Design Research Methodology

21 Sep 2024 - 3 Jan 2024(week 1- week 14)

WANG ZILONG 0361141

Design Research Methodology/ Bachelor of Design(Hons) in Creative Media

Introduction

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Task 4

Reflection

Experience

1. User experience design needs to be scenario-oriented

In the design of social media applications on mobile and desktop, the importance of scenario-based design is particularly prominent. Users' operating habits and preferences on different devices are obviously affected by scenarios. For example, mobile terminals are more used for instant tasks in fragmented time, such as quickly replying to messages and watching short videos; while desktop terminals are more suitable for long-term and complex tasks, such as content editing or data analysis. This difference in scenarios requires designers to design targeted functions on different platforms. Through this study, I deeply realized that in user experience design, we cannot simply apply a certain design pattern, but need to fully understand the user's usage environment, operation scenarios and psychological needs. For example, the interface design of the mobile terminal should highlight simplicity and reduce information redundancy; while the desktop terminal can allow more complex interaction logic, but it needs to enhance the predictability of operations and multi-task support.

2. Cross-platform consistency is not a simple copy, but a balance between personality and versatility

The consistency of cross-platform design does not mean simply copying functions and layouts on mobile and desktop terminals. This is a mistake that many products are prone to make during the development process. In the survey, 61.4% of users said that they often switch between mobile and desktop devices. However, they also emphasized their expectations for unique designs for each platform. For example, mobile users prefer fast sliding operations and instant feedback, while desktop users pay more attention to comprehensive functions and operational efficiency. Therefore, empirically, this study made it clear to me that designers need to flexibly adjust device-specific functions while maintaining visual and functional consistency across platforms. Mobile design can focus on single-task fluency, while desktop should optimize multi-task management functions.

3. User data is the core basis for optimizing design decisions

In the process of user experience design, data-driven design is an important basis for optimizing decisions. This study collected a large amount of quantitative and qualitative data through questionnaires, which further verified the differences in users' operating habits and functional requirements for the two devices. For example, the questionnaire data showed that 47% of users mainly use desktop, 32.5% prefer mobile, and 20.5% use both. Through the analysis of these data, I summarized the optimization direction of the design: the mobile terminal needs a faster response speed and a more streamlined interface; while the desktop terminal needs to strengthen the consistency between functions and support step-by-step operations of complex tasks. These experiences show that both the insight into user behavior and the priority of functional improvement are inseparable from the support of high-quality user data.

Observation

1. User operation habits vary from device to device

From the survey results, it can be observed that there are significant differences in user operation habits on mobile and desktop terminals. The interaction method on the mobile terminal is mainly touch screen, and click and slide are the most common interaction gestures, accounting for 78.3% and 72.3% respectively. This interaction method is more suitable for immediate and short-term operations, such as checking notifications and swiping short videos. On the desktop, users rely more on keyboards and mice for complex operations, especially in multitasking, where mouse dragging and shortcut key operations are commonly used. In addition, 91.6% of users said that the desktop terminal is more suitable for multitasking and deep interaction scenarios, such as document editing and data analysis. This difference in operation between devices indicates that designers need to optimize functions for different interaction modes, rather than simply porting mobile designs directly to desktops, or vice versa.

2. Usage scenarios affect device preferences

User device selection is often directly affected by usage scenarios. In fragmented time, such as commuting or queuing, users prefer to use mobile devices to complete quick browsing or instant messaging. 69.9% of users believe that mobile devices are suitable for these task scenarios. In situations that require concentration, such as work or study, users prefer to use desktops. This is because the multi-window support and information display capabilities of desktops are significantly better than those of mobile devices. For example, users can open multiple browser tabs, edit documents, and consult reference materials in real time at the same time. This scenario difference not only determines the user's choice of device, but also directly affects their task priority and satisfaction.

3. Users' demand for device switching experience is increasing

As more and more users use multiple devices in their daily lives, seamless switching experience across devices has become an important demand. In the survey, more than 61.4% of users said that they often switch devices between mobile and desktop. For example, they may check social media notifications on mobile and then switch to desktop to make detailed replies or edit complex content. However, the synchronization experience between devices for many applications is still not ideal, such as the synchronization of unread message status and drafts. This observation emphasizes the importance of data consistency across platforms and also points out the pain points in current designs. This provides a clear direction for future design optimization: how to make users feel a smoother and more consistent experience when switching between devices.

Finding

1. The design focus of mobile terminals should be simplification and fluency

Users' operating habits on mobile terminals show that simple interface design and fast response are the key to improving satisfaction. In the survey, 51.8% of users gave the mobile terminal a "4-point" satisfaction rating, believing that its interface design is simple and easy to use. However, users also mentioned that there are too many notifications on the mobile terminal, which easily interferes with the user experience. In response to this finding, optimization directions may include: reducing irrelevant push content through intelligent notification filtering; highlighting core functions in the interface layout and hiding secondary functions to reduce the user's cognitive burden. In addition, the sliding and clicking operations on the mobile terminal need to be smoother, such as shortening the loading time and improving the touch response speed, which will significantly improve user satisfaction with the mobile terminal.

2. The desktop terminal should focus on multi-tasking support and deep functions

The usage scenarios of the desktop terminal are more complex and user needs are more diverse. Data shows that 91.6% of users believe that the desktop terminal is more suitable for complex tasks and multi-tasking operations, such as editing documents, watching videos and browsing web pages at the same time. However, users still have higher expectations for the deep interaction logic of the desktop terminal. For example, they hope that the connection between functions will be more natural and the window switching will be more efficient. This finding shows that the focus of desktop design should be on optimizing multi-tasking management and improving the ease of use of deep operations. For example, introducing window grouping functions or enhancing shortcut key support can effectively improve user work efficiency. In addition, desktop design can also learn from some characteristics of mobile terminals, such as sliding operations or custom shortcuts, to provide users with a more flexible interactive experience.

3. Data synchronization and cross-device consistency are the key to future optimization

Users have a strong demand for consistency in cross-device experience. In the survey, many users mentioned that they hope to achieve better data synchronization functions, such as real-time updates of message status, unread notifications, and drafts. However, many current applications are not doing well in this regard, resulting in users often having to repeat operations when switching between devices. This finding emphasizes the importance of consistency across devices and also points out the direction for future design optimization. For example, developing a cloud-based real-time synchronization function can ensure that users can immediately see the latest task status no matter which device they are operating on. This can not only significantly improve the user's operating efficiency, but also enhance the user's loyalty and dependence on the brand.