/ DESIGN PROCESS
My design process is loosely based on a combination of the Design Council's Double Diamond methodology and the d.school's five-phase model. It's important to understand that all projects have their own unique challenges and the application of these frameworks aren't sequential or a linear process – there have even been times where business and product propositions were constantly evolving alongside discovery sessions.
/ EMPATHISE, DEFINE AND DISCOVER
Personally I like to combine Empathise, Define and Discover as they all coexist with one another. It's no secret that humans are complex beings and our logical and emotional responses can be influenced by our surroundings or situations. In order to create meaningful solutions, it's important to engage with users to properly understand their needs, their mental models and their pain points. I truly believe that in order to make a product that really solves a problem, you need to observe and learn from the people bearing the brunt of the problem. Feedback should be an integral part of each project: the more you learn about your users, the more informed your designs will be.
/ IDEATE
I always start with pencil and paper. You can't be too precious in the initial stages. I sketch out ideas and a rough end-to-end journey and reference this back to the discovery notes. Sometimes workshops are required for complex projects with stringent commercial, legal or regulatory requirements. Workshops can range from conversational whiteboarding with stakeholders, BA's, SA's etc. to quick Crazy 8's exercises for visual generation.
/ PROTOTYPE, TEST, ITERATE... AND REPEAT
Lo-fi wireframes are turned into high fidelity prototypes which are used for further testing sessions to validate assumptions and observe participants' behaviours and experiences with the product. The research is analysed and designs are further developed to overcome any challenges observed. Engagement with Copywriters and Accessibility teams are also a fundamental part of the entire ideation and iteration process and for complex builds, development of POC's (proof of concepts) may happen alongside this phase to ensure build and systems stability.
/ DELIVER AND DATA
Once designs have been finalised and sign-offs given from all governing parties, the designs are documented and passed onto development teams. Walkthrough demos and test environements are conducted and checked before releasing into live. Data Analytics allows insights into the product performance, drop-out points, dwell times etc. and the learnings taken for further improvement as a Day 2 iteration, if time permits.