Production Design
Duration
1-2 weeks
Why
Design is required for a new or updated feature based on organizational goals and/or user feedback.
Goal
Release feature into production.
How
Start with a problem statement and design brief. After the first draft, review brief with the Product Manager and User Researcher.Conduct competitive research on similar organizations and industry best practices for the feature. Add screenshots to the Figma for inspiration.
Once the brief is complete, use it to conduct a crazy 8 sketching workshop with the full team - engineers, QA, agile coach, PM, etc. Take the sketches and develop 2-3 different design directions for the feature. Add the sketches to the Figma for inspiration.
If there is an existing design system, use it. If not, create low-fidelity mockups focused on simplicity - only black, white and gray colors with 2 font sizes and 1 typeface. Prioritize interactions, labeling, buttons, links and real data. This frees you to concentrate on design decisions for the feature.Visual design will be applied later.
Finally, apply visual design and branding elements like colors and voice/tone. Annotate the final mockups thoroughly for developers to pick up and implement.
Schedule
- Write/Review brief, 1-2 days.
- Kick off sketch workshop, 1 hour meeting.
- Low fidelity prototype first pass, 1-5 days.
- Review prototype, 1 day.
- Visual design and copy, 1-3 days.
- Review with design team/mentor 1 day.
- Create notification about new feature internally for support and externally for customers, 1 day.
Outcome
Create engineering stories with annotated UI mockups, including styles, dimensions, interactions, and precise copy and labeling.
Key points
- Tight PM-designer collaboration.
- Protects designer time to focus.
- Early feedback loop.
- Seeds further discussion.