Plate 04 · Interface & experience51.52° N · 0.08° W
Design as a form of attention.
Before we draw a screen we watch how people currently attempt the task. Interfaces built on observation tend to feel inevitable; those built on assumption tend to need explaining.
Observation
Fig. 04.1We speak with the people who will use the service and, with permission, watch them try the tasks that matter. We read the support correspondence you already hold and look at whatever analytics you have lawfully collected. The output is concise: a list of the obstacles worth removing, phrased in the users’ own vocabulary.
Structure before surface
Fig. 04.2Information architecture decides where things live and what each screen is for. Task flows describe how someone moves from intention to completion, including the paths where something goes wrong.
These decisions are inexpensive to revise on paper and costly to revise in code, so we settle them early and test them with clickable prototypes before development begins.
Interface and system
Fig. 04.3Visual design follows: typography, colour, spacing and components assembled into a compact design system with usage notes. Developers can build from it precisely, and future designers can extend it without starting afresh.
- Prototypes tested with real users
- Interface designs for each breakpoint
- Design tokens and component documentation
- Accessibility annotations: focus order, labels, states
Inclusive by method
Fig. 04.4Contrast, legible type, touch target size, plain language, focus order and sensitivity to motion are design decisions from the first sketch. We check prototypes with keyboard navigation and screen readers rather than leaving accessibility to a final audit.
Begin with a conversation
NextDescribe the situation in your own words. We reply on working days with questions, and sometimes with the suggestion that you need less than you thought.
Contact InceptronUse the framing instrument