My notes on Conversion Thursday

Although I am more comfortable in petit comité, It has been a real pleasure to have shared a conversation with Ivan y Alex this afternoon at the Conversion Thursday on Design and the Internet.

With echoes of some of the topics we discussed still lingering in my mind, here are my notes on the initial script I had set out for us Pere Rovira, The conversation eventually (and predictably) moved on to other topics. I hope that those present also enjoyed the conversation:

Where do you approach design in your daily work/companies (i.e. what do you do related to design)?

My day to day is in the “kitchen” of companies, helping to define the user experience, flows, wireframes, prototypes... up to the visual design. All with a very pragmatic approach and always thinking about the final product.

In my case, the fun part is that I keep changing “kitchen” (from startups to large companies), sometimes alone, sometimes with collaborators, and their size and resources also vary, which is the exciting part of my day to day life.

How does design on the internet differ from design in other disciplines?

I wouldn't differentiate the internet so much as the fact of designing interfaces. There are many universal design principles that are used, many inherited from editorial design, the ergonomics of industrial design, the narrativity of cinema or comics, the planning of architecture...

But it also has its peculiarities: it is a more flexible environment, in constant evolution, highly conditioned by technology and by the continuous introduction of new devices, which in turn affects the evolution of standards, leading to contamination between the different environments.

How has the role of the web designer evolved in recent years?

I think there is more specialisation and at the same time more need for knowledge of other disciplines.

Speciality in the sense that there are designers who are highly specialised in the definition of editorial environments, advertising and conversion-focused sites, applications and/or productivity tools (as is my case).

And other disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, business and technology knowledge. I always say that we play the role of mediators within projects, we design interfaces and we ourselves are often the “interface” between the business and technological layers of the project.

Usability, persuasiveness, conversion optimisation... are they the same? How do they differ?

Usability is the quality of an interface to make it easier for users to use. When we talk about optimising conversion, we are talking about making changes in the design so that users carry out a specific action (a form, a purchase, a visit to a specific page...). Persuasiveness would be at the service of conversion, taking into account usability criteria, facilitating or guiding users towards the business objectives of a site.

What tools does a web designer use to design better - web analytics, web instinct, qualitative research?

It depends on the project, any input is good. Because of the type of projects I usually take part in, I do a lot of qualitative research, user interviews, benchmarking... If a website were a building, web analytics would help you with the signage and the size and distribution of the spaces, where to place the doors, windows, etc.

Instinct is nothing more than one's personal baggage, the first idea is usually on the right track, but you always have to think about it 10 times, even if only to confirm it.

Should web designers be on the boards of online companies?

It depends on the web designer, it depends on the company... In my case I've almost always been lucky enough to report to CEOs or CTOs. Our goal is to help “defend” the user within the project, I think that's our place. But the user cannot be a tyrant, there has to be a balance, a dialogue between the 3 legs (business, technology, user).

Why do most websites still suck in terms of design?

Because of bad copying, most websites stay on the surface by copying the leaders of their respective market niches: they copy functionalities, they copy aesthetics, but they do not carry out an analysis or a reflection on themselves and what their real needs are.

Nor is there an understanding of basic design principles, there is still an obsession with showmanship rather than functionality.

 

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