Digital Design

I approach problems using the Design Thinking framework and the six-step process. My approach involves active listening, allowing me to deeply understand and ask insightful questions about each challenge or idea, and sets the foundation for beginning the Design Thinking methodology.

DESIGN THINKING
METHOLOGY

DESIGN THINKING is the framework and process used to increase the probability of a successful idea. This framework has a six-step process for defining a problem, generating ideas, and validating solutions with users.  Successful user-centric solutions meet at the intersection of art, technology, and understanding user behavior.  

EMPATHIZE

Conduct user research by talking to a variety of users and document the problems that exist within a process.  

DEFINE THE PROBLEM

Combine and analyze the research and define the problem. 

IDEATE

Generate a variety of creative ideas that could solve the problem.  

PROTOTYPE

Build a real representation of the solutions based on the list of creative ideas.  This could be a paper prototype, low-fi and high-fi Figma prototypes to test with users.  

TEST & MEASURE

Go back to the users, test the prototype, and document the findings. This cyclical and repetitive process that controls variables to determine the best user experience.  

IMPLEMENT

Once a design has been tested and measured with users, it’s time to build a market-ready solution.  

EMPATHIZE

Conduct user research by talking to a variety of users and document the problems that exist within a process.  

All well executed user research begins with a plan. I’ve conducted a wide range of research studies with varying complexity and methods, including contextual interviews, online surveys, card sorting, and usability testing.  When interviewing users, it’s essential to understand the users: 

  • Background. 
  • Their behavior in relationship to the problem. 
  • Their past and present use of the product or service. 
  • Understand what they believe to be a delightful experience.  
 

CONDUCT INTERVIEWS

When conducting user interviews, it’s important to document the research goal, interview method(s), and questions into a field guide so there’s consistency through-out the process.  When interviewing, you want to understand the users:  

  • Background. 
  • Their behavior in relationship to the problem. 
  • Their past and present use of the product or service. 
  • Understand what they believe to be a delightful experience.  
 

ONLINE SURVEY

In a world where online shopping has become a way of life, an e-commerce presence is required to excel and grow a business.  As a group project, I suggested we explore the online shopping experience.  Through user interviews, contextual inquiries, journey mapping, persona creation, and online survey results, we found what users consider a delightful online shopping experience.  This includes:   

  • Mobile-optimized architecture
  • Simple, intuitive design with a constant feed of fresh content/products
  • Price comparison across online shopping platforms for price matching
  • Fast(er) shipping with time estimates
  • Free returns via multiple methods

A large part of my group participation was building the graphics to capture user participation, data collection, and analyzing the data for critical takeaways.

INTERRUPTING DATA

Upon conclusion of the user research you have a lot of data to wade through. The trick is to distill the data and extract user’s needs and insights. Qualitative analysis extracts themes and models (think stories) and quantitative data focuses on the quantifiable aspects of your research (think numbers).  

After cleansing the data, it’s time to model (no, not runway model!).  A few ways to model the data is to create:

AFFINITY DIAGRAM

A modeling technique that
involves transcribing and clustering observations to extract a theme.  

PERSONA

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

JOURNEY MAP

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

DEFINE THE PROBLEM

Combine and analyze the research and define the problem. 

Usability Testing

As a full-scale usability test, I partnered with a healthcare e-commerce business that aggregates merchants and their merchandise to provide consumers with the best price available for eligible products under an FSA or H.S.A. through Amazon, Walgreens, CVS, and more.  

Six of the ten users invited to participate were instructed to complete three tasks (shown above).  I monitored their actions through a virtual screen share and captured their selected path and verbal comments throughout each task (see image).  

The key takeaways from the user interviews included:

  • Most people find reviews helpful
  • Most people shop for items with well-known brands.
  • People want “easy” and rely on filters and sorting functions.
  • Low price always wins, but most people could not find the cheapest price out of all the interviews.

User
Experience Design

A local, 100-year-old family-owned business in Wisconsin sells seeds, plants, and garden supplies through catalog sales and a regional brick-and-mortar presence.  Competitive research shows this business is behind the competition in its e-commerce capabilities.  A fresh design with enhanced e-commerce capabilities will attract and retain customers, lower cost to convert sales, lower customer acquisition rates, and decreasing cart abandoned rate.   

This high-resolution prototype works like a fully developed app without the development costs. It could be used to test ideas in the market and determine their desirability, feasibility, and viability.  

I used the Design Thinking Process, Design Principles, and the following tools:  Figma, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop.  

Web & Digital Design

I’ve designed and built various websites, each tailored to meet the business’s unique needs. With a creative mind, writing ability, and diverse skills in the following tools, I’m showcasing a few web projects highlighting my expertise in creating user-friendly and visually appealing websites.

Helping Parents with the Cost of Childcare

The University of Wisconsin Madison Institute of Research on Poverty sponsors a program called The Alliance for the American Dream: DreamUp Wisconsin, which sponsors events to pitch ideas on how to help increase the wages of the middle class. 

In 2019, an initiative called We Care for Dane Kids, a four-pillar approach to reduce the cost of childcare, won the national competition and earned over $1M of funding. As one of the four pillars, I researched the industry and developed a marketing strategy to increase participation in dependent care flexible spending accounts.

Furthermore, I established a B2B partnership with a start-up B2C childcare marketplace that connects parents with in-home and childcare center providers. 

The vision was to build technology to seamlessly share transaction data between a childcare provider, parent, and third-party administrator for dependent care reimbursement.  Easing the burden parents face with claiming reimbursement today to save 30% on child care costs. 

Building an
E-commerce Model

My more recent experiment was taking Human Resource compliance services, which are typically sold through a Broker to a business, and build an e-commerce experience and business model.  

A challenge!?  Yes, it was!  Over 6 months, I conducted research and analyzed results, conducted customer surveys, designed and re-designed wireframes, developed a marketing strategy, created an operational workflow strategy, and more. Click the case study below to view my strategic proposal and recommendation.    

Instructional Design

As an independent study overseen by leadership at UW-Madison Information School (iSchool), I conducted user research, analyzed results, and proposed a new approach to the class structure and content for creating a professional portfolio, resume, and cover letter.  

The new content include a new class Syllabus, a Student Guide, and Peer-to-Peer Critique criteria to help students create and execute a plan over a 7-week online course.  

My suggested approach is strategic and emphasizes the importance of developing a plan, setting goals, and receiving feedback from peers through-out the process.