Planning, organization and structure are key to a good user experience. Patterns and how users interact informs how successful a interface will be. The usefulness of an interface is important to design well in order to make tasks easy and communication clear.
A few ways to create a good plan are:
Site and information mapping are great tool for organizing and categorizing information and can help you figure out the best path a user should take and inform the user journey.
Mapping a users journey helps with defining key use cases and tasks the user must complete. This will help to highlight areas that can be improved or where a user might struggle.
Creating a wireframe is a great way to visualize the experience a user might have. It is a design in its simplest form and helps with iterating through layout ideas quickly while enabling the ability to test those layouts effectiveness.
Creating a prototype can help you to experience functionality the way a user might experience it. By making a wireframe come to life, you can easily see issues you may have overlooked previously saving you time and money.
The sizes and shapes of text, links, buttons and containers are just some of the elements a user will see as they visually navigate the solution. Identifying the importance of each element can cause distraction, misdirection of help the user more easily navigate the solution.
Each element you interact with has a micro experience that can serve as either a hinderance or a hidden success for the user. Thinking about things like speed, display and animation are just a few ways an interaction can be adjusted.
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