01
Outlining the Plan
Recognising who your client is, is arguably just as important as understanding your user. For this reason, stakeholder interviews were conducted at the beginning of the project and used as a means to understand the vision for the application and the true purpose behind the app. Stakeholder engagement is at the core of all the projects I am involved in and ensures trust and a clear vision are found from the start. Within the interviews, high-level plans were created:
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Immerse
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Analyse
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Design
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Test
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Refine
02
Immerse
I claim to be designing for the user, so understanding who the user is, is fundamental. Working closely with a user researcher on the project, secondary research was undertaken to have a greater understanding of the current market and the space that Includ. will occupy. It was clear that the premise of Includ. was niche and sat between an intersection of AI and recognition of bias.
Extensive secondary research was conducted, and based on this, a plan of how to conduct the primary research was made. To gain a broad insight into the general user, a survey was created to go out to prospective users. This was created to provide a high level of bias awareness within content, as well as content tools currently being used by those within the marketing sector. Alongside the survey being sent out, we took a deeper dive into users and conducted individual user interviews. Within these interviews, specific questions were asked to gain an in-depth understanding of the typical prospective user. Each user was chosen intentionally to ensure a variation in results and provide a true representation of the user groups.
03
Analyse
The user interviews and survey results were taken and analysed. To ensure quality insights from the research conducted, an affinity map was created to categorise the information, particularly looking at users pain points, and current routine. This then fed into the creation of user personas. The affinity map and user personas were used as the main basis to choose the main features of the application, and the MoSCoW framework was used to prioritise features for the MVP and what may be incorporated in future releases.
UNDERSTANDING THE VISION
01
Wireframing
Low fidelity wireframes were created to conceptualise the initial MVP. The low fidelity-wireframes outlined possible key features, as well as mapping out the basic information architecture.
The low fidelity wireframes were created after initial research was conducted and presented to users in the individual user research interviews. Users were questioned on the key features included, how they believed certain aspects of the design created value, and where others may have not. Moreover, users were also asked on their take on key features they believe were missing.
02
Design
The research being completed prior to the high-fidelity design was imperative to ensure a user-centred design. The research analysis and chosen features were used to dictate the initial designs. In this version of the design, a large focus was placed on the user experience and user interface.
After the confirmation of features, ensuring a seamless user experience was imperative. Careful consideration was taken when looking at the interactions between screens, and a deep dive was taken into the user flow. My aim as the lead designer was to ensure that key features were easily and quickly seen by the user, whilst providing an interface that was simple and easy to follow.
03
Refinement
Usability testing was completed on the high-fidelity designs. The usability testing was used to gain clarification on both the visual design and interaction design. Users were asked to complete tasks, go through screens and add comments as they went through. A common insight found from users was the intuitiveness of the design. Many commented on the design simpleness and sleekness.
For the final design, recommendations taken from users were used to do minor changes. The final changes were made to bring the final design together and ensure a sense of cohesion throughout the tool. The final design was then handed over to developers, and created into a working MVP.
CREATING THE DESIGN
Includ.
In collaboration with:
The South West Creative Technology Network Data Prototype Programme
The Social Detail
Includ.
/ɪnˈkluːd/
noun: Includ. is a data-driven prototype software to which will highlight potential areas of bias in content. The objective is for Includ. to be able to identify all forms of bias in imagery and literature content using AI and machine learning.
Role // Branding; Visual Design; User Experience; Prototyping; User Testing
Year // 2020-21