Topics Covered This Week
- Business Analysis
- Information Architecture
- Navigation & Search
- Interaction Design
- Modular Design
Skills Practiced this Week
- Business Research/Interviewing
- Card Sorting
- Bodystorming
- User flows & System Maps
- Wireframing on Sketch
Job Search Strategy Notes
- If you don't brand yourself, someone else will.
- Memorize your own unique selling proposition. Embody it every day.
- Read Medium articles.
- Join LinkedIn Groups
- Blog & Tweet
- Read Life Launch
- Find mentors
Major Takeaway of the Week
Embrace chaos and navigate through it.
Before this week, I was conceptually aware that there would be chaos, as expressed in this representation of the UX Design process. I'd read many articles and books all saying the same thing - expect chaos but don't lose confidence in your design process.
This week, I found myself in a whirlwind of thoughts about Project 2 (designing an e-commerce site for a toy company). There were user needs to think about, product categories to think about, business goals, system maps, user flows, navigation ideas...but nothing was decided, and nothing was fitting together because nothing was determined in any of these areas. I had to take a step back and understand how to move forward.
Just as I was trying to get a grip on how to proceed with so many different elements floating around in brainstorming-land, our instructor gave us some great advice: At some point, you have to put a stake in the ground. You have to make some sort of decision, and then be open to feedback and iterations.
I was surprised at how much of a revelation this was for me. I'd read about the chaos. I was prepared for the chaos. But when I was in the middle of the chaos, I wasn't able to identify it as, "Oh, this is that chaos we're supposed to expect." It just felt like I had no idea what was going on.
I learned that not only is it important to expect chaos, it is also necessary to be able identify it. The feeling of chaos is something that is hard to conceptualize without experiencing it first-hand. This is probably why every time I ask for a book recommendation about a particular topic in UX, the response is typically, "You should really just practice doing it."
Highlights from My Notes
Introduction to Design & Business Analysis
- "You have to know 400 notes that you can play, then pick the right four." -Miles Davis
- Dieter Ram's 10 Principles of "Good Design"
- Basic Process:
- Discover
- Define
- Develop
- Deliver
- Designers are not the only designers (collaboration is necessary).
- Simon Sinek's TED Talk - Start with Why
- Keep asking "Why?" to find the real issue because clients usually have trouble distinguishing symptoms from the real problem.
- There is not one blueprint for UX design.
- Successful designs align business goals with user goals.
Information Architecture, Nagivation, & Interaction Design
- Peter Morville's explanation
- Payoff of good IA:
- Builds a shared vocabulary
- Informs the interface design and navigation
- Helps with database design
- Helps plan for scale
- Makes site more usable
- Navigation is Information Architecture made tangible.
- Acid Test: Can the user glean the scope of the entire site from the primary navigation links?
- Avoid Mystery Meat
- Interaction Design Usability Heuristics
Wireframing & Modular Design
- What Makes a Good Wireframe:
- Information hierarchy
- Order & Alignment
- Consistent, clear classes
- Reasonable scaling
- Meaningful content (but not final copy)
- Tips:
- Don't skip sketching
- Keep it simple with colors
- Focus on what you need to communicate
- Annotate as you go along
- Always be thinking about how to reuse elements. Benefits:
- Readability/understandability
- Balance between elements
- Consistency
- Easier to code
- Basis of responsive design
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