Design Questions Flashcards
Describe your design process
While I don’t think that any designer should have 1 “design process,” since every product is different, I do believe that having a general process can help like a “tool”. As a designer, you need to figure out which “tool” is the right fit for the moment you’re in. Every project I’ve done, the process has ended up changing based on the situation at hand. A general framework I like to use can be divided up into 2 main sections.
The first half is to design the right thing, which would involve research, and lots of fit, I like to take all information in…from the business side, competition, user… this is when you diverge and get as much information as possible to learn everything about the business and its users.
After, I then converge to synthesize all that data to create key patterns, user habits, pain points, etc. I want to find the exact problem, to make sure we are designing the right thing.
Next, I want to create a user point-of-view and frame the problem based off of all the data.
The second half is to make sure we “design things right”. I diverge again to brainstorm as many solutions as possible that would help our user and framed problem. No idea is a bad idea. This is the fun part when we can bounce different solutions and ideate different designs.
Next, we will converge again and this consists of testing and iterating. The perfect “design process” is endless. You repeat the cycle again until you get a seamless usable product. That’s a “general” design process I like to use but in reality it’s usually jumbled up.
Discover, define, develop, deliver
complicated processes and guidelines can kill innovation.
What generally is the biggest obstacle facing the UX process? / What’s the hardest aspect of doing UX design?
Oh man. If you can’t deal with messy, UX design is not a field you’re going to be happy with. UX design is ambiguity in motion.
UX is messy, because people are messy. UX solves problems where the definition of the problem being solved, how to approach the problem, who we’re solving the problem for, etc are almost always ambiguous answers.
We’re attempting to bring together rigorous thinking, business goals, user needs, research, technology, and scope into a single, holistic solution. There is almost never a clear answer, and every solution is fraught with tradeoffs either in the design, the implementation, the timeline, the scope, the cost, etc.
UX is really, really hard because you’re solving problems for people who are not you, collaborating with others who don’t always agree with you, and generally with someone else’s money.
If UX was really straightforward, everyone could do it, and then I’d have to go find a real job, which would really suck.
OR
I think the hardest challenges are usually created by your environment and not by the UI/UX itself. They usually occur when stakeholders puts unrealistic requirements on the project either from lack of knowledge or understanding of basic UX/UI principals or simply from not knowing any better.
Requirements like way too much content needing to be visible on the screen. Say a table with 50 columns that can’t scroll.
Generally the difficult part is reasoning/persuading the people behind the problems to allow you to create a better solution.
What is the difference between UX and UI design?
UX design is the process of developing and improving the quality of interaction between a user and all facets of a company (services + products + brand)
While UX design is the process of improving the enjoyability and efficiency of a product, UI design is its complement..its the look and feel, the presentation of a product. UI is the series of screens, pages, and visual elements—like buttons and icons—that enable a person to interact with a product or service.
UI is the icing, plates, flavor, utensils. UX is why we’re eating a cake and not a hamburger.
A great product starts with UX followed by UI both are essential for a product’s success.
How do you know your design has been successful? // What were the key metrics for your design, and how did you measure them?
Key metrics varied depending on the project goals and objectives. However, some common metrics I often focused on include: //
Or
Determining the success of a design goes beyond mere aesthetics; it encompasses how well it meets the needs and goals of its users and stakeholders. Here are several key indicators I use to gauge the success of a design:
User Satisfaction: One of the most crucial measures of success is user satisfaction. Through user testing, surveys, and feedback mechanisms, I assess whether the design effectively meets the needs and expectations of its intended audience. Positive feedback and high user satisfaction scores indicate that the design is resonating with users and addressing their pain points effectively.
Task Completion Rates: I track task completion rates to evaluate how efficiently users can accomplish their goals within the design. A successful design should facilitate smooth and intuitive user interactions, leading to high task completion rates without unnecessary friction or barriers.
Usability Metrics: I utilize usability metrics such as time on task, error rates, and navigation patterns to gain insights into the usability of the design. Lower error rates and shorter completion times indicate that the design is intuitive and easy to use, contributing to a positive user experience.
Business Goals Achievement: Ultimately, the success of a design should align with the broader business goals and objectives. Whether it’s increasing conversion rates, driving engagement, or improving customer retention, I evaluate how effectively the design contributes to achieving these outcomes.
