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The same holds true for those of us who are currently employed in design and development. Having worked on the web for about three years at this point, I’ve seen the typical wax and wane of concepts, strategies, and systems. Every day we as developers and designers get into a routine pattern, a brand-new concept or technology emerges to shake things up and completely alter our planet.

How we got below

I built my first website in the mid-’90s. Design and development on the web back then was a free-for-all, with few established norms. For any layout aside from a single column, we used table elements, often with empty cells containing a single pixel spacer GIF to add empty space. We styled text with numerous font tags, nesting the tags every time we wanted to vary the font style. And we had only three or four typefaces to choose from: Arial, Courier, or Times New Roman. When Verdana and Georgia came out in 1996, we rejoiced because our options had nearly doubled. The only safe colors to choose from were the 216 “web safe” colors known to work across platforms. The few interactive elements (like contact forms, guest books, and counters) were mostly powered by CGI scripts (predominantly written in Perl at the time). Achieving any kind of unique look involved a pile of hacks all the way down. Interaction was often limited to specific pages in a site.

The beginning of website standards

At the turn of the century, a new cycle started. Crufty code littered with table layouts and font tags waned, and a push for web standards waxed. Newer technologies like CSS got more widespread adoption by browsers makers, developers, and designers. This shift toward standards didn’t happen accidentally or overnight. It took active engagement between the W3C and browser vendors and heavy evangelism from folks like the Web Standards Project to build standards. A List Apart and books like Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman played key roles in teaching developers and designers why standards are important, how to implement them, and how to sell them to their organizations. And approaches like progressive enhancement introduced the idea that content should be available for all browsers—with additional enhancements available for more advanced browsers. Meanwhile, sites like the CSS Zen Garden showcased just how powerful and versatile CSS can be when combined with a solid semantic HTML structure.

Server-side language like PHP, Java, and.NET took Perl as the primary back-end computers, and the cgi-bin was tossed in the garbage bin. With these better server-side instruments came the first time of online applications, starting with content-management systems ( especially in the blog space with tools like Blogger, Grey Matter, Movable Type, and WordPress ). AJAX opened the door to sequential connection between the front end and back end in the mid-2000s. Immediately, websites may update their information without needing to refresh. Developers created a crop of credible client-side interactions across browsers with wildly varying standards aid, such as Prototype, YUI, and jQuery. Techniques like photo alternative enable skilled manufacturers and designers to use fonts of their choosing. And technology like Flash made it possible to include movies, sports, and even more engagement.

These new technology, standards, and approaches reinvigorated the market in many ways. As manufacturers and designers explored more diversified styles and designs, website design flourished. However, we also depend on numerous tricks. When it came to basic layout and text styling, early CSS was a significant improvement over table-based layouts, but its limitations at the time meant that designers and developers still relied heavily on images for complex shapes ( such as rounded or angled corners ) and tiled backgrounds for the appearance of full-length columns (among other hacks ). All kinds of nested floats or absolute positioning were required for complicated layouts ( or both ). The great five’s typefaces were widely varied, and display and photo substitute for specialty fonts was a great first step, but both hacks caused accessibility and performance issues. Additionally, JavaScript libraries made it simple to add a dash of interaction to pages without having to spend the money to double or even quadruple the download size for basic websites.

The web as software platform

The interplay between the front end and the back end continued to grow, which led to the development of the current era of modern web applications. Between expanded server-side programming languages ( which kept growing to include Ruby, Python, Go, and others ) and newer front-end tools like React, Vue, and Angular, we could build fully capable software on the web. Alongside these tools came others, including collaborative version control, build automation, and shared package libraries. What was once primarily used for linked documents turned into a world with limitless possibilities.

At the same time, mobile devices became more capable, and they gave us internet access in our pockets. Mobile applications and responsive design opened up opportunities for new interactions anytime, anywhere.

This fusion of potent mobile devices and potent development tools contributed to the growth of social media and other centralized tools for people to use and interact with. As it became easier and more common to connect with others directly on Twitter, Facebook, and even Slack, the desire for hosted personal sites waned. Social media made connections on a global scale, with both positive and negative outcomes.

Want a much more in-depth account of how we came to this, along with some other suggestions for improvement? ” Of Time and the Web” was written by Jeremy Keith. Or check out the” Web Design History Timeline” at the Web Design Museum. Additionally, Neal Agarwal takes a fascinating tour of” Internet Artifacts.”

Where we are now

In the last couple of years, it’s felt like we’ve begun to reach another major inflection point. As social-media platforms fracture and wane, there’s been a growing interest in owning our own content again. There are many different ways to create websites, from the tried-and-true classic of hosting plain HTML files to static site generators to content management systems of all kinds. Social media fracturing also has a price: we lose essential infrastructure for discovery and connection. Webmentions, RSS, ActivityPub, and other tools of the IndieWeb can help with this, but they’re still relatively underimplemented and hard to use for the less nerdy. We can create incredible personal websites and update them frequently, but without discovery and connection, it can feel as though we should be yelling into the void.

Browser support for CSS, JavaScript, and other standards like web components has accelerated, especially through efforts like Interop. In a fraction of the time that they once did, new technologies receive universal support. I frequently find out about a new feature and check its browser support only to discover that its coverage is already over 80 %. The barrier to using more recent techniques isn’t browser support anymore; it’s more often the speed at which designers and developers can learn what’s available and how to adopt it.

Today, with a few commands and a couple of lines of code, we can prototype almost any idea. With today’s abundance of tools, starting something new is now simpler than ever. However, as we upgrade and maintain these frameworks, we eventually pay the upfront costs that these frameworks may initially save in terms of our technical debt.

Adopting new standards can sometimes take longer if we rely on third-party frameworks because we might have to wait for those frameworks to adopt those standards. These frameworks—which used to let us adopt new techniques sooner—have now become hindrances instead. These same frameworks frequently come with performance costs, making users have to wait for scripts to load before interacting with or reading pages. And when scripts fail ( whether through poor code, network issues, or other environmental factors ), there’s often no alternative, leaving users with blank or broken pages.

Where do we go from here?

Today’s hacks help to shape tomorrow’s standards. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with embracing hacks —for now—to move the present forward. Problems only arise when we refuse to acknowledge that they are hacks or when we choose not to replace them. What can we do to create the web’s future, then?

Build for the long haul. Optimize for performance, for accessibility, and for the user. Weigh the costs of those developer-friendly tools. How might they affect everything else if they make your job a little easier today? What’s the cost to users? To future developers? To standards adoption? The convenience may be worthwhile at times. Sometimes it’s just a hack that you’ve gotten used to. And occasionally, it prevents you from pursuing better options.

Start from standards. Although standards change over time, browsers have done a remarkably good job of staying current with outdated standards. The same isn’t always true of third-party frameworks. Even the most advanced HTML from the 1990s still function flawlessly today. The same can’t be said about websites created with frameworks even after a few years.

Design with care. Whether your craft is code, pixels, or processes, consider the impacts of each decision. Many modern tools have the convenience of making the necessary decisions that have led to its design and not always considering the effects those decisions can have. Use the time saved by modern tools to think more carefully and make decisions with care rather than rushing to “move fast and break things.”

Always be learning. If you’re always learning, you’re also growing. Sometimes it may be hard to pinpoint what’s worth learning and what’s just today’s hack. Even if you were to concentrate solely on learning standards, you might end up focusing on something that won’t matter next year. ( Remember XHTML? ) However, ongoing learning opens up new neural connections, and the techniques you learn in one day may be useful for guiding future experiments.

Play, experiment, and be weird! This web that we’ve built is the ultimate experiment. Despite being the largest human endeavor in human history, each of us has the ability to make their own money there. Be courageous and try new things. Build a playground for ideas. In your own bizarre science lab, perform bizarre experiments. Start your own small business. There has never been a more empowering place to be creative, take risks, and explore what we’re capable of.

Share and amplify. As you experiment, play, and learn, share what’s worked for you. Write on your own website, post on whichever social media site you prefer, or shout it from a TikTok. Write something for A List Apart! But take the time to amplify others too: find new voices, learn from them, and share what they’ve taught you.

Go forth and make

As designers and developers for the web ( and beyond ), we’re responsible for building the future every day, whether that may take the shape of personal websites, social media tools used by billions, or anything in between. Let’s imbue our values into the things that we create, and let’s make the web a better place for everyone. Create something special for yourself that you are only qualified to create. Then share it, make it better, make it again, or make something new. Learn. Make. Share. Grow. Rinse and repeat. Every time you think that you’ve mastered the web, everything will change.

The personalization gap is real, between the dream of getting it right and the worry of it going wrong ( like when we encounter “persofails” similar to a company’s constant plea to regular people to purchase additional bathroom seats ). It’s an particularly confusing place to be a modern professional without a map, a map, or a strategy.

