Tag: UX

User Experience Article

Chervynskyi, Maksym. “An Evolutionary Approach to Designing.” Medium, UX Collective, 16 Oct. 2019, uxdesign.cc/an-evolutionary-approach-to-designing-cc698194375e.

In the article, A Evolutionary Approach to Designing by Maksym Chervynskyi, it explores an approach on how to create a design for a project. This article provides tips on how to take the main goals and objectives for a design and how to translate them onto paper. The ‘evolutionary designing’ approach is to start with an idea, then continue moving forward with it in steps. If you start with a version 1, copy version 1 and make a minor change to it- you then have version 2, copy version 2 and make a minor change- there you have version 3; and so on. Though each change is small, you should be able to tell the difference. Each variation will stem from version 1, and after comparing each variation you will soon find your finished piece.

Chervynskyi also calls each of these variations, the ‘child’ of the ‘parent design’ which would be version 1. The final generation may be a dramatic difference from the original design, but it could also display some features from it.

This article could allow designers to work towards a goal coming from a set of ideals and keywords which are important to a company and keep their values showing through in a design or layout.

Designing Your Settings Page

Karthikeyan, Vivek. “Designing a Better ‘Settings’ Page for Your App.” Medium, 13 Dec. 2019, https://uxdesign.cc/designing-a-better-settings-page-for-your-app-fcc32fe8c724.

One thing that often gets overlooked when designing an app is the settings page. This article discusses how to design an effective settings page to boost the user experience. The settings page should be well organized with clear and generic categories. However, there should not be too many categories because that will make it hard for the user to find their desired setting. The categories should always be prioritized with the most important at the top (like account settings) and the least important at the bottom (like about settings). Furthermore, destructive settings like “logout” or “delete account” should be at the bottom, so it is less likely it gets accidentally clicked. In addition, the top of the page should include any action items, such as reviewing new privacy terms, subscription offers, or current deals. It is also a good idea to include a search bar at the top, so users can save time by searching for settings rather than guessing and checking all the categories.

Before reading this article, I honestly would not have put too much thought into creating a settings page for my app. I probably would have thrown something together real quick just so I could say I had a settings page, but it would not have been very user-friendly. Now, I have many tips for creating a settings page that can be easily navigated by anyone who uses my app. When I redesign The Villager, I will need to add a settings page, since it currently lacks one. I could add an account feature that allows an individual to create an account and subscribe to their favorite writers or topics. Then, in the settings app, they could allow notifications for specific postings. I would also limit the amount of categories I had in the settings page, while keeping everything easy to locate.

Summary of “3 practical tips…”

Li, Jacky. “3 practical tips for product builders when designing in an era of digital exhaustion.” UXDesign.cc. 7 January 2020. Accessed 17 February 2020. WEb. https://uxdesign.cc/3-practical-tips-for-product-builders-when-designing-in-an-era-of-digital-exhaustion-47131d933baa

 

The article mentions several phenomena that affect how people use digital devices, and that the designers of applications should account for them. The idea of smart phone users only using roughly nine applications a day, and that new ones end up disrupting an established routine is the first thing mentioned. It then mentions how applications either add or lessen functions to their daily lives, or replace them. So, fitness trackers add something, while mobile wallets lessen then, and substituting one streaming service for another is a replacement. The second main point is about how building a product that has an impact should be about the process. It should be something usable, something worthwhile, not something to have an event for. The example given was a company that changed how the electric bill was presented to encourage people to use less energy, which was fairly successful. The third aspect is the use of the “emotional piggy bank” which is a way of describing the emotional relationship built between user and builder over the long term. Any users who feel like the builder has a personal investment in the users’ use of a product will feel more inclined to continue using that product, and have a better experience while doing so. The best pieces of advice from this article, especially in regards to the Greenspring Review redesign, are that it needs to be clear to use and understand, but give the readers something to be invested in, and a site that they will want to continue to visit.