Iterative Improvement: Continuous iteration and improvement are essential aspects of successful design. By collecting and analyzing data on user interactions and feedback, I identify areas for enhancement and refinement, ensuring that the design evolves over time to better meet the changing needs and preferences of its users.
By considering these factors comprehensively, I can confidently assess the success of a design and identify areas for further optimization and enhancement to drive ongoing improvement and innovation.
What is a product with bad ux design?
Zara –
Navigating the site is confusing and disorienting.
No clear purpose messaging or cta
Invisible hamburger
Readability whether its description, navigation labels, or other informational content it’s hard to read. The text is often small, over an image, and poorly contrasted. Makes it hard especially for those with visual impairments to engage with the content.
Confusing check out form, lack of clarity on shipping and payment options. Seamless checkout experience is crucial for any e-commerce
The Juicero juicer - This is a classic case of what can happen when you focus on aesthetic and exclusivity over functionality and practicality. Having a long list of ‘conditions’ e.g. strong wifi, a certain type of phone, an app, no controls built in on hardware, etc. just to get the product to function means there are too many hoops to jump through for the product to be worth the users’ time.
Fix: simplify the physical interface while pushing all the complexity to the app. That way, you get all the basic functionality without the app, and the app can offer special modes. It’s not as good as simplifying the whole interaction process, but it’s better than requiring a phone.
Amazon - Too hard to delete accounts!! Need to navigate through six different steps before you finally reach the page which shows you the options to close your account, after which, you have to start a live chat with their customer care to actually do it. Dark UX
Apple magic mouse - You can’t use and charge it at the same time. How many times do you actually plan on your battery dying? There’s no way to constantly gauge that.
Netflix hover auto play.. User’s don’t have a choice. Audio is the main issue here. Even fb and ig mute videos.
What is a product with good ux design?
Google: Google’s design ethos is characterized by simplicity, clarity, and functionality, which I find incredibly appealing. One aspect I particularly admire is the Google search engine’s homepage. Its minimalist design puts the focus squarely on the search bar, allowing users to quickly access the information they need without any unnecessary distractions. Additionally, Google’s suite of productivity tools, such as Gmail and Google Drive, feature intuitive interfaces and seamless integration, making them a joy to use.
Autocomplete predictions
Spotify: Spotify’s design is a testament to its commitment to delivering a seamless and immersive music streaming experience. I love how the Spotify app’s interface is organized and visually engaging, with vibrant album artwork and intuitive navigation. The personalized playlists and recommendations based on user preferences showcase Spotify’s mastery of user-centered design, enhancing the overall user experience and making music discovery a delight.
Airbnb: Airbnb’s design embodies the concept of storytelling and creating emotional connections with users. The homepage features stunning imagery and curated content that evoke a sense of wanderlust and adventure, inspiring users to explore new destinations. I appreciate Airbnb’s attention to detail in its search and booking process, which is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing travelers to find and book accommodations with ease. Moreover, Airbnb’s design extends beyond the digital realm, with thoughtful touches such as the design of its physical spaces, reflecting the brand’s commitment to creating memorable experiences for its users.
Disney+ landing page. After logging in, users are presented with a landing page that will look familiar to anyone who’s ever used Netflix. It includes a big featured area at the top and horizontal rows of video options organized by genre or other recommendation criteria below.
But in between those two familiar elements is a set of logos representing Disney’s five brands. Because each of these brands is so popular and already has its own identity, each logo immediately communicates what users can expect if they select one of them.
Craving a superhero movie? Go to the Marvel section. In the mood for a nature documentary? Check out National Geographic.
By recognizing the content available on Disney+ can be categorized in a unique way that communicates something valuable to users, the streamer provides a new means for users to quickly access the movies and shows they’re searching for.
Always consider new ways to divide information, even for UX designs that are based on established interaction patterns. While you may not want to change a classic user experience too much, if there is an innovative, easy-to-understand way to communicate categories of information and help users navigate to the content they want, users will appreciate its inclusion in the design.
Netflix: Netflix is not only easy to operate but uses an algorithm that makes recommendations based off of your viewing history. It puts the customer’s desires at the forefront and delivers a personalized, easy-to-understand user interface
What Are Some Websites and Apps Whose Design You Love? Why?
