Talking about design communication

For new recruits, they often confuse designers with other positions such as product managers, and what are the differences in job content. After several observations, I summed up the differences between the two, simply summed up as: skills and positioning.

"Skill" refers to the ability of the designer to master the other characters in the project--drawing. This is too simple to generalize , and in fact , designers have a wider range of expertise than what paint contains . But "paint" is really easy for everyone to understand the saying (to the family elders explain what I do, if they do not understand I will say that it is drawing, they will seem to suddenly, oh a sound, finally heard a they want to understand the answer). With the Man-machine interface from the command line to the graphics visualization, and then evolution to where can touch the era of touch screen, users of "beauty" and "interaction" requirements are more and more high, the designer's ability and value more attention.

The designer's "positioning" is developed with the user experience being valued. Internet products have a very important feature that is free. Chat is free, search is free, the game is free, anti-virus is free. Free of course is good for users, but free also means that the cost of user migration is very low, especially when the product homogeneity is serious. A free game, if suddenly announced charges, there are similar games on the market, the result is likely to be a large-scale user churn. Unlike traditional industries, in a free business model, user stickiness and loyalty are critical to the product, and user experience is an important factor in stickiness. So with the rapid development of the Internet industry, user experience designers, with the user experience Wei attitude stood out.

This does not mean that other characters are not responsible for the user experience. In a good team, from the project manager to the development test, each member will be responsible for the final experience effort. But other characters outside the designer face the dilemma of deciding their head. For example, product managers in addition to the user experience, but also to take into account the business value and boss needs, development to consider the implementation of cost and technology constraints, operations to be responsible for revenue and conversion rates. The designer's positioning is more pure, its own position does not exist contradictions and conflicts: stand in the user's position, adhere to the value of user experience, always remind team users what they want, and responsible for the implementation of design details.

This leads to the point, a project team of designers and other roles of conflict, in essence, this layer positioning differences brought. (Development: Here clearly functions are realized well, designers you always have to change to go, what exactly want to do what!) Based on this kind of positioning conflict, designers can not simply position themselves in the implementation level, but also through proactive communication, to promote the landing and implementation of user experience. This has made the high request to the Internet designer's communication.

In practical work, we also spend a lot of time every day on various conferences and discussions. The efficiency and effectiveness of communication directly affect the quality of the final output. But when we look at the results of the final work, communication as a process is not so intuitive, it is difficult to evaluate and measure. I tried to enumerate some of the mistakes that were easy to make in design communication, and summed up 7 of experiences, hoping to help students who were thinking about them. The following are mainly examples of conflict between product managers and designers.

1. Avoid wavelength

Both sides are talking about their own truth, but don't listen to what the other person is saying, or because the communication between the two sides can not say the true ideas, resulting in communication stay on the surface can not be in-depth. In both cases, communication efficiency is low, and it is difficult to reach a consensus outcome.

For instance, I once saw that the product manager was arguing with the designer, one of the things that was going on, the one in the design code, all trying to tell each other, from their own professional point of view, how this thing should be done. The discussion could hardly go on, for no one would budge. This communication efficiency is very low, the two sides did not stand at the same level to talk about the problem, designers do not know how to operate, product managers do not understand the design.

This situation is more common in new people, because the new people just enter the job, only understand their own professional and work content, but also do not understand other team members of the goals and positions, it is easy to appear wavelength. When you find yourself and the other person is not talking about a level of things, in time to find experienced colleagues to help communicate will be effective way.

Another situation is also common, is that one of the communication is not willing or do not know how to express their true ideas. such as a product manager must be a designer to change a thing, the designer how to explain also useless, please come to have experienced colleagues to see, also feel that there is no need to change. Communication to the last found, the original is the product of the boss said to be so changed, product manager in front of the boss promised to change, so came to the designer here Ruanmoyingpao. Product Manager If you can tell the designer from the beginning, this demand is from So-and-so, I insist because I promised so-and-so said certain can be changed, the whole communication will not need to spend so long, because as long as this so-and-so also involved in a discussion can be done.

Designers need to master more cross professional knowledge, understand the positions of different positions, learn to talk about their own real ideas, to explore the other side of the true meaning behind the statement. More efficient communication can be made only when the design is at the same level.

2. Don't get bogged down in detail prematurely.

Excellent products must be the details of the product, excellent product designers must also be sensitive to the details and picky people. But the details also mean more effort is needed. To make the investment cost-effective, we must grasp the details of the point of time. Make products and draw the truth is very much like, first draft, then Hook line, and then color, is a thick into the fine process. The draft is not finished, if the first part of the color, and then to modify the overall composition is very difficult, or have to change a redraw.

The truth is simple, but in practice, even experienced designers sometimes unconsciously fall into details. For example, there is a meeting, the meeting needs to determine the positioning of the product. When I came across a legacy design problem, I began to argue fiercely until the meeting was over. Is this design problem important? should be said to be important, but should it be discussed at a meeting to identify product positioning, should they be involved in discussions?

3. Seriously, you lose.

The information that each member of the team holds is asymmetric, and the design solution is often the judgment that is made after synthesizing the information. So whoever comes up with the proposal, as the discussion progresses, can prove to be wrong or have a better solution.

Everyone in the discussion has his or her own opinion of the pros and cons. Met some people, will be very excited to defend their views, and others loud what is right. He will fall into his own thinking, can not jump out, and even sometimes he feels wrong, but also for face and insist. This kind of person often especially likes insisting, and they decide the plan is a really tired matter ...

Everyone will defend their ideas, but we don't have to defend them as we defend our dignity. Experienced designers control their emotions, express their position calmly and positively, and when they find out they are wrong, they are able to move in the right direction without losing face. A better designer also knows how to control other people's emotions and get the discussion over in a relaxed atmosphere. Whenever someone is very excited to express, I will laugh and say to him, you seriously.

4. Empathy

Do the Internet students know to stand in the user's perspective to see the problem, it is best to be a second to small white, this is the so-called empathy. But empathy is a typical easier, do not say a second to become small white, an hour can become small white is good. In the design of communication, whether to communicate with empathy, but also directly affect the quality of communication.

There is such an example, a thought for a night of design solutions, the next day very happy to come to say with B, B said this can not, I have already thought. Then two people were very strong and noisy. On the surface it looks like two people are arguing about the plan, which is actually a battle of dignity. A a night of thinking, a few seconds by B overturned, B negative is not a scheme, but a IQ. A also do not understand why their anger is very big, is to be with ya die knock.

In this example, B can try to think of the reverse, if a in a moment to deny themselves, how they will react, you can understand the crux of the problem. This example gives us the revelation that you should never deny the other person the first time, so let me think about it. Even if the first time on the right and wrong has a judgment, but also to first drag, give yourself some time to think carefully about the rationality of the scheme, and then give a reply.

Being able to think about what other people think can really help our day-to-day communication. But with a second to become small white, this requires a lot of experience to accumulate to reach the realm of ease. But I still have a suggestion to help communicate better. It is when your emotions fluctuate, you can intuitively express your feelings to each other, rather than defensive attack. For example, when someone says your design is ugly, you can say, "Aesthetics is subjective, everyone has their own criteria, but the design you feel ugly or let me very frustrated," and do not say "this where ugly, so high design can not understand you a turtle, you are painting a show me." The expression of the former communicates to each other intuitively, making it easier for the other to "empathize" with you, which only makes communication worse.

5. Identity "form follows function"

Some "pursuing" designers are often prone to mistakes in forms larger than functional.

As designers, we have to understand that although the interface performance is very important, but the form is to follow the function of the existence, not in order to pursue the manifestation of the requirements of functional compromise. Easy and easy to use, are based on a useful basis. When the function and interface performance conflict, the interface performance should be compromised to the function. For example, to design a business application, if in order to reflect the designer's sense of achievement, must make the interface is full of fun, that violates the user use of the scene, in turn in the game, the interface can not be designed boring. Designers should be able to control the impulses of self-expression, carefully understand product positioning and user scenarios, and then make a good design.

The form follows the function, in other words is actually the function restriction form, the design is to dance with the shackles. Some time ago to listen to the Nico, his definition of the designer I like, his definition is: The designer is a method of people. Here is a reference to add an attribute, the so-called "good designer" refers to a variety of restrictions, still can use elegant method to solve the problem of people.

It is easier for the designer to agree with the product team in order to build up the recognition of the idea from the heart and transform it into communication.

6. Introduction of foreign aid

Even experienced designers will inevitably encounter a stalemate in communication, who can not convince who. This time, if you are good at introducing external voices, it can be very helpful to break the deadlock.

May be temporarily put aside controversy, go back to do data reporting, a week later to see the data you make a decision? or randomly looking around for N and project unrelated people, to the current solution as a A/b test, with a quick lightweight test to resolve the controversy? or find an authority you can all trust to give some advice? Look at the problem from the outsider and experienced colleagues.

Getting involved in more people can help us look at problems more comprehensively and objectively, and jump out of the limitations of seeing problems from "I". And in the stalemate, third party intervention also to the parties to set aside a certain space, the two sides back a step calmly look at the problem, it is easier to reach an agreement.

7. Interactive and interactive

In a career, what kind of teammates will meet. The same is true of God to grasp, the same as the pig to be persuasive.

A good designer must be a strive, in addition to design, actively through the usual communication opportunities, to understand and learn knowledge across the professional. When you can understand how development is implemented, you will not design a design that cannot be implemented, and when you can understand what the product is ideally, the design return rate will be greatly reduced.

Good designers must also be a good teacher, imperceptibly affect the idea of teammates around. Bring your own design ideas and aesthetic taste to the team. When the team members of the design concept of identity and aesthetic taste of convergence, the above many communication problems will not become a problem. It is a watershed for senior designers and ordinary designers to be "taught" or whether they have influence. Influential designers can play a greater role in their own value, and thus affect the outcome of the project.

Strictly speaking, article 7th has nothing to do with communication itself. Continuous learning and good at summarizing and sharing, should be the essential quality of every excellent designer. In this foundation, the influence team, enhances the consensus, is solves the communication problem from the root.