Category: Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

Getting Real with High-Fidelity Prototypes

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

There comes a time in every project when an idea transitions from conceptual to actual. In website and app design that time generally comes during the prototyping process. Prototyping can be done in a range of fidelities, or levels of detail, from low to high. Low-fidelity prototypes can be a great tool for quickly iterating design ideas and starting usability testing early in your design process, but the type of experience they offer is quite removed from a product’s endgame. High-fidelity prototyping is when things start to feel and look real.

Usability Testing Isn’t Optional

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

Good, usable design comes from an iterative process in which you create and revise designs in repetitive cycles, coming closer to the desired result with each cycle. One of the best ways to learn how a design needs to be revised is usability testing. Many development process eliminate this important step or leave until the final product is built for a number of reasons. Learn how I used the Prototyping on Paper app and Zoom to push forward with usability testing of paper prototypes for an app I'm designing despite the social distancing restrictions of COVID-19.

Going Low Tech with Paper Prototypes

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

Sometimes when designing technology, you have to forgo technology and get back to basics with good ole pen and paper. With so much tech around us every day it’s pretty easy to just jump straight to software to start designing when the most helpful tools are actually the ones already sitting in our desk drawers. If you’re designing a website, app, or other tech product one of the best tool to use to start deciding what it will look like and how users will interact with is a paper prototype.

Improving UX with User Flows

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

Flowcharts are a common tool used for a variety of purposes in a variety of industries, including engineering, business, and education. UX designers create a type of flowchart called a user flow to depict and communicate the process of user movement. User flows utilize the same symbols as flowcharts in order to represent every route users can take to achieve a specific goal on a site or app. See how I've developed user flows for a proposed Resident app for the city of Milford, Connecticut and how these charts can improve user experience design.

Designing App Information Architecture

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

Information architecture (IA) design involves creating an organized structure in a website, app, or product that helps users navigate and understand where to find what they need easily and quickly. Hear about my experience creating a proposed site map for a resident companion app for my hometown and find out how and if designing IA for apps differs from websites.

Information Architecture: Designing the Framework of a Website

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

What else is a website or an app, but a container for copious amounts of information like a library? Left unorganized or badly organized, a website experience for a user can quickly become consumed with simply trying to find what they want instead of accomplishing their intended goal for visiting. Information architecture (IA) design is about creating a structure on a website, app, or other product that helps a user understand where they are in it and where they can find the information they are seeking.

Designing an App for Good with Ideation Techniques

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

What if there was an app for centralizing and connecting those in our communities with resources and will to help with those in need? So many of us are ready and willing to help our neighbors and local communities, but we just don’t know who needs help and where to look all the time. Our efforts often siloed by our social circles. I decided to do some ideation on this problem of how to crowdsource a community to see if I could spark the beginning of an app solution.

Thinking Through Chaos with Mind Mapping

Posted on by Kim Shepherd in Ideation, Prototyping, Testing

There are an endless number of ideation techniques you can try. You should pick one, though, that works best for the kind of ideas you need and the experience and abilities of those who will be participating in your ideation session. My current abilities, being the frazzled mess that they are because of the current pandemic and social distancing, called for a technique that could help me get my perspective and spinning thoughts in order: mind mapping.