we generally like the challenge of translating a service offering into a digital experience.
Designers are made
Organizational value 4 of 5
Ad agencies were one of the most notorious culprits for the shift from "Design as a craft" to "Design as a service". They implemented a professional service organizational structure that started with junior designers and moved all the way up to C-suite executive designers. The interesting part is that they moved away from senior designers working hand-in-hand with juniors. Instead, seniors merely oversaw juniors; providing feedback and critiques, insteading of actually doing the work together.
At Hostile Sheep, we implement a "Master-apprentice" model. Our master designer & researcher actually works on every project with the support of a team of apprentices. This means everything we produce is at a master-level and we avoid internal re-work/ expensive internal meetings. This also means our team is always growing in terms of professional capabilities. We're able to attract the highest-level talent because we offer true apprenticeship - which is rarely available for digital product design.
Value isn't an hourly rate
Organizational value 5 of 5
An hourly rate made sense for lawyers and accountants but stopped making sense when organizations started billing design services out by the hour. This meant that clients were paying for hours designers were thinking and planning their designs; often with nothing tangible to show for it. These hours were of no value to clients; at least, not until the designs were completed.
At Hostile Sheep we believe our services only have value when we've completed a product and have delivered it to our client. We also believe hourly rates can be used to over-charge clients for lower quality work. If we drag our heels, it'll take us longer to produce products our clients can use; why should our clients pay more just because we've been dragging our heels?
This means we don't have an hourly rate & all of our projects are time-boxed. We are a team of five people. We know how much it costs to pay each of our employees, we know our overhead; so, we can add a margin to that number and define a reasonable weekly rate for our time-boxes. It's still not perfect, but it's proven to be a lot better than "time & materials".