There are no Lonely Planet and some tour guides for those of you who want to personalize because successful personalization depends so much on each group’s talent, technology, and market position.

However, you can make sure your team has properly packed its carriers.

There’s a DIY method to increase your chances for achievement. You’ll at least at least disarm your boss ‘ irrational exuberance. You’ll need to properly prepare before the celebration.

We call it prepersonalization.

Behind the song

Take into account Spotify’s DJ element, which debuted this year.

We’re used to seeing the polished final outcome of a personalization have. A personal have had to be developed, budgeted, and given priority before the year-end prize, the making-of-backstory, or the behind-the-scenes success chest. Before any customisation function is implemented in your product or service, it lives among a long list of thought-provoking concepts that can be used to create more dynamic user experience.

So how do you understand where to position your personalization bet? How can you create regular interactions that didn’t irritate users or worse, breed trust? We’ve found that for many well-known budgeted programs to support their continued investments, they initially required one or more workshops to join vital technologies users and stakeholders. Make it matter.

We’ve closely observed the same evolution with our consumers, from major software to young companies. How effective these prepersonalization hobbies are, in our experience working on small and large personalization initiatives, depends on a program’s best track record, including its ability to weather challenging concerns, work steadily toward shared answers, and manage its design and engineering efforts.

Time and again, we’ve seen successful workshops individual coming success stories from fruitless efforts, saving many time, resources, and social well-being in the process.

A multiyear project of testing and feature development is a part of a personalization practice. Your tech stack is not experiencing a switch-flip. It’s best managed as a backlog that often evolves through three steps:

1. customer experience optimization ( CXO, also known as A/B testing or experimentation )
2. always-on automations, whether they are rules-based or machine-generated.
3. mature features or standalone product development ( such as Spotify’s DJ experience )

We think there is a base grammar, a set of “nouns and verbs” that your organization can use to create experiences that are personalized, personalized, or automated, which is why we created our progressive personalization framework and why we’re field-testing an accompanying deck of cards. These cards are not necessary for you. But we strongly recommend that you create something similar, whether that might be digital or physical.

Set the timer for your kitchen.

How long does a prepersonalization workshop take to prepare? The surrounding assessment activities that we recommend including can ( and often do ) span weeks. We suggest aiming for two to three days for the core workshop. Here’s a summary of our more general approach as well as information on the crucial first-day activities.

The full arc of the wider workshop is threefold:

Kickstart: This specifies the terms of engagement as you concentrate on the potential, the readiness and drive of your team, and your leadership.
1. Plan your work: This is where the card-based workshop activities take place, giving you a work plan and the work scope.
2. Work your plan: This phase is all about creating a competitive environment for team participants to individually pitch their own pilots that each contain a proof-of-concept project, its business case, and its operating model.

Give yourself at least a day, divided into two long time periods, to work through those initial two phases more effectively.

Kickstart: Apt your appetite

We call the first lesson the “landscape of connected experience“. It looks at the possibilities for personalization at your company. Any UX that necessitates the orchestration of multiple systems of record on the backend is a connected experience, in our opinion. This could be a content-management system combined with a marketing-automation platform. It might be a customer-data platform combined with a digital asset manager.

Give examples of connected experience interactions that you admire, find familiar, or even dislike, as examples of consumer and business-to-business examples. This should cover a representative range of personalization patterns, including automated app-based interactions ( such as onboarding sequences or wizards ), notifications, and recommenders. We have a list of these in the cards. To jog your mind, here are 142 different interactions.

This is all about setting the table. What potential avenues might the practice take in your organization? Here’s a long-form primer and a strategic framework for a broader view.

Assess each example that you discuss for its complexity and the level of effort that you estimate that it would take for your team to deliver that feature ( or something similar ). We categorize connected experiences in our cards according to their functions, features, experiences, complete products, and portfolios. Build your own size here. This will help to focus the conversation on the merits of ongoing investment as well as the gap between what you deliver today and what you want to deliver in the future.

Next, have your team plot each concept on the following 2 2 grid, which lists the four enduring justifications for a unique experience. This is crucial because it emphasizes how personalization can affect your own methods of working as well as your external customers. It’s also a reminder ( which is why we used the word argument earlier ) of the broader effort beyond these tactical interventions.

Each team member should vote on where they see your product or service putting its emphasis. You can’t prioritize all of them, in all likelihood. Here, the goal is to show how various departments may view their own benefits from the effort, which can vary from one department to the next. Documenting your desired outcomes lets you know how the team internally aligns across representatives from different departments or functional areas.

The third and final kickstart activity is about filling in the personalization gap. How well documented is your customer journey? Will data and privacy compliance be too big of a challenge? Do you have to address any issues with content metadata? ( We’re pretty sure you do; it’s just a matter of recognizing the need’s magnitude and its solution. ) In our cards, we’ve noted a number of program risks, including common team dispositions. For instance, our Detractor card lists six intractable behaviors that prevent progress.

It is crucial to your success to effectively coexist and manage expectations. Consider the potential barriers to your future progress. Give the participants a list of specific steps you can take to overcome or reduce those obstacles in your organization. As research has shown, personalization initiatives face a number of common obstacles.

You should have, at this point, discussed sample interactions, emphasized a significant benefit, and identified significant gaps. Good—you’re ready to continue.

Hit the test kitchen

What will you need next to bring your personalized recipes to life. Personalization engines, which are robust software suites for automating and expressing dynamic content, can intimidate new customers. They give you a variety of options for how your organization can conduct its activities because of their broad and potent capabilities. When creating a connected experience, where do you start?

What’s important here is to avoid treating the installed software like it were a dream kitchen from some fantasy remodeling project ( as one of our client executives memorably put it ). Your team can begin creating, testing, and improving the snacks and meals that will be included on your personalizedization program’s regularly evolving menu by using these software engines.

Over the course of the workshop, the ultimate menu of the prioritized backlog will come together. And making “dishes” is the way that you’ll have different team members create customized interactions that either serve their or others ‘ needs.

The dishes will come from recipes, and those recipes have set ingredients.

Verify your ingredients

You’ll ensure that you have everything you need to create your desired interaction ( or that you can determine what needs to be added to your pantry like a good product manager ) and that you have validated with the right stakeholders present. These factors include the intended audience, the intended audience, the intended audience, the interaction’s context, and your overall ensemble.

This isn’t just about discovering requirements. The team can: Describe your personalizations as a series of if-then statements by documenting them as follows:

1. compare findings to a common strategy for developing features, similar to how artists paint with the same color palette,
2. specify a consistent set of interactions that users find uniform or familiar,
3. and establish parity among performance indicators and key performance indicators as well.

This enables you to streamline your technical and design efforts while providing a common color scheme for your personalized or automated experience.

Compose your recipe

What elements are most important to you? Consider the construct “what-what-when-why”

• Who are your key audience segments or groups?
• What kind of content will you provide for them, what design elements, and under what circumstances?
• And what are the business and user benefits?

We first developed these cards and card categories five years ago. We regularly test their compatibility with clients and audience members at conferences. And there are still fresh possibilities. But they all follow an underlying who-what-when-why logic.

In the cards in the accompanying photo below, you can typically follow along with right to left in three examples of subscription-based reading apps.

1. When a visitor or an unidentified visitor interacts with a product title, a banner or alert bar appears that makes it simpler for them to find a related title they might like to read, saving them time.
2. Welcome automation: When there’s a newly registered user, an email is generated to call out the breadth of the content catalog and to make them a happier subscriber.
3. Winback automation: A user receives an email before their subscription expires or after a recent failed renewal to request that they reconsider renew or request that they be reminded to do so.

We’ve also found that cocreating the recipes themselves can sometimes be the most effective way to start brainstorming about what these cards might be for your organization. Start with a set of blank cards, and begin labeling and grouping them through the design process, eventually distilling them to a refined subset of highly useful candidate cards.

The later stages of the workshop could be characterized as moving from focusing on a cookbook to a more nuanced customer-journey mapping. Individual” cooks” will pitch their recipes to the team using a standard jobs-to-be-done format to ensure consistency and outcomes, and from there, the resulting collection will be prioritized for finished design and production delivery.

Better kitchens require better architecture

For those who are actually delivering it, simplifying a customer experience is a challenging task. Avoid those who make up their mind. With that being said,” Complicated problems can be hard to solve, but they are addressable with rules and recipes“.

When a team overfits: they aren’t designing with their best data, personalization turns into a laughing line. Every organization has metadata debt to go along with its technical debt, which contributes to a drag on the effectiveness of personalization, much like a sparse pantry. Your AI’s output quality, for example, is indeed limited by your IA. Prior to their acquisition of a seemingly modest metadata startup that now powers the underlying information architecture, Spotify’s poster-child prowess today was beyond comprehension.

