|
Hi again. Before we start creating wireframes and prototypes for a website in Adobe XD, let's take some time to think about who we're designing for: our users. To design a website we'll follow the design process. As you might remember, the first step in the design process is to empathize with users. If you've been taking the courses of the certificate program in order, this video will be a quick review of what you've already learned so far when it comes to empathy. If this is the first course of the program that you've taken, you might want to go back and revisit our earlier videos about empathizing with users before you proceed. Any concepts you might need to review in more detail are linked in the course reading. Let's get started! We always keep the user front and center when we design. One way that we can build great user experiences is to empathize with our users. Empathy is the ability to understand someone else's feelings or thoughts in a situation. Empathy is at the heart of the work we do as UX designers. As a UX designer, empathizing is your number one superpower. Empathy helps you spot user problems, and solving these problems is the ultimate goal of UX design. One of the ways that we can better empathize with users is by creating an empathy map. An empathy map is an easily understood chart that explains everything designers have learned about a user. Empathy maps are four squares that address what a particular user says, thinks, does, and feels. Let's think about the library website. Imagine we've already conducted a few interviews with potential users, and now it's time to put together an empathy map for one of them, Lorena. Here's what that map might include. In the "says" square we'll use a quote that Lorena gave us during their interview. "I wish the library made it easier for me to access all the newest mystery releases." In the "thinks" square, we'll note that Lorena was smiling and leaning forward as they spoke. It was clear that they are passionate about books and care deeply about accessing them. In the "does" square, we'll list one of the things that Lorena has done to try and check out a book at the library. They dropped by the library in the late afternoon to look for new books to check out after school is finished for the day. In the "feels" square, we'll list a question we asked Lorena during the interview, and the words they attributed with their experience. We asked, "How did you feel when you found out the library didn't have your book?" And Lorena responded that they "felt frustrated and annoyed." So why are empathy maps important? Empathy maps help us get into the user's mindset, which allows us to better identify their pain points. Pain points are any UX issues that frustrate the user and block them from getting what they need. Have you ever struggled to break the vacuum seal on an unopened jar of jam? That's an example of a pain point. The jar's design is blocking you from getting to the tasty jam inside. There are four categories that pain points can fall into: Financial or money-related pain points; product, which are pain points related to quality issues; process, which are pain points related to the user's journey; and support, which are pain points related to getting help from customer service. Identifying the pain points a user is experiencing, will help you find potential problems that your design can solve, and this is great value for users and your brand. In fact, Google's mantra is "Focus on the users and everything else will follow." Now that we know Lorena and their needs, we can identify their pain points. The first pain point is that Lorena can't access the library outside of operating hours. That pain point falls into the product category, because the library is considered the product, and the user, Lorena, is having an issue using the product. The second pain point is that Lorena can only check out books from the library in person. This pain point falls into the process category because Lorena cannot get from point A to point B in the user journey. For example, Lorena found out the library did not have their book after commuting to the library. Understanding your user's needs and, more specifically, their pain points, informs your entire design process and makes your product design invaluable. As you move forward in this course, and in your first job as a UX designer, be sure to always keep users and their needs top of mind. Coming up, we'll continue to empathize with our users by creating personas.
|