The role of an interface designer is changing dramatically right now. If 15–20 years ago, designers were looked upon as people who could only be asked to draw something in Photoshop, now the role of a designer is being transformed into something more - designing user experience and scenarios of customer interaction with business. This article discusses in which business processes an interface designer is involved today.
In interface design, there are often two main blocks, UI and UX. UI - user interface is graphic design: typography, fonts, colors, placement of buttons and other elements on the site. That is, what the user sees with his own eyes. UX - user experience is how a person interacts with a product, what steps he goes through in order to perform the desired action. In different companies, these functions can be performed by one person or different people.
When we were preparing the program of the profession "Interface designer" in Yandex.Practical work, we conducted a survey of the largest Russian IT companies (in total we managed to talk with 40 representatives) what interface designers are doing with them. It turned out that a designer is not a person who draws prototypes, but a person who thinks, reflects and researches. If a designer is painting more than half of his time, I would say that he is doing something wrong and he needs to think about his workflow. Drawing is the easiest thing in design. The hardest part is figuring out what you really need to draw.
What then does a designer do? I will give 5 ux design examples of business processes in which an interface designer is involved today.
Develops the product
More and more companies are going online, and now the interface is the first place where the user and the business meet. And the designer is the person who has to show the user the way. Let me explain with an example. A person opens any application or site to solve his problem. Let's say in a banking application he needs to issue a card. To achieve this goal, the user will go through several steps - screens. For example, open a card to view the nearest bank branches, enter passport data in the application, or just leave a phone number for the manager to call him. This is the scenario of user interaction with the business, and it is this scenario that the interface designer designs.
In a company, a designer can and should suggest which products and how best to exhibit. He knows and solves business and user problems: how to sell and how to buy, what to offer and what to choose, where to find and where to place. In this process, he acts on an equal footing with the product manager.
For example, until recently, Yandex.Practicum did not have a mobile version of the course, and in order to assess whether we need it, the product manager studied how much money we are losing, how many people are trying to take the course from mobile devices, in which particular situation the user opens the course on a smartphone, for example in the subway.
After a product manager decides that a mobile version is needed, the designer conducts his own research: he studies which mechanics are not optimized for a mobile phone, whether visitors come from smartphones or tablets, and polls users. After that, the designer creates some kind of solution, and then tests it on users again. The lack of a mobile application is a rather obvious problem, but it is important to understand that the designer may not agree with the product manager, refuse to develop an idea further or offer his own vision of product development.
Conducts research
To solve business problems, a designer needs to talk to stakeholders and gather information through analytics or research. In order to conduct research, a designer can use 9-10 different methods. Among them are corridor testing, semi-structured interviews, cartsourcing. The choice of a specific type of research depends on its purpose.
When we made the first version of the course, we had a rather risky assumption that in the first hours of training, you can introduce people to Figma's third-party tool, where they can draw a button for the site themselves. This solution had to be designed somehow and it was necessary to understand if this mechanic was suitable.
I conducted a semi-structured interview with seven candidates to understand that our solution does not frustrate users. Sometimes you need more people, sometimes less - it all depends on the task that the designer solves. In sociology, it is believed that in order to fully cover a question in a study, the opinions of 15 respondents are enough. There is no such universal number in product management and UX design.
Communicates with users
Feedback from users is an essential part of a designer's job. When we tested the beta version of our course, we talked to several hundred users. Even before the launch of the program, when entering our website, students saw an announcement that the course would be coming soon, and left their email to be informed about the opening. A month and a half before the start, I asked to send these people an invitation to the beta test. We selected 5% of the audience among 9,000 who left mail, and got even more applicants than we wanted.
If the product has a loyal audience, if the product is useful, then users treat it very well and are always ready to help in its development. If the guys at Spotify, or whatever tool I use on a daily basis, wrote to me asking me to test the product, I would gladly respond.