Google: Google’s design ethos is characterized by simplicity, clarity, and functionality, which I find incredibly appealing. One aspect I particularly admire is the Google search engine’s homepage. Its minimalist design puts the focus squarely on the search bar, allowing users to quickly access the information they need without any unnecessary distractions. Additionally, Google’s suite of productivity tools, such as Gmail and Google Drive, feature intuitive interfaces and seamless integration, making them a joy to use.
-Autocomplete predictions
Spotify: Spotify’s design is a testament to its commitment to delivering a seamless and immersive music streaming experience. I love how the Spotify app’s interface is organized and visually engaging, with vibrant album artwork and intuitive navigation. The personalized playlists and recommendations based on user preferences showcase Spotify’s mastery of user-centered design, enhancing the overall user experience and making music discovery a delight.
-knows music I like before I know it
Airbnb: Airbnb’s design embodies the concept of storytelling and creating emotional connections with users. The homepage features stunning imagery and curated content that evoke a sense of wanderlust and adventure, inspiring users to explore new destinations. I appreciate Airbnb’s attention to detail in its search and booking process, which is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing travelers to find and book accommodations with ease. Moreover, Airbnb’s design extends beyond the digital realm, with thoughtful touches such as the design of its physical spaces, reflecting the brand’s commitment to creating memorable experiences for its users.
Netflix: Netflix is not only easy to operate but uses an algorithm that makes recommendations based off of your viewing history. It puts the customer’s desires at the forefront and delivers a personalized, easy-to-understand user interface
What is your design inspiration?
I get inspired by all things around me. Lots of color themes. Whether it be an assortment of flowers on someone’s lawn..someones outfit..a pillowcase on a couch.. Mix of colors and textures that create an energy spark my ideas.
I’m constantly looking at other designs for example I’m using a chrome extension called “Panda” where every time I open up a new tab, it shows a feed from all my favorite sites like Dribble, Behance, Awwwards.
I’m also constantly listening to UX podcasts like UXPodcast, User Defenders, and What is Wrong with UX
What do you think is the most important part of the UX process?
Empathy.
The best UX designers have an ability to make users’ problems into their own problems by empathizing.
UX design is really all about making things easier and more pleasant for people. You really have to dig deep and feel the frustrations people are feeling in order to uncover the best solutions.
Design is first and foremost not necessarily about problem solving, but actually setting the problems in the first place and defining what those problems are. It is one of the hardest part of the process.
Once you have really understood and focused on the problems you can then ideate.
Ideation is absolutely useless if it is not founded on good insights, and insights come from empathy.
User Research
User research is the most essential part of the User experience (UX) design process. If you do not have a clear idea of who your target user is and what they want (or need); it is nearly impossible to provide them with the right user experience.
Plus, a well-conducted user research can reduce wasted development time, decrease the cost of customer support, increase conversion rates and improve customer retention and loyalty. Above all, it saves your money and generates revenue.
How do you prioritize a project?
Prioritization matrices measuring low to high value to the user/business and amount of effort
Impact on users, impact on business, and how easy/difficult it is to do
You have to think of all those three things in combination, but if something is very difficult to do (maybe thinking back to the previous question), if it’s a legacy system and certain things are almost impossible to do without years of programming, but even if it had a higher defect maybe you kind of save them for later, if something is easier to do you would give it higher priority to just get that done, but that said the two most important criteria would be: what is the impact on our users, and what is the impact on our business?
Three most important skills for a UX designer:
Empathy - A user experience designer advocates for the user. To do that, they have to be able to put themselves into another’s shoe – understanding their emotions and feelings. To truly design for the end user, one must understand the struggles and pain they go through when interacting with a particular system.
Passion - A UX designer’s job doesn’t just go from 9 to 5. They live and breathe it in everything they interact with. When they buy a movie ticket through a touch screen kiosk, use the latest iPhone, or try out a new feature for their favorite website, they are thinking about ways that the experience could be improved or ways to connect people to one another. They not only have a passion for innovation and technology but also in creating passionate users. People with passion look for ways to make things happen.
Curiosity - A user experience designer is always curious about how things work and why they work this way. They are fascinated with human behavior – how people think and act in different situations. With curiosity comes questions and with those questions come answers through observation, research, and testing. Don Norman once said: “I question my own ideas and that’s the only way to make progress, always curious, always questioning.”
