OUGD504 - Studio Brief 2 - UX and UI Seminar

Understanding User Interface and User Experience 

Both come together and aim to solve a problem through a digital screen based means.

User Interface (UI)

User Interface concerns the a meeting or conversation between two things, in this case a person and a screen. It concerns actions such as clicking, scrolling and also visuals such as icons. User Interface also considers things such as text size and its ledgibility

User Experience (UX)

User Experience is concerned with the efficiency of the App, Website etc and how quickly someone can use the design to get from A to B. Unlike user interface, user experience aims to make the experience of using the design as enjoyable as possible, which does not always mean that the functionality is perfect. It is concerned with building the right experience for the right circumstance for example Reddit is a multilayered platform with different spaces to meet people making it not very easy to find things however it becomes an achievement to find different areas and to understand the website.

Examples of where Screen Based Interfaces are seen are:
Computers
TV's
Mobiles
Sat Navs
Head Up Displays (where the display is reflected on glass meaning the user does not have to look down e.g. in aeroplanes) 
Projections

User Experience Design Continued...

Helpful Links:
Google Design - design.google
IOS Human Interface Guidelines
Material Design




User Experience is concerned with the what, when, why, how and who of a screen based design and what affects a users interaction with it. User Experience constantly questions what people think of a design and how they interact with it.

Both the business needs and user needs need to be taken into account, as it might be a great experience but if it doesn't make the business any money then the design has not done it's job. However UX uses a user centred design process which takes into account the users needs at every level.

Applies to:
Web Apps
Mobile Apps
Desktop Apps

UX is the design behind the visuals.

User Experience Design does not have any visual design element. It is the organisation and construction of interactive elements.
Human Computer Interaction looks at the ways people interact with digital systems.
Usability is the ease and efficiency by which a user operates a system.
People have and use technical products because they have things to do. They want to fullfil a task, aide self identity and socialise.

There are Do Goals and Be Goals.

User Experience is focused around the emotional impact of a screen based design on a person where as User Interface is how any customer uses the product. User Experience considers the needs of different people.

User Experience Design Process
- Analysis -  Business Research/User Research / Data Analysis 
- Design - Conceptual / Interaction / Look and Feel 
- Prototypes - Realising design alternatives / Wireframing / Paper Mock Ups 
- Evaluate - Verifying and Refining 
- Iterations of everything 

The aim is to keep improving the design as it can't be perfect the first time.

User research includes:
- Focus Groups 
- Interviews
- Observations
- Identifying and conceptualising user roles, user needs, task roles

Analysis of data provides a basis for design work.

A Task flow is how to get different elements to fit together to achieve a task.

Techniques  

Personas

Personas are the characteristics of a potential user and often do not just reflect one person but generalise to combine multiple people into one. Personas reflect the data that is found in user experience research. They focus on the present and people that would use it now and are realistic not idealistic. They are best when they describe a challenging target user who has something to say. This technique provides insight into the users context e.g  behaviours, goals, challenges or pain points.

Task Flows / User Flows

Shows how a series of things are done to complete a task, they are the journey through the system. Sometimes this means the quickest possible route however sometimes adding a few extra stages is necessary e.g. businesses expose customers to other products before they check out.

From here on User Experience Ends 

Wire Frames

These are created after all the research has been completed. This starts to consider the layout of the design and where things are on the page.

Low fidelity frames are basic drawings whereas high fidelity frames add more information.