This site is designed to illustrate the skills and knowledge I use in my role of UX/UI Designer. This version has been designed for optimum use on Firefox and Chrome.
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There is a reason why a car has round wheels, a knife has a sharp edge or a bird has wings. Everything has a function and, in order for it to be 'fit for purpose', it must be designed around the user, their environment and technology. Our lives tend to be dictated by the way in which we interact with each other, and this is increasingly being done in the digital world, so its important that the tools we utilise online are also fit for purpose, efficient and easy to use.

So how do you design a website or online application that is going to be both fit for purpose and, importantly, better than your competitors?

It's a common question and their isn't a definitive answer as there are subtle differences between every solution. A UX Designer must balance form and function, style and substance and a host of design principals to create a solution that not only satisfies the requirements, but also provides that 'x-factor' that makes your product or service stand out.

The purpose of this site is to describe the methods I use to define the user experience and design a user inface, the decisions I make, and the elements I need to factor in during the process. I like to think I have a common approach but, having been in the business for nearly 20 years, I know there are some unique processes which I have developed over time.

UX Topics

User Experience Design

Every tool, product or item we use in everyday life is ergonomically designed for an intended purpose. The user experience is the definition of the appearance and behaviour of these items based on the requirements of the user, their environment and their purpose.

Find out about my UX methodology
User Interface Design

User Interface Design is a constituent of the user experience and defines the way in which we directly interact with a user. We use UI's all of the time, to drive your car, get money from a cash machine or set the timer on the oven. My work specifically centres on GUI's (Graphical User Interface) which are predominently accessed from a PC or device online. These include websites, online applications and games.

View my User Interface Design work
Information Architecture

User Assistance (UA) is the general term that describes the elements of a product that assist the user. This is usually in the form of written or diagramatical information. Most user's think of product help as a set of pages that hang of the product and describes how it works. Help will only be used if they cannot find the answer themselves by simple trail and error. As you will find, this type of help is only a subset of the information that makes up UA.

More about Information Architecture
User Evaluation & Planning

UX Design is an iterative process and it is important to get constant feedback on the design from the stakeholders, and evaluate the solution before it is developed.

Coming soon

UX in the Project Lifecycle

I am often asked where the User Experience sits in the project lifecycle. I reply "at the beginning, at the end, and all the bits inbetween". The best way to illustrate this is by showing a map of a typical lifecycle, describe the services I provide and the people I work with at each stage. I have referred to the final solution as a 'product' in this document but it could just as easily be an online application, a single web site or a workflow tool, the process remains the same.

  • UX Designer - Product Owners, Clients, Business Analyst
    High Level Requirements, UX Requirements, Initial Concepts, Business Plan

    Every project starts with a request. This request could come from the sales team, from support or a client. It could be a bug fix, a product enhancement or even some analysis on a fancy widget that one of the managers has seen on another website. The objective at this stage is to gather some information about what they actually want and when. It's not about designing the solution, collecting every detail or making any resourcing descisions, it is simply to determine whether the request has any merit.

    I would generally work with the product owner or client at this early stage so we can identify any high level usability issues. The UX Designer is the best person to bring as they will have an understanding of the up front issues such as who the users might be and the type of functionality they might expect. I would generally set up an informal workshop with the key stakeholders, run through the objective and get some ideas flowing. I would recommend an 'anything goes' session as it encourages 'out of the box thinking' and 'brain storming'.

    Read the section on Setting up Workshops in the User Experience Design section for more information.

  • UX Designer - Product Owners, Clients, Business Analyst
    Requirements Catalogue, Project Initiation Document, Estimation

    Different companies have different ways of gathering and documenting the requirements and they tend to be based on the size of the project, size of the team or the method of development. The objective of this stage is to document the high level requirement and scope of the project. A document describing the proposed solution can then be reviewed by the Project Team, (which could include the Architects, Developers and Testers), an approach can be agreed and a reasonably accurate estimate made in terms of cost, resource and time.

    At this point we would not expect to have any final solutions, but we would have an idea of the key functionality so I would create some high level screen flows (using Visio or IO), user stories and, if necessary, wireframes and mock up screens, that will provide sufficient detail for the estimate.

    Read the section on Prototyping in the User Interface Design section for more information and examples.

  • UX/UI Designer - Business Analyst, Project Manager
    User Analysis, Draft User Journey

    Assuming the project has the green light the Analysis and Design phase can begin, I would then start to gather all of the information I need for the design and assist the Business Analyst with the functional requirements. It is vitally important that the UX Designer has an understanding of all aspects of the project as they need to be factored into the design of the User Interface. In addition to the user requirements, the functionality, architecture, build method, testing and even the marketing all need to be taken into account. Based on these findings, additional requirements may be required or, in the worst case scenario, an issue could be found that would jeopardise the project.

    Read the section on Gathering the UX Requirements in the User Experience Design section for more information and details of the other elements I need to capture.

    Read the section on Designing the User Interface in the User Interface Design section for more information and examples.

  • UX/UI Designer - Front End Developers, Business Analysts
    Wireframes, HTML Prototypes, Mock ups

    Prototyping is an essential part of the design phase, particularly if you are creating a screened application or site. There are many levels of prototype, from a simple sketch or flow chart through to a functional demo buit using HTM and CSS. The type of prototype usually depends on the status of the project, the complexity of the functionality, the client, or whether a visual representation of the product would help the project team. In many projects, a prototype that the project team can use as a model is essential, or, at the very least, a device that provides a common vision of the finished product.

    Read the section on Prototyping in the User Interface Design section for more information and examples.

  • UX Designer - Product Owners, Clients, Front End Developers, Business Analysts

    All projects require some form of documentation that is used by the team to build and test the solution. Most of them will include a Functional Specification, Technical Specification or a Test Specification, but there are other essential documents that detail the user interface and describe the way the product interacts with the user.

    I write a User Journey Document (UJD) for every project I work on irrespective of the size. This document is not a screen specification, but a guide to the user interaction. It defines the path through the system and illustrates all of the different scenarios that could take place during this journey. So why is this not a specification? Well, in the past I have prepared many screen specifications which the developer have followed to the letter, faithfully recreated the images in the UJD, but disregarded the functional specification which covers many of the business rules and variables that are not in the UJD. The design of the User Interface is an iterative process and a screen specification can limit the flexibility of the design and is very difficult to maintain.

    Read the section on Documenting the User Experience in the User Experience Design section for more information and examples.

    Read the section on Specifying the User Interface in the User Interface Design section for more information and examples.

  • UX/UI Designer - Front End Developers, UI Testers

    UX Design is an iterative process and updates will be made to the design during the build phase. This may be due to a change of scope, an implementation issue, or that the developer hs a better way of doing something. At this stage of the project I would consult with the build team, liaise with the project owners to discuss any changes and assess the rik to the project.

    If the project is being developed using an agile appraoch I would expect to still be designing the parts of the system that are being developed in later sprints.

  • UX Designer - Product Owners, Sales, Marketing, Product Support

    Even the best products or the most innovitive solution to a problem will not get far if they are not marketed or sold to its users. It is also important that the message given to the users is consistant, and the information we supply to them is delivered in a simple, 'fit for purpose' manner.

    I believe that the support of the project is firmly within the remit of the product design. Perhaps the conversational support with the user is provided by another party but the way is displayed in the online support needs to be consistant with the environment.

    Read the User Assistance Design section for more information and examples.