You can’t stand the heat, in fact…

Personalization technology opens a doorway into a confounding ocean of possible designs. Only a disciplined and highly collaborative approach will produce the necessary concentration and intention for success. Banish the ideal kitchen in all its glory. Instead, hit the test kitchen to save time, preserve job satisfaction and security, and safely dispense with the fanciful ideas that originate upstairs of the doers in your organization. There are mouths to feed and meals to be served.

You have a better chance of lasting success and sound beginnings with this workshop framework. Wiring up your information layer isn’t an overnight affair. However, if you use the same cookbook and the same recipe combination, you’ll have solid ground for success. We created these activities to ensure that your organization’s needs are clear and concise before the risks start to accumulate.

While there are associated costs toward investing in this kind of technology and product design, your ability to size up and confront your unique situation and your digital capabilities is time well spent. Don’t waste it. The pudding is the proof, as they say.

I’ve been fascinated by movies since I was a child. I loved the heroes and the excitement—but most of all the stories. I aspired to be an artist. And I hoped that I would have the same opportunities as Indiana Jones did, leading to thrilling activities. I also dreamed up suggestions for videos that my friends and I could create and sun in. But they never advanced more. However, I did end up working in user experience ( UI). Today, I realize that there’s an element of drama to UX— I hadn’t actually considered it before, but consumer research is story. And you must show a compelling story to entice stakeholders, such as the product team and decision-makers, to learn more in order to get the most out of consumer research.

Consider your preferred drama. More than likely it follows a three-act construction that’s frequently seen in story: the layout, the fight, and the quality. The second action provides an overview of the characters, their difficulties, and issues that they face, as well as a description of what is happening now. The fight begins in Act 2, which introduces the issue. Here, issues grow or get worse. The solution is the third and final work. This is where the problems are resolved and the figures grow and change. I believe that this architecture is also a great way to think about customer study, and I think that it can be particularly helpful in explaining person exploration to others.

Use story as a framework for conducting analysis

Unfortunately, some people now believe that study is unprofitable. If finances or timelines are strong, analysis tends to be one of the first points to go. Some goods managers rely on developers or, worse, their own mind to make the “right” decisions for customers based on their experience or accepted best practices rather than investing in research. That may lead some groups, but that approach can so easily miss the chance to solve people ‘ real issues. To be user-centered, this is something we really avoid. User study improves style. It provides opportunities and problems while keeping it on record. Being aware of the issues with your goods and reacting to them can help you stay ahead of your competition.

Each action corresponds to a stage of the process in the three-act composition, and each stage is crucial to telling the complete story. Let’s take a look at the various functions and how they relate to customer research.

Act one: layout

The rig consists entirely in comprehending the history, and that’s where fundamental research comes in. Basic research ( also known as conceptual, discovery, or preliminary research ) aids in understanding users and identifying their issues. You’re learning about what exists now, the obstacles people have, and how the problems affect them—just like in the videos. You can conduct contextual inquiries or diary studies ( or both! ) to conduct foundational research. ), which can assist you in identifying both prospects and problems. It doesn’t need to get a great investment in time or money.

Erika Hall discusses the most effective anthropology, which can be as straightforward as spending 15 hours with a customer and asking them to” Walk me through your morning yesterday.” That is it. Provide that one ask. Opened up and spend fifteen minutes listening. Do everything in your power to protect both your objectives and yourself. Bam, you’re doing ethnography”. Hall predicts that “[This ] will likely prove quite fascinating. In the unlikely event that you don’t learn anything new or important, move on with more assurance in your direction.

This makes total sense to me. And I adore how users research is now so simple. You don’t need to make a lot of paperwork; you can only attract people and do it! This can offer a wealth of knowledge about your customers, and it’ll help you better understand them and what’s going on in their life. Understanding where people are coming from is what action one is really all about.

Jared Spool discusses the significance of basic research and how it does make up the majority of your study. If you can pick from any further user data that you can get your hands on, such as surveys or analytics, that can complement what you’ve heard in the fundamental studies or even time to areas that need more research. All of this information helps to reveal both the state of items and its flaws more clearly. And that’s the start of a gripping tale. It’s the place in the story where you realize that the principal characters—or the people in this case—are facing issues that they need to conquer. This is where you begin to develop compassion for the figures and support their success, much like in the movies. And presumably, participants are now doing the same. Their love may be with their company, which could be losing wealth because people didn’t complete certain tasks. Or perhaps they have empathy for people ‘ problems. In any case, action one serves as your main strategy to pique the interest and interest of the participants.

When partners begin to understand the value of basic research, that is open doors to more opportunities that involve users in the decision-making approach. And that can help product teams become more user-centric. Everyone benefits from this, including the product, stakeholders, and users. It’s like winning an Oscar in movie terms—it often leads to your product being well received and successful. And this might encourage stakeholders to carry out this process with additional products. The secret to this process is storytelling, and knowing how to tell a compelling story is the only way to entice stakeholders to do more research.

This brings us to act two, where you iteratively evaluate a design or concept to see whether it addresses the issues.

Act two: conflict

Act two is all about resolving the issues you first raised. This usually involves directional research, such as usability tests, where you assess a potential solution ( such as a design ) to see whether it addresses the issues that you found. Unmet needs or issues with a flow or process that are making users uncomfortable could be the causes. Additional problems will arise in the course of act two of a film. It’s here that you learn more about the characters as they grow and develop through this act.

According to Jakob Nielsen, five users should be typically in usability tests, which means that this number of users can typically identify the majority of the issues:” As you add more and more users, you learn less and less because you will keep seeing the same things again and again… After the fifth user, you are wasting your time by observing the same findings repeatedly but not learning much new.”

The plot may become lost if you try to tell a story with too many characters, which is similar to storytelling in this case. Having fewer participants means that each user’s struggles will be more memorable and easier to relay to other stakeholders when talking about the research. This can help to convey the problems that need to be solved while also highlighting the worth of conducting research in the first place.

Usability tests have been conducted in person for decades, but you can also do them remotely using software like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or other teleconferencing software. This approach has become increasingly popular since the beginning of the pandemic, and it works well. You might consider in-person usability tests like attending a play and remote sessions as more of a movie watching experience. Each has advantages and disadvantages. In-person usability research is a much richer experience. The sessions are conducted with other stakeholders in mind. You also get real-time feedback on what they’re seeing, including surprises, disagreements, and discussions about them. Much like going to a play, where audiences get to take in the stage, the costumes, the lighting, and the actors ‘ interactions, in-person research lets you see users up close, including their body language, how they interact with the moderator, and how the scene is set up.

If conducting usability testing in the field is like watching a play that is staged and controlled, where any two sessions may be very different from one another. You can conduct usability testing in the real world by creating a replica of the environment where users interact with the product and conducting your research there. Or you can go out to meet users at their location to do your research. With either option, you can see how things work in context, how things change, and how conversion can change completely in different ways depending on the circumstances. You have less control over how these sessions end as researchers, but this can occasionally help you understand users even better. Meeting users where they are can provide clues to the external forces that could be affecting how they use your product. In-person usability tests add a level of detail that remote usability tests frequently lack.

That’s not to say that the “movies” —remote sessions—aren’t a good option. Remote sessions can reach a wider audience. They make it possible for much more people to participate in the research and learn what’s happening. Additionally, they make the doors accessible to a much wider range of users. But with any remote session there is the potential of time wasted if participants can’t log in or get their microphone working.

The advantage of usability testing, whether conducted remotely or in person, is that you can ask real users questions to understand their reasoning and understanding of the problem. This can help you identify issues as well as understand why they were initially issues. Furthermore, you can test hypotheses and gauge whether your thinking is correct. By the end of the sessions, you’ll be able to see for yourself whether the designs are useful and effective. Act two is where the excitement is at the heart of the narrative, but there are also potential surprises. This is equally true of usability tests. Sometimes, participants will say unexpected things that alter the way you look at them, which can lead to unexpected turns in the story.

Unfortunately, user research can occasionally be viewed as wasteful. And too often usability testing is the only research process that some stakeholders think that they ever need. There isn’t much to be gained by conducting usability testing in the first place if the designs you’re evaluating in the usability test aren’t grounded in a thorough understanding of your users ( foundational research ). Because you’re narrowing the scope of what you’re receiving feedback on without understanding the needs of the users. As a result, there’s no way of knowing whether the designs might solve a problem that users have. In the context of a usability test, it’s only feedback on a particular design.

On the other hand, if you only do foundational research, you won’t know whether the thing you’re building will actually solve that problem, despite the fact that you might have set out to solve the right problem. This illustrates the importance of doing both foundational and directional research.

In act two, stakeholders will hopefully be able to observe the story develop during the user sessions, which reveal the conflict and tension in the current design’s highs and lows. And in turn, this can encourage stakeholders to take action on the issues raised.

