Design teams that have to tackle user interface (UI) design challenges need to consciously abide by the parameters inherent in technologies that govern website and mobile device user interfaces. A design problem such as this requires strict adherence to the logic of how digital tech gadgets or equipment are hand operated by their users.
Equipment like computers and laptops; and mobile devices like smartphones, tablets and phablets; and their corresponding apps all need to have user interfaces designed to be quickly comprehensible to people. So much so that prior user study by the design team leader should be capable of guiding the ensuing discussions towards achieving a user story that everyone could adhere to in the ideation. Storyboards are usually created to help everyone design collaboratively along a clear and logical path. It makes the visualization more concrete and ready for group critique.
The blank sheet
Websites and app user interfaces usually have various elements like buttons or icons that users tap on, swipe by or flip through. A rough sketch of this when designing the UI commonly starts with a blank sheet of paper. The initial goal is to take the group generated ideas and try to sketch an actual UI showing how a user would move through any particular part of the user story. By doing so, design thinkers could be able to show where users could click, what info they enter, or what designers think. Nothing becomes definite yet since everything is still up for more discussion and exploration.
This initial step could be tricky since ideas that could begin as amazing ones at this stage could later be overruled by other ideas that make the process easier. It could be infinitely possible to come up with as many ways to make things easier but the logic must not be lost on the user so as to make any UI effective.
Take for instance, a user interface for a mobile app meant to enable it towards VoIP service extension: It would be best to take a step back and refer for a moment to the user story you mapped out inside your head. You might need to sketch away at some details to make it pivotal to your illustrating some details in them.
A storyboard happens like a comic book with multiple frames that illustrate the progression depending on how designers make the progressions happen within the frames. Once you’ve got that down pat, it’s time to further make hay with your ideas as your imagination shines on.
Play by the rules
Since it is always ideal for digital UI to make processes happen within a few clicks, taps, flips, or swipes, it is best to peg the maximum hand operated activity to three steps. On the storyboard, this could be well represented by three frames (on a one-frame-one-action equation). Once you’ve set down the three frames on a blank sheet of paper, keep in mind three important storyboard rules:
- Make ideas stand alone. Like real products, your drawings have to make sense just by themselves. You could gauge how effective drawings are when you find no need to pitch them to anyone. It’s actually tha no-brainer approach getting work again in the groking process. Teammates and other observers would be looking at this in the next few steps anyway and you would not be able to get a chance to explain your way through until the end.
- Keep the work anonymous. Never write your name on any drawings. It would be best for people in the team to go through all ideas by starting on an even playing field. It could get distracting to know which storyboards were drawn by the CEO or team lead. Ideas need to be fair game for everyone all the time at this stage.
- Give titles to your storyboards. Come up with catchy titles for all ideas. It simply makes the process easier when discussion and comparison time comes later. Hang all storyboards on a wall side by side like in an art gallery. Viewing and discussion becomes easier when people don’t have to crowd in too tight to do so.