Digital experts stress importance of research and analytics in UX design

By Jason Ballenger

Three user experience (UX) designers took to the stage on Tuesday at AIGA’s first CHAT session. AIGA, the professional association for designers, hosted the event at The Bureau in Indianapolis, where about 80 people listened to the digital experts break down their process.

One of the main themes of the evening was analytics and research. Justin Zalewski, design lead at Studio Science described his team’s process when they were building the app Cluster Truck, an app that provides food-truck-style food with free delivery. “We were lucky on this project because we’re surrounded by our target audience, which were millennials. But for projects where we don’t have that kind of access we use a site called usertesting.com.”

After the initial round of testing, they tested it again after the designers chose fonts, colors and pictures. He stressed getting user data because people will say they will use it one way, but will actually use it differently.

Grant Glas, founder & CEO of App Press, also stressed the importance of research and analytics. Glas, who saw his first app go viral, suggested that people get their app out there and evaluate the feedback. He suggested that people start with a low-cost, low-risk trial by evaluating how their marketing emails are received. He recommended looking at the devices your audience reads them on, and seeing if it is mostly mobile.

When talking about his app that earned him a spot on App Store homepage, Glas says he gets a lot of questions from people about how they can do the same. “It’s actually a lot less complicated than you might think,” he said. "If the content is good and it looks sharp, it'll get on the homepage of the App Store."

Along with research and analytics, Justin Kime, director of product at DyKnow, and a former UX designer at Salesforce, stressed the importance of continued learning.

“You can never learn enough,” Kime said, giving the audience to one of his favorite websites: http://uxdesign.cc. “Technology moves so fast, so it's a nice way to keep up with what's happening. I usually go to (that website) on a daily basis. It's a really great resource."

The next AIGA event in Indianapolis will be a Town Hall style meeting on March 8, where board members will ask for ideas on how to better their programs.