In today’s digital
world almost any activity like communication, shopping, banking, entertainment,
knowledge and skills updating etc can be done using digital products. Digital
presence is a must for all organisations no matter what’s its size and segment.
Pertaining to the variety in goals of users using the digital product, user
expectations from the product too vary a lot. Even if it’s a simple activity
like shopping, every user follows a different pattern. Some of them have a
predefined shopping list, some just browse and pick while some are impulse
buyers. Each buyer is important for the seller. They have to take into
consideration all these patterns in mind even in their digital environment so
that they don’t loose on their clients.
By now you must
have realised that how complex and challenging it is to design a digital
product! I personally feel, not being able to handle it physically and still
managing to give the satisfaction to the user is the biggest challenge. It’s
not about just placing few buttons on the screen. There cannot be a given set
of rules which can be applied and the design is ready. There is a huge team working
on a product to give users the best experience.
Like any
functioning system digital product can be considered to have three major parts.
First the basic skeletal structure which gives support to the system and holds
everything together in place. Second is network of inside organs which makes
the system functioning and third is the outer skin which is look and feel of
the product while serving as interactive element of the system. This is more or
less a broad structure which exists in our bodies too!
If we consider look into it with reference to a digital product, Information Architect works on the basic structuring of
the information system. IA understands need of the product, user’s
expectation, client’s need and technical requirements through research. There
is a lot of information available but not everything is useful for each user. All this information needs to be categorised to form overall structure
of the product. If it’s a banking product, it will be used by different groups
of bank employees and end users having various needs. Information architects
categorise all information as per its relevance to different users. Once the basic structure is
ready it is made operational which is responsibility of the development team.
At a given time
users don’t want to see whole information on the screen. They are concerned about
the data required to complete their task. They expect they should be able to
complete their task easily without hassle. Product is not serving as display of
information but it is meant for interaction. Users feed in some input and
expects output, feedback based on the input. Interaction designers come up with
sequence of frames required as input and feedback loop for each task. Each
frame layout for different tasks is designed by interface designers and web
designers. Web designers are graphic designers who work for digital media. They
are trained to use text, images, fonts, colours for digital mediums.
Communication used in the product is combination of visuals and text. This
textual content is designed by the Content Strategist. They pay attention to
the tone and voice consistency of communication throughout the product. Sound and
animations improves the feedback and in turn enhances the experience. Sound and
motion designers contribute in this area.
Thus in the
communication design of a digital product a team of designers with different
roles and responsibilities is working together to give users the best
experience!
Some useful links
