In Case You Missed It
ICYMI was a school assignment. More than that, it was my first complete UX project ever.
Like some very wise bears from my youth taught me, sometimes the best way to learn is by learning all the things you should not do. For better or worse, this was one of those projects. And while learning like this can be painful and challenging, it’s an excellent experience, chock full of lessons that will stick with me forever.
Now, if you’re into flaming dumpsters or train wrecks, read on.
My roles throughout this project:
Product strategy
User research & Analysis
Persona creation
MVP definition
Wireframes
UI Design & Prototyping
Usability Testing
The Brief
First come the lessons, then the fun - Research
That was a very good lesson for me - Ideation/Re-framing
Why don’t you let me ride it now? - Prototyping
Task failed successfully - Testing
Coming back around - Branding and UI
Bringing it all together - Final prototype
After adding in the logos and the UI, I focused on what I felt were the most important revisions to the site. This including a new landing page, revised trip detail pages, and a new confirmation page. I used more design patterns to increase the amount of consistency across the site.
In an ideal world, I would’ve tested another round to see if my revisions were successful, but I unfortunately was out of time.
Reflection
This project was difficult, frustrating, and, in short, a real grind. That said, it was a crash course in the truest sense, in which I learned a ton and found the overall effect to be incredibly rewarding. I learned how insidious assumptions can be, and how they can weave throughout your entire process without you even knowing. I learned how important it is to ask as many questions as you can think of in the beginning, in order to find the kinds of insights that can lead to truly innovative solutions. I experienced first-hand how overwhelming research can be without a clear goal and a specific problem to solve.
I learned how to be a designer. Now I just have to get good at it.