I coach corporate/ candidates on User Experience Design and User Interaction Design based on User Centric Design methodology. In this we keep user as center of our design process. Before begin with any project we ask ourselves:
Who will use this product?
What are the user's tasks?
What are their goals?
What experiences do they have?
What functions do they need?
What information do they need?
In what form do they need it?
How do they think it should work?
UCD Process: User-centered design process has 4 phases (research, analyze, prototype and test).
Design Basics: We begin with learning basic principles of design. We learn about Gestalt Laws and Golden Proportion. These laws exist in nature. We analyze them and try to bring them in our design.
Design Representation: It is combination of various exercises like sketching, 2 minute drawing, detailing, proportions and perspective drawing. This enables designer to represent a solution to end user in quick, communicable and effective manner.
Design Thinking: Designer use to think by taking various factors in to account. They find solutions inside themselves and explore outside too. They analyze on basis of laws, culture, context, perception and decide the right solution. They use doodles and sketches to represent their design ideas.
Morphological Matrix: This is a Design Thinking tool. Designers use this to create unique experiences. In various elements are clubbed together to come up with a new concept. This is very helpful in creating new interactions and user experience in digital domain.
Solution Generation: This is a process in which designers use their design thinking to come up with multiple solutions to a particular problem. They depict the solutions using doodles and sketches.
Brainstorming: Designers use to start with writing down each and very word comes their mind regarding to a problem, solution or situation. With this they keep thoughts flowing through their mind and capturing each and every expression which would be use to create a new design.
Information Structuring: The information collected in brainstorming is now categorized and structured. This helps to identify the new ideas and structure our approach to a solution.
Metaphor: This is a process in which a designer relates his solution or approach to a natural or man made thing which bears same nature as a solution/ approach proposed by a designer. This helps him relate better to his design. With metaphor he would find out new possibilities to design a new solution.
Usability: Is a measure of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction or The ease with which people can employ a particular tool or man made object to achieve his goal. In digital interactions and User Experiences to create better usability it very necessary to bring in the elements which can connect to the sub-conscious mind.
For example: If we create a Tick (Yes Button) in Red color and Cross (No Button) in Green color then our mind will feel uncomfortable because Red is the Color related to danger, stop and warning. It makes our mind to think before perceiving. Where as a Green color relates to environment, coolness and relax. But when a cross is designed in green color our mind will not be able to relate.
Where as if we create a Tick (Yes Button) in Green color and Cross (No Button) in Red color then our mind would be able to relate the purpose of buttons with their colors.
Information Architecture: In an digital product there can be huge amount of content which needs to be managed very strategically by combining with the laws of Usability. This benefits the user by completing a task in best possible manner.
User Research: Research techniques enables a designer to learn, understand and analyze. Results from these techniques inspire to create User Experiences on digital platforms. For example: Pics (above) depicts the Focused Group user research, where Customers and Sellers forms two focused groups.
