How do you share your UX design solutions with others?

I think the communication skill is often the soft skill that many people glance over when they consider a career in UX. And I really wish this aspect was voiced more when defining a strong UX Designer. As someone who has majored in communications I have noticed from my lived experiences the struggle that so many amazing designers face in this field. It often is the one and only shackle that holds them back. So much so that I have taken upon myself to begin mentoring students and colleagues and on this specific skill because I see the potential in these Designers that sits behind this breakable barrier. Once this skill has been mastered, it's hard to stop a designer from excelling in their career.

User Experience (UX) design is a critical aspect of creating digital products and services that resonate with users. However, designing a great user experience is just one part of the process. Equally important is the ability to share and communicate your UX design solutions with others, whether it's your team, stakeholders, or clients. Effective communication can make or break a UX project, as it ensures everyone involved understands the design decisions and can provide valuable feedback. In this article, we'll explore the best practices for sharing your UX design solutions with others.

Absolutely, effective communication is the cornerstone of successful UX design. It's crucial to tailor your message based on the audience and purpose of your presentation. Whether it's simplifying technical jargon for clients or delving into intricate details for developers, understanding your audience is key. Your ability to bridge this communication gap ultimately determines the success and impact of your UX design solutions.

I use a variety of techniques, including presentation, documentation, interactive prototypes, and frequent feedback sessions, to communicate my UX design ideas to other team members. I also consider my audience while developing my strategy.

When it comes to sharing my UX design solutions, I have learned a few important things. First, it is crucial to understand whom we are sharing with and why. If our design benefits the people we are targeting, then sharing it becomes essential. We can provide a Figma link, create a presentation, build portfolios, or even share it on social media. But here is the key: how we communicate matters. As UX designers, we need to consider our audience’s perspective. We want them to grasp our ideas and see the impact of our solutions. I remember when I started in the design field. I was quite introverted and wondered if people would like my ideas. But over time, I have gained more confidence. Now, when I share my work, I hope it inspires others too.

Selecting the right medium and format is crucial for effectively conveying UX design solutions to various stakeholders. It's important to tailor your approach based on the audience's level of UX understanding and the goals of the communication. For instance, wireframes might be suitable for showcasing structure, while mockups and prototypes could be used for visual appeal and interactivity respectively. If the aim is to garner feedback or approval, interactive mediums like prototypes or videos may be more engaging. Ultimately, the choice of medium and format should facilitate clear, engaging, and comprehensible communication, ensuring your design solutions are well-understood and well-received.

When we create our POC, we will promote and show it to different stakeholders. Each of these people has different interests and time in the workflow. When selecting the right medium to show your concept, think about your audience. You probably use a slide deck to show your concept to clients. But if you'd like to show your concept to the product manager, wireframes will be a better choice. Think about what information your audience would like to hear to take a decision, and make sure you provide it.

Start with a Strong Presentation The first step in sharing your UX design solutions is to create a compelling presentation. This can take various forms, including slideshows, interactive prototypes, or simply a well-prepared verbal presentation. Regardless of the format, your presentation should be clear, concise, and engaging. Consider the following tips: Know Your Audience: Tailor your presentation to the knowledge and interests of your audience. Executives may want high-level insights, while developers might need more technical details. Use Visuals: Visual aids like diagrams, wireframes, and interactive prototypes can help convey your ideas more effectively than text alone.

1. Make your content the star of the show. Ditch anything extraneous that might pull attention away from what is existential to your presentation. 2. Create presentations for the modern attention span. Use visuals, dole the info out in snackable chunks, parse info out over multiple slides to ease the cognitive load. 3. When appropriate, don't waste any time on synthesizing the info and formatting it into a deck. Learn to craft your default process into something that is visually digestible & present straight from Figma or FigJam or Miro, etc. My teams have been doing this for years now with no negative effects. 4. Video, video, video. Everyone has a high-quality video camera in their pocket. Use it. Busy stakeholders love this.

I recently embarked on a journey to overhaul a clients website UX. To get everybody on board and grasp the solution I made the following presentation in form of a from – to journey that everybody could buy in to. Every design has a story, and the clients started with a tangled mess. We had feedback indicating confusion, users facing roundabout routes to accomplish simple tasks, and frustrating dead-ends. Our goal? To untangle the chaos and craft an experience users would understand and like. This was the goal. In the realm of UX, the user's voice is the most important input to the process. And when we listen, and enhance the user journey, we pave the path for our success. This was the main story in our design presentation.

