Learning to be self-aware

Jumping off of a concept from my last post about common sense usability, one of the most important things a good designer (particularly in the usability field) needs to be is self-aware. In general, people are extremely un-self-aware. Concepts of time are often way off (anecdotally, I remember my mother, in 2007, referring to Princess Diana's death as having been "a couple years ago," when in fact it had been ten years), and we tend to conflate memories into events that either didn't happen or occurred in separate times and places.

This is particularly an issue when working on web design. Very few people stop to ask of themselves the kinds of questions that are absolutely vital for good design. Where does my eye go first? This can help you organize the layout via information hierarchy. Am I moving my mouse to follow my eye? This may suggest good places to have hover states. Do I quickly click from page to page until I find what I want or do I scan a page fully before making my first click? This could inform your approach to site navigation. How many seconds does it REALLY take for me before I get annoyed at not finding what I want? This may determine whether a long-loading Flash module or graphics-heavy page is worth the sacrifice in loading time it may cost.

As important as it is to do proper testing and remember that, as the designer, you are rarely the intended audience, and you certainly know far more about the site than the average visitor will, you can still glean a lot of information just by carefully noting your own reactions -- even reactions to sites that have nothing to do with the one you are working on.

This is also helpful for someone who is not in design, but may need to work with a designer on a project. Are you working at a small organization that needs a better website? You'll be better able to get a top-notch end product if you are able to articulate clearly what your needs are, and you'll be better able to stand up for good usability practices if you end up working with a designer who has a great eye but perhaps a poor sense of usability. Think about your own site. Are there places you (or your visitors) frequently go to on your site that are buried? Is valuable home page real estate being devoted to unsupported or barely visited portions of your site? What aspects of your own site or your competitors' sites frustrate you and what do you find pleasing?

Asking these questions and being aware of your emotional state (by which I mean, happy, annoyed, indifferent, etc.) while browsing can help you pinpoint the design aspects that work and those that don't. So next time you find yourself frustrated by a website, stop for a second and think about what exactly is bothering you, and maybe even write it down. Similarly, next time you enter a site and find the information you want right away, think about what they did right -- this is often just as important or more important than finding the negatives, and frequently we don't even notice when something is done right.

But even when trying these exercises, keep in mind that there will undoubtedly be things you are doing that you are not realizing. It may sharpen your instincts, but for any larger scale project, you'll still need to take that critical look and apply it to other users to truly find underlying patterns and problems.