Interaction Design
Focuses on how to create efficient and effective interaction between users and interfaces.
These interactions could happen within screens, between screens or even beyond the screen.
You may sketch out screen-based interactions or even interactions beyond the screen. Later you can iterate those screens and interactions, based on a real-time input from a team of stakeholders.
You may also sketch out screens and create static mock-ups by using like power point, visio, omnigraph.
You may create interactive wireframes or clickable prototypes that lets stakeholders or clients click through and experience a basic level of interactivity. Software like balsamiq or Axure.
Or you may do some of this using some web coding with html and css.
Whether static mockups or interactive wireframes, when designing you will be focus on:
- Where text will go?
- What buttons and functionality will be present?
- How will de meus be placed?
- How headers and footers will be structured?
We Will essentially simulate real functionality before developer spends the time.
Remember to annotate your visual representations and present supplemental documentation.
Visual Design
Creating meaning in elements and interactivity on a screen through the use of typography, colors, images, and space. Goal is to create polish and attractive design.
Often starts with the output from an Interaction Designer. These are separated but overlapping roles.
- Design controls
- Help with guidelines
- Update old style guides to better promote design consistency
- Establish guidelines
Information Architecture
Focuses around the organization of the information.
It refers to how information is organized behind the scenes and then presented to user.
You may be the person talking to stakeholders.
Groundwork for product design
- Who are the users?
- What do they know?
- How do you structure information?
- You may also be involved in some preliminary user research activities, validating whether stakeholder’s information about site structure is accurate.
Activities you may do:
- a card sorting. (Tool: OptimalSort) to find how users of groups naturally sort those terms or topics together.
- Usability testing of an existing website before a redesign. Ask user to get from Point A to point B in order to provide. To validate effectiveness of this site structure.
- A tree study (Tool: Treejack)
Goal is Creating a meaningful site structure. Menus, submenus or hyperlinks in the body of a page.
Creating a controlled vocabulary
Creating a taxonomy. This is developing a system of classification which allows for the tagging of information as it is added over time.
Information Design
Making sure that content can be consumed as intended.
You will need to make sure content is user friendly and written in plain language while also meets business goals and perhaps legal constraints that may be required in a given industry.
As Technical writer, Making sure that important technical information is understood by the intended audience group.
Service Design
It goes beyond the screen assuring the quality of a customer's entire interaction with a company.
While Interaction Designer and Visual Designer both deal with screen-based designs, a Service Designer approach is a bit broader.
Service designer looks to design the entirety of the interaction that a customer has with a company. Interactions electronically or screen based, through the telephone or personal with brand and staff.
Similar to IXD but simply with a wider scope.
Sketches, storyboards or even through dimensional mockups.
