Information Architecture is not always easy to explain. It helps if you can talk about it with your team, and think about it easily in your own head. So today we are going to learn about:
User Stories & Types of Information Architecture.
So far we have mostly discussed the ways to understand and plan UX design. Today, we start actually making shit. The first step in designing a real solution is the general structure of the thing. That means you will need an introduction to:
What is Information Architecture?
When many designers have the same challenge, (e.g. — mobile app menus) and someone solves it in an elegant way (e.g. — Facebook’s hidden menu) and many designers use that solution, it helps users understand those sites and apps faster, because they see the same solution over and over.
These commonly-used solutions are called:
Design Patterns
In today’s world, we’re not just talking about a phone or a laptop. We’re probably talking about both, plus a tablet, and probably “wearable” devices like a smartwatch or Google Glass soon enough. So today we’re gonna talk about:
Designing for Devices
Just like marketers have a target audience, UX Designers have user personas/profiles: descriptions of users, based on research. But ours are a lot different.
So today we will learn a little about:
Creating User Profiles
Often in UX — especially at the start of something new — you will need to get information from real people. So, today we will learn:
How to Ask People Questions
Ah, users. The sun in the UX solar system and the thorn in our sides. One of the Sacred Laws of UX is “never blame the user” even though — let’s be honest — sometimes it is really fucking tempting. However, if you feel that way, it is because you don’t understand your users, so today we will learn:
What is User Research?
UX is a process, and these lessons roughly follow that process, but there are 5 things you should always keep in mind, throughout the process:
The 5 Main Ingredients of UX:
Psychology, Usability, Design, Copywriting & Analysis.
When you start a new UX project — before you design anything — you need to understand your goals. Two of them, to be specific. Everything you make is based on these two goals and nothing is more important to your success as a UX designer:
User goals and business goals.
My mission this month is to get more designers (or aspiring designers) started in User Experience design. The best place to start any education is at the beginning:
What is UX?
