“When UX doesn’t consider ALL users, shouldn’t it be known as “SOME User Experience” or… SUX?”— Billy Gregory
It’s about time someone spoke it aloud.
The purpose of a UI/UX designer has always been to assist in the creation of interesting user experiences, whether for an app or a website. That is, the app or website should enable users to complete their activities while also increasing your or your client’s conversion rates.
However, this ideal is less frequently adopted or applied. Why so?
Most UI/UX designers, on the other hand, focus largely on aesthetics, rely on shortcuts, and wind up turning out multiple common design variants that fall short of being wonderful for the majority of customers.
So, plainly, there is an issue out there. Misconceptions, unresearched ideas, and communication difficulties with your team or clients are all issues.
So, the real question is, what do you do?
What steps should you take to ensure that your company and its goods are visible in the digital medium?
Do you have a strategy? And if so, do you know what is the best approach to implement it? If not, Confetti Design Studio can help with that.
About Confetti
Rishabh Jain launched Confetti Design Studio five years into the design profession with the notion that “Every idea can be further improved” and we take these words to heart.
Even if your business or brand doesn’t have a lot of ideas, we’re always pleased and thrilled to guide you through the process and provide you with the finest experience in UI/UX design and re-design by offering creative and strategic solutions.
We also provide Branding services for your product in addition to standard design studio services. As designers, we understand how difficult it is to create an amazing product, and those who merely do what they are told make the problems worse.
This is why we constantly say Confetti is the polar opposite of a full-time/freelance/contract-based design firm. We are your Design partners.
Our Vision
There Is An Issue Out There.
Every technological breakthrough alters the way we spend our lives. This, however, does not always work out. Such quick changes in our life provide us with new difficulties to solve and obstacles to conquer. Fortunately, individuals are looking for solutions in any capacity they can; startups, companies, or non-profit organizations.
These solutions are packaged as “products.”
However, answers to these new-age concerns must be carefully considered. Designers can help with this. Designers are problem solvers that assist people in launching new goods or improving old ones, which is a demanding yet enjoyable task!
We live in a society where designers compete for “customers” by offering the lowest option and churning out mass-produced work to save money. Consider fast food for design. This means that clients will receive a cookie-cutter design that has been thought through with little to no critical consideration.
This does not sound like a recipe for creativity or delight.
As a result, users are dissatisfied. Real individuals with unresolved problems, disappointed expectations, and a lack of joy. This has a negative impact on the business because these organizations are left with a clumsy product that does not operate as intended and cannot be scaled, as well as financial losses.
“This is why we want to empower the best ideas through thoughtful design to have a positive impact on the lives of a billion people.”
What We Focus on
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Knowing that UX is not (only) UI
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Understanding the audience
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Testing with real users
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Designing even for the shortest of attention spans
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Making sure our process is set in stone
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Keeping things simple and consistent
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Preventing errors more than fixing them
And its importance…
Knowing that UX is not (only) UI
The User Interface is a component of the User Experience. Many designers make the mistake of confusing UX and UI design as though they are the same thing. This is why we strive to maintain the distinction between the two disciplines.
User Interface is the place where humans and products interact, whereas User Experience is the emotional result of such interactions. And we plan to keep things moving forward with this mentality.
Understanding the audience
A natural initial step in the design process is user research. It should come as no surprise that the audience is one of the most crucial elements to consider when creating a product.
If you want to create a product that your customers will enjoy, you must first understand what they want and need. As a result, user research is an integral element of the UX design process. This is why Confetti believes it is vital to have your users in mind before we begin ideating solutions!
This enables us to deliver value to those who will use your product by focusing on benefits rather than features.
Testing with real users
Real-world testing is a vital aspect of the design process.
Designers frequently presume that the people who will use their interfaces are similar to them. As a result, designers put their own actions and responses onto their customers.
However, believing that you are your user is a misconception. In psychology, this is known as the false-consensus effect, which is the propensity to think that others share our ideas and would behave similarly in a particular circumstance.
Most likely, the people who will use your product will have diverse histories, perspectives, mental models, and ambitions.
Putting it another way, they are not you.
