About Our Process
User Research
Pain points are identified through user testing like A/B tests. We debrief with the researcher and ask more questions to gain clarity and fully understand the problem.
Interaction Design
Create wireframes and sometimes a few lo-fi screens. We try to nail down the information architecture and page hierarchy at this stage.
Visual Design
Screens come to life in hi-fi prototypes and are made pixel perfect. We also dive more into design explorations with color and layout to present to our stakeholders.
A Day in the Life of a Visual Experience Designer at HP
8:30- 9:30 A.M.
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Begin the day by checking my Outlook email and Microsoft Teams Chat and responding to any messages
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Go over my work from yesterday in preparation for or Daily Morning Workroom
9:30 - 10:30 A.M.
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Daily Morning Workroom is where we had the opportunity to share what we are working on and welcome any feedback from our fellow designers and to brainstorm together on how to solve various problems
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We often discuss if we need to bring in any other stakeholders or consult with other teams
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Since there were so many moving pieces, it was imperative to be as communicative as possible and doing so at the start of the day set us up for success
10:30 - 11:30 A.M.
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I would have some dedicated work-time to continue working on any feedback I received during the earlier meeting and get it ready for a status check during our Daily Stand-Up
12:30 - 1:30 P.M.
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Unlike the Daily Morning Workroom, the Daily Stand-Up would include everyone on our team, not just designers
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We would get a greater sense of what everyone was working on and be able to see who has bandwidth to help on other projects
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This meeting also gave us the opportunity to get even more eyes on designs and to consult our copywriter about any text we were unsure about
2:00 - 2:30 P.M.
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Bi-weekly 1:1 with my Team Lead to discuss any pain points in my workflow and my goals for the near-term and long-term
2:30 - 5:30 P.M.
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The afternoons are usually when I could focus and get the majority of my work done
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I spend most of my time in Figma drawing out designs and iterating
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Towards the end of this time, I like to add any notes or annotations so that I may remember to mention key points in tomorrow's meeting and so anyone can look at my work on their own and understand what I was trying to accomplish
Mobile/Desktop All-in-One App
I played an instrumental role in conceptualizing an app that would help consolidate all the current HP apps for various devices. Together with my team, we came up with a hub-and-spoke design as the foundation and from there I created many variations of how we can present it visually. I was also heavily involved in designing pages in more detail like the device page and home screen.
Design Toolkit and Style Guide
In order for other designers to recreate our design style and keep things consistent throughout the app, I also contributed to outlining a style guide and documenting proper usage of components. We created a library of templates and atoms that others can easily plug into the templates or even use to make more customized components if they wished. Our atomic components came in variations (including dark mode) and were accompanied with thorough annotations that defined uses and limitations.
Maintenance and Refresh
At times I would assist with fixing bugs or remedying errors that were discovered in user testing. I would deliver updates to the development team in all the necessary break points and after I had stress-tested the screens in various languages. I also participated in rebranding the old UI and updating he old user flows by creating brand new screens.
Projects that I Worked On
HP Inc.
UX/UI, Visual, Interaction, Desktop/Mobile App, iOS/Windows
My Big Takeaways
In my first experience working with a large company, I initially found it to be quite overwhelming. However, as my tenure progressed, I was able to establish a workflow that enhanced my productivity and enabled me to make a more significant contribution to my team. I realized the importance of efficient prioritization, including pausing extracurricular projects, postponing non-urgent tasks, and delegating project responsibilities to ensure I didn't take on more than I could handle. Additionally, I discovered the invaluable role of feedback. My growth as a designer was most pronounced when I had my designs reviewed, embracing the perspectives of others. This experience also taught me the art of defending and advocating for my creative decisions. Overall, I'm deeply appreciative of my team for providing me with the space to learn and continually evolve as a designer.
The Solution: Seeking Clarity
It became essential for me to enhance my communication skills by becoming more proactive and inquisitive. There were instances when I would exit meetings without a clear sense of direction, causing delays in my workflow as I had to schedule additional meetings for clarification. To rectify this, I adopted the technique of paraphrasing someone's response to ensure I grasped their explanation accurately, and to confirm that it aligned with their intended message. Additionally, I made it a point to explicitly clarify my responsibilities at the conclusion of meetings. Effective communication can be a challenging endeavor, but it's a continual journey of improvement that I'm committed to
The Challenge: Communication Between Teams
With multiple design teams it's not hard to imagine that there would be confusion or misunderstanding from time to time. Since there was always multiple projects going on at once, I would find that we all wouldn't be on the same page or the right things weren't getting prioritized.
The Solution: Proposing Compromise
In this particular scenario, our objective was to find a balanced solution that could satisfy both sides. My usual approach during the conceptualization phase involves generating multiple options, but I've learned the value of refining them into a select few that are easier to assess. I've observed that creating an excessive number of options often leads us further away from a viable solution. Therefore, when addressing the banner issue, I presented a couple of versions that explored ways to enhance the banner's style, transforming it into not just an advertisement but an embodiment of our brand's aesthetics, captivating users visually. I also introduced a version that integrated ads in alternative areas and personalized them with distinct copy
The Challenge: Opposing Feedback
Sometimes I'll present a design and it's not surprising that different people have different opinions. It is also common for a stakeholder to request something that does not line up with what we found users wanted during our testing. For example, users were not fond of excessive advertisement and didn't react well to having a banner ad be the first thing they see on their homepage. On the other hand, stakeholders were advocating for more advertising space and especially wanted room to showcase HP's sub-brands.
The Solution: Regroup and Adapt
In a sink-or-swim situation, we had limited room for choice. Fortunately, our team displayed resilience by refraining from taking things personally and being willing to let go of certain designs. The key was our ability to refocus by establishing clear objectives and allocating responsibilities accordingly. Equally important was exercising discretion about when to champion a design choice, passionately advocating for it when we believed it would significantly benefit our users or align with our core principles.
The Challenge: Moving Targets
It could be difficult to have spent weeks or even months on one project to be told later that we decided to pivot or scrap the designs. In such a large project such as creating one big app, we often found ourselves in this position of having to abandon some ideas we were excited about for any number of reasons. The whiplash of going back and forth between concepts can be frustrating and also negatively affect team morale.