So last night, I went to see Dave Chappelle at a small club in Oakland. It started off funny, but not amazing-belly-laugh funny. And I think it’s because the first part of his act was scripted. But after half an hour, he just started riffing on things happening in the club: some dude’s forced laughter, questions from the audience, a girl who shouted out that she wanted to sleep with him. And once we all got comfortable with eachother, things got really fucking funny.

In other words the experience got way better because Chappelle was both aware of his surroundings and how he felt about them. And he was able to articulate it clearly. In our industry, this is called user-centered design: You become hyper-observant of your everyday experience. You become hyper-aware of how you are affected by it. You articulate it in a way that makes sense. And then you use that understanding to make things work better.