November 2017 - Visual Identity

Great Questions Lead to Great Design – A Guide to the Design Thinking Process aside

Great designers help teams and stakeholders make better decisions by using questions to identify opportunities, reveal underlying needs, and understand user context. James Dyson, having been inspired by a centrifuge used to separate paint particles from the air, came up with the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner in 1983 after famously going through 5,127 prototypes—the epitome of design thinking. He must have asked a lot of questions along the way… Designers face tough problems every day—problems that require them to find design solutions that deal with business and technical constraints while also addressing user needs. At the same time, the urge to find solutions quickly shouldn’t preclude designers from thoroughly understanding the heart of the problem, as well as the user context, from ...

Dashboard Design – Considerations and Best Practices aside

Dashboards are a unique and powerful way to present data-based intelligence using data visualization techniques that display relevant, actionable data as well as track stats and key performance indicators (KPIs). Dashboards should present this data in a quick, easy-to-scan format with the most relevant information understandable at a glance. The term was born from the traditional automobile dashboard, and they have evolved to serve the same function in the digital world. In his book, Stephen Few put it best: “A dashboard is a visual display of the most important information needed to achieve one or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a single screen so the information can be monitored at a glance.” Mobile dashboard design by Mason Yarnell for Mixpanel In this ...

New Realities: VR, AR, MR, and the Future of Design aside

Advances in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality mean fresh design opportunities for designers. The digital and technological landscape is constantly changing, and in many ways accelerating. Designers tasked to come up with innovative ideas have to keep track of what is trending and where the creative opportunities are. Recognizing the changes that are occurring in the industry will help designers design smarter and make more informed creative decisions. Bell curve graphic of the technology adoption life cycle In the technology adoption life cycle, “Innovators” are the smallest group, yet the most successful. They are followed by “Early Adopters,” then “Early Majority,” and later, “The Majority,” or everyone else. As innovators, great designers usually fall into the “Early Adopters” category—big risk ...

Think S.M.A.R.T. When Defining Business Goals for Your Next UX Project aside

Clear business goals mean a precise and efficient execution. The S.M.A.R.T. Framework (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-Based)  can be a key to your design success. Many UX designers think their primary goal is to create a delightful user experience or a sleek design. But that shouldn’t be the main focus. Designers need to think beyond mere pixels. They should adopt a business perspective, think strategically, consider the primary objectives, and design towards both users and business goals. While reading a client’s brief, we often find that the business goals and the requirements are not clearly formulated. Either we get Clients from Hell, suffer a lack of communication, or are faced with unrealistic and unclear expectations. We hear vague requests, like, ...

Monthly ArchivesNovember 2017