Stories have the power to connect with people on both an emotional and intellectual level. Which makes design more relatable and easier to grasp. By using a narrative approach, you can foster empathy and help stakeholders see the bigger picture. Let’s say you are gonna make a new homepage for a business, you pitch, "Here’s the new homepage, blah blah," but what if you tell it like: "We found that users were having a tough time finding key features—it was taking them over 3 minutes. So, we streamlined the navigation and added contextual help. Now, they can get what they need in less than a minute." This way of explaining doesn’t just highlight what changed; it also shares the why and how, making the solution feel meaningful and impactful.

I agree with this. Because our brains and bodies are wired for the tangible, and not the abstract. Presenting our solutions in a real-world context aligns with how we better relate to and understand every design presentation. Infusing or relating your solutions with relatable events shows how effectively we can communicate even for 5-year-olds to understand. Storytelling is a game changer.

Before you dive into storytelling, think about a personal experience that truly connected with you. Adapt that story to suit your audience's context. Make it engaging and enjoyable to create a relaxed environment, which is more conducive to lasting knowledge retention.

I approach design as a storyteller, weaving functionality with emotion, creating experiences that resonate deeply with users. The goal should always be crafting a narrative where each solution is a chapter in a larger story of user empowerment. Design is about understanding and empathy. In my work, I strive to reflect this, sharing designs that speak not just to the eye, but to the heart and mind as well... That said, before you think it's all about your design, recognize this: good design is invisible. It doesn’t clamor for attention but supports the user. It’s this belief that guides my hand, ensuring the designs I share are not just solutions but experiences that enrich and facilitate.

Recognize that if others are struggling to understand your perspective, this is not a failing on their part. Those you are presenting your information to are experts in their own fields that would equally confuse you, and as designers it is our job to ensure we communicate effectively and clearly. If something isn't working, rather than becoming frustrated, consider your own methods and language and take a different approach.

Have you ever encountered the phrase, "sorry, we are not designers," more times than you'd like to admit? To effectively convey our UX ideas, it's crucial to reconsider how we articulate them. Drawing from my experience, even subtle changes in the language we use can have a profound impact. For instance, I often opt for "legibility" over "typography," and "emphasis" instead of "hierarchy." One of the cornerstones of design, "white space," becomes significantly more comprehensible when described as "breathing space." To excel in Design, it's essential to master not only visual elements but also the art of choosing the right words.

With my experience in UX design, I recommend: Utilize images, diagrams, and icons to simplify complex information. Accompany these visuals with text that provides context and explains concepts. Employ contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity to organize visuals effectively. Use a consistent color scheme, fonts, and styles for a cohesive visual experience. Adopt language that is clear, concise, and suited to your audience's understanding. Use active voice and simple sentences to enhance readability. Include relevant keywords, headings, and subheadings for SEO and accessibility.

Consider using design principles like Jakob’s Law, Fitts’ Law and the gestalt laws of observability to inform your designs and defend design decisions to stakeholders. Bringing in studied perspectives from expert groups like Nielsen-Norman and the Interaction Design Foundation can help ensure your interface is telling the right story to users before testing begins.

Many designers create their case studies with final UIs because they think it's the best part of the final product. The reality is different. Having many details about your work process is more appealing. This is why when you create a story about your design process, add valuable data. Include stats, competitor research, or any other text-based info in your presentation. The golden key is to have a union between perfect visuals and valuable information.

Design Rationale: Explain the reasoning behind your design choices, such as user research findings, usability testing results, and business goals. Design Guidelines: Create a style guide or design system that outlines design principles, typography, color schemes, and interaction patterns. User Flows: Document user journeys and task flows to provide a comprehensive overview of how users will navigate your design.

One thing to note here is that no amount of testing can prepare you for what happens when your creation is finally released into the wild. The important thing to do before that happens is to make sure you have the basics right and align them to your business and user goals. Remember, nothing is ever perfect which is why we refine over time.

