OUGD504 - Studio Brief 2 - Interactive Design by Andy Pratt and Jason Nunes

Interactive Design : An introduction to the Theory and Application of User Centered Design

Goals

It needs to be understood what the clients goals are and a designer needs to be able to work out what a client needs to achieve this and why they want to meet these goals. Proritising goals is important in order to focus the design and make it less confusing for the user . The prioritisation pyramid help to identify which goals are of the highest priority. 20 % should go in the the high category, 30% in the middle and 50% in the lowest.

Users

It is important to understand the users of the design. Prioritising user groups from highest to lowest allows primary users to be identified. Who are they? What are their interests? What do they do? Clients often use their own service so consider this. Writing traits , observations etc as they appear is useful as a way of brainstorming. These can then be grouped together to form users from the demographic (a particular sector of a population)  and psychographic (personality, values, attitudes, interests, lifestyle) information. From this users should be prioritised and a user ecosystem should be created.

Features and Functionality

Need to work with a client to understand the features and functionality of a site . The functionality of a site is what the design does and the features are how it does this. To make designs effective they have to be focussed so this can mean refining the features on the site to make it more effective. Prioritising features and functions is important, every aspect needs to be important for the business or user.

Personas

Understanding the users of the interface is important. Designing for real people will make the design more effective. Knowing basic information such as age , education, background, hobbies and tastes as well as thinking about their technical knowhow, how often , where and when they will use it. Considering how they interact digitally is also important.

Personas use photos, names and quotes to create the character and list descriptors such as their work, marital status and interests. Defining their goals and needs and their frustrations are also important. User scenarios are like stories about how the persona would use the site, what for and why.