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MY UX DESIGN METHOD

My research-forward iterative design approach is aimed at creating solutions for your users that are:

 

  • Effective

  • Empathetic

  • Considerate

  • Effective

  • Unusual

  • Delightful

  • Humorous

 

I get there by starting with a strong foundation of research-driven ideation, by carefully testing and validating as many of my insights as possible in lower fidelity builds, and by iterating based on the lessons learned in testing.

Research

I put research first because it is the greatest saver of time, money, and effort, and the best way to get the most confident results; design decisions validated by careful research are simply much more likely to endure in the final result.

 

A well-planned discovery stage gives me a chance to have my preconceptions broken; in fact, I live for the moment when a hypothesis is disproven by research.

 

My design education has given me a vast toolbox of methods, and I invite you to read about just a few of my favorites.

Ideation

With a foundation of focused research, I am able to begin planning considerate solutions for the problems, needs, and opportunities I uncover. These are some of my essential techniques.

Site Maps

To ensure logical organization, hierarchy, and placement of features and information. When simplification is the goal, as it so often is, comparing "before" and "after" site maps is an essential measure of the project's success.   

User Flows

To identify areas where a complex task can be made easier or more direct for my personas. 

Feature Prioritization

 

To determine research-based answers to questions of scope during time-constrained projects, and to define the Minimum Viable Product.

Sketching

For the best results, the first visual artifacts of any project are hand drawings on paper. The rougher, the faster, the more, the better. The best concepts from a whole pile of hand-drawn sketches are combined and synthesized as fidelity increases.

Let's Build It!

Ideas become sketches, which become wireframes, which become prototypes. Using lessons learned from formal usabilty tests, I lather, rinse, and iterate as many times as possible, getting closer to success and higher in fidelity each time.

Wireframing

I increase fidelity little by little using my preferred wireframing utility, Sketch, verifying that the concepts from the hand drawings fit and flow logically within the screens of the devices I'm designing for.

 

Most would think of design as a primarily visual pursuit. However, my professional background has included writing for magazines, blogs, eCommerce sites, and comedy shows;  since I can't help worrying about the impact of well-chosen words, I consider testing and iteration of verbiage choices to be no less essential to the design process.

 

Thus, I enjoy writing in-app copy, and “dummy” content examples, as an exercise that increases my understanding of companies and industries, and often uncovers new use cases and avenues for research.

Testing

Design is a science, so at this point it is time to perform some tests, comparing the "before" and "after" results.

 

I write a usability test script including a scenario that puts the personas' task flow into context, and recruit testers to perform tasks on a series of prototypes created from the wireframes.

 

 

Paper Prototyping

 

Usability tests on paper prototypes are an effective and quick way to validate flows and interaction design concepts, make quick changes in response to unexpected behavior, and move with more confidence into higher-fidelity, interactive iterations.

Interactive Prototyping

Using tools like Invision, I am able to use the wireframes to create an interactive prototype of the task flow being tested. I encourage users to speak their thoughts freely as they interact with the prototype.

 

I carefully observe not only the users' actual actions and struggles within the interface, but their body language and tone of voice, watching for disconnects between what they do, what they say, and their emotional reaction to the experience.

Iterative Process

I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't give testers the chance to break my designs through testing in the context of their intended devices. And break them they do.

 

The sometimes hard lessons I learn at this phase lead to essential breakthroughs. I welcome it; failure is not truly failure if it helps the design advance.

 

Using lessons learned in this testing, I make changes and test again. I lather, iterate and repeat as many times as possible in the time permitted, until the design is ready to present and implement.

 

Below, you can browse some examples of my recent work. Feel free to contact me if you want to know more. 

 

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