Act three: resolution

The third act is about resolving the issues from the first two acts, while the first two acts are about understanding the background and the tensions that can compel stakeholders to take action. While it’s crucial to have an audience for the first two acts, it’s crucial that they stay for the final act. That means the whole product team, including developers, UX practitioners, business analysts, delivery managers, product managers, and any other stakeholders that have a say in the next steps. It allows the entire team to discuss what is possible within the project’s constraints while also hearing feedback from users. And it gives the UX design and research teams more time to clarify, suggest alternatives, or provide more context for their choices. So you can get everyone on the same page and get agreement on the way forward.

This act is primarily told through voiceover with some audience participation. The researcher serves as the narrator, who depicts the issues and what the product’s potential future might look like in light of what the team has learned. They give the stakeholders their recommendations and their guidance on creating this vision.

In the Harvard Business Review, Nancy Duarte describes a method for structuring presentations that follow a persuasive narrative. The most effective presenters employ the same methods as great storytellers: By reaffirming the status quo and then revealing a better way, they create a conflict that needs to be resolved, writes Duarte. ” That tension helps them persuade the audience to adopt a new mindset or behave differently”.

This kind of structure is in line with research findings, particularly those from usability tests. It provides evidence for “what is “—the problems that you’ve identified. And “what might be “—your suggestions for how to respond to them. And so forth.

You can reinforce your recommendations with examples of things that competitors are doing that could address these issues or with examples where competitors are gaining an edge. Or they can be as visual as quick sketches of a potential solution to a problem. These can help create conversation and momentum. And this continues until the end of the session when you’ve wrapped everything up in the conclusion by summarizing the main issues and suggesting a way forward. The part where you make a second or third reference to the main themes or issues or concerns for the product is when you make the denouement of the story. This stage provides stakeholders with the next steps, and hopefully, the motivation to take those steps as well!

While we are nearly at the end of this story, let’s reflect on the idea that user research is storytelling. The three-act structure of user research contains all the components of a good story:

Act one: You encounter both the users ‘ protagonists and the antagonists ( the user-related issues ). This is the beginning of the plot. Researchers might use techniques in act one, including contextual inquiry, ethnography, diary studies, surveys, and analytics. These techniques can produce personas, empathy maps, user journeys, and analytics dashboards.

Act two: Next, there’s character development. The protagonists face problems and difficulties, which they must overcome, and there is conflict and tension. Researchers might use heuristics evaluation, usability testing, competitive benchmarking, and other methods in act two. The output of these can include usability findings reports, UX strategy documents, usability guidelines, and best practices.

Act three: The main characters win, and the audience is shown a better future. Researchers may use techniques like presentation decks, storytelling, and digital media in act three. The output of these can be: presentation decks, video clips, audio clips, and pictures.

The researcher performs a number of tasks: they are the producer, the director, and the storyteller. The participants play a small part, but they are significant characters ( in the study ). And the stakeholders are the audience. However, the most crucial thing is to create the right narrative and use storytelling to research user stories. By the end, the parties should have a goal and a desire to solve the product’s flaws.

So the next time that you’re planning research with clients or you’re speaking to stakeholders about research that you’ve done, think about how you can weave in some storytelling. In the end, user research is beneficial for everyone, and all you need to do is pique stakeholders ‘ interest in how the story ends.

Scientific literature is, almost by description, an offer to make oddities. Diverse cosmetic and narrative choices in a sci-fi tale can unexpectedly come off as foolish or out of date by the time the existing catches up with the future. In a best-case scenario, like the 60s Star Trek, certain analog technology can seem to generate nostalgia that allows ]… ]

The article Blade Runner: The Next Big Sci-Fi Gamble on Apple TV + appeared first on Den of Geek.

In his own thoughts, writer Steven Knight “does traditions”. The Peaky Blinders, Taboo, and SAS: Rogue Heroes father takes aspects of real-life background and turns them into swaggering tales.

Knight has revived the American working class period theatre with an eye for unusual names and a talent for making flesh-and-blood icons out of historical figures that appear in news reports and population columns. He’s taken the love and drudgery outside, and written passion, beauty and civilization in. In his newest play A Thousand Punches, he turned the real-world Birmingham criminals into images and he’s about to do the same with East-End athletes and women criminals The Forty Elephants.

Let’s get an overview of the real history of A Thousand Blows, as well as some pointers on where you can find out more as the six-episode first series ( a second has already been filmed ) debuts on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe &amp, Sugar Goodson Were All True

To learn about the actual Hezekiah, Alec, Sugar, Treacle and more, go no further than the traditional analysis that inspired A Thousand Punches, conducted by the show’s fighting scholar and traditional expert Sarah Elizabeth Cox. First published online in 2019 on her Grappling With History site and now being expanded into a reserve, Cox’s results include photos, posters, magazine articles, population entries and more detailing the lives and careers of the actual people who inspired the show’s characters. A Thousand Blows is not a documentary, as Cox writes, “because the characters and storylines are the product of a wonderful team of writers, and it is only in a few snippets that they occasionally cross paths with reality.”

Hezekiah Moscow, a West-Indian immigrant who worked as a bear and lion tamer and competed in various boxing competitions, including at the real Blue Coat Boy pub in Shoreditch, London, is one of those who crossed the lines with reality. Real was also his West-Indian cornerman and trainer Alec Munroe. There was indeed a fighter from the East End known as” Sugar” Goodson, but according to Cox, the real Sugar was thought to have only one eye.

The Forty Elephants Were a Real Criminal Gang, Mary Carr, and

Steven Knight, the creator of A Thousand Blows, explained to the BBC how he combined two real-life stories to create the Disney +/ Hulu drama. When actors Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham approached him to film the life of boxer Hezekiah Moscow with their company Matriarch Productions, Knight merged that story with a story about female thief gang The Forty Elephants, which he had been wanting to tell.

A true story of a real person who immigrated from Jamaica with the goal of becoming a lion tamer and became a very well-known boxer? That&#8217, s pretty much irresistible.

&#8220, And when I dug into it and found out about this person and his experiences, it was very compelling. Before then, for a long time, I&#8217, d wanted to tell the story of the Forty Elephants. Both of those incredible true stories took place at the same time and place, which is amazing. If Mary and Hezekiah had met, which is what this show is about, I thought it would be interesting to consider what might have happened. &#8221,

Around the 1880s period in which A Thousand Blows is set, Mary Carr was actually the Queen of the Forty Elephants, and she served as an artist’s model for painter Frederic Leighton. Read more about the strategies and lifestyle of the Elephant and Castle-based gang here.

Mild Spoiler warning: references to plot details in A Thousand Blows below.

Jamaican history was notoriously impacted by the Morant Bay Rebellion.

Hezekiah’s traumatic flashbacks from his early years in Jamaica elliptically represent a true, violent historical incident from colonial history. The Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865 was a revolt by the residents of Jamaica’s southeast coast to protest brutal treatment by British colonial oppressors. The national archives website has more information about its origins and impact.

Real Chinese diplomats were Li Hongzhang and Lo Feng Luh.

The Chinese dignitaries in A Thousand Blows are based on actual diplomats who traveled to London during ^the Opium Wars of ^the 19^th century. You can see here a contemporary newspaper report about ^the Chinese minister and here an artist’s drawing of Lo Feng Luh ( played by Chike Chan in ^the show ).

The 5^th Earl of Lonsdale Was a Real Boxing Enthusiast

In the era that A Thousand Blows was set in, Hugh Cecil Lowther was a true English peer and sportsman. He is the” Lonsdale” behind the well-known British sports brand of the same name, and he was a founding member of the National Sporting Club, who is credited with providing the first Lonsdale Boxing Belts for the boxing championship trophy.

Aerialist &#8220, Miss La La&#8221, Was Real

The real Black Polish historical figure, also known as” Miss La La,” is the inspiration for the acrobat Mary and Hezekiah see performing at a West End music venue. In his 1879 painting” Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” she performed a swing that was unheard of above the crowd. You can read more about her here. She was the subject of an exhibition at London’s National Gallery in 2024.

Queen Victoria Did Have a Black Goddaughter

The A Thousand Blows character Victoria Davies must be inspired by the real Nigerian-born woman known as Sara” Sally” Forbes Bonetta (originally called Aina, before she was renamed by the English captain to whom she was “discharged” by enslaved people trader King Ghezo of Dahomey ), who became Queen Victoria’s goddaughter. The timeline is not quite accurate because the real Aina died young of tuberculosis and didn’t live into the 1880s period where A Thousand Blows is set, but it does come very close. See portraits of her here, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Blue Coat Boy Pub, its Boxing Ring, and its Landlord Were Real

The Blue Coat Boy Pub had an MC who owned a boxing saloon nicknamed William” Punch” Lewis, just like Daniel Mays &#8217, character in the TV show. Read more about them all here thanks to Sarah Elizabeth Cox’s thorough analysis.

