It is vital in the design of any software, whether it be custom software or custom websites that it has the most effective interface possible to ensure that your goals are met.
For an ecommerce site it typically means creating a path which makes it easy to locate a product, provide necessary product data in an easy to digest format and obviously purchase the product. For custom software such as a video game it means designing extremely intuitive controls and menus to make it easy for the user to learn, while also displaying a creative flair stylized to fit the game storyline.
After we've helped a client develop a clear vision for their software or website, we get to work creating wireframes interfaces. Once approved by the client, we’ll start to bring your software to life using rapid prototyping methodologies.
This process includes several different stages, including:
The goal of the front-end rapid prototype development process is to produce actual screens of your software as soon as possible without the overhead of implementing complex backend business logic. The ability to see your software take shape helps stoke creativity on both your end and ours to continually hone in on the most effective user experience possible, while also making sure that the progress we make – and our understanding of your vision – is in line with your expectations.
From the start of the prototype and all throughout the front-end development process, we build our user interfaces using “real” static data so you have the most authentic feel for how the final product will look and how intuitively users will interact with it.
One of the biggest mistakes that clients and even some software developers make is to rigidly stick to the original Design Specifications at the start of the product life cycle. It is vital to realize that to develop a better and more useful end product, it is often necessary for the Design Visionary to make adjustments to the design based upon relevant feedback and more increased vision clarity as the product is tested and developed.
This can be as simple as to redesign the screen layout or more involved as to the changing some functional element of the product. Before each adjustment, it should be decided as to what is critical for a successful product release and what is useful but should be considered for the next release version and not the current version being developed.
It is important that the same Design Visionary takes the product from 'cradle to grave'. This gives a consistency to the design, minimizes 'feature creep' by other designers who may wish to change the design purely due to their personal preferences. The Design Visionary knows what is required and needs to be involved at each stage with continual testing, feedback gathering and ultimately end user focus testing. They are the key to a successful development to ensure that the end results meets the goals set out at the beginning
We have three Interface Design and Usability experts within Digital Design Interactive with a collective experience of over 60 years. Most software development projects or website development can be done using mockup data. However, if providing mockup data is not possible and for projects which require extreme data sensitivity, arrangements can be made for on site visits and testing. In the UK we have 2 experts, one located in Aberdeen and one located in Birmingham. Our USA expert is based at our Florida office and handles all of the USA.
