Author: Vena Chitturi

Art vs. Design, the Art of Design, or the Design of Art

Vena Chitturi, Thursday, September 24, 2009 @ 9:14 am

A couple of days ago I happened upon an interesting article about the difference between art and design. The author makes a lot of interesting points, and whether you agree or not with the statements he makes, the article does make for a great conversation starter.

Art and design are two different words, and some say two different worlds as well. The use of each often comes with a distinct connotation. I could go on about how design's goal is to solve a problem, whereas art doesn't necessarily always have a problem to solve. I could talk about how art doesn't necessarily require a common user experience, whereas design more often than not does. I could expand upon that by discussing how art doesn't require that a thing be usable, whereas design is often judged in part or whole by its level of usability. I could even discuss how art can be effective whether done collaboratively or not, and contrast that with numerous examples of how here in our agile software development environment at Pathfinder we find collaboration inseparable from our design process.

But I could also talk about how much art and design overlap and blend, so much so that it becomes difficult to make concrete distinctions. And how, sure, software design is about solving a problem, but it's also about solving a problem beautifully. Continue reading »

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Software Development

Developing Good Wireframes Ahead of Visual Design

Vena Chitturi, Thursday, August 20, 2009 @ 1:39 pm

In the design process, the wireframes focus on the structure/layout of elements on the screen, and the interaction that the screens will provide. The visual design focuses on aspects of design such as colors, graphics, branding and mood.

Design encompasses both of these, and both are equally important. But by first addressing the software's information design & interaction needs, wireframes help you make sure the user experience makes sense, including that the workflows are natural and intuitive for users, and that the interactions are easy and clear. Without these, a site may not be very usable. Developing good skeletal wireframes before fleshing out the visual design is important for several reasons.

Focuses the Conversation
Visual designs tend to elicit more of an emotional response than wireframes. Hence, putting a fleshed out visual design in front of a client can divert attention from the structure and interaction of the page, and tilt the conversation more towards the color and graphic choices. Skeletal wireframes help you and your client focus the conversation on the business goals and the needs of the user. Continue reading »

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Software Development

Usability Issues for Deaf Users

Vena Chitturi, Thursday, July 16, 2009 @ 9:46 am

Working on a project involving deaf users made me curious to learn more about this group, the issues they face with language, and how that can affect how we design software and online experiences for them. Digging into the matter, I learned a few interesting things.

To begin with, a common perception is that deafness is a disability. But perhaps it's more useful to understand deafness in a different way. In many cases Sign Language is a deaf user's first language. So English, or any other spoken language, is like a foreign language to them. This is an easy detail to forget, and means that these deaf users actually have some things in common with hearing users that learned English as a second language.

However the differences are many. Because native sign languages have no written form, deaf users don't have the same experience with language that hearing users do. Native sign language is very visual, and signers depend heavily on visuals such as gestures and facial expressions to convey meaning and emphasis. In addition, Sign Language's grammar and syntax rules are different from that of English and other spoken languages. Nuances in language such as slang or a play on words is very difficult for a deaf user to pick up on as well. So it's more useful to think about deaf users as communicating in a different language, than to see them as disabled (especially when looking into accessibility).

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User Experience Design