Usability testing is a technique that helps designers avoid false-consensus bias.
If you want to create goods that consumers adore, you must prioritize testing. Testing with real users (rather than teammates, friends, or family) teaches designers how to make products that are appropriate for the people who will use them.
This may take some time, but it is the only way to ensure that you are heading on the correct route.
We approach the design completion process with extensive testing using a variety of approaches that include, but are not limited to:
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Range of Usability Testing
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A/B Testing
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Acceptance Testing
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Focus Groups
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Surveys
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Heatmaps
Designing, even for the shortest of attention spans
Don’t overburden users with information.
The amount of time you can focus on a task without being distracted is referred to as your attention span.
According to a 2015 Microsoft research, the average human attention span has decreased from 12 seconds to 8 seconds.
This suggests that our attention span is currently shorter than that of goldfish. Designers must adapt to this behavior in order to provide consumers with the information they want as rapidly as feasible.
As a result, Confetti simplifies interfaces by deleting extraneous items or material that does not assist user tasks. Functional minimalism is one strategy that allows us to do so.
At the same time, this does not imply that opportunities are restricted. All information is useful and meaningful to us.
Making sure our process isn’t set in stone
Adapt your design method to the product you are creating.
The UX process is a crucial part of UX design. A designer may be operating in the dark without a good UX approach.
A clear and straightforward UX development approach, on the other hand, allows for the creation of great user experiences.
Many designers believe there is a single universal UX approach that can be used on all projects. Unfortunately, one-size-fits-all UX design does not exist.
While individual phases can be defined for each project, a precise UX process should always be chosen based on project objectives – each project is unique and has its own demands.
This means that in order to provide the greatest potential user experience, a designer must be willing to alter their design approach based on project requirements. And it is from here that our method draws a lot of inspiration.
For example, if you are building a new product, you may need to spend extra time conducting user research and clarifying requirements.
However, if you’re redesigning an existing product, you may need to devote additional time to design validation (such as doing usability and A/B testing or dealing with analytics reports).
Keeping things simple and consistent
A superb user interface is distinguished by its simplicity and consistency.
In the context of digital products, simplicity indicates that a product is simple to comprehend and engage with.
It should not be necessary for your users to read instructions or utilize a map to navigate through an app.
It’s your responsibility as an interface designer to make things obvious and take people from where they are to where they need to go.
Interfaces must also be consistent throughout the design process. Many designers purposely use stylistic discrepancies in order to make their designs look more innovative and distinctive.
Different color schemes, for example, might be utilized on different pages of a website. Users are frequently confused and frustrated as a result of such design decisions.
As a result, we constantly maintain design elements familiar, reinforcing the most critical aspects of your design demands at every step of the route.
Preventing errors more than fixing them
Whenever feasible, design goods to minimize potential faults.
Error is human. When individuals interact with user interfaces, errors are common. They occur as a result of user error at times, and as a result of a program failing at other times.
Whatever the reason, these problems have a significant impact on the user experience. Users despise mistakes, and they hate even more the notion that they caused such behavior.
As a result, we strive to either eliminate error-prone scenarios entirely or to detect them and inform users before they commit to an action.
Benefits to You, as a Startup
Consultancy, above and beyond design
One of the primary advantages of hiring a design firm is the possibility of a full-service relationship. Many design firms, like ours, provide the design as part of a range of services from design to branding and marketing.
Clients often approach us for a “one-time” design project and, via our brand strategy sessions, find insights that profoundly affect company direction.
This is not something you get from a service provider that just replies to the brief and costs appropriately.
Engaging a creative partner who can supply vital services throughout the whole organization expands the possibility of shared development.
Graphic Design, of course
Graphic design is one of the design disciplines that a design firm like ours can assist with.
This may include anything from electronic media to logo and asset development, typography, illustration, and, of course, UI and UX design for a small company.
We specialize in this and can assist you in visually bringing your brand to life, developing assets and campaign material that inspires your consumers to connect with your business.
AR, VR, and the verticals of Smart Wear
Brand identity design is not the only kind of design.
Confetti also provides digital web design and development services, assisting in the creation of websites that will bring your brand to life in the online world and position you for future growth.
