From Unit to Whole Design: About Processes
I’ve noticed that I haven’t written my professional experiences. After a short break I thought, why shouldn’t I scribble something more accurately, and I came back.
In this article, I will convey most of the things by giving examples of the design processes of a project while the project’s formation process in Atolye15.
Research Process
When a project comes to Atolye15 team, research process starts at that moment. At the first meeting of the project, we discuss this matter. Each team starts to think about what should they research, what to benefit from or what to use.
This process is highly detailed and intensive for the design team. With a detailed brief from Product Manager, we can start wireframe and design research. So what should we do when investigating? What should we pay attention to? What path do I follow in this process? Let me tell you about that…
First, we understand the project and ask; what is the purpose? who is the target audience? Are there any examples or rivalries? After answering those questions, we actually get a grip on this product.
It may be a work that has been done before or a product with strong competitors. Take a look at the samples, and see how they solved every little detail. Where did they have difficulties, how did they make a flow. Don’t be hesitate to do so. I’m not saying you should lose your originality or do as I say but there is nothing wrong with discovering America again.
The process of user flow and wireframe design
When we are creating the flow, of course, we use team flow tools but we always keep the sticky notes somewhere. I think working with tangible things make us feel better.
It’s your choice to make a detailed wireframe or less detailed wireframe.
When creating the wireframes we follow the path according to work. What I mean is if it needs real-like context and detail, our preference is mostly that way. But with projects that can be made with less detail and dummy datas, we choose the other way to gain time and work.
UI design research process (Moodboarding)
Moodboarding is not a well-known term among small design teams. But for me, it is a process that directly contributes to the UI process, which is definitely a contribution to the creation of a design.
What is mood boarding?: Moodboarding shows what our styles are based on, where do we find the connections and where do styles inspire from in designing stage. Actually, it’s a stage we make without knowing.
UI Design
At this stage, we are actually creating the character and the language of the project that we created the skeleton of in the User flow and Wireframe stage. One thing we observe when we look at large products is that they have design languages.
From color scales to typography, from interface elements to layout uses, from illustration styles to photographic styles, we can feel this characteristic structure. Undoubtedly, it is the language that makes a design strong.
I begin with the decisions I will make as a result of my research before I create this language, I try to reach the most accurate by trying to answer some questions within myself. But, what kind of questions am I looking for answers?
What is the main idea, customer profile, and content of the project/product?
What colors should I use in the color scale?
Which fonts should I use? Is it necessary to add multiple fonts or can I complete the design with a single font?
Is it going to be mainly with illustrations or mainly with photographs?
How should illustrations and icon styles be?
And I start to design after answering more like these questions.
In the next article; I will convey ”UI Design, Component to Whole“
I will explain in detail how I create the discipline, mathematics, and language of design.
