As a graphic designer in the process of attaining a Master’s in User Experience (UX) Design there is one thing I need to keep reminding myself. That is: function first, visuals later. It is easy for me to get excited about color choices, icon illustration, and typography, but when it comes to UX that is about the last item on the To-Do list. My colorful icons are being replaced with grey boxes and the extent of my font choices are limited to the standard Myriad Pro.
Recently, I resisted the urge to skip some medium-res prototyping on the project I had been working on in order to get to the pretty stuff. Thankfully, my right mind kicked in and I began creating some frameworks in Illustrator which were later moved into Marvel for hot-mapping.
Though these frameworks weren’t the brightest or most creative looking they still satisfied me visually. My otherwise paper app was now being looked at through my computer screen and on my iPhone. I was able to interact with it in a way that would allow my eyes and my hands to tell me what needed modifications. Where were my fingers going intuitively? Were my screen transitions logical? Did all of my elements fit on my device’s screen? All of these questions, yes, are visual, but more so functional.
While working on the visuals for any project is a good time, what we must keep in mind is that graphics are not what hold an audience long-term. I say ‘long-term’ because a good visual can one-hundred percent grab the attention of perspective users, but if those visuals don’t lend anything to these users they will surely not return.
Samantha Mantiglia 