How can you explain your design process to a non-designer in a clear and concise way?

"Putting yourself in other people's shoes." Design involves making things user-friendly while meeting the client's brief efficiently. Thus, solving design problems, conducting user research, planning user experiences, and creating suitable user interfaces are all indispensable steps. Think as a user, design as a user.

The one thing i have found helpful is to get to know the end goal of the product. Try to follow the steps that your Target audience is following to do the same task without using a product and identify the pain points. This way, you may know many thing that you didn't get to know from the user's interview during research. Anyway, user research is also nesessary. Also try to find out possible ways how you can improve the process and what are the other possible solutions can be. You definitely need to consider business constraints at the later stage..but creating holistic ideas is key factor...that you can refine and fit into your product's criteria.

- main thing from my experience is to understand what is important to the client, remove their worries and work with them as a true partner to support them in their vision

To effectively understand your audience, it is essential to conduct thorough research in collaboration with your product stakeholders. This involves identifying and understanding your key demographics. Once these demographics are established, the next step is to define detailed personas and map out user journeys. These personas should represent typical users, encompassing their characteristics, needs, and behavior patterns. Mapping the user journey allows you to gain insight into how these personas interact with your product or service. This process not only enhances your understanding of your users but also guides the development of strategies tailored to meet their specific needs and preferences.

Deeply understanding what job the user or end customer of your product or service tries to get done is the key to unlock value for the business. Also, mobile context does not imply user are constantly on the move but device capabilities, connectivity and changing environment have to be considered. Once you can prove and quantify how user pain or desires connect with business outcomes know that this is powerful stuff. You better start also understanding if the businesses you’re serving is making our world better or worse.

Imagine I'm like someone who plans and organizes a library. My job is to make sure that when you walk into this library (which, in my case, is a website or an app), you can easily find the book you're looking for, understand how to check it out, and enjoy the process of being there. I arrange the books (or information and features on a website/app) in a way that makes sense, put up clear signs, and create comfortable reading spots (make the website/app easy and pleasant to use). My goal is to make sure that when you use a website or an app, you don't feel lost or frustrated.

When describing your design process, aim for balance between copy, images, and other design elements. Resist the temptation to solely detail each phase in writing or overload with excessive images as a substitute. This approach will guarantee the evolution of your narrative into a compelling story that effectively engages any audience.

Let’s assume you’re working on an app/service that can solve real problems your users have. Imagine every change or new feature your designing as an unknown mountain or hill you need to cross. Uphill you never really know how long it might take or what’s on the other side. On your way up you‘re learning and finding your way — understanding the user’s and the business’ problem at hand. Only when you reached the top you can clearly see how to reach the goal — what exactly to build and how.

One thing I've found helpful in showcasing evidence when explaining the design process is a collection of tangible evidence from intensive research. It's not just about narrating the process, it's about revealing its essence through tangible evidence. Visuals, prototypes, and user feedback are the pillars which support the narrative. Using tools like Figma to create User Interfaces, allows your Users to experience your User Journey at first-hand. However, it's crucial to curate your Users, focusing on the most impactful elements that are tailored to their needs and expectations.

To build a product or website, it requires teamwork. Within the team, everyone can voice their concerns and contribute to improving our products. At the end of the day, we have objectives to meet, whether it's revamping a website or creating a new product for the client. Our goal is to enhance the user experience as much as possible for the client.

In order to be humble as a UX designer, you have to acknowledge when you may have made an error in your ideas. There's a chance you're wrong, and that's okay. There are many things that we can learn from the experience and perspective of our clients when it comes to the subject matter. As you adapt your approach to accommodate their feedback, you will be able to better understand the user's needs and your final design will be more grounded in their insights. It's a collaborative journey where humility opens the door to improvement, making the design process a shared and enriching experience.

Make accessible your design following the explanation/presentation and give time to those who aren't designer to think about it. Considering lots of time and effort are spent on the work by a designer, feedback deserves to be considered properly and come with valid reasons.

Presenting and explaining the design process always sparks interesting conversations. We cannot predict how the conversation will unfold, but the old saying goes, 'Practice Makes Perfect.' The more you talk about it, the more polished and presentable it becomes.

Practice makes perfect, yet every client/project is different. As a UX designer, experience will expose you to various ways of doing things. Each new project brings unique challenges, teaching you different approaches to create designs that fit the specific needs of users and the goals of the project. Embrace this variety in your work and life, as it will enhance your skils and make you more adaptable when crafting solutions that are both effective, user-friendly and reaches business goals.

Tell in simple terms that design is based on available knowledge and requires teamwork to make it happen, as without an act/product/service it’s just design. I would start a conversation by asking a time when they had to take a decision, what did they need to find out, what they have tried and how did it go. Based on that I can say design helps you throughout, giving more confidence to solve a more valuable problem in an affordable way.

To explain your design process use storytelling and visualization (add artifacts what and why you have done). Keep the message simple, since people not reading everything but scan. And remembering that you are not the main role in the process but your users/personas put at main actors.