My experience for User Experience

Holding water with Hand

Designing User Experience (UX) to me is like holding water with your hand; no matter how hard you try or clench your hands together, water still slips through. I can never cater to all with the UI we created as a group. However, certain steps such as the Ten Heuristics do serve as a general guideline. After some thinking, I thought perhaps it is due to the social environment people grow up in that is why they have a general acceptance to the things mentioned in the Ten Heuristic. As much as we tried to grab all the water(users) through card sorting, surveys, in depth interview and so on, the best we got was an insight. In fact, I realised the limitations of the work we did. All the research and prototype is still unable to test the exact experience we wanted because our goal was to create a website (UI) which customised contents and generate them for users according to their likes and dislikes. It seems that what we have been able to do till end was the overall layout but not the true experience we hope to create.

Bottomless Pit

Researching on UX is like falling down a bottomless pit. One will never be able to get all the experience down or to express the entire experience clearly to the details. Hence, it is impossible to scientifically 'reproduce' an experience for one user to another. UX is unique and mysterious in that there will be difference no matter how close one feels from another in terms of the website (UI).

A little step at a time

Through the research done, I realised a lot of information which I would never have thought about. Even though users went through the same thing, the comments were drastically different like 2 ends of the pole at times. There can never be enough work done or changes made as there are new insights each time we try to research on people the latest prototype.

Walking in Circles

At times I feel that I'm walking in circles making changes time and again but it is not true. When I went through our first prototype with our 4th or 5th one, the experience was better. I guess the quest in this merry-go-round would come to a stop when the creators feel that there is more or less a unique experience in the pleasant sense for majority of the target users. The work never stops, through feedback, changes will be made again. Just like Yahoo!, Google or any websites or UI, they change with time through valuable insights gain on UX.

Enlightenment of UX

Designing UX is like seeking englightenment. UX is subjective and unstable where one can never quantify. Hence I feel apart from the general guidelines to guide designers, it is the inspiration that counts, the personal touch that adds depth and body to UI like a piece of art as some authors like to put it. Thus, even the reflection on this module is difficult as the overall knowledge learnt is like an experience, those that I can write out are but guidelines which authors pass on. However, it is my experience that will have a different touch in designing of UX apart from the others.