When working on a design project as part of a team, one of the most significant challenges that might arise throughout the design phase is the inability to agree on a single set of criteria.
Because it is difficult to bring together so many minds that are frequently very different, because you frequently do not have the elastic ability to receive negative feedback without taking it personally, and because the feedback you receive during a design job is occasionally not sufficiently motivated, creating shadows in dialogues and impenetrable dialectical walls.
Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that the primary cause is the fact that the fundamental design principles are not being adhered to. I consider this to be the case because.
The planning phase of a design team’s work can be made significantly more productive by paying attention to the following five basic factors:
1 Compassion
2 Use the material you have
3 Default simplicity
4 Number of Consistency
5: Design as a way of thinking about things
1 Compassion
Empathy puts the needs of the public ahead of aesthetic considerations and holds out the possibility that the project’s goals might be met in tandem with its design. This is why it is sometimes referred to as a “beginning principle,” and it is not an accident that this notion is prevalent.
A good design can only be generated if the members of the design team are in sync with the users’ goals, their operational context, and their mental models. This allows the design to help “fix” the problems that the users are experiencing by properly framing the solutions that may be implemented.
Not until we began to see the world through the eyes of our users did we find that the solutions began speaking the same language as the issues that they were facing.
The following are some steps that should be taken in order to generate empathy:
- Pay close attention, and try to get a grasp on the situation. Do not rush ahead to find a solution right now. Make human connections and learn about the world around you.
- Observe the users and learn about the operational context they are working in. The genuine meaning of the users’ requirements can only be ascertained by observing them in the context of their natural surroundings.
- Construct emphatic maps for the groups of people who have been interviewed. This helps you better grasp the issues at hand and build solutions that are ideal.
- Put an end to your biases and demonstrate a willingness to learn. Give the users the opportunity to voice their requirements.
- Consider posing open-ended questions to the other people in the conversation so that they can share their intriguing points of view. As an illustration, one could ask, “What extra features would you have designed if we were developing this application together?”
2 Use the material you have.
The substance comes first, followed by the design. In the lack of content, the design is not considered design; rather, it is considered decoration.
According to Jeffrey Zeldman, this is the case, and one may even argue with him; but, why should we rely on our intuitions for the content of our projects when we can plainly use real world facts to make our projects more clear also in the making?
By employing Lorem Ipsum or any other fictional text, we are eliminating any possibility of character design. We see Lorem Ipsum there as a dress that looks lovely on a mannequin but tells you nothing about how the same garment will appear on you! Instead of fully knowing how the drawings would be used, we see Lorem Ipsum there as a dress that looks beautiful on a mannequin
What we should do in order to design with real data is the following: let’s make an effort to work closely with our customer and his product in order to collect accurate instances of data. Due to the changeable length, this provides us with a guarantee, or practically a guarantee, that the layout and the graphic elements that were thought will not collide against each other.
Additionally, we make an effort to collect data of varying sizes. In other words, let’s make an effort to collect models of the content that are both summarized and in their whole. The next step is for us to explore each and every combination of how data can be shown on the screen.
3 The ease of the default setting
Every complicated activity necessitates a significant investment of time and energy on the side of the user in order to comprehend and internalize it. Additionally, there is always the potential that a complicated user interface will discourage the user from returning to the product in the future and making further use of it. This is true regardless of whether we are discussing a website, a product’s packaging, or advertising in its broadest meaning.
It is not an easy task to develop something that is both extremely simple and highly successful. The design team needs to have an understanding of the design’s qualities in order to tailor those characteristics to the objectives of the users.
A simple design will always zero in on the core of the issue at hand and make use of the mental models that users already possess in order to lighten their mental loads.
Few, very few items that are directly relevant to the discussion at hand, color usage that does not distract from the topic at hand, and typography that does not become bogged down in idle chitchat but rather advances in the direction of the objective.
Organize useful information, or if that’s not possible, hide it. Do not conceal the information even if doing so would make our product smaller in volume. Instead, we focus on easing the user’s mental burden as much as possible.
We make use of visual communication components that are currently in common usage and are generally acknowledged as valid. For instance, the mental model of a button is a rectangle that is either full or empty with text in the middle. This rectangle may have rounded corners. All of us are accustomed to seeing call-to-action buttons such as Send, Download, and other similar options. Therefore, we will not explore the possibility of using buttons with a variety of shapes.
4 Number of Consistency
Maintaining coherence across all aspects of the user experience is critical to its success. When using a product or application, users are able to interact with the project more quickly if it contains elements that they have encountered before in other projects or if, in the case of an application, it contains visual elements that are similar to screenshots and interfaces that they have used in the past.
The work of a design team should be managed in the following manner during the design phase so that the principle of consistency is adhered to at all times.
It is imperative that we establish coherence through the use of visual elements. Everything, including colors, characters, buttons, and icons, needs to be consistent throughout the entire product. This is very important.
It is essential to become familiar with the aspects of the user interface that are most frequently used. For example, the location of the search bar, the logo, the menu (whether it be the conventional menu or the “hamburger” menu), etc. We do not engage in reckless experiments but rather advance our thought forward by establishing criteria, despite the fact that trying new things is not only enjoyable but also essential. We acknowledge and accept the fact that our design will need to adhere to models that are already established and proven to be effective in their intended functions.
5 Design as a way of thinking about things
It is necessary for us to develop and make accurate predictions for the complete user experience.
A user experience that is deserving of its name takes care of each individual user, from those who are using the product for the first time to those who have been using it for a long time, from the pleasant scenario to the bad one.
When these states are taken care of by the project, a more holistic experience for the user is produced.
Design for new users
We don’t just think in black and white, but also in the shades of gray between the two extremes. Take, for instance, the situation where customers are utilizing our product or service for the very first time. We imagine a design that is not just alluring but also capable of transforming the user into a paying customer.
Design for users who have been won over
We adhere to the notion of consistency by staying with the user at all times and never separating ourselves from him.
Plan for the worst-case scenarios in your designs
By analyzing the reasons for a potential failure and working together with the customer in order to make him participate in his “return,” we design functional alternatives to recover customers who are leaving or who have stopped using a certain product or service. This is accomplished by designing functional alternatives to recover customers who are leaving or who have stopped using a certain product or service. The flow is something that design and aesthetics have to follow.