The User Research process is all about how we learn, unlearn and relearn. Very confusing right! Not really. Let me tell you what I unlearnt to learn!
- UI without UX is beauty without brains.
A reminder to myself and to everyone who think UI/UX design as the job of making things pretty. It’s is not about making eye-candy screens. Always remember UI design is a part of the experience and it actually is the interaction layer that acts as “clothing” to the UX process and its outcome. UI is meant to represent the UX findings and decisions in an interface.
The meaningless screens that don’t solve the problems and don’t show any process behind them are always dangerous. Research plays a vital role to solve the problems and UI represents the solution to the problems.
2. Design to communicate, not just decorate.
This is something that inspires me everyday! Make sure your designs have meaning , not just pretty decorations. You have to really talk to users, instead of showing them something that looks pretty but doesn’t make sense. Understanding users is the key.
“Know thy user, and YOU are not thy user.” — Arnie Lund
3. It’s okay to make mistakes.
During my user research process I documented every step. It gives me a reference point. So I always encourage one to step back, review and check if any mistakes were made. I strongly believe step 10 has more accuracy compared to step 1. You can only learn from a mistake after you admit you’ve made it.
Learn and Unlearn from your mistakes.
I was surprised to see how vast UX is I thought it was. Working with different groups made me a better observer and understand different perspectives and mindsets of the users. I was really looking forward for ethnographic research, but keeping covid situation in mind I was instructed by my mentor at DesignBoat school to avoid it because Safety first. User interview played a very important role and helped me shape the next process. I experienced what it feels like to “Stand in users shoes”.
So, in this post, I’m wanted to take you on a journey through my UXD path. I would really like to thank everybody who supported me throughout the user research process. I thought it would be nice to share how things have changed for me as a designer and most importantly as observer, maybe you will relate to it or feel nostalgic thinking back to your journey.
This is my 4 weeks of user research journey at DesignBoat School, 10 more weeks to go, YAYYYY. I am very excited to step into Design phase. Can’t wait to experience.
Let me know what you think. Wanna talk or just say hi, reach out to me at https://www.instagram.com/uexpbydivya/
Email: divyadonepudi008@gmail.com