At the same time, a good designer should focus not only on the client, but also on the developers, should at least understand their part of work a little. Understand that it is not always possible to bring to life what is drawn in the layout. A designer must also be able to present his work, hear mistakes and not push back and prove, but correct, because the design is done not for himself and his creative realization, but for others - and it should be convenient for them.
Invents new mechanics
Design development depends on how much the employee has a lot of information about the world around him. In order to design a scenario in which a person is completely confident, you don't even need to conduct research. For example, we were 100% sure that we would have an analysis of students' work on the course, as this is assumed by the very concept of Yandex.Practicum. As a result, we made the mechanics without any research and only tested the finished version on users - do they understand how it works.
But it happens differently: some mechanics have to be invented by the designer himself. For example, how a person adds a product to the cart or enters personal information to get a discount. We invented the basket mechanic - a task for students in which the user has to place cards in different baskets and then check the correctness of the task. Since this mechanic is almost unknown to users, we decided to test it on colleagues (this is called corridor testing). Colleagues tried the interaction scenario we specified, and we immediately saw errors. For example, someone did not understand the meaning of the buttons, someone - that you need to drag the card into the basket.
This is not the most dramatic example, but designers in business are faced with the same thing: any project and any new mechanics, when tested on a real person, may turn out to be unclaimed and incomprehensible. Or maybe a gold mine if the user appreciates the convenience of the new method. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment.
Sells
It is believed that Apple first began to use design as an essential element of the user experience in the 1990s. A competent approach immediately made the design a competitive advantage for the company. And with the advent of good mobile devices, a real boom in this profession began.
Design really has a big impact on product metrics. If the site is properly designed, the user will solve their problems more efficiently, return to the service more often or spend more time in it. Accordingly, in order to make informed decisions, the designer needs to work closely with the product manager, developers and analysts.
According to our survey, the most important advantage of any person who wants to develop along the path of an interface designer is product thinking. The designer does not draw mock-ups, but creates the product. It is important to be able to think with a product and look at your work from all sides: where the screen will open from; what happens after closing; what notifications should accompany; what happens if something goes wrong; how a person is used to working with such systems; whether it can be improved further and how.
A designer must understand what a good digital product looks like today. It doesn't matter what kind of icons. It is important to know how the user consumes this product, what he is used to, what he already knows and how it is convenient for him to interact with it. Then they will buy it.
What to read for an aspiring designer
Design of familiar things
Author: Don Norman
A classic book about the essence of design, a real guide to design findings and mistakes. It's about the things that surround us, why they were created the way they are, and how these things can be improved in terms of human-centered design.
Mental hospital in the hands of patients
By Alan Cooper
There is nothing in this book about how to design interfaces correctly - only about how to build a product that is primarily successful for business and how to correctly distribute roles within a team. Anyone who has at least indirectly dealt with product development will be familiar with the pains that Alan Cooper describes, and perhaps the solutions he offers will help.
Don't make me think
By Steve Krug
First published in 2000, the book, written by usability guru Steve Krug, has helped hundreds of thousands of web designers and developers master the principles of intuitive navigation and informative design. Its practicality, wit, and common sense make this book one of the most loved and recommended books on the topic of usability, and was reissued in 2017 with new topical examples and features.
Template language
Author: Christopher Alexander
First published in 1977, this book introduces a radical new approach to architecture and construction. The authors believe that people should design their own houses, streets and neighborhoods, and this idea is based on a simple observation: the most wonderful places on the planet were not created by architects, but by ordinary people.
Designing Design
Author: Kenya Hara
Contemporary design ideologist Kenya Hara is the initiator of many important transformations in the Japanese design market. He is an absolute value in his country and in the world. In this book, the author tells the reader about the importance of emptiness in the visual and philosophical traditions of Japan.
Presentation of information
By Edward Tufty
The book consists of six parts that formulate and explain the principles of information design. Edward Tufty uses the world's best data visualization patterns, commenting on them in this way: “The principles of information design are universal, like mathematics, and free from the specifics of any particular language or culture. Therefore, our samples are not limited to time and space: illustrations cover 17 countries and seven centuries, and if it comes to that, then three planets and one star. "