The original brief for the webpage is to produce a long scrolling webpage displaying 10 pairs of images, 20 in total, and 10 of which must be original reinterpretations created from scratch. The final product of which is both a retelling and reinterpretation of design through history; the reinterpretations are to be done in a representation of a modern format To begin this process we must begin to think about the user experience of the website, to do this we must begin by empathising with the user; during a period of this stage a small portion of people were asked in an informal setting about “what an ideal visual timeline would look like to them”. Some examples include:
“A well structured timeline, with minimal clutter but an interesting quirk”
“I like to be fully immersed in the topic, I have a preference for visually stimulating web pages. So a timeline that incorporates that is always a bonus for me.”
“An ideal Timeline is one that gives me a clear understanding of what I’m trying to read. Too many nonsensical and pointless features become overwhelming. I hate it when you have to click a thousand different objects to find out what the information wants to tell you.”
With these responses in mind, we begin to form an understanding of user needs in their experience. Although admittedly a small representation could skew the results in one way. Here we have a clear and simple understanding that one aspect of a user’s needs is a “visual stimulus” that can both portray the information in a clear way while providing enough detail and an “entertainment factor” that does not overwhelm the user.
This leads us into the forming of our Problem Statement. Career Foundry (2021) defines a problem statement as identifying “the gap between the current state (I.e. the Problem) and the Desired state (i.e. the goal) of a process or product. A problem statement will take this unmet need of a user problem and frame it in a way that provides a clear view of the action a designer needs to address. With the information we have currently we can begin to look at how our problem statement can be formed.
Users perspective:
I am a student with an interest in design. I want to explore this interest and view the relationship of design through history. I struggle because most websites I look at have bulky texts with hard to navigate pages which makes it difficult for me to process and retain the information. I am often left disheartened and frustrated at myself because of this.
Our Problem Statement:
Students with an interest in design struggle to expand their interests due to the bulkiness and lack of entertaining stimuli on web pages. Our solution should provide a web page that offers a fluid and intuitively stimulating way to explore the relationship of design through history.
To fully realise whether this problem statement is correct and ideal, we must take a closer look at defining who the user is. Next this leads us into defining our Audience and Stakeholders.
References
CareerFoundry (2021) Stage 2 in the Design Thinking Process: Define the Problem Available Online https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ux-design/stage-two-design-thinking-define-the-problem/