The evolution of visual designers

This article from the NetEase cloud community

Visual designers face the plight of decorators, how to improve the whole link cognition and systematic thinking become the differentiator and the driver? This paper tries to introduce the design sprint in the function revision of "Picture online detection" of NetEase Yi Shield. The design sprint lets the designer have the global view and the holistic thought way, in grasps the user demand and the business goal premise, the more Earth to exert the visual design value.

The current situation of visual designers

Visual designers often face this scenario: when designing, they are confronted with opinions from various parties, such as products, operations, and development, and sometimes the need for leadership is everything.

John Heskett, a professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, believes that designers have three layers of value:

• Decorator, mainly beautify the product page, reflect the lower basic value

• Differentiate, according to different products to create different modulation, to give product differentiation

• Drivers, thinking highly of the product at a strategic level, leading the entire company, this is a very strong sense of value stage

The typical example is Apple, a designer-driven, design-oriented company with innovative design capabilities that are the core competencies of the product. This is the dream stage for every designer. To be an outstanding differentiator and even a driver means the need to have a wide range of visibility and comprehensive capabilities, both user needs and business needs, as well as the ability to think interactively, and the aesthetic ability of visual design.

Most of the domestic internet companies, because the division of work is clear, the boundaries clearly, in the traditional design and development process, visual designers are usually downstream of the pipeline waiting for the state, that is, after the interactive design of the visual restoration work, only limited to the interface visual aesthetics to play to the extreme, the sense of existence and sense of accomplishment are very low. Many visual designers may be in the first layer of decorators, a small part of the second-level division, to become an outstanding differentiator and even the driver pointed out the future of visual designers, one of the main evolutionary direction of development. So how to improve the visual designer full-link comprehensive ability? Our practice shows that Google's design sprint is a good attempt to create a very good opportunity for visual designers to participate in the whole process, not only a deeper understanding of user needs and business objectives, but also more effective to enhance the value of visual design.

Introduction to design Sprints

Design Sprint is Google's 5-day innovative design process approach, set thinking, design, analysis, product prototype output as a whole.

It is divided into 6 steps:

1. Understanding: Understanding user needs, business needs, understanding technical feasibility

2. Definition: Defining critical and focused issues, defining requirements

3. Divergence: Explore as many ideas as possible around the defined requirements

4. Decision making: Choosing the best solution for the present

5. Prototyping: Making a low-fidelity prototype for user testing

6. Validation: Program validation testing with users, business stakeholders, technical experts, and finally iterative optimization

The practice of designing sprints

NetEase Yi Dun is a one-stop business security Service platform for NetEase Cloud, in which content security services mainly provide customers with text, pictures, video and other spam filtering services and open the corresponding online experience services. We combine the NetEase Easy Shield advertisement online experience function revision, give everybody to introduce the design sprint concrete practice process as well as the visual designer's deep participation.

"NetEase Easy shield picture online experience function needs optimization" is the main goal of this revision, the business challenge is to improve the user experience to ensure user retention rate. Considering the design approach of this fast trial-and-error iteration of design sprints, it is very suitable for short-term, small-scale insight into user needs and test their accuracy and find specific needs to be perfected. This is the traditional design process is difficult to solve, or is a relatively high cost and risk of the task.

1. Understanding

First we get the product demand, "NetEase easy shield Picture online experience function is not good, need to optimize". The first step to get the demand we need to do is analyze the problem, from the user, to dig and understand the real needs of users.

In this project, visual designers also actively participate in user research. We face in-depth interviews, observing the user in the process of use, the specific aspects of the experience encountered in the problem. By observing the behavior and the scene to excavate the hidden real demand.

After the deep interview we restore the user all the operation process, draw the user journey diagram, namely the user Behavior path diagram. We found that the user at almost every stage of the operation of the problem, we have to correspond to each stage of the behavior path, such as not find the experience portal, page jumps frequently, no clear criteria for judging, uploading process is very troublesome, the results are inaccurate and so on.

Users use NetEase Easy shield Image online experience function process

Users to use NetEase Easy shield image online experience functional behavior path map and the corresponding problem points in each stage

2. Definition

After understanding the user's real needs, we need to define the requirements, limit the problem to a certain extent to discuss and solve, so that the goal can be clear, then all the work around the definition of the need to expand. Therefore, defining the problem (requirement) is more important than solving the problem.

So how do we define demand? We use DVF (desirability, viability, feasibility) models to define requirements, starting with user requirements, taking into account technical feasibility and business sustainability.

DVF model

Finally, our definition of the image online detection function requires the following:

• Usage Scenario: Image online Detection

• Target customers: Enterprise users with anti-spam requirements

• Problems encountered: complex operation, inaccurate judgment results

• Core requirements: Simple and convenient online experience service, accurate and correct judgment

• Business Objective: Increase user retention rate

Before the visual designers get the interactive framework to begin to beautify the interface, from the outset immersed in the details and rarely to think about why this solution, and it is from the beginning of the project and with the students to understand and define the real needs of users, all-round, multi-angle familiar with business objectives and technology to achieve the ability of the process, Visual designers are trying to develop their own rational thinking, to think about the true origins of the problem, to give their design a broader vision and a clearer understanding, and then integrate the experience into business planning, to participate in determining the direction of this revision optimization, Transform yourself from the passive role of demand to the active player in experiential planning.

3. Divergence

Once you've identified your needs, you'll be able to diffuse your thinking and explore all possible solutions.

We combine Bono's level of thinking approach (that is, everyone is free to divergent thinking based on core issues, to explore endless possibilities, often with "how we ...") and concept fan thinking method to divergent thinking, concept fan mainly has the goal, direction, concept and ideas of the program four parts.