What is the value of UX?
You could talk to them about Airbnb and how co-founder Joe Gebbia credits a change in the user interface with making it a $10 billion company. Or you could tell them why you agree with Jeff Bezos’ decision to allocate 100 times more budget for customer experience efforts than advertising in the early days of Amazon.
Humanized designs provide value to their users. This value trickles down to higher user interactions and satisfaction which further trickles down to an increased ROI (Return on Investment) for a business.
- Increase to bottom line sales - have genuine empathy towards satisfying user needs will ultimately see an organic increase in sales of products and services
- Customer satisfaction - ux design improves the usability and efficiency of a product/service and in turn will lead to higher customer satisfaction
- Increase in brand perception and customer loyalty - When customers are satisfied, they become advocates of a business’s products or services since referrals and personal recommendations carry more weight than any other form of marketing.
- Decreased digital development costs - The value of UX is not wasting time and money developing the wrong solution. Best practices in User Experience design can recoup lost development time by clearly and more effectively defining user requirements. Well-defined requirements enable quicker decision making and prioritization of user needs. The avoidance of re-work saves an organization the trouble of making changes after the project budget or delivery timeline is running out.
- Employee collaboration and retention - User Experience requires collaboration between diverse departments to meet user needs. It requires a team effort. Overcoming isolationist tendencies when planning and producing projects is extremely valuable. Not only can collaboration between diverse teams result in higher productivity, but it also significantly increases the chances of successful project delivery.
What Are Your Three Biggest Strengths?
User Empathy: I deeply understand the importance of empathizing with users to create designs that truly resonate with them. I excel in conducting user research, gathering insights, and translating them into intuitive and engaging user experiences.
Design Thinking: I have a strong foundation in design thinking principles, allowing me to approach problems with a systematic and empathetic mindset. This helps me to identify opportunities, brainstorm innovative solutions, and iterate designs based on feedback.
Collaboration: I thrive in collaborative environments where I can work closely with cross-functional teams including product managers, engineers, and stakeholders. My communication skills enable me to effectively articulate design decisions and incorporate feedback to produce the best possible outcomes.
What is the role of a designer?
“I believe that a designer’s role is to translate business objectives into solutions that help the company succeed. In order to do that, a designer provides the company’s customers with solutions that solve their problems. To achieve that, a designer will apply design ethics and advocate for the user’s needs.”
-To find opportunities to meet users goals/needs
What makes a great app in terms of visual design?
Creating a great app in terms of visual design involves several key elements that contribute to a cohesive and engaging user experience. Here are some factors that are essential for outstanding visual design in an app:
Consistency: Consistency in design elements such as colors, typography, icons, and spacing helps create a unified and cohesive look throughout the app. This consistency not only enhances the overall aesthetic appeal but also improves usability by providing users with familiar visual cues.
Clarity: Clarity is crucial for ensuring that users can easily understand and navigate the app. This includes using clear and legible typography, intuitive iconography, and logical layout structures. Visual hierarchy should be employed to guide users’ attention to the most important elements on each screen.
Simplicity: Striving for simplicity in design helps reduce cognitive load for users and makes the app more intuitive to use. Avoid cluttering the interface with unnecessary elements and prioritize essential information and actions. Embrace whitespace to create breathing room and focus attention on key content.
Visual Feedback: Providing visual feedback to users when they interact with the app helps reinforce their actions and enhances the sense of responsiveness. This can include animations, transitions, color changes, or micro-interactions that acknowledge user input and provide context for their actions.
Brand Identity: Incorporating elements of the brand’s identity, such as colors, logos, and visual style, into the app design helps reinforce brand recognition and consistency across different touchpoints. However, it’s essential to balance brand identity with usability to ensure that the design remains user-centric.
Accessibility: Designing with accessibility in mind ensures that the app is usable by people of all abilities. This includes considerations such as color contrast for readability, scalable typography for legibility, and support for assistive technologies such as screen readers.
Emotional Design: Great visual design goes beyond aesthetics to evoke emotional responses from users. Use visual elements such as imagery, color, and typography to create a mood or tone that resonates with the app’s target audience and enhances the overall user experience.
By prioritizing these elements in the visual design of an app, designers can create an engaging and memorable experience that not only looks great but also delivers value to users.
