Customer journey map for an online recruitment start up by hedgehog lab.
Introduction
Some young designers shy away from digital and interactive design projects, falsely equating technology with a lack of creativity. Yet, technology and creativity should not be seen as opposed to one another since each new technical innovation actually brings a wealth of new creative opportunities to explore.
The relentless pace of technological change does, however, means that digital projects are often complex. Without solid research and development, how audiences or end-users respond to new innovations or significant developments cannot be easily anticipated.
Building a new interactive product or experience requires careful research and user testing as part of an iterative design process to ensure that users can access its content and use its functions in the most effective and rewarding way. This research requirement is particularly the case for interactive projects, such as designing a new app or an interactive museum installation, where user experience (UX) is more likely to be active rather than passive. Unlike reading a magazine or watching television, where a specific type of consumer use and responsive behaviour may be assumed by designers, navigating a new app can be as unfamiliar as handling a new electrical appliance for users.
This book chapter explores a range of research methods and strategies that may prove vital when performing design research for an interactive project. First, we will look at the need to interrogate the brief as a starting point for effective research before exploring the importance of technology, market, audience and visual research.
Downloadable Resource
Visualizing the brief through customer journeys, digital product consultancy hedgehog lab undertook an online workshop with a new client that specialized in professional networking and recruitment. This five-day workshop used an adapted Google Design Sprint methodology to map out client needs, market research, ideas generation, prototyping and testing. These customer journey maps were created after the workshop to give a high-level vision for the product that would form the basis of a detailed brief.