In any case, involving a partner with more extensive skills who isn’t constrained to a specific area of design will guarantee you have access to broader options and a superior resource on hand if required. In other words, us!
Our Process
Discover
One of the most crucial steps in UX design is completed before the design team begins work. We pay close attention to the requirement to understand a product’s context for existence before we can construct it.
The Idea Validation step lays the groundwork for the finished product. During this phase, UX designers collaborate with stakeholders at the highest level about the product (essentially, the product concept).
After we’ve specified your concept, the design team will begin research. This phase usually involves both user and market research.
As seasoned designers, we think of research as a good investment—excellent research influences design decisions, and engaging in research early in the process may save a lot of time and money later on.
The product research phase is perhaps the most varied amongst projects—it is determined by the product’s complexity, time, available resources, and various other criteria.
The analysis phase’s goal is to glean insights from data gathered during the research phase, going from “what” consumers want/think/need to “why” they want/think/need it. We validate that the most significant assumptions are accurate throughout this step.
Design
When we believe that the desires, needs, and expectations of consumers for a product are apparent, our design team enters the design process.
At this stage, teams engage in a variety of tasks, ranging from information architecture (IA) to UI design. An effective design phase is both highly collaborative (all team members participating in product design must actively participate) and iterative (meaning that it cycles back upon itself to validate ideas).
Typically, the design process includes:
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Sketching. Sketching is the simplest and quickest way for us to visualize our thoughts. You may accomplish this by hand sketching on paper, on a whiteboard, or using a computer tool. It’s especially effective during brainstorming meetings since it allows the team to view a variety of design possibilities before deciding on one.
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Creating Wireframes. During this static process, we focus more on exploring all the different ways we can design a single page. Images, buttons, and text to be included or the pages they should go on are also decided during this stage.
Tip for new designers: Wireframes don’t have to be attractive; they’re more about generating ideas and determining the quickest user flows.
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Visual Designs. A vital way of experience design that concentrates on a site’s or application’s aesthetics is visual design. During this process, we add colors, actual images, consistent spacing, typography fonts, button types, and all the fancy stuff which are handed over to the developers.
User-centered visual design is the preeminent design strategy, particularly in the context of user experience design. Because of this UX methodology, we are able to create a user-centered design.
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Creating Prototypes. The process of prototyping involves producing interactive simulations that function or appear like the finished product and validating them with larger user teams, including end-users, stakeholders, developers, and designers.
Rapid prototyping is the practice of doing all of this quickly. One of the unavoidable UX stages in recent years has been quick prototyping, which has been adopted by design and development teams.
Create, analyze, and improve. That is our three-step prototyping strategy.
We believe in creating a narrative that revolves around the prototype and includes all the features that were created for it. It involves designing a user experience that should assess each function that is utilized.
Deliver
Validation is an important phase in the Deliverance stage of our design process since it allows teams to determine whether their design is functional for their consumers.
The validation process usually begins after the high-fidelity design is complete, because testing with high-fidelity designs offers more meaningful input from end-users). The team verifies the product with stakeholders and end-users through user testing sessions.
The following actions may be included in the UX validation phase:
Self Examination. Once the design team has iterated the product to the point where it is valid, it is time to conduct internal testing. Team members experiment with the product on a regular basis, doing normal activities to identify any serious usability faults.
Sessions for Testing. User testing with people who reflect your target audience is critical. There are several forms to experiment with, such as moderated/unmoderated usability testing, focus groups, beta testing, and A/B testing.
Surveys. Surveys are an excellent method for gathering quantitative and qualitative data from real-world consumers. To elicit user feedback on specific aspects, UX designers might include open-ended questions such as “What portion of the product do you dislike?”
Post Launch Activities. Quantitative data from an analytics tool (clicks, navigation time, search queries, and so on) are quite useful in determining how consumers engage with your product.
Adding feedback to the process, in our opinion, is the best method to keep from having to redesign a product.
Because of this, we provide regular user feedback—in the form of online surveys or the examination of customer support tickets—special attention as it is included in the process of creating new products. Product refinement is fueled by this data.
