Preface:
I’m
sitting down today with Stephany Ventura, Graphic Designer at noHold,Inc. for
about 2 years now. Besides creating
websites, marketing collateral, etc., she also crafts avatars for some of our
Virtual Agents! Before getting inside knowledge on how avatars are built, let
us know a little bit about you.
Q: How
did you get into Graphic Designing?
A: I always enjoyed art and I wanted to use my creative abilities to
make money. I saw Graphic Design as an opportunity to love what I do every day.
Q: What
is your favorite project to work on?
A: I would have to say creating poster are my
favorite projects. They are not as technical and more engaging. There is more
of a freedom to have fun, for example, I just created a Knowledge Management
Superhero poster which was tons of fun to execute!
Q: Okay,
let’s get into the juicy details that go into creating an avatar. First things
first, what software do you use?
A: Personally, I use Adobe Creative Suite. I really like using
Adobe Creative Suite because it includes multiple programs that are the best in
the market.
Q:
Where does the process of making an avatar take place?
A: Anywhere I can take my laptop really… my
cube, Starbucks, in a field of wild dandelions.
--The
only thing is, I can’t be in the water...
Q: Since
you’ve been with noHold, how many avatars have you created in the past?
A: Too many to count… Ha-ha.
But really, since creating avatars is not my
main focus, I have probably made a total of 7 avatars.
These
are a couple of the avatars I have created for clients. I designed an avatar
with human features, that resembles a nurse (described on the right) and an
avatar that takes on more of a robot feel (described on the left.) The robot
avatar (on the left) is the latest noHold avatar I have created that is going
to take part in a new charitable initiative we are participating in. Stay tuned
for more information about the new initiative soon!
Q: From
your experience, how long does it take you to complete one?
A: Depends—
developing the concept of an avatar is usually what takes time. Sometimes
brainstorming multiple ideas is necessary and I have to find one that sticks
out more than others. Other times I come up with a concept instantly and can
start the technical aspects immediately.
Q:
Speaking of concepts, how do you come up with the concept for the avatar?
A: The concepts for the avatars I create come
from a lot of research. One of the first steps I take when starting this
process, is to identify what company I am making an avatar for. I check out
their company profile to get a feel for their branding, what message they are
trying to convey and the overall imaging.
I am currently in the midst of birthing an
avatar for a company in the medical field. I came up with the design to have an
avatar that resembles a nurse. I then pull the colors from the company website
and the rest just falls into place. (See above for example.)
Q: Is
there anyone/anything that inspires you to come up with the ideas?
A: One of my inspirations for creating
avatars is the movie Avatar. I just pop that DVD in and my juices start flowing.
Ha-ha.
Just kidding, like I said earlier, my number
one inspiration would have to be the customer. I can come up with a bunch of
ideas, but if it does not mirror the company’s image it will look awkward on
their site and end users might get confused. Branding is an important aspect of
creating an avatar for a specific company.
Q:
Everyone knows about writers block, but do you every get designer’s block and
if so where do you go for ideas?
A: When I feel like I am stuck I typically go
to my colleagues for input. Really just talk about design suggestions and
bouncing ideas off each other really helps me get back in the creative zone.
Feedback is super valuable because when you work on something for so long, it
is good to get a fresh perspective.
Q: So,
noHold develops Virtual Agent software for customer support and sales, but
Virtual Agents don’t NEED to have avatars for them to function. Why does your
company create avatars for the Virtual Agents?
A: Well you are right; having an avatar to
represent the Virtual Agent is only for aesthetic value. But I think it is an
important because it gives the Virtual Agent a personality. We try to not only
make the Virtual Agent visually appealing, but we also add character to how the
Virtual Agent can answer. For example, in our old noHold Virtual Agent, Holmes,
he was able to output funny remarks when given the right context. We have to
think about who is using the Virtual Agent…end users. Having an avatar present
produces a more interactive, engaging, and memorable experience for them. Here
is an example of an avatar enhancing the Virtual Agent. The avatar makes it
feel like you are talk to a person.
Q: And I have to know, do clients
typically have preferences, such as male or female avatars?
A: The
media showcases females as being friendly and helpful. I know it sounds silly
since it is essentially a cartoon character, but studies have shown that a
female’s face is perceived as warm; and is reminiscent of warm cookies and milk
from Grandma. One example that comes to mind is from another vendor in our
space – recently, one of their clients changed the avatar to a female version.
Thanks for taking the time to sit down and
give us the skinny on avatars, Stephany. If anyone has any questions about
creating avatars, feel free to leave a comment below and we will get back to
you within 24 hours.
