phoenix ad blog

Today we interview Michael Angeles, the creator of the incredibly useful interaction and user experience design site, Konigi. Below he explores the field of UX design, what it means to the modern marketeer and his take on solid how the user experience goes beyond the product or website.

A great read for web novices and experts alike without a doubt!

——–

Phoenix Ad Blog: Can you please introduce yourself and your background?

Michael Angeles: My name is Michael Angeles. I’m a user experience designer. The majority of what I do is information architecture, interface or interaction design. My background is in art history and library and information science, and I’m currently the Director of User Experience with a company that makes enterprise content management software.

PAB: Before we get into Konigi, what’s the big difference between web design/graphic design and user interaction or experience design?

If there’s one thing there seems to be no shortage of, it’s discussion about defining our fields. The terms have a different meaning to different people depending on who you talk to and where you work. I’m no guru, nor would I consider myself one of the pundits of the field. I’m a practitioner, and my view of the definitions and boundaries of those terms mostly mirrors what are generally agreed upon definitions. It might help to just take a few of these and see how they relate to each other, rather than how they differ.

User experience is a term from the field of Human Computer Interaction. In popular use today UX, refers to the quality of experience a person has when confronting a design. The experience may touch many aspects of a customer or user’s engagement with a brand, company, product, or service, whether it’s through using a web site, dealing with customer service, or unwrapping the packaged product.

User experience design is a multi-disciplinary process–it’s the practice of designing the elements that affect that experience. Interaction designers, visual or graphic designers, and information architects are among the roles involved. Take interaction design as one of these examples. Their role is largely concerned with designing the interactions which will influence how the product or application, for instance, will be used by a person. The visual designer is often concerned with the form and aesthetics of the experience. The input of both of these and perhaps other design practitioners contributes to shaping this experience.

PAB: What’s Konigi?

The word Konigi comes from Esperanto, and means “to make known.” I became interested in using blogging as a means of expanding my own knowledge of the practices and design literature through ongoing discussions with peers. That started in 2001 when I wrote an Information Architecture blog called IA Slash, which I ceased to write after 4 years. Konigi is my return to that, focused on the wider range of topics related to user experience design, rather than just IA.

Konigi attempts to aggregate and share knowledge around the practice of UX Design, and slowly it’s becoming more of a community as I add features for user generated content and contribution. The site really came about when I started creating screenshot sets of visual design and interface design examples on Flickr. I wanted to deconstruct and critique design solutions that I found interesting, and to start conversations about the designs that seemed unusual, or particularly good solutions to design problems. From there, the site allowed me to continue expanding the dialogue about higher level UX topics and issues in the blog, as well as in a Wiki that was recently added. I’ve also been able to continue something I’ve done on my personal blog for years, which is to share the design tools I’ve refined over the years. In the past year, that’s included templates, stencils, and I’ve even started binding my own sketch books, which I share with my peers.

PAB: Why is it important for graphic designers and marketing professionals to be aware of user experiences?

I can’t imagine a graphic designer or marketing pro not being aware, at some level anyway, of the user experience for a company or product outside of the individual work they’re responsible for producing. I think once you see that everything that touches the user experience is important to how the customer perceives the company, you begin to realize everything you work on contributes to that experience and perception. The purpose and reason for what we do becomes essential.

That seems like skirting the question maybe, because it also implies that it’s your job to understand all of the other aspects of the experience that you may not touch or be aware of. Maybe what you’re asking is “should these professionals, who may not work on the online user experience for example, be aware of that in order to do their work?” I think yes, at least to some degree, for the above reason.

Generally, I think we all hold opinions about the user experiences that we like or dislike. I think awareness of user experiences might simply mean bringing that personal perspective into viewing more user experiences, but especially those you’re involved with designing in some capacity. Empathy is important in looking at the user experience, as is user research. If can be difficult to become engaged in the product as the customer would, but that’s the goal–to view your user experience as your customers would. Thinking about what their goals and needs are, and how they’re met vis a vis the product or service. What is that user experience like?

PAB: What are some of the biggest issues or pitfalls designers should be aware of with the online user experience?

I’ve been known to get seduced by flashy and new things. I sometimes find myself looking for examples that are innovative, and have to show some restraint and selectivity when I write about web technologies that are slick, because sometimes that slickness can distract from what’s important. Is the product, application, or web site easy touse? Does it help me to efficiently, satisfactorily, or pleasurably accomplish the thing I’m supposed to accomplish in using it?

The thing I’ve been called out for when blogging is being too easily impressed with things that are flashy and gratuitous, but don’t add to the user experience. It’s easy for that to happen when you’re just blogging or talking to people about the new web app that’s making the rounds on the social networks. But a critical eye will reveal when something adds to the experience or not. That’s the kind of thing I don’t allow to happen in the work I do for hire because design reviews and even self critique make it much easier to see the helpful from the gratuitous. When you have to justify a feature in a critique, you have to be able to frame it in terms of a person and the goals associated with using it, and then be prepared to explain why you designed it the way you did. If you’re having that conversation ahead of the design review, it’s a lot easier to edit out the stuff that doesn’t improve the experience.

PAB: Name some of your favorite online sites that really exemplify solid UX design.

There are solid choices when it comes to software and industrial design. A few of those come immediately to mind that aren’t web sites. The online shopping experiences in Apple’s iTunes/iPhone or Nintendo’s Wii/DSi app stores, for example, are the kinds of solid experiences I’ve come to expect from larger web sites.

When I think of the experiences that stick with me, they often have as much to do with the big ideas that impact the value of the whole experience, as with the execution of a discrete thing like an interface. I think of Zappos, the online shoe seller, for instance. The online shopping experience has evolved over the years and has improved continually. There are things I like about the faceted search experience there now, for instance. But the aspects of that experience that make me loyal have more to do with the spirit and beliefs of the company, and the way that affects my sense of satisfaction patronizing them. I’ve gotten free shipping upgrades, used free return shipping, and received hand written thank you notes with apologies for mistakes that were not even the fault of the company. Things like that don’t go forgotten, and when price is comparable between competitors, customers like me want to return. I feel the same way about companies like LL Bean, which is famous for its incredibly liberal return policies. That’s an experience that isn’t accidental. It’s concerned with creating quality engagements, and it requires no fancy buzzwords to be effective.

PAB: Anything else you’d like the readers to know? Last words?

I think it’s important when a group of people set out to design a product or company, to start with these kinds of simple, big ideas that keep the quality of user experience in mind as a core value. In the absence of a singular leader that drives this obsessively as a goal, individuals can also create that value from the bottom up. Those genuine beliefs can either be stated, or they can be used as reminders or guidelines through creative direction, until they become part of the organization’s DNA. It’s much easier to find the right design when everyone shares the same fundamental belief system, whether it’s about usability or aesthetics. The user experiences I’ve found most engaging, with the strongest and longest hold of my own attention came to be that way, I think, because of ideas like this.

——–

Editors Note: Please make sure to check out Konigi, particularly the tools and store sections where there are ample resources for interactive and experience designers of all types.