Trust the Process – Client Meetings and Initial Research

Is website design the most important element in tailoring user experience? Not quite, as I’ve learned. The UX design process starts off with getting familiar with your clients and their needs. Our first week at BioMedware, my internship partner and I met with the company president and employees to discuss requirements and the feel of their brand. With a small but high-powered staff of five, it didn’t take long to learn their highest priority: simplicity. They wanted a design similar to their original website, meaning that we had a precedent to base our fonts and colors off of.

So what comes next? Initial market research. Knowing what other companies are doing and their reasons for this is a great way to be aware of design opportunities and pitfalls. My team was lucky in this regard – BioMedware had sample pages of competitor ecommerce sites, so we had our research ready, as well as our company’s take on what they liked and disliked. Having simplicity as the highest priority meant never having two words or web pages when one would do – something I was reminded over and over again. 

Now, an easy trap to fall into (as I did many times) as a new UX designer is NOT keeping things simple. We’ve talked to our clients, done some market research, and have a million cool new features to incorporate into our design. Are they the most practical choice? Rarely. And can the developer we’re working with create them before the deadline? Probably not. So, while an interactive nav bar with 20 pages seemed cool, I had to step back and actually consider the user experience. Things like product and information accessibility, ease of navigation, and especially load time, can make or break a potential customer. By focusing on these, I was able to cut down my initial designs flows in half, and ended up with a much simpler and accessible design.

Join me next week to learn more about the wireframing process, and more to avoid as a newcomer to UX!