Testing your solutions is the only way to know if they are viable and effective. If you have limited time and resources, turn to internal testing or guerrilla research. But if you skip the testing phase, you condemn your team and your company to mistakes that could have been corrected early and in time. User feedback is the only real source of truth for you. It answers any questions and uncertainties you may have.

?? Test and Refine: The Heartbeat of UX Design Unleash the magic of UX design by infusing it with research-backed choices, testing insights, and strategic business objectives. Craft a captivating style guide, painting the canvas with principles, typography, colors, and interactive melodies of design. Embark on user journeys, mapping the path to delightful experiences. In this iterative dance, we turn good into unforgettable. Embrace testing as a trusted ally on this creative journey, and remember, UX is a symphony of emotions, individuality, and more. ??

?? Aligning Goals with User Needs: Your design goals should align seamlessly with user needs. A harmonious interplay ensures that achieving your goals translates into a positive impact on the user experience. ?? Feedback Loop Integration: The feedback loop is the connective tissue between goals and audience understanding. Use feedback to refine your goals, ensuring they stay attuned to the ever-evolving landscape of user expectations. ?? Fueling Innovation: When goals and audience insights converge, innovation thrives. Your goals become the catalyst for inventive solutions that not only meet but exceed user expectations.

It may help to tell engineers before your presentation that you would like feedback so they can start thinking about it. Maybe you want to consider sharing some designs or findings before the meeting so people can have a look and prepare questions, to mitigate them thinking on the spot during your presentation.

Canvassing and responding to feedback isn't just a courtesy; it's the express lane to improvement. 1. Allow every person to have a say (even those whose voices are not the loudest or most confident) - everybody's opinion matters! 2. Embrace all perspectives. 3. Foster a collaborative design culture. Let feedback be your compass.

Breaking free from the cycle of endless feedback rounds can be quite a challenge. That's why I've found it helpful to inject some fun into the process right from the start. Based on my experience, replacing assumptions with questions can prevent common mistakes. I recall a UX project where my stakeholder had little knowledge of digital design tools, finding Figma too futuristic. So, I took the initiative to explain the tool and its functionalities. We even watched official Figma videos and went on a "tour" through various mock-ups to ensure she felt properly onboarded. While soliciting and responding to feedback is crucial for building trust, starting with the fundamentals is essential.

As a UX-Designer you should be aware that you contribute to a larger "experience" that encopasses the UX: customer and brand experiences are mostly present as well and make up the overall experience that people have with organisations and businesses. So, whatever you design, most likely it is just a puzzle piece. Keep the overall "puzzle" in mind and make sure you can connect to the other parts. People will turn away from your business if the puzzle doesn't fit together!

When sharing your UX Design solutions with others, it's helpful to capture their attention by telling an engaging story that they ultimately can relate to. By creating a captivating and comprehensive case study that clearly communicates the core business challenge(s), your design process, and the final solution, this will help them further connect with you and understand the significant impact your solution had on the holistic user experience, how it aligns with the business goals (i.e. highlighted human-centric approach and accessibility, increased engagement, positive user experience, etc.) and what user needs were met.

One of the primary ways Products (digital or not) evolved is through meaningful feedbacks from its users and there is no way to get feedbacks without sharing your work. In addition to what the article has recommended, I have also learnt that when documenting, while saving them in offline mediums like PDF is good, it’s usually best to save your work online; that way it can be accessed at anytime

Personally, I find that the best time to share my UX solutions is at the very start. It helps tremendously to carry people along from the first step of the process, and this looks like; 1. Communicating my plan or agenda: - What things do I and the team know? - What don’t we know? - How do I plan on learning more about the problem? - What areas do I need help from with my teammates and stakeholders? 2. Document my process: - What are the expected outcomes from the tasks? - What artifacts should my team and stakeholders expect to receive from me (preferably, this should be in a format that they can comfortably digest) 3. Tell a good story - I always present my work! I try to talk through the design & be sure relevant data is included

Best way to share is to create a compelling case study that outlines the problem, your design process, and the final solution. Use visual storytelling with images, prototypes, and user flows in figma or InVision. Communicate the impact of your solution on user experience and business goals. For example, when redesigning a mobile app, Airbnb shared a comprehensive case study, highlighting user-centric approach and their positive impact on user engagement and satisfaction.