Tag / tools
Free Sketch Template for building a meaningful “Affinity Diagram” during the UX Process
A step-by-step guide with some key concepts explained*I believe that doing an affinity diagram exercise is more efficient in a physical space with teammates scribbling notes, thinking out loud and engaging in discussions. Therefore, unless Sketch provides the ability to share/edit a file with multiple people at once, I would suggest to use the template to digitally store written Post-it notes or to showcase the process/result somewhere (i.e portfolio).
At the end of this article, there is a link to download a Free Sketch Template to create a digital version of an affinity diagram with explanations 😎
What is an Affinity Diagram?In short, the affinity diagram shows the common issues, themes, and scope of the customer problems and needs in one place. By hierarchically grouping the data, or affinity notes that reveal the problems and needs, it acts as the voice of the customer and the issues become the basis for user requirements. With just a few tools, you can create a visual representati..
Why the discovery phase is the most important web design step
The discovery phase in web design can help you create products and services that your users really need. Here’s why you need to take it seriouslyCreating websites that people want to use requires an intense amount of research. To truly understand the people who will be using your products and services is the main current of user experience design.
Oriol Beda quipped in UX Collective that “research is still seen as a magic wand that is only waved when problems arise”.
If you don’t know who your audience is, how can you ever expect to design something suited to their wants and needs? The answer is you won’t. You’ll end up with a half-baked product that nobody will want to use. For a better design process, research should be a primary tool for answering problems and not a fall back for when things go awry.
So, what steps can UX/UI designers take to ensure that they’re creating successful work? When it comes to web design, one of the most important steps is the discovery phase.
In this pos..
Why Focusing Too Much on App User Acquisition is Not Right
In the mobile app world, focusing on ANYTHING too much is already a growth killer. You know why? Because there are a dozen things to take care of and if you invest too much energy into one thing only, you might end up losing the others. The same applies to focusing too much on user acquisition. Of course, it’s tempting to invest money into acquiring new users especially if you are just starting but there are other growth factors you should consider too such as engagement and retention.
Let’s start with understanding what user acquisition is and how it can help you.
Basically, mobile user acquisition equals to getting people to download your mobile app.
User acquisition is sometimes rather costly but you cannot overlook it because let’s face it, you need people to learn about your app and to download it to understand what a treasure it is.
via GIPHYThere are tons of acquisition strategies you can use. You can start with the following:
You can build a landing page with links to your app ..
Wireframing Tools for Beginners
Wireframing is a key skill for UX design and often used to show layouts or visualize ideas to clients, stakeholders, and developers. Today’s wireframing programs can make it quicker and easier to develop these deliverable. Sketch, Figma, Codepen, Invision, Mindmeister, and many more are available and widely used.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of available design tools when creating your wireframes. I haven’t even mention Adobe, PowerPoint, and good old pen and paper. Sometimes a sketch on a piece of paper works just as well as presenting digital wireframes. As beginners, many UX professionals get caught up in software – Which ones are the best to use? What will look best on my resume for future jobs? The design stage, project requirements, and even the client or employer will influence which tool to use.
Wireframes range from low fidelity, with placeholders for elements, text, and media, to high fidelity versions that look, and may even function, like the finished ..
Lessons Learned from An Event Apart Denver
Editor’s Note: An Event Apart (AEA) just finished its first event of 2018 in Seattle. For the first time, the 2018 conference series has three Special Edition events, which feature 18 speakers over three-day.
Today we look back at the 2017 AEA Special Edition. UX Booth columnist Jess Vice highlights some of the biggest takeaways.
Use the discount code AEAUXBooth to save $100 on any AEA multi-day event.
From Research to Redesign Jeffrey Zeldman, founder and creative director at studio.zeldman and co-founder of An Event Apart, kicked the conference off with a reminder of why we design in the first place. We can only identify and solve problems when we know who our customers are, who our users are, and which markets we’re reaching. Research is an often overlooked (yet vital) stage of the design process. Research sets us up to not only know who we’re designing for now but helps us discover what we should be solving for next.
