Greater Process Equals Greater Results

I started drawing when I was in high school, but never really thought of just how much process matters until beginning my journey into UX Design.

One of the largest differences between art and design is process. Design prospers in well thought out designs, features and directions that are backed by user research, data, interviews, and fundamentals.

The ability to speak confidently about not just the end results of a project, but how you got there is extremely important. Speak to the designs that didn't work. What was removed or changed due to feedback? What did the users think?

Feedback and Iteration

As a character concept artist, a huge part of growing and learning is being able to admit that your art isn't perfect, and receiving feedback to improve is a crucial part of the process.

Not only that, but being able to review old designs, see what worked and what didn't, and constantly improving upon them, is key if you want to create a design that tells a story about your character, rather than just saying "Well I thought it looked cool".

Designing a character is very similar to designing a website, or an app; by taking one look at your character design, you should get an immediate response.

Your design should convey an emotion, or tell a story about who this character is before they say a single word. Any of that sound familiar?

Tell A Story

Writing is one of my favorite hobbies, and something I've spent countless hours investing in.

One of the most important aspects of design is stopping at every opportunity to ask "How can I tell a story here?".

This can be done in just about every part of the process as well, between user interviews, presentations, and of course, the experiences users part take in.

I love finding ways to incorporate emotion and feeling into my work, coming up with new ways to introduce a concept or a character, something to inspire people, or something to make them laugh.

User-First, User-Centered Design

I've always had a great interest in the human mind, trying to understand behavior and intent. That insatiable curiosity led me to pursuing a degree in Psychology, and I loved all of it.

The most important factor of good UX Design is always thinking of how a user will feel.

You should ask yourself at every step "How will a user USE this? How will this make them feel?"

Buttons, text, images, every object your user will interact with should have purpose, and supported by data and research.