Now there is a goal: to attach a sticker to the ceiling. We might think of a ladder. Think about it: "Ladder" is just a tool to "raise us from the ground." If we take the concept of "raising us from the ground", the concept diverges from "Standing on the table" and "looking for someone to lift me up."

"Raise us from the ground" just "shorten the distance between the sticker and the ceiling", if he were to be regarded as a generalized concept, then the other concepts satisfying him were "turning my arm into" "Moving the Object", and the idea was to "stretch my arm with a stick", "use a telescopic lever", "stick to a hydrogen ball" and "manipulate drones". such as

Horizontal thinking does not rigidly adhere to the form and path, you can start from any node, as long as you can eventually create such a concept fan.

The concept fan is applied to the actual case:

The difference from traditional brainstorming is that design sprints encourage team members to think independently of each other within a limited time, and then collectively aggregate everyone's thoughts. With a deep understanding of user needs and business objectives, visual designers in this link with other students, began to learn to always focus on the core issues to create a better experience to be organized, targeted to open the brain hole, but also let their own visual creativity has a greater play space, and finally we use sticky notes to output the results of brainstorming, The horizontal axis is feasible and the longitudinal axes are user value, satisfaction, and aggregation to classify all ideas. The process of not criticizing others ' ideas is right or wrong, you can have an extension or supplement on the basis of his ideas, the bigger the brain hole the better, but around the definition of the needs and core issues.

We focus on the more problematic detection process and the results of the test 2 stages, to provide a variety of ways to upload pictures, to provide online library, detection process can be perceived, the results of advertising elements, specific reasons for analysis and other solutions.

Then everyone quickly sketches the plan based on their own ideas, and then chooses their most satisfying plan from the sketches that everyone draws.

Solution Solutions

4. Decision-making

Decision-making process, we advocate a separate vote and then collectively decide on the best concept.

Solution 1-tab Switching

Solution 2-Online Sample Library

Solution 3-Inspection process and results display

The above is a small part of our sketch scheme, our new scheme has the following features: Advertising sample image display, advertising image decision rules, the detection process is authentic, accurate detection results, the results have a specific analysis, support a variety of local upload mode, provide online sample image library.

5. Prototypes

At this stage we need to turn abstract ideas into concrete, low-fidelity prototypes that can be actually manipulated by the user. For visual designers, it is an advantage to draw low-fidelity prototype images. In this process, visual designers and interaction designers will work together to create prototypes. Collaboration with the interaction designer also helps visual designers understand the contextual logic and the causes and consequences of the whole design when the user needs are realized, avoiding the visual design without supporting reason and self-expression.

1, fixed navigation, reduce switching 2, increase the judgment rule and sample example 3, Support batch, single, paste URL, direct drag and many other upload methods 4, add pictures online Sample Library

5, online Picture library can add 10 random pictures at once, for testing trial, can also be randomly replaced

6, detection progress can be perceived, let users know the picture on-line detection of the current state

7, the detection results circled the offending elements (text, QR code, telephone, etc.), the type of the picture, the percentage of violation degree show

6. Verification

The design sprint contains 2 aspects of testing, the first is to verify that the conceptual direction is correct, and the second is usability testing. Since what we do here is optimized for functionality, we just do usability testing. We recruited a typical 5-7-user representative for testing. In the usability test of situational interview, we carefully observe the various expressions and actions in the process of user's use, encourage the user to think aloud. At the same time make scoring version, statistical completion rate, error rate. Finally, we summarize all the problems and propose an optimized iterative scheme.

The test results show that the scheme we selected is effective, the 5-bit target users have completed our testing, the whole operation process has not encountered setbacks, experience flow, and most of the feedback is satisfactory.

Before the revision of the page jump, upload a single, the entrance is not obvious, the test results are inaccurate and so on

After the revision experience entrance fixed left, sample picture display, judging standard display, results tagged advertising elements, display type and violation degree

Reflections on the Design sprint

1, the essence of design sprint

In fact, in our view, the essence of design Sprint is design thinking, is about the design of meta-thinking.

We summarize the design sprint into 2 stages, the interpretation of the problem and the solution of the problem. The first stage from user research to problem and Opportunity point definition, clear direction, is to do the right thing, belong to the strategic level of things, the second stage clear direction, start the creative divergence and iterative testing, until re-gather in the technically reasonable business feasible solution, is to do things right, this is the implementation level. This is a global perception.

2, the value of design sprint

Through practice, visual designers participate in the entire research and design process, the target user needs, business objectives and interactive logic have a more thorough and in-depth understanding, so that the visual design return to the "person" itself, become well-informed, rather than simply the presentation of visual skills, so that visual design can play a greater value, Gain more complete visibility and more systematic design thinking to unleash greater value in collaborative work with research, interaction and the entire team, enhancing the sense of accomplishment of visual designers in the team. At the same time, the design of the sprint to emphasize the collaborative work to break the gap in the division of labor, we learn to understand each other, more reasonable to play their respective strengths, objectively can greatly enhance the team's innovative efficiency.

Proficient in their own fields with comprehensive capabilities, then you are more irreplaceable in the team, for the enterprise will also pay more attention to such a full range of talent.

Designing sprints is only one way to work, and if you can consciously cultivate holistic design thinking, you will have a greater sense of value and fulfillment.

Reference documents:

1, "Let your brain hole open Innovative Thinking Method (1)" 2017-04-03 Green Creek

2, "Design sprint" 2016-08 [beauty] Jack Napp/[beauty] John Zeracki/[beauty] Braden Covey

Original: The evolution of visual designers

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This article from the NetEase cloud community, by the author Huang Xiajun authorized release.