Research saves time and money and allows us to build the righ..
Website Personalization Planning
Users’ expectations are high, and attention spans are short. There’s a multitude of alternative destinations if a website doesn’t present messaging, content, or functionality that immediately connects with what a visitor wants and needs. If a company is lucky enough to get users to its website, it should do everything in its power to keep them there and content. Website personalization is a proven way to engage audiences more effectively. Not only does it create better experiences for users, it can increase conversion rates, generate more revenue, and build brand affinity. Organizations who fail to personalize experiences are missing out on opportunities to better connect with prospects, retain existing customers, and generate greater brand loyalty.
What is personalization and why does it matter? Website personalization is about creating a highly relevant, targeted, and individualized experience to suit a user’s needs. It is dynamically presenting something that might be helpful or mo..
The Ultimate Guide to Launching a Mobile App Redesign
Each time you are launching a mobile app redesign, you are risking to make some users unhappy. But there may be so many reasons for an app redesign that it actually can be your number one priority. And it’s, of course, vital to identify your particular reason or reasons for redesigning an app. You need to be 100% sure about what you are getting into.
Redesigning has got many advantages. So, undoubtedly, a well-done redesign can move your business in a new direction and help increase ROI.
First off, you need to ask yourself why your app needs a redesign. So, you might want to launch a mobile app redesign because:
User experience trends have changedYou are about to launch a new featureYour competitor is providing a better app experienceYour current design is a mess and is not user-friendlyAs soon as you are sure about launching an app redesign, you need to start acting. Let’s discuss your moves one by one in more detail.
Talk to your usersEverything you do, you do for your users. So, it’..
Whats the deal with ideation
A handful of thoughts and ideas on how to improve ideation workshopshttps://dribbble.com/sexypepperboyExperimentation is the key to streamlining innovation. It’s as much about your team than it is you, that why you should look to experiment with different ways of ideating to optimise the methods and environments that suit you all the best. As creative as we do not think we are, everyone is. Each and every one of us just needs a different framework to let our creativity thrive in.
After countless ideation workshops over the last six months of my internship, I have started to reflect on this thought of everyone being creative and the different ways we have looked to improve our own ideation workshops.
This isn’t about a post so much about defining “creativity” because what does that even mean anymore… but a post about how we should keep adapting and reflecting our ideation sessions to utilise the skill sets of the people around us so that we can reach those great solutions. These are my ..
A Primer to Web Accessibility for Designers
Quick wins to make your designs more inclusiveWhat is Accessibility?When was the last time you visited a website and got frustrated because you had trouble using it? Maybe the site was using Web GL technology that your browser didn’t support, you couldn’t read it’s text due to it being so small, or the mobile experience simply wouldn’t load on your iPhone. If you think back to these annoying experiences where you functionally could not navigate a site, chances are you’ve experienced inaccessibility in one form or another.
This is not to say that all frustrating experiences are inaccessible, but there are definitely overlaps between bad UX and inaccessibility. An easy way to think of this is that a bad experience for the general public is usually much worse for a disabled or impaired individual.
If you find yourself squinting to read small text on a site, for example, chances are a visually impaired person wouldn’t be able to read it at all. If you make this small text size larger, you’..
8 Universal Design Necessities for E-commerce
Great web design is an art, and in the increasingly accessible digital world, it has become ever more important to ensure that your design decisions are focused on an accessible user experience. This not only facilitates more positive engagements with a business’ audience, but is also an important step in establishing a brand’s reputation, visibility, and authority.
The principles of universal design arose from a recognition of the need to overcome obstacles to accessibility, particularly in the case of individuals with physical or cognitive difficulties. However, as the name suggests, universal design extends beyond these challenges to encompass the barriers faced by individuals in all walks of life, for myriad different reasons.
Accounting for all users’ needs is no minor feat, yet there are a few fundamental tenets to use to make your work better and transform the customer journey into an experience that is accessible and enjoyable for all.
1. Provide Choice Customizability enabl..