A Thousand Blows is currently available for streaming on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

The first post on Den of Geek was A Thousand Blows True Story: The Real Characters Behind the Historical Drama.

Stephen King’s 1980 short story” The Monkey” ( which can be found these days in his outstanding 1985 collection, Skeleton Crew ) tells the story of Hal Shelburn, a man who is obsessed with an old toy from his childhood, a wind-up monkey that seems to cause death whenever it claps its cymbals. The tale is in]… ]

The Monkey: What the Movie Made of the Stephen King Story second appeared on Den of Geek.

In his own thoughts, writer Steven Knight “does traditions”. The Peaky Blinders, Taboo, and SAS: Rogue Heroes father takes aspects of real-life background and turns them into swaggering tales.

The American working group period drama has been rehabilitated thanks to Knight’s talent for coming up with strange names and talent for making flesh-and-blood icons out of historical figures that appear in newspapers reports and census columns. He’s taken the love and drudgery outside, and written passion, beauty and civilization in. In his newest play A Thousand Punches, he made famous figures out of Birmingham gangs in Peaky Blinders and he’s about to do the same with East-End athletes and women criminals The Forty Elephants.

Let’s get an overview of the true story behind A Thousand Blows, as well as some locations where you can find out more as the six-episode first series ( a second has already been filmed ) debuts on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe &amp, Sugar Goodson Were All True

To learn about the actual Hezekiah, Alec, Sugar, Treacle and more, go no further than the traditional analysis that inspired A Thousand Punches, conducted by the show’s fighting scholar and traditional expert Sarah Elizabeth Cox. First published online in 2019 on her Grappling With History site and now being expanded into a reserve, Cox’s results include pictures, posters, magazine articles, population entries and more detailing the lives and careers of the actual people who inspired the show’s characters. According to Cox,” A Thousand Blows is not a documentary; the writers ‘ creations are fantastic, and the only places they cross paths with reality are in the smallest snippets.”

Hezekiah Moscow, a West-Indian immigrant who worked as a bear and lion tamer and competed in various boxing competitions, including at the real Blue Coat Boy pub in Shoreditch, London, is one of those who crossed the lines with reality. Realized was his West-Indian trainer and cornerman Alec Munroe. Although according to Cox, the real Sugar was thought to have only one eye, there was in fact an East-End fighter known as” Sugar” Goodson.

The Forty Elephants Were a Real Criminal Gang, Mary Carr, and

Steven Knight, the creator of A Thousand Blows, explained to the BBC how he combined two real-life stories to create the Disney +/ Hulu drama. With their company Matriarch Productions, actor-producers Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham approached Knight to film the life of boxer Hezekiah Moscow, and he incorporated a story about female thief gang The Forty Elephants into another that was based on historical fact.

A true story of a real person who immigrated from Jamaica with the goal of becoming a lion tamer and became a very well-known boxer? That&#8217, s pretty much irresistible.

&#8220, And when I dug into it and found out about this person and his experiences, it was very compelling. Before then, for a long time, I&#8217, d wanted to tell the story of the Forty Elephants. Both of those incredible true stories took place at the same time and place, which is amazing. Imagine what would have happened if Mary and Hezekiah had gotten together, and that’s what this show is about. &#8221,

Around the time of A Thousand Blows, in the 1880s, Mary Carr was both the Queen of the Forty Elephants and a model for model artist Frederic Leighton. Read more about the strategies and lifestyle of the Elephant and Castle-based gang here.

Mild Spoiler warning: references to plot details in A Thousand Blows below.

Jamaican history was notoriously impacted by the Morant Bay Rebellion.

Hezekiah’s traumatic flashbacks from his early years in Jamaica elliptically represent a true, violent historical incident from colonial history. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 was a revolt by the people of Jamaica’s southeast coast to protest cruel treatment by British colonial oppressors. The National Archives website contains information on its history and impact.

Real Chinese diplomats were Li Hongzhang and Lo Feng Luh.

The Chinese dignitaries in A Thousand Blows are based on actual diplomats who traveled to London during ^the Opium Wars of ^the 19^th century. Here is a contemporary newspaper report about ^the Chinese minister, as well as an artist’s drawing of Lo Feng Luh ( played by Chike Chan in ^the show ).

The 5^th Earl of Lonsdale Was a Real Boxing Enthusiast

Hugh Cecil Lowther was a true Englishman and sportsman at the time when A Thousand Blows was set. He is the” Lonsdale” behind the well-known British sports brand of the same name, and he was a founding member of the National Sporting Club, who is said to have donated the first Lonsdale Boxing Belts for the boxing championship trophy.

Aerialist &#8220, Miss La La&#8221, Was Real

The real Black Polish historical figure, also known as” Miss La La,” is the inspiration for the acrobat Mary and Hezekiah see performing at a West End music venue. In his 1879 painting” Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” she performed a swing that was unheard of above the crowd. You can read more about her here. She was the subject of a 2024 exhibition at London’s National Gallery.

Queen Victoria Did Have a Black Goddaughter

The A Thousand Blows character Victoria Davies must be inspired by the real Nigerian-born woman known as Sara” Sally” Forbes Bonetta (originally called Aina, before she was renamed by the English captain to whom she was “discharged” by enslaved people trader King Ghezo of Dahomey ), who became Queen Victoria’s goddaughter. The timeline is not quite accurate because the real Aina died young of tuberculosis and didn’t live into the 1880s period where A Thousand Blows is set, but it does come very close. See portraits of her here, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Blue Coat Boy Pub, its Boxing Ring, and its Landlord Were Real

The Blue Coat Boy Pub had an MC who owned a boxing saloon nicknamed William” Punch” Lewis, just like Daniel Mays &#8217, character in the TV show. Thanks to Sarah Elizabeth Cox’s thorough analysis, you can read more about them all here.

A Thousand Blows is currently available for streaming on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

The first post on Den of Geek was A Thousand Blows True Story: The Real Characters Behind the Historical Drama.

Season 3 show 3 of Yellowjackets skilfully crossed the line between thriller and pure scary, building suspense as we ponder whether or not the Wilderness is truly inhabited by supernatural forces. Trying to determine how much is true and how.

The article Yellowjackets Season 3 Episode 3 Review: Don’t Overlook the Wilderness appeared second on Den of Geek.

In his own thoughts, writer Steven Knight “does mythology”. The Peaky Blinders, Taboo, and SAS: Rogue Heroes father takes aspects of real-life background and turns them into swaggering tales.

With an eye for unusual names and a talent for making flesh-and-blood symbols out of historical figures that appear in newspaper reports and survey columns, Knight has revived the British working-class time episode. He’s taken the love and drudgery outside, and written passion, beauty and civilization in. In his newest play A Thousand Punches, he made famous figures out of Birmingham gangs in Peaky Blinders and he’s about to do the same with East-End athletes and women criminals The Forty Elephants.

Let’s get an overview of the real history of A Thousand Blows, as well as some pointers on where you can find out more as the six-episode first series ( a second has already been filmed ) debuts on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe &amp, Sugar Goodson Were All True

To learn about the actual Hezekiah, Alec, Sugar, Treacle and more, go no further than the traditional analysis that inspired A Thousand Punches, conducted by the show’s fighting scholar and traditional expert Sarah Elizabeth Cox. First published online in 2019 on her Grappling With History site and now being expanded into a reserve, Cox’s results include photos, posters, magazine articles, population entries and more detailing the lives and careers of the actual people who inspired the show’s characters. According to Cox,” A Thousand Blows is not a documentary; the writers ‘ creations are fantastic, and the only places they cross paths with reality are in the smallest snippets.”

Hezekiah Moscow, a West-Indian immigrant who worked as a bear and lion tamer and competed in various boxing competitions, including at the real Blue Coat Boy pub in Shoreditch, London, is one of those who crossed the lines with reality. Real was also his West-Indian cornerman and trainer Alec Munroe. There was indeed a fighter from the East End known as” Sugar” Goodson, but according to Cox, the real Sugar was thought to have only one eye.

Mary Carr and The Forty Elephants Were a Real Criminal Gang, Were They?

Steven Knight, the creator of A Thousand Blows, explained to the BBC how he combined the two real-life stories to create the Disney +/ Hulu drama. With their company Matriarch Productions, actor-producers Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham approached Knight to film the life of boxer Hezekiah Moscow, and he incorporated a story about female thief gang The Forty Elephants into another that was based on historical fact.

A true story of a real person who immigrated from Jamaica with the goal of becoming a lion tamer and became a very well-known boxer? That&#8217, s pretty much irresistible.

