Why Sketchnoting Makes You A Better UX Designer
I haven’t written about sketchnoting much since my article Sketch noting 101: How To Create Awesome Visual Notes, which is kind of silly of me given it’s one of the most popular articles on our site. Part of my hesitation to do so (read excuses, excuses!) is because this is a site about user experience design, and I’ve never been quite sure where sketchnoting fits under the UX umbrella. (more…)
Don’t let user experience design methods die
This is where I disagree. I started my career in the product world. I worked at big companies, startups, and now an agency. I’ve used (and have observed others using) these “terrible” UX methods very successfully. Ryan is extremely lucky to work at a company like 37signals where personas, user journeys, and wireframes are not needed. (more…)
On Keeping a Notebook in the Digital Age
A few days ago I had a moment of sheer panic because I couldn’t find a pen. I went through the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross stages of penlessness (Denial: Maybe I don’t need a pen? I don’t need a pen! Anger: Where is my goddamned pen?! Bargaining: If you give me your pen, O nice, accommodating waiter, I’ll leave you a bigger tip) and finally got to the final stage, Acceptance: Alternatives to Pen. (more…)
Wireframing Your Web Application
There are many “right” ways to design an application, so I want to be clear that this is my workflow (and the one I recommend), but it’s not mandatory. I know other designers who just jump right into Photoshop (or code) and produce great work. But if you find yourself having trouble visualizing a design or workflow in your head, give this method a try. (more…)
Why the pencil is still the most important tool for digital designers
Looking for digital inspiration, or staring at an empty computer screen? Even at the tech nerd mecca that is SXSW in Austin, designer Von Glitschka has some radical advice for you: Close your laptop, shut off your iPad, and pick up a pencil. Open a paper notebook. And give doodling a shot. (more…)
Using Mind Maps for UX Design: Part 1 – Sketch Mapping
Sketch maps are mind maps of, well, sketches. They are diagrams that organize ideas in a tree-based structure where sketches are used as the way to illustrate those concepts. Others have used similar approaches under different terms (sketchboarding, storyboarding, or simply just mind mapping that happens to include sketches). (more…)
Lean Sketching Tips: Flexible Fidelity & Cutting Corners
Here is some lean UI sketching advice – let the level of detail be a variable in your design process that which you control. Staying conscious of and knowing when to cut a corner or when to spend additional time detailing an interaction, screen or flow is a healthy thing. All sorts of design tools impose certain fidelities on to us the second we pick them up. (more…)
Creating Wireframes And Prototypes With InDesign
Hundreds of tools may be available for interaction designers, but there is still no industry standard for interaction design (more…)
How to Go About Prototyping and User Testing
It takes a stretch of days at a time to get the coding and programming in place for your web app and if something goes wrong in the process, it hurts to start it all over again. At times when you haven’t checked and rechecked your app beforehand, you may come to find out that in the middle of the creation process that the idea you had isn’t going to work or the budget for your project is not big enough. (more…)
Fitting Big-Picture UX Into Agile Development
The rapid pace of UX design in the agile world can lead to shortsighted design decisions. Focusing on addressing the immediate needs of particular user stories within the limits of a sprint can lead to neglect of larger design questions, which can come back to haunt UX designers later. (more…)
Wireframing and Sketching for Web Designers: Tools, Utilities and Reasons
A website wireframe is a visual guide, or a skeletal framework that will help you define your future website’s characteristics. By wireframing you are basically defining the primary steps and the shape your website or product is going to have. One of the main purposes of wireframing is to set the main priorities and describe the functionality of your future creation. (more…)
The Importance Of Wireframes In Web Design And 9 Tools To Create Wireframes
Designing wireframes the right way the first time costs no more than doing it the wrong way. Creating a paper prototype adds no cost either; simply print out the wireframe diagrams for the pages a visitor will use to complete the tasks most closely related to achieving his goals and meeting the site's business objectives. (more…)
iOS Prototyping With Adobe Fireworks And TAP (Part 3)
In the previous parts of this tutorial (part 1 and part 2), we looked in detail at the building blocks of our design in Fireworks (pages, shared layers, symbols, styles), and we started to make a demo prototype in Fireworks. (more…)
Sketching And Prototyping
Sketching enables you to brainstorm, explore multiple ideas, define flows, communicate with team members all why being quick and cheap. Prototyping enables you to get out of the building quicker, talk to users, validate assumptions, ensure expectations are meeting stakeholder needs, while spending as little time as possible worrying about polish. (more…)