User Experience, User Research and Information Architecture
These projects include the many facets of user research - from card-sorting, to one-on-one evaluations, to heuristic evaluations and full audience testing.
In developing succesful digital interface designs, techniques such as 'way-finding' are essential in producing a valid, useful, rewarding and above all usable user experience. The concept of ‘wayfinding’ is about navigating complex and sometimes unfamiliar space. Just because an interface has ample navigational links doesn’t mean that people will see them, understand them, or ultimately use them. Meaningful labelling and nomenclature is therefore all important.
Wayfinding is not just signage - you’ve got to make users want to go to a particular place. Ultimately the role of ‘wayfinding’ in digital design is about improving the browsing experience and thus provide the desired reward at the end of the user journey; whether that be information, a successful e-commerce transaction or watching an interactive feature online.
Output from these projects can be full blown information architecture, site-maps, wireframes and user flows through to digital prototyping, layout design testing and full user feedback workshops. It can also be much smaller-scale and streamlined, involving more rapid or even paper-prototyping and minimal documentation before proceeding into full-blown design.
An example of the more complex information design poject would be the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development, whilst a good example of user research validating branding, design and overall layout would be the Whatstax? project.
Related Projects
