{"id":433,"date":"2023-01-13T16:27:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-13T16:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zaraknox.co.uk\/journal\/?p=433"},"modified":"2023-01-13T17:07:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T17:07:10","slug":"ux-design-and-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zaraknox.co.uk\/journal\/2023\/01\/13\/ux-design-and-me\/","title":{"rendered":"UX Design and Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When deciding on a topic for my Major Project website, I was encouraged to choose a theme that aligned with my interests. This is why I chose to make a website based around resin craft; it is an engrossing, creative subject that is relatively easy to fit around my studies. However, while my own involvement in the craft is a fine starting point, it should by all means not be the end point in terms of how I approach the website\u2019s content and functionality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the user experience consulting firm Neil Nelson Group points out, it is important to remember that \u201cyou are not the user,\u201d no matter how involved with the product\u2019s subject matter the designer might be. To assume that my users share my beliefs and behaviour simply because I also make resin would create a false-consensus effect that overestimates the similarity between would-be users and myself. Just as harmful would be any ideas on my part that only those vastly different to myself would make decisions different to my own. Ultimately, one cannot solve user problems without getting to know the user first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is integral, then, to implement a user-centred approach to the planning of my website. This should focus on the user through all stages of development, from planning to the end product. The user should be involved in each stage of the design process where possible to inform any decisions I make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When deciding on an approach to user research and implementing UX principles, it is important to note that there is no \u2018standard\u2019 set of steps to follow, as many organisations have slightly different steps and methodologies when working with users. However, they share essential components, such as user research, problem definition, and an iterative process where it might be necessary to retrace steps if ideas transpire to be flawed, or most importantly, if a user problem is not solved. My steps, adapted from the UX Design Institute, recent workshops taken with user-centred designers Chris How and Steph Troeth, and Adobe\u2019s educational materials on the subject, may serve as a guiding process and are broken down as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n

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The User-Centered Design Process<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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  1. Product Definition<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In order to define what a product might consist of, designers must first scope the lay of the land in terms of their chosen subject. When building any product, it is important to understand what Adobe refers to as \u201cits context for existence.\u201d I would also add to this that designers must justify the product\u2019s existence in the first place. My own justification for a website on resin craft was largely borne from my research for my Major Project\u2019s Business and Cultural Context Crit Session<\/a>, where I established a correlation between crafts and mental health benefits. As I had also discovered that many UK citizens do not feel they have much free time, I decided to focus on resin craft due to its relative time-efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Before doing any initial brainstorming of my own, my first approach to roughly defining my website was to look at the existing market. Researching cognate sites helped me identify potential problems that users might face early on. For example, tutorials were often time-consuming, which would not be helpful to busy users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During this product definition research stage, it is also possible to gain a rough idea of the demographics of potential users. In the case of crafting statistics, I learned that the most likely target audience would be women aged 35-44, although this age range is decreasing over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The few existing resin craft websites are often vendors of materials, and their tutorials\u2019 links to product pages mean that there is a monetary motive behind their existence. Tutorials and courses are often long and overly technical, which may put off some new to the craft suffering from time constraints, or simply looking for a new hobby or therapeutic outlet. Youtube tutorials are often meandering with unclear instructions. As such, I decided my initial product definition would be a website that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n