Pink sky thinking… perception, reality and the path to better design
Dorota Burdach is Wallscope’s UI/UX designer. I chatted to her about the design process, the challenges she faces and the steps we can all take to build fantastic products that meet the users’ needs.
Hi Dorota! Could you tell us a little bit about your role at Wallscope?
I design UI/UX and build the front end of Wallscope’s products.My day-to-day work involves focusing on the end users of the product which includes researching, setting up and leading usability testing, designing and building interfaces based on the user journeys and finally testing. I also prepare explanatory materials and take part in product planning and strategy.
What are your first steps when meeting a client about a new project?
To present a prototype to a client, I must first understand the interactions between the user and technological solutions Wallscope offers. Thanks to this I can better understand how the client can approach the topic.Can you tell me about some of the challenges you have faced during the design process?
During my work, I have noticed some communication challenges. These usually concern technologically complex solutions, which were not always easy for the client and their team to understand.Despite many meetings, documentation, listing requirements and creating detailed agreements, some issues are still difficult to explain and remember. This is made even more difficult when a senior manager or other team member becomes involved later in the product development cycle.
For this reason, the potential of the product can be underestimated or expectations do not meet the reality, in terms of making it useful in a given scenario. In the early stage of the project it is very important to spot potential technical or design obstacles and to make clients aware of that.
Communication is not helped by the fact that there is often a very diverse range of knowledge and ideas about the technology — and this is a problem that we face across many industries and sectors.
What are the first steps you take to try to solve this problem?
I began to wonder how this gap could be bridged. How even the most difficult issue could be presented in a simplified way, without omitting important elements. Of course, the message should be tailored to the audience and deepened if appropriate. However, the basic knowledge should be communicated in a way that is easy and quick for everyone to understand.I like to think of it as an ocean with icebergs, where each iceberg represents steps of the process. This diagram uses the analogy of eating to explain the different levels of detail that may be appropriate:
Clients should be provided with at least enough information to understand the “surface” part of each iceberg; further explanation can be introduced over the time if possible. Even if the subject is extremely complicated, it must be brought to the point where it is understandable to clients and wider audience — investors, partners, decisionmakers. As you can see in the picture, the deeper we go in explanation the smaller the iceberg appears to be — this represents the number of people who can get familiar with this level of explanation.
Often, the idea of the product was presented to only part of the client’s team, and they had to pass on the information to different teams or decision makers. If the message was too complicated or time-consuming to explain, it did not facilitate communication. The better the communication on both sides, the better the final result — a product that meets customer expectations and needs.
Why do you think visual communication is so powerful?
In kindergarten children have coat hangers with colourful pictures of animals. None of the children have a problem remembering their hanger. We see and recognise shapes and colours before we learn to read and count, which is why this type of communication, although it may seem trivial in business, is often the most accurate, simple and memorable. It is a fact that images help in focusing on and memorising the subject.
This strategy has been used for example in PWIM (Picture Word Inductive Model), which has been proven to increase students’ capability to learn new words much more quickly.
How do you think we can best structure the design process to make sure that everyone is on the same page?
Imagine a cloud for a moment, what do you see?
I see a pink cloud in the blue sky — do you have the same idea? Great! No? Why pink? And here we go…
When we talk about different solutions, how can we be sure that we think in the exact same way? Sometimes the client is not sure about some concepts but does not communicate this to us, for whatever reason.
If we present a concept, it often makes a lot of sense and is enthusiastically received, but its individual components must be carefully analysed by both parties. This is very important in technological solutions where there may be barriers to implementation.
To reduce these nuances in communication, the process should be systematised, reduced to the key issues and milestones, simplified and above all presented in the most attractive form to ensure it’s easily remembered.
In the first stages of planning never simplify, as there will be time for that later. Add as many elements as you can think of, and ask your technical team to participate in building a process diagram. Remember this outline will be useful not only for your clients but also team members and yourself, as over time things are easily forgotten.
Once the process diagram is drawn you can pick and choose information that is useful for different groups or individuals including your client.
Process diagram design
Here are some practical examples of process diagrams that we use to illustrate our technology and process to Wallscope’s clients — one detailed and one simplified.
And finally, could you summarise what you feel are the main benefits of this working process?
I would say there are five main advantages I’ve seen in my day-to-day work:
1) Saves everyone time as it’s easier to explain
2) Makes your message more memorable and interesting
3) Improves communication with people from different backgrounds
4) Makes it easier for others to convey a consistent message within their organisation
5) Helps you to understand the project and its objectives over a long period of time
Read more articles from the Wallscope team or visit our website to find out more.
