Things I learned from my first UI/UX project

After I did my case study I got an opportunity to do my first freelance project, which was an E-commerce website for leather products such as bags, wallets, etc.

Photo by Alphabag on Unsplash

As it was my first project I watched some videos on how to gather the client’s requirements and prepared myself to ask relevant questions to the client to understand their expectations from the website.

Some of the questions that I asked my client to understand their expectations were:

1. Can you please tell me about your brand?
2. What is the goal of creating the website?
3. Does your brand already have a presence in the market?
4. What is the demographic for this brand?
5. How do you see your brand in the form of the website?
6. Is your LOGO final?
7. Are any special offers or programs or features you wish to add?
8. How many categories of products your brand is going to offer?
9. Is there anything specific you wish the brand to reflect?

Though my first meeting went well, I made a few mistakes that I learned from and would like to share with you all.

I asked some close-ended questions.

Just like we do in the user research it is important for us to ask open-ended questions to our client. This will give us more information, and asking close-ended questions will give you few outputs which either would be incomplete or not very useful.

I agreed with them on most of the things without asking why and digging deep.

As a designer, it is my job to correct if something will result in a bad user experience. I realized this later and did the changes after discussing it with them. It was important to do so because clients trust us with their brand that we as designers will create a brand name and a pain-free user experience.

I did not prepare for the presentations.

Whatever design you make, it is important that you present the design to the client and explain your design process. During my presentation, I forgot to add a certain point that were important for me to show the client what extra thought I have put behind making the design or taking certain design decisions, which resulted in some confusion. I did the changes later and explained but all could have been avoided if I would have prepared for the presentation.

I did the meeting but forgot to note down things properly.

Yes, this might sound a little stupid but I did. When I presented my design to the client, it was the first time I had explained it to anyone. At some points, I forgot to note down the changes the team asked me to do, which resulted in either missing those points or I had to ask the client again.

Here are some things I learned from these mistakes:

1. Always prepare yourself before the meeting. Keep the set of questions ready that you wish to ask.
2. Be ready with the presentation, and share your design process and design thinking with the client. Let them know you care about their brand and understand their needs.
3. Take down the notes precisely and work on them.
4. Create a to-do list of the tasks the client had asked to do.
5. Set priorities and complete the tasks accordingly.

I hope you find this blog helpful for your next project.