&#8220, And when I dug into it and found out about this person and his experiences, it was very compelling. Before then, for a long time, I&#8217, d wanted to tell the story of the Forty Elephants. Both of those incredible true stories took place at the same time and place, which is amazing. If Mary and Hezekiah had met, and that’s what this show is about, I thought it would be interesting to consider what might have happened. &#8221,

Around the time of A Thousand Blows, in the 1880s, Mary Carr was both the Queen of the Forty Elephants and a model for model artist Frederic Leighton. The BBC has more information on the strategies and lifestyle of the Elephant and Castle-based gang here.

Mild Spoiler warning: references to plot details in A Thousand Blows below.

An infamous Part of Jamaican history was the Morant Bay Rebellion.

Hezekiah’s traumatic flashbacks from his early years in Jamaica elliptically represent a true, violent historical incident in colonial history. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 was a revolt by the people of Jamaica’s southeast coast to protest cruel treatment by British colonial oppressors. The national archives website has more information about its origins and impact.

Real Chinese Diplomats Were Li Hongzhang and Lo Feng Luh.

The Chinese dignitaries in A Thousand Blows are based on actual diplomats who traveled to London during ^the Opium Wars of ^the 19^th century. Chike Chan’s performance as Lo Feng Luh is depicted in an artist’s drawing, as well as a contemporary newspaper report about ^the Chinese minister.

The 5^th Earl of Lonsdale Was a Real Boxing Enthusiast

Hugh Cecil Lowther was a true Englishman and sportsman at the time when A Thousand Blows was set. He is the” Lonsdale” behind the well-known British sports brand of the same name, and he was a founding member of the National Sporting Club, who is credited with providing the first Lonsdale Boxing Belts for the boxing championship trophy.

Aerialist &#8220, Miss La La&#8221, Was Real

The real Black Polish historical figure, also known as” Miss La La,” is the inspiration for the acrobat Mary and Hezekiah see performing at a West End music venue. In his 1879 painting” Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” she performed on a swing that was high above the crowd. You can read more about her here. She was the subject of an exhibition at London’s National Gallery in 2024.

Queen Victoria Did Have a Black Goddaughter

The A Thousand Blows character Victoria Davies must be inspired by the real Nigerian-born woman known as Sara” Sally” Forbes Bonetta (originally called Aina, before she was renamed by the English captain to whom she was “discharged” by enslaved people trader King Ghezo of Dahomey ), who became Queen Victoria’s goddaughter. Although the actual Aina died young of tuberculosis and didn’t live into the 1880s period where A Thousand Blows was set, the timeline is very similar. See portraits of her here, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Blue Coat Boy Pub, its Boxing Ring, and its Landlord Were Real

The Blue Coat Boy Pub had an MC who owned a boxing saloon nicknamed William” Punch” Lewis, just like Daniel Mays &#8217, character in the TV show. Thanks to Sarah Elizabeth Cox’s thorough analysis, you can read more about them all here.

A Thousand Blows is currently available for streaming on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

The original post on Den of Geek was A Thousand Blows True Story: The Real People Behind the Historical Drama.

If you’re a fan of Star Wars and have experienced the numerous highs and lows of the company since Disney acquired the rights to George Lucas ‘ dynasty, a century isn’t really that long ago. That must go double for Daisy Ridley, who in that span of time has ]… ]

Daisy Ridley Considers the Legacy of Rey and Star Wars: The Force Awakens a decade after appeared initially on Den of Geek.

In his own thoughts, writer Steven Knight “does mythology”. The Peaky Blinders, Taboo, and SAS: Rogue Heroes father takes aspects of real-life background and turns them into swaggering tales.

With an eye for unusual names and a talent for making flesh-and-blood symbols out of historical figures that appear in newspaper reports and population columns, Knight has revived the British working-class time episode. He’s taken the love and drudgery outside, and written passion, beauty and civilization in. In his newest play A Thousand Punches, he made famous figures out of Birmingham gangs in Peaky Blinders and he’s about to do the same with East-End athletes and women criminals The Forty Elephants.

Let’s get an overview of the true story behind A Thousand Blows, as well as some locations where you can find out more as the six-episode first series ( a second has already been filmed ) debuts on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe &amp, Sugar Goodson Were All True

To learn about the actual Hezekiah, Alec, Sugar, Treacle and more, go no further than the traditional analysis that inspired A Thousand Punches, conducted by the show’s fighting scholar and traditional expert Sarah Elizabeth Cox. First published online in 2019 on her Grappling With History site and now being expanded into a reserve, Cox’s results include photos, posters, magazine articles, population entries and more detailing the lives and careers of the actual people who inspired the show’s characters. A Thousand Blows is not a documentary, as Cox writes, “because the characters and storylines are the product of a wonderful team of writers, and it is only in a few snippets that they occasionally cross paths with reality.”

The real Hezekiah Moscow, a West-Indian immigrant who worked as a bear and lion tamer and competed in various boxing fights, including at the real Blue Coat Boy pub in Shoreditch, London, is one of those crosses-paths with reality. Realized was his West-Indian trainer and cornerman Alec Munroe. There was indeed a fighter from the East End known as” Sugar” Goodson, but according to Cox, the real Sugar was thought to have only one eye.

The Forty Elephants Were a Real Criminal Gang, Mary Carr, and

Steven Knight, the creator of A Thousand Blows, explained to the BBC how he combined two real-life stories to create the Disney +/ Hulu drama. When actors Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham approached him to film the life of boxer Hezekiah Moscow with their company Matriarch Productions, Knight merged that story with a story about female thief gang The Forty Elephants, which he had been wanting to tell.

A true story of a Jamaican man who wanted to fight like a lion and became a boxer who was actually famous? That&#8217, s pretty much irresistible.

&#8220, And when I dug into it and found out about this person and his experiences, it was very compelling. Before then, for a long time, I&#8217, d wanted to tell the story of the Forty Elephants. Even though both of those true stories happened at the same time and place, they are amazing. If Mary and Hezekiah had met, which is what this show is about, I thought it would be interesting to consider what might have happened. &#8221,

Around the 1880s period in which A Thousand Blows is set, Mary Carr was actually the Queen of the Forty Elephants, and she served as an artist’s model for painter Frederic Leighton. The BBC has more information on the strategies and lifestyle of the Elephant and Castle-based gang here.

Mild Spoiler warning: references to plot details in A Thousand Blows below.

Jamaican history was notoriously impacted by the Morant Bay Rebellion.

Hezekiah’s traumatic Jamaican childhood memories elliptically represent a violent, actual historical incident from colonial history. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 was a revolt by the people of Jamaica’s southeast coast to protest cruel treatment by British colonial oppressors. The national archives website has more information about its origins and impact.

Real Chinese diplomats were Li Hongzhang and Lo Feng Luh.

The Chinese dignitaries in A Thousand Blows are based on actual diplomats who traveled to London during ^the Opium Wars of ^the 19^th century. You can see here a contemporary newspaper report about ^the Chinese minister and here an artist’s drawing of Lo Feng Luh ( played by Chike Chan in ^the show ).

The 5^th Earl of Lonsdale Was a Real Boxing Enthusiast

In the era that A Thousand Blows was set in, Hugh Cecil Lowther was a true English peer and sportsman. He is the” Lonsdale” behind the well-known British sports brand of the same name, and he was a founding member of the National Sporting Club, who is credited with providing the first Lonsdale Boxing Belts for the boxing championship trophy.

Aerialist &#8220, Miss La La&#8221, Was Real

A real Black Polish historical figure, also known as” Miss La La,” is the inspiration for the acrobat Mary and Hezekiah see performing at a West End music venue. In his 1879 painting” Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” she performed on a swing that was high above the crowd. You can read more about her here. She was the subject of a 2024 exhibition at London’s National Gallery.

Queen Victoria Did Have a Black Goddaughter

The A Thousand Blows character Victoria Davies must be inspired by the real Nigerian-born woman known as Sara” Sally” Forbes Bonetta (originally called Aina, before she was renamed by the English captain to whom she was “discharged” by enslaved people trader King Ghezo of Dahomey ), who became Queen Victoria’s goddaughter. The timeline is not quite accurate because the real Aina died young of tuberculosis and didn’t live into the 1880s period where A Thousand Blows is set, but it does come very close. See portraits of her here, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Blue Coat Boy Pub, its Boxing Ring, and its Landlord Were Real

The Blue Coat Boy Pub had an MC who owned a boxing saloon nicknamed William” Punch” Lewis, just like Daniel Mays &#8217, character in the TV show. Thanks to Sarah Elizabeth Cox’s thorough analysis, you can read more about them all here.

A Thousand Blows is currently available for streaming on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

The first post on Den of Geek was A Thousand Blows True Story: The Real Characters Behind the Historical Drama.

A set 65 million years in the making. The biggest Jurassic Park LEGO collection of all time has only leaked, which is good news for dragon enthusiasts and LEGO enthusiasts alike. Allegedly just 25 more items than the 2019 set 75936: T. rex Rampage, the 76968: Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus is rumored to be the new set joining the]… ]

The article LEGO Jurassic Park 76968 Set Leaks and Rumors: The New 2025 T-rex Skeleton appeared second on Den of Geek.

In his own thoughts, writer Steven Knight “does traditions”. The Peaky Blinders, Taboo, and SAS: Rogue Heroes father takes aspects of real-life background and turns them into swaggering tales.

The American working group period drama has been rehabilitated thanks to Knight’s talent for coming up with strange names and talent for making flesh-and-blood icons out of historical figures that appear in newspapers reports and census columns. He’s taken the love and drudgery outside, and written passion, beauty and civilization in. In his newest play A Thousand Punches, he made famous figures out of Birmingham gangs in Peaky Blinders and he’s about to do the same with East-End athletes and women criminals The Forty Elephants.

Let’s get an overview of the true story behind A Thousand Blows, as well as some locations where you can find out more as the six-episode first series ( a second has already been filmed ) debuts on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe &amp, Sugar Goodson Were All True

To learn about the actual Hezekiah, Alec, Sugar, Treacle and more, go no further than the traditional analysis that inspired A Thousand Punches, conducted by the show’s fighting scholar and traditional expert Sarah Elizabeth Cox. First published online in 2019 on her Grappling With History site and now being expanded into a reserve, Cox’s results include photos, posters, magazine articles, population entries and more detailing the lives and careers of the actual people who inspired the show’s characters. A Thousand Blows is not a video, as Cox writes, “because the characters and stories are the product of a great staff of writers, and it is only in a few snippets that they occasionally cross roads with reality.”

Hezekiah Moscow, a West-Indian immigrant who worked as a bear and cat gentler and competed in several boxing matches, including at the real Blue Coat Boy restaurant in Shoreditch, London, is one of those who crossed the lines with reality. Real was also his West-Indian cornerman and coach Alec Munroe. There was however a warrior from the East End known as” Sugar” Goodson, but according to Cox, the actual Sugar was thought to have only one eye.

The Forty Elephants Were a True Criminal Gang, Mary Carr, and They Were a Real Group

Steven Knight, the creator of A Thousand Blows, explained to the BBC how he combined two real-life stories to create the Disney +/ Hulu drama. With their business Matriarch Productions, actor-producers Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham approached Knight to film the existence of boxer Hezekiah Moscow, and he paired that account with a story about sexual criminal gang The Forty Elephants, which he had been wanting to tell.

A true story of a Jamaican man who wanted to fight like a cat and became a boxer who was actually popular? That&#8217, s very much attractive.

&#8220, And when I dug into it and found out about this man and his views, it was very powerful. Before then, for a long time, I&#8217, d wanted to tell the tale of the Forty Elephants. Even though both of those genuine stories happened at the same time and place, they are incredible. If Mary and Hezekiah had met, and that’s what this display is on, I thought it would be interesting to consider what might have happened. &#8221,

Around the time of A Thousand Punches, in the 1880s, Mary Carr was both the Queen of the Forty Elephants and a model for design artist Frederic Leighton. Read more about the strategies and life of the Elephant and Castle-based gang below.

Mild Spoiler alert: recommendations to plot information in A Thousand Blows above.

An renowned Part of Caribbean history was the Morant Bay Rebellion.

Hezekiah’s tragic Jamaican childhood memories obliquely represent a violent, actual historical incident from colonial history. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 was a revolt by the people of Jamaica’s east coast to protest cruel treatment by European colonial oppressors. The regional archives webpage has more information about its origins and effect.

Authentic Chinese officials were Li Hongzhang and Lo Feng Luh.

The Chinese officials in A Thousand Blows are based on actual officials who traveled to London during ^the Opium Wars of ^the 19^th centuries. Chike Chan’s performance as Lo Feng Luh is depicted in an artist’s carving, as well as a modern newspaper report about ^the Taiwanese minister.

The 5th Earl of Lonsdale Was a True Boxing Enthusiast

In the era that A Thousand Blows was set in, Hugh Cecil Lowther was a true English gaze and golfer. He is the” Lonsdale” behind the well-known British sporting model of the same name, and he was a founding member of the National Sporting Club, who is said to have donated the initial Lonsdale Boxing Belts for the boxing tournament prize.

Aerialist &#8220, Miss La La&#8221, Was True

A true Black Polish traditional number, also known as” Miss La La,” is the inspiration for the artist Mary and Hezekiah see performing at a West End music venue. In his 1879 painting” Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” she performed on a swing that was higher above the crowd. You can read more about her ok. She was the subject of an show at London’s National Gallery in 2024.

Queen Victoria Did Had a Black Goddaughter

The A Thousand Blows figure Victoria Davies had been inspired by the actual Nigerian-born woman known as Sara” Sally” Forbes Bonetta (originally called Aina, before she was renamed by the English captain to whom she was “discharged” by oppressed people trader King Ghezo of Dahomey ), who became Queen Victoria’s daughter. The timeline is not quite accurate because the real Aina died young of tuberculosis and didn’t live into the 1880s period where A Thousand Blows is set, but it does come very close. See portraits of her here, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Blue Coat Boy Pub, its Boxing Ring, and its Landlord Were Real

The Blue Coat Boy Pub had an MC who owned a boxing saloon nicknamed William” Punch” Lewis, just like Daniel Mays &#8217, character in the TV show. Thanks to the research of Sarah Elizabeth Cox, you can read more about them all here.

A Thousand Blows is currently available for streaming on Disney + in the US and Hulu in the UK.

The first post on Den of Geek was A Thousand Blows True Story: The Real Characters Behind the Historical Drama.

Batman isn’t just the country’s greatest inspector. He’s even a king of branding, one who understands the importance of symbolism. But while he’s worn a number of different outfits throughout the ages, Batman also realizes that some things must remain the same. Such is the situation with the Caped Crusader’s newest Batsuit, which was introduced by DC ]…]

The first article on Den of Geek was titled” Batman Comics Only Confirmed the Biggest Change to the Dark Knight in Ages.”

In his own thoughts, writer Steven Knight “does mythology”. The Peaky Blinders, Taboo, and SAS: Rogue Heroes father takes aspects of real-life background and turns them into swaggering tales.

Knight has revived the American working class period theatre with an eye for unusual names and a talent for making flesh-and-blood icons out of historical figures that appear in news reports and population columns. He’s taken the love and drudgery outside, and written passion, beauty and civilization in. In his newest play A Thousand Punches, he made famous figures out of Birmingham gangs in Peaky Blinders and he’s about to do the same with East-End athletes and women criminals The Forty Elephants.

Let’s get an overview of the true story behind A Thousand Blows, as well as some locations where you can find out more as the six-episode first series ( a second has already been filmed ) debuts on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe &amp, Sugar Goodson Were All True

To learn about the actual Hezekiah, Alec, Sugar, Treacle and more, go no further than the traditional analysis that inspired A Thousand Punches, conducted by the show’s fighting scholar and traditional expert Sarah Elizabeth Cox. First published online in 2019 on her Grappling With History site and now being expanded into a reserve, Cox’s results include photos, posters, magazine articles, population entries and more detailing the lives and careers of the actual people who inspired the show’s characters. According to Cox,” A Thousand Blows is not a documentary; the writers ‘ creations are fantastic, and the only places they cross paths with reality are in the smallest snippets.”

Hezekiah Moscow, a West-Indian immigrant who worked as a bear and lion tamer and competed in various boxing matches, including at the real Blue Coat Boy pub in Shoreditch, London, is one of those who crossed the lines with reality. Real was also his West-Indian cornerman and trainer Alec Munroe. There was indeed a fighter from the East End known as” Sugar” Goodson, but according to Cox, the real Sugar was thought to have only one eye.

The Forty Elephants Were a Real Criminal Gang, Mary Carr, and They Were a Real Gang

Steven Knight, the creator of A Thousand Blows, explained to the BBC how he combined two real-life stories to create the Disney +/ Hulu drama. With their company Matriarch Productions, actor-producers Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham approached Knight to film the life of boxer Hezekiah Moscow, and he incorporated a story about female thief gang The Forty Elephants into another that was based on historical fact.

A true story of a Jamaican man who wanted to fight like a lion and became a very well-known boxer is a story about &#8220. That&#8217, s pretty much irresistible.

&#8220, And when I dug into it and found out about this person and his experiences, it was very compelling. Before then, for a long time, I&#8217, d wanted to tell the story of the Forty Elephants. Even though both of those true stories happened at the same time and place, they are amazing. If Mary and Hezekiah had met, and that’s what this show is about, I thought it would be interesting to consider what might have happened. &#8221,

Around the 1880s period in which A Thousand Blows is set, Mary Carr was actually the Queen of the Forty Elephants, and she served as an artist’s model for painter Frederic Leighton. The BBC has more information on the strategies and lifestyle of the Elephant and Castle-based gang here.

Mild Spoiler warning: references to plot details in A Thousand Blows below.

An infamous Part of Jamaican history was the Morant Bay Rebellion.

Hezekiah’s traumatic flashbacks from his early years in Jamaica elliptically represent a true, violent historical incident in colonial history. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 was a revolt by the people of Jamaica’s southeast coast to protest cruel treatment by British colonial oppressors. The National Archives website contains information on its history and impact.

Real Chinese Diplomats Were Li Hongzhang and Lo Feng Luh.

The Chinese dignitaries in A Thousand Blows are based on actual diplomats who traveled to London during ^the Opium Wars of ^the 19^th century. You can see here a contemporary newspaper report about ^the Chinese minister and here an artist’s drawing of Lo Feng Luh ( played by Chike Chan in ^the show ).

The 5^th Earl of Lonsdale Was a Real Boxing Enthusiast

Hugh Cecil Lowther was a true Englishman and sportsman at the time when A Thousand Blows was set. He is the” Lonsdale” behind the well-known British sports brand of the same name, and he was a founding member of the National Sporting Club, who is alleged to have donated the first Lonsdale Boxing Belts for the boxing championship trophy.

Aerialist &#8220, Miss La La&#8221, Was Real

The real Black Polish historical figure, also known as” Miss La La,” is the inspiration for the acrobat Mary and Hezekiah see performing at a West End music venue. In his 1879 painting” Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” she performed on a swing that was high above the crowd. You can read more about her here. She was the subject of an exhibition at London’s National Gallery in 2024.

Queen Victoria Did Have a Black Goddaughter

The A Thousand Blows character Victoria Davies must be inspired by the real Nigerian-born woman known as Sara” Sally” Forbes Bonetta (originally called Aina, before she was renamed by the English captain to whom she was “discharged” by enslaved people trader King Ghezo of Dahomey ), who became Queen Victoria’s goddaughter. The timeline is very close, but it doesn’t quite match up because the real Aina died young of tuberculosis and didn’t live into the 1880s period in which A Thousand Blows was set. See portraits of her here, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Blue Coat Boy Pub, its Boxing Ring, and its Landlord Were Real

The Blue Coat Boy Pub had an MC who owned a boxing saloon nicknamed William” Punch” Lewis, just like Daniel Mays &#8217, character in the TV show. Thanks to Sarah Elizabeth Cox’s thorough analysis, you can read more about them all here.

A Thousand Blows is currently available for streaming on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

The first post on Den of Geek was A Thousand Blows True Story: The Real Characters Behind the Historical Drama.

The actors in the new Disney +/ Hulu drama A Thousand Blows don’t so much introduce themselves as smash their way onto the screen [in the case of Sugar and Treacle Goodson, Hezekiah Moscow, and Alec Munroe, the two young Jamaican boxers who take the East Enders on in the backroom ]…

The first article on Den of Geek‘s A Thousand Blows Cast: Join the Characters of the Historical Boxing and Crime Gang Drama appeared second.

In his own thoughts, writer Steven Knight “does mythology”. The Peaky Blinders, Taboo, and SAS: Rogue Heroes father takes aspects of real-life background and turns them into swaggering tales.

The American working group period drama has been rehabilitated thanks to Knight’s talent for coming up with strange names and talent for making flesh-and-blood icons out of historical figures that appear in newspapers reports and census columns. He’s taken the love and drudgery outside, and written passion, beauty and civilization in. In his newest play A Thousand Punches, he turned the real-world Birmingham criminals into images and he’s about to do the same with East-End athletes and women criminals The Forty Elephants.

Let’s get an overview of the real history of A Thousand Blows, as well as some pointers on where you can find out more as the six-episode first series ( a second has already been filmed ) debuts on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

Hezekiah Moscow, Alec Munroe &amp, Sugar Goodson Were All True

To learn about the actual Hezekiah, Alec, Sugar, Treacle and more, go no further than the traditional analysis that inspired A Thousand Punches, conducted by the show’s fighting scholar and traditional expert Sarah Elizabeth Cox. First published online in 2019 on her Grappling With History site and now being expanded into a reserve, Cox’s results include photographs, posters, magazine articles, population entries and more detailing the lives and careers of the actual people who inspired the show’s characters. A Thousand Blows is not a documentary, as Cox writes, “because the characters and storylines are the product of a wonderful team of writers, and it is only in a few snippets that they occasionally cross paths with reality.”

The real Hezekiah Moscow, a West-Indian immigrant who worked as a bear and lion tamer and competed in various boxing fights, including at the real Blue Coat Boy pub in Shoreditch, London, is one of those crosses-paths with reality. Realized was his West-Indian trainer and cornerman Alec Munroe. Although according to Cox, the real Sugar was thought to have only one eye, there was in fact an East-End fighter known as” Sugar” Goodson.

The Forty Elephants Were a Real Criminal Gang, Mary Carr, and

Steven Knight, the creator of A Thousand Blows, explained to the BBC how he combined two real-life stories to create the Disney +/ Hulu drama. With their company Matriarch Productions, actor-producers Hannah Walters and Stephen Graham approached Knight to film the life of boxer Hezekiah Moscow, and he incorporated a story about female thief gang The Forty Elephants into another that was based on historical fact.

A true story of a real person who immigrated from Jamaica with the goal of becoming a lion tamer and became a very well-known boxer? That&#8217, s pretty much irresistible.

&#8220, And when I dug into it and found out about this person and his experiences, it was very compelling. Before then, for a long time, I&#8217, d wanted to tell the story of the Forty Elephants. Both of those incredible true stories took place at the same time and place, which is amazing. Imagine what would have happened if Mary and Hezekiah had gotten together, and that’s what this show is about. &#8221,

Around the time of A Thousand Blows, in the 1880s, Mary Carr was both the Queen of the Forty Elephants and a model for model artist Frederic Leighton. Read more about the strategies and lifestyle of the Elephant and Castle-based gang here.

Mild Spoiler warning: references to plot details in A Thousand Blows below.

Jamaican history was notoriously impacted by the Morant Bay Rebellion.

Hezekiah’s traumatic flashbacks from his early years in Jamaica elliptically represent a true, violent historical incident from colonial history. The Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 was a revolt by the people of Jamaica’s southeast coast to protest cruel treatment by British colonial oppressors. The National Archives website contains information on its history and impact.

Real Chinese Diplomats Were Li Hongzhang and Lo Feng Luh.

The Chinese dignitaries in A Thousand Blows are based on actual diplomats who traveled to London during ^the Opium Wars of ^the 19^th century. Here is a contemporary newspaper report about ^the Chinese minister, as well as an artist’s drawing of Lo Feng Luh ( played by Chike Chan in ^the show ).

The 5^th Earl of Lonsdale Was a Real Boxing Enthusiast

Hugh Cecil Lowther was a true Englishman and sportsman at the time when A Thousand Blows was set. He is the” Lonsdale” behind the well-known British sports brand of the same name, and he was a founding member of the National Sporting Club, who is said to have donated the first Lonsdale Boxing Belts for the boxing championship trophy.

Aerialist &#8220, Miss La La&#8221, Was Real

A real Black Polish historical figure, also known as” Miss La La,” is the inspiration for the acrobat Mary and Hezekiah see performing at a West End music venue. In his 1879 painting” Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” she performed on a swing that was high above the crowd. You can read more about her here. She was the subject of a 2024 exhibition at London’s National Gallery.

Queen Victoria Did Have a Black Goddaughter

The A Thousand Blows character Victoria Davies must be inspired by the real Nigerian-born woman known as Sara” Sally” Forbes Bonetta (originally called Aina, before she was renamed by the English captain to whom she was “discharged” by enslaved people trader King Ghezo of Dahomey ), who became Queen Victoria’s goddaughter. The timeline is not quite accurate because the real Aina died young of tuberculosis and didn’t live into the 1880s period where A Thousand Blows is set, but it does come very close. See portraits of her here, courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

The Blue Coat Boy Pub, its Boxing Ring, and its Landlord Were Real

The Blue Coat Boy Pub had an MC who owned a boxing saloon nicknamed William” Punch” Lewis, just like Daniel Mays &#8217, character in the TV show. Thanks to the research of Sarah Elizabeth Cox, you can read more about them all here.

A Thousand Blows is currently available for streaming on Disney + in the UK and Hulu in the US.

The first post on Den of Geek was A Thousand Blows True Story: The Real Characters Behind the Historical Drama.