How do you explain your design choices based on research?
As a designer, you know that research is essential for creating effective and user-friendly solutions. But how do you communicate your design choices based on research to your clients, stakeholders, or users? How do you justify your decisions and show the value of your work? In this article, you will learn some tips and techniques for explaining your design choices based on research in a clear and convincing way.
Before you present your design choices, you need to understand who you are talking to and what they care about. Different audiences may have different levels of familiarity with design research, different expectations, and different goals. For example, your client may want to see how your design meets their business objectives, while your user may want to see how your design solves their problems. To tailor your explanation to your audience, you need to do some research on them as well. Find out their background, their needs, their preferences, and their questions. Then, use this information to craft your message and choose the best format and medium for your presentation.
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Brian Mwashuke
Product Designer
Understanding your audience as well might require you to physically or virtually talk to them. By doing so, you can acquire first hand experience on the problems they face and hear out their suggestions on solving them as well.
Explaining your design choices based on research can be done effectively by showing your process. This includes how you conducted your research, the methods and tools used, the insights and findings gathered, and how they were translated into design decisions. Showing your process helps to establish credibility, transparency, and trust with the audience. It also demonstrates that the design choices are evidence-based rather than assumptions or opinions. To show your process, techniques such as storytelling, visuals, and prototypes can be used. Storytelling can illustrate the identification and empathy of users, their needs and pain points, and the creation and testing of solutions for them. Visuals can highlight data points, patterns, and insights from the research such as user personas, journey maps, affinity diagrams or wireframes. These visuals also show how the design choices align with user goals, behaviors, and emotions. Prototypes can show how the design choices work in practice, address user feedback, meet usability and accessibility standards, as well as invite the audience to interact with it.
Another important tip for explaining your design choices based on research is to focus on the why. This means explaining not only what you did, but why you did it. Why did you choose a certain color, font, layout, or feature? Why did you prioritize a certain functionality, interaction, or content? Why did you follow a certain guideline, principle, or best practice? To answer these questions, you need to link your design choices to your research insights and findings. You need to show how your design choices are informed by your user's needs, preferences, expectations, and context. You also need to show how your design choices support your project's objectives, requirements, and constraints. By focusing on the why, you can justify your design choices and show their value and impact.
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Arlene Birt
Visual Storyteller, Information Designer, Data Visualizer, Science Communicator, Professor, Public Artist, Public Speaker –designer of the 2023 IPCC Synthesis Report figures
We also need to be clear about what we mean by design research. Are we referencing primary research (our own studies or experiences as practitioners) or secondary research (such as published literature and studies done in the field)? Some audiences may react differently to different types of design research. For example, on a project I worked on with climate scientists of the UN IPCC, I found it most effective to cite academic literature about the design decisions I made.
When you explain your design choices based on research, you may encounter questions or objections from your audience. To prepare for these situations, you need to anticipate the possible questions or objections and have ready answers or evidence to support your design choices. You can review your research and design process to identify any gaps, limitations, or assumptions that may raise doubts or concerns. Additionally, seek feedback from peers, mentors, or experts and ask them to challenge your design choices and suggest improvements or alternatives. Finally, practice your presentation and rehearse your answers to common or expected questions or objections.
Finally, when you explain your design choices based on research, it's important to be open and humble. This means recognizing that your design choices are iterative and evolving, and that your research may not cover everything or that your design may not work for everyone. Being open and humble helps you avoid sounding defensive or arrogant and encourages your audience to collaborate with you and share their feedback. To be open and humble, express gratitude for the audience's time, attention, and input. Emphasize that your design choices are based on the best available research, but also make it clear that you are open to new information and perspectives. Request constructive criticism and feedback, and demonstrate how you will use it to improve your design.
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