Design
In the Design phase, we solve the problems we learned about in the Discover phase.
Design Phase Deliverables
Site Architecture
If your site is a media site, we start by taking an inventory of the content and discussing with you what needs to stay, what can be removed, and what new content needs to be generated.
If you site is more of a task-based site, we take an inventory of the tasks to understand the task order or hierarchy.
We then evaluate the organization and heirarchy of the content or tasks and create a site map that shows the pages on the site and their relationship to each other.
We may recommend conducting a card sort, where participants are asked to group content or a list of tasks in a way that makes sense to them. The findings help us understand how users think about and organize information, and what terminology they use and understand.
Page Design
We create wireframes, which resemble blueprints, to show the page elements and pages the user will interact with. If the interaction is complex, we create workflows to document the user’s actions and the system’s response.
The page design process is an iterative activity. We review drafts of the wireframes with the product team, gather the team's feedback, incorporate the feedback into the wireframes, and present the new version to the team. This process ensures that the design has been thoroughly reviewed and vetted.
Visual Design
The visual design is the look and feel of the website or application. It includes color, font, style, layout, and graphics. It conveys the site’s or application’s personality and can be used to enhanced the overall usability of the site.