A few years ago, when trying to justify a design to a stakeholder I realised that by outlining the the key things I consider when designing a page or app it would probably add context and make it easier for my colleague to see things through my eyes. For example in a simple way I wanted to communicate that by making the design more dynamic in a colour sense, it probably wouldn’t fit within our brand guidelines. And in pushing the design technically by creating new components it could probably blow out our budget and timeline from a dev perspective.
I crudely drew this on a piece of paper:
I defined the stakeholders/ factors that I first consider as (in no particular order):
Design (Aesthetics): Put simply, making sure that the layout is logical and visually interesting, and using principles like Gestalt theory to group and create contrast between elements in the design.
Accessibility: Ensuring that the final product can be used by as many people as possible regardless of physical or cognitive ability.
Usability: Trying to make the product work in a sensible, logical way that users can understand easily.
Development: The technical parameters of what we are making.
Marketing/brand: this is making sure that what we release aligns with how we look and talk on all other channels and to our larger strategic goals. (Sorry to my allies in both of these departments, I know and respect the difference it’s just this thing needs 7 points to look nice – read the aesthetics description above 🙂 ).
User needs: Who are we making this for and how will it benefit them?
Business requirements: These are the guys paying the bills who kind of really have final say as to the scope of what we are making.
After I went through this my colleague looked shocked and said, ”Wow you think of all that when you put this page together?” I was happy that I could explain the behind the scenes rationale of everything that goes into sometimes very simple designs. That there are factors pushing and pulling that are sometimes at odds with each other.
Final note: I know that there are other factors to consider when designing digital experiences (data collection/reporting etc etc) but a greater awareness of this spiderweb and articulating it in my own head has made me prioritise what I feel is important and helps to give me purpose and direction as a designer.
The first question was really around which areas I had the most control over. Looking at it simply my first thought was the three on the left, aesthetics, accessibility and usability as they are the elements I have most influence over. In time I realised that even though I might not have full control over stakeholders from marketing/brand and development I could still partner closely with them early so that i had a really good understanding of their constraints, and as a result design better and smarter from the start.