Adam Arp, GUI Designer
What I Do
I build interfaces that are designed to allow the user to not only find the information they want, but to deliver the information in a manner that enhances its meaning. I consider the user in every aspect of the interface from workflow to presentation in order to increase user productivity and satisfaction and decrease user frustration.
My designs are implemented with a focus on writing clean and meaningful code. The separation of presentation, structure, and behavior provides sites the greatest level of flexibility, maintainability, standards compliance, and accessibility.
How I Do It
- Initial research: This stage is about learning as much as possible about the application and the users you will be designing for. If users are available conduct surveys or interviews and build personas based on the results. Create situations in which the users would interact with the application.
- Paper prototyping: Once the goals of the app and its users are clearer it's time to go to the drawing board. Sketching out storyboards and layouts build the foundation of the design and allow for quick design iterations and ease of collaboration.
- Wireframing: Forget about design and focus on the information and the flow of the application. The wireframe should contain all of the major elements of the application and account for most of the user interactions.
- Heuristics: Using heuristics have users unfamiliar with the application perform test runs. Evaluations should be based on accepted usability heuristics. Results of the evaluation should be used to further the refinement of the application.
- Prototype: Taking into account everything that's been learned about the application so far layout, color, typography, and images can be added to the app.
- Development: Working closely with database and logic developers intelligence is added to the design. At this stage further functionality may